


A Frozen Soul & A Doctor's Orders

by TrafalgarNeo



Category: One Piece
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Fantasy, Fluff, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2018-11-16 09:21:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 110
Words: 859,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11250204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrafalgarNeo/pseuds/TrafalgarNeo
Summary: Law has seen many women while sailing the open oceans of the world. But now standing over her beaten, bloody, unconscious body he noticed she was the only one who felt so inhuman. He takes her to his sub. Why? Because Corazon told him too. Yes, the dead Corazon tells Law to take this girl with him and he does it.fluff, M for later chapters and safety sake but nothing extremely descriptive and graphic, slow burn, Law/OC





	1. The Girl

The Girl

 

            "Finally!" Penguin cheered. He stretched his arms out in the warm sunlight as it beamed down over his boiler suit clad body. "It feels like we've been in that sub for weeks without setting foot on dry land!”

            "It has been weeks, Pen ol’ buddy." Shachi chuckled. He too felt freedom while he scanned his eyes out over the island that they were currently docked at. It was fairly small. One of the smallest villages they’ve ever been to in fact. The entire village was clustered together on the east side of the island. On the west side was a forest and a small mountain hovered in the far distance. He knew not much fun was going to be had here. The thought caused him to sigh heavily. He was really hoping to find some pretty women to spend time with for a while. This place didn’t look like the type for that kind of fun. He hoped it at least had a tavern, even a small one would do.

            "Fresh air," Bepo remarked, happily. He sniffed the salty air and the new scents of the island. It was a little passed noon when they had finally reached the docks of this little island. So the air was filled with everything that was cooking for lunch. The mixed smells of barbeque sauce, fresh fish, vegetables, salt, and a variety of other scents dancing on the low winds made the bear's stomach rumble. "Are we going to get something to eat, Captain?"

            "We’re not staying here long so first we should get supplies," Law ordered casually. He looked over his crew while propping up his sword on his shoulder. His free hand was shoved in his pocket like always as he was casually leaned against the sub wall. "Then we'll get something to eat."

            "Aye, Captain!" The crew cheered.

            Law watched calmly as his crew then one by one they descended the ladder that stood between them and solid ground before following after them. He listened while they chatted happily about finally getting to spend some time on land, no matter how little the time was actually going to be. He knew they really didn’t mind. With how small this island was they couldn’t have much fun anyway. This was just a quick stop for them. Then it was back to the seas for the Heart Pirates.

            Finally, it was his turn to descend. Law pushed off the sub wall and walked over to the railing. He reached for it but paused when his hand touched the sun warmed railing on the sub. A strange, cool breeze blew on his body. Bring with it was an indescribable feeling of dread and something else, something that he couldn’t describe. It washed over his entire body and soul as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up straight.

            Law pulled his eyes up and looked around his surroundings with a careful, cautious eye. He scanned his eyes carefully over the deck of his yellow sub, across the horizon of the sea, over the others ships docked at the island, over the people on the island, and then over the island itself. He kneaded his eyebrows with a deep frown, confused at what set him on edge. _What the heck just caused me to feel like this? It feels like a dangerous storm is about to blow in, but the sky is completely clear. Maybe some other pirates or someone is going to cause trouble here?_

            "Captain, are you coming?" Bepo's voice broke into his concentrated thoughts, almost making the captain jump.

            "Yeah, I'm coming," Law called back to his navigator. Feeling a bit silly, he quickly dismissed his feelings and descended down to join his awaiting crew. Bepo was giving him a small look of concern when he finally landed on the docks of the island. He waved it off and started to lead his crew into the town before them.

            As they made their way inland, his crew chattered on like they always did, their voices mixing in with the noise from the island inhabitants. They talked about the supplies that they needed, what they wanted for lunch and some wanted to get some drinks before leaving while ignoring the cautious looks from some people as they passed by. It was normal for them to get a few looks like that here and there. They were pirates after all. It was natural for some to be cautious around them. And they were starting to get a name for themselves. Their captain already had a bounty of a hundred and twenty million.

            Penguin then asked, “So what’s the name of this island? I didn’t see a sign anywhere.”

            “It’s Renata Island,” Bepo replied. “Since it’s such a small island it’s not known for anything.”

            “Renata,” Shachi said, tasting the name on his tongue. “Hey, doesn’t that name mean rebirth?”

            Law felt an odd tick in his soul when Shachi said rebirth. It unnerved him.

            “I believe it does,” Bepo said. “Why?”

            “No reason,” Shachi said. “Just asking.”

            Despite his feeling of being unnerved, Law didn't say anything. He remained quiet as the strange feeling from before had returned. He gripped his sword tighter. The feeling continued to grow inside of him the farther they walked into the town. His eyes started to survey the surrounding area around them carefully, looking for what could have possibly caused him to feel like this. Yet again, nothing seemed out of place. It was a normal island like so many they have been to before. There were adults hanging around just chatting with each other, some were cleaning their stores, or houses while others were busy running their business or taking care of their children. Kids were running around, chasing each other, playing with dogs, or playing some form of game. Birds were tweeting happily. The sky was still cloudless. The sun was as warm as it could be.

            It was a normal day. A normal day that shouldn’t put someone on their guard like this.

            But Law was. He paused, his crew walking on passed him. Something continued to nag at him. Something just wasn’t right about this place. He just had no clue to why such an ordinary island, with ordinary people, on an ordinary day would bother him so much. It didn’t make any sense. He paused to take a closer look at his surroundings. Still nothing popped out as unusual or out of place. It was a nice little town, with nice enough looking people. Everything was in its place as it should be. Even the houses and other buildings were all nicely taken care of like this place had never seen a storm or war or even knew such terrible events even existed.

            He shifted his sword on his shoulder. Trying to force himself to forget about this odd feeling stirring around inside of him, he turned to catch up with his crew only to stop again when a small hint of iron, of blood, entered his sense of smell through a gentle breeze. He narrowed his eyebrows and carefully scanned the area again. He looked for signs of a fight that might have broken out. He looked for other pirates causing trouble or possible bandits or even marines, but knew he wouldn’t see any since he didn’t see any pirate or marine ships in the docks. He saw nothing. No one looked hurt at all. Not even a child who possibly could have fell and scrapped his or her knee. Just nothing but normal.

            "Captain!" Bepo's voice broke into the man's intense concentration once again. Law pulled his eyes from his surroundings and looked at his navigator. “Are you coming? We're ready to get supplies. This shop seems to have a lot of stuff that we need."

            "Yeah." Law nodded. He turned and headed towards his only fuzzy crewmate and the building he was standing in front of.

            “Are you all right, Captain?” Bepo blinked. “You seem a bit out of it today.”

            “I’m fine,” Law replied. He then paused for a moment. Considering his words and his feelings while taking in his navigator, the only mink on the crew. The only one who had sharper instincts than his own or anyone else on the crew. He was a bear after all. “Bepo?”

            “Huh?” Bepo tilted his head. “Yes, Captain?”

            “Do you sense anything odd about this island?” Law asked as casually as he could.

            “Odd? No. Why?” Bepo blinked again. “What’s going on, Captain?”

            “Nothing. I just have a weird feeling.” Law shrugged. “It’s probably nothing, but let’s just keep on our guard anyway. The Navy or a rival pirate crew could show up at any minute.”

            “Sure thing, Captain,” Bepo said with determination, but showed clear signs of worry over his captain.

            Law shrugged it off and stepped inside of the building Bepo had lured him too. While the crew set out to gather up their much needed supplies, Law kept a calm eye on them while he continued to scan their surroundings for anything that could possible make him feel so uneasy. Try as he might, he just couldn’t push the strange feeling away. It nagged on him every second of every minute. He even tried to distract himself by putting more effort into gathering supplies and moving them into the sub, without the use of his Room for the most part. He only used his Room to warp the supplies onto the deck of the sub. The crew then moved the crates into the sub on their own with their dollies. But it didn’t help.

            “Finally! We’re done!” Penguin said when the crates were all loaded into the storage rooms.

            “How about some fun now, Captain?” Shachi asked while they all headed back to the deck.

            “Sure,” Law said, causing the crew to cheer. He paused for a second. Looking up at the position of the sun, he noticed that it was about eight thirty in the morning. “You can spend a few hours doing whatever you wish. Report back to the sub at five o’clock sharp. We’ll set sail once everyone’s returned.”

            “Aye aye, Captain!” the crew cheered before descending back down to the island.

            “You coming, Captain?” Bepo asked when Law didn’t move.

            “Yeah. Come with us for some drinks,” Shachi said. “You look like you could use one.”

            “No, thanks,” Law said. “I think I’m going to just roam around for a while. I’ll meet up with you later at the locate tavern for lunch.”

            “All right,” Penguin said as he started to descend back down the ladder. “We’ll see you later.”

            Law nodded. He waited for his men to be out of his sight before warping himself down to the dock. He headed off. Walking down the dock he turned to his left when he reached the end of it. He really didn’t feel like being around people so he headed off towards the forest so he could get some quiet time alone. He hoped that would clear his head of these weird thoughts and feelings he was having.

            The warm sunlight was quickly replaced with cool shade from the tree leaves as he walked through the forest. The only companions he had were the birds that continued to chirp and fly around. He was enjoying his little hobby of roaming and had only been on his walk for about an hour and a half when he had an over whelming feeling that he should return to the village. Not questioning his feelings, he spun on his heels and headed right back. His heart thumped hard in his chest. He didn’t know why. He knew nothing bad was happening to his crew. For one, they could take care of themselves. And, for two, it was clear that no battle had broken out in the small village when he got back to the edge of it. He walked into the boarders of the village. Once again noticing there was nothing out of place. It was just as happy and peaceful as the last time he walked through it.

            Still he continued to look for any little thing out of place.

            And then he saw something. A group of villagers was gathered together, surrounding someone or something. He kneaded his eyebrows. His body moved, seemingly under its own power towards the group. The closer he got to them the easier it was for him to notice that it was a person they were gathered around. But they only had the person in a half circle.

            He moved closer.

            His heart took a sharp beat against his chest when he saw who was being surrounded in this semicircle. It was a young girl, a child, with sky blue hair. The child was clearly homeless, probably even an orphan. She worn only a dingy, dirty grey shirt, or dress, he really couldn’t tell which it was since she was so small or the shirt was just too big for her. It was ripped with several holes and stained with dark mud. But her size and the shirt size didn’t, or couldn’t, hide all of the scars all over her body.

            “Hey, where did you get that shirt or dress form?!” one of the girls said. “It’s completely hideous!”

            Law forced his eyes off the blue haired girl and looked at the group around her.

            “It really is a hideous shirt,” the girl said again.

            Law exhaled. The girl who spoke was a long blonde haired beauty teenager with clean pressed clothes and jewelry hanging off of her. He knew immediately this blonde girl never saw hardship in her life. And that was only why she was teasing this blue haired girl. The blonde thought she was better than the blue haired girl. In fact, it was very clear that all of these teens, and even adults, that were harassing this poor girl didn’t know what hardship was like. It angered Law, but he said nothing.

            Still their words and actions bugged him. And it bugged him that it bugged him.

            Law frowned deeply as the villagers continued their ridiculous taunting of the girl they had surrounded in a half circle. His eyes wondered back over to the blue haired girl. He watched her. He wondered things about her. He had no idea why she didn't retaliate in any way, shape, or form. Why didn't she say anything? Why was it all she did was just stare down at the ground? And why did she suddenly somehow felt familiar to him?

            Law took a step back, realizing she did, for whatever reason, feel familiar to him. Yet he knew he’s never met her before. Her blue hair and dark skin was a combination that he would easily be able to remember. But he didn’t. He ran his eyes over her again. Her sky blue bangs were hanging over her face, hiding her eyes, but unable to hide the tears that spilled down her sun kissed skin and that fact that she was a head shorter than himself. She was just unresponsive to everyone and everything. It was almost like she was dead, dead yet somehow still alive.

            "What a weirdo!" the teenager girl with long blonde hair laughed. She tossed her blonde hair over her shoulders. Her eyes sparkling with enjoyment as they teased the poorly dressed blue hair girl. She waved her perfectly cut and pink painted nails towards the blue haired girl before brushing her hand over her short orange skirt. "Why don't you speak to us?"

            "I doubt she can even speak at all," another teenager, a boy with short, spike dark brown hair said, his light green eyes shimmering with the same enjoyment as the girl beside him. Just like the girl, he was dressed in nice clothes and had an expensive hair cut. He wondered if they were possibly related.

            "You can't blame her for that." A male adult with black hair chuckled. The man smoothed out his wrinkleless white shirt then did the same to his pants.

            Law's frown deepened. He expected teasing from kids and teenagers, but adults should know better. He shook his head with a silent sigh. He knew better than that. He knew from experience adults could be even more mean, more cruel, than kids and teenagers could be. Kids and teens often learned that kind of behavior from adults. And it was possible this small group of people picking on this poor, unresponsive girl were related in some way. Still, it was obvious this girl had a rough life. They didn’t have to make that worse for her.

            The black haired man continued, "She clearly doesn't have any parents. She's just a street rat."

            The group laughed.

            Law's eyes wondered over her thin body again. The man did have a point with that comment. She was a street rat, which he already assumed. Then his critical doctor’s eyes caught something that he had somehow missed before. The mud that was on her clothes was mixed with blood. He narrowed his eyes. How had he missed that before? Pulling his steel color eyes away from her clothes, he looked over her scars again. Some were obviously years old, some were weeks old, while some were recently new. One of the cuts, on her left forearm, was bleeding. He narrowed his eyes and studied the angles of the cuts closer. Something about them was very odd. Still he could quite put his finger on what it was.

            "That's enough!!" Law's concentration was broken when a woman's voice shouted out. He looked up to see a dark brown haired woman, in her forties, whack the teens and adult on their heads multiple times with a broom.

            Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack!

            "Ouch! What was that for, you old hag?!" the teenager boy cried out, rubbing his now sore head. He glared at the woman, but she just smacked him again for the rude look.

            "You should be a shamed of yourselves!" the woman shouted as she whacked them again. "That girl has obviously had a hard life! She doesn't need _you_ spoiled, privileged brats, with far too much time on your hands, putting her down! You should be ashamed of yourselves! Instead of mocking her, you should be _helping_ her!"

            "Whatever, you ol’ hag! She doesn't _wan_ t help! She's a pathetic, unless, good for not-" the teenage boy shouted. He was cut off with another whack of the broom to his head.

            Whack! The broom handle cracked upon making contact with the boy’s skull.

            "Get out of here before I sever your jaws from your heads! And I don’t even want to see you picking on anyone ever again!" the woman shrieked, waving her broom wildly, causing the crack to grow a bit more from the force of her swings. The teens and the adults made a mad dash away from the mad woman without another word or look in the blue haired girl’s direction. She dropped the broom onto her shoulder with an annoyed huff and placed her left hand on her hip. "Creeps! If I could have them arrested for being stupid I would!"

            "Who is that girl?" Law found himself asking while taking a couple steps closer to the enraged woman and inquired about the odd girl. His eyes remained on the girl as she finally walked away from the scene. His body tensed and his eyebrow rose when he noted a small group of three rough looking men with dingy brown hair, standing by a corner of a building. They were watching the girl with leering gazes as she walked by them. It caused his body to tense up. He gripped his sword, ready to intervene if they tried to make any kind of move on her. His actions surprised himself, but he didn’t stop watching them. When they turned their attention away from her, Law's eyebrow lowered back down as his body relaxed.

            "No one knows," the woman replied. "She just showed up here three weeks ago. She hasn't said a single word to anyone since she’s been here. All she does is aimlessly walks around or sits alone somewhere. Some of us have tried to help her, but it's been to no avail. She won't answer anyone’s questions on who is she, where she came from, or where her parents are. She won't accept clothes, money, or even food. When someone gets too close, she completely freaks out, screams incoherently and either curls into herself while sobbing and shaking violently or runs away all together. Sometimes we can see her being surrounded by animals, even wild ones.”

            “Wild ones?” Law asked but the woman didn’t elaborate on it.

            “I don't know what happened to her, but whatever it was, it wasn't good," she said.

            Law turned his attention to the woman when the girl turned a corner and was no longer in his sights. The woman continued, "As far as anyone can tell she hasn't eaten a thing since she got here, the poor dear. Or no one has noticed her eating anything. I'm not a doctor, but I have seen some cases of malnutrition. And she _is_ malnourished. But there's nothing that can be done with those who don't want help."

            With a heavy, defeated sigh, the woman turned and reentered the building she came out of. By the time Law pulled his eyes away from the older woman, the young girl was long gone. He wanted, for whatever reason, to go after her, but had no clue where she disappeared to or where she would possible go since she wasn’t a resident of this island. He tapped his finger on his sword as he continued to stare in the direction the girl disappeared in.

            His mind whirled rapidly over the information he did have about the girl. There was just something about her that drew his attention that would let him release her from his thoughts. If only he could pinpoint what that was exactly. He tried to make sense of everything that just happened. With what the woman had just told him, it was clear the girl didn’t like people getting to close to her. So how did she travel to this island? If she didn’t like people near her, traveling on a ship would be fairly difficult unless she had her own. But Law knew that was impossible. The girl was far too thin to work a ship, especially all on her own. She would have to sneak on someone else’s ship to travel from island to island. But why would she do that? Why take the chance of getting herself cornered by people or touched?

            Law shook his head. He had no clue why he was trying to figure this out. That girl was a stranger to him. He would most likely never see her again. He turned in the opposite direction the girl had gone, mumbling under his breath. "Why should I even care? It's not my problem to handle."

            Law took a few steps away from his currently location then stopped when a wave of dread washed over him. He looked back over his shoulder and narrowed his eyebrows. His eyes, for whatever reason went to the spot where the small group of men was watching the blue haired girl. The group of men were gone. His stomach flipped upside down in his body. He was turning back in the direction the girl went when Bepo's voice called out to him. "Hey, Captain! There you are! We were starting to get concerned!"

            “Huh?” Law looked at his navigator as the bear ran up to him. “What for?”  
            “It’s almost one o’clock,” Bepo said, concern written all over his furry face. “You said you were going to meet up with us for lunch. We’ve been waiting for almost an hour. We were starting to think you had gotten taken by the Navy or something.”

            “Oh, sorry,” Law said, not realizing how much time he has spent with and thinking about the blue haired girl. “I just got a little distracted.”        

            “You must have had a good walk then,” Bepo said.

            “Yeah, something like that,” Law said.

            “What do you mean?” Bepo asked.

            “Nothing,” Law said, taking off. “Let’s just go.”

            “Okay,” Bepo said. He gave his retreating captain a confused glance before following along after him.

            The walk to the tavern was a quiet one. Their walks together usually were. Law wasn’t much for constantly talking. He usually just sat back and listened to his crew. But when it was just him and Bepo, not many words passed between them unless it was necessary. Neither one cared. That’s just how they were. It didn’t take them long to get to the plain, wooden building of the locate tavern. And the closer they got the more they could hear their fellow crewmates partying. The two Heart Pirates walked up the three steps to the porch. Bepo walked inside instantly, but Law paused.

            Before entering into the building, he felt like casting one last look down the street. For some reason the desire to go after the girl had returned. And like before, he had no clue where she would have gone. This island wasn’t very big, but it could still take him hours to search it. And they were leaving in just four hours. He really didn’t have time to chase down a stranger for unknown reasons. He forced himself to let it go and walked into the tavern.

            The captain was instantly greeted with a mixed smell of booze, spices, and unwashed bodies from some of the tavern patriots. Ignoring the smells, he walked over to the table where some of his crew was at and sat down. He removed his hat from his head as he ran his eyes over the room, locating the rest of his crew. Shachi and Penguin, seemingly half drunk already, were dancing a weird version of the Can-Can with two women from the tavern. With a long, low sigh, Law leaned back in his chair. He watched as a light brown haired woman, probably seven years older than him, walked over to take his order. He ignored her flirtatious looks while half-heartedly mumbling his order to her. “Okay, the grilled fish with a baked potato and onigiri it is. Would you like something to drink with that? We have a fabulous homemade brew. Freshly made today.”

            “Just water,” Law replied.

            “That’s no fun,” she said with a flirtatious wink. “You seem a bit tense. How about something a little stronger? It’ll relax you.” She ran her lusting filling eyes over his body. “Then maybe we could get to know each other a little better later?”

            “No.” Law glared icily at the woman. She flinched at the look, nodded rapidly then headed off to fulfill the order. The captain sighed again.

            “You should have taken her up on her offer, Captain,” Conner, one of the sub’s engineers said. “She was totally hot.”

            “She was,” Archer, a medic, said. “But you know the captain doesn’t go off with women like that.”

            “Such a shame,” Conner said, leaning back in his chair. “I wish she had looked at me like that.” He gave his captain a smirk. “Or perhaps you’ve already met a woman on this island and spent time with her while you were absent from us?”

            “Maybe.” Law shrugged.

            “Yeah, sure,” Conner said, doubtfully. “You never tell us about any women you’re with.”

            “Why would you even want to know?” Archer asked.

            “Just curious,” Conner said.

            “Just perverted,” Archer said.

            “Hey! I am not!” Conner protested.

            Law relaxed in his chair and listened to his two subordinates argue as they often did. It was normal for them. They were polar opposites. Conner was a pessimist while Archer was an optimist. Sometimes he had to wonder how they didn’t kill each other at times. He really didn’t mind their fighting. It was bound to happen in a group of fifteen pirates. As long as they pulled together when needed, he let them have their fights.

            While listening to them, his mind wondered back to the blue haired girl. He scoffed to himself when realizing that Conner was right. He had met a girl on this island. A girl he wanted to forget about, but just couldn’t. His mind just kept going over her odd behavior and everything the woman had told him about her. He was starting to wonder if maybe he should have ordered a stronger drink. He didn’t like to drink very often since he was a doctor, he wanted his head clear if he had to preform surgery. But, perhaps this once, he should have ordered an alcoholic beverage. Maybe it would relax his mind and force him to stop thinking so much about that strange girl that somehow refused to leave his brain.

            Some time after that, their food had arrived without Law’s knowledge. Bepo had to once again shake the captain out of his thoughts. And once again the bear expressed his concern over the out of character captain. He said, “Captain, are you sure you’re all right? You’ve been staring off into a daze ever since we arrived at this island.”

            The rest of his crew now turned to him in concern. Law sighed. “Really, Bepo, I’m just fine. I guess I’m just a little restless is all. Just eat so we can get out of here.”

            “Sure thing, Captain,” Bepo said in an unconvinced tone. The crew exchanged concern looks before staring at their strangely acting captain.

            Law brushed the crew off and dug into his meal. He really didn’t want to deal with any of this anymore. And thanks to a couple tavern women, who had came over at that point with more drinks for the crew, the crew turned their attention from their captain and started getting cozy again in their surroundings. Law ate at a slower pace than his crew. His mind just refused to go anywhere except on the blue hair girl. He couldn't get the notion out of his head that she was familiar somehow. The scars on her body wouldn’t leave his head either. He just didn’t know why this was happening. Never has anyone ever drawn his attention this much. So what was it about her that drew his attention so much?

            Then without warning, piercing screams and sounds of a battle interrupted the enjoyment of the small break. Jumping up from their chairs, the Heart Pirates ran outside to find chaos had erupted on the island. People were running around while bullets rang out, filling the air with smoke and burning lead. In the distance, black smoke was rising up from behind some buildings.

            Someone shouted out amongst the chaos. "Two groups of bandits have gone mad! They're fighting like rabid dogs! Hurry! A building is on fire! Get some water to it! Now! Now, now, now! We need help in the north! Some villagers have been injured in the fight!"

            "A Navy ship has just docked at the harbor!" another islander announced. "They won't get away with tearing our village up!"

            "Captain!" the Heart Pirate crew shouted.

            "Let's get back to the sub," Law ordered.

            "Aye aye, Captain!" the crew shouted again then took off back to the docks where their ship was anchored.

            While rushing through the panic island inhabitants, Law's eyes wondered furiously over the people. Unexplainably, he was looking for the blue haired girl from before. He had to find her. He couldn’t leave without knowing where she was. Eventually, he finally spotted her. He caught a glimpse of her battered form and blue hair through all of the chaos. His lungs hitched in his chest, his blood crystalized with ice. She wasn't alone. He narrowed his eyebrows and split away from his crew without a word to them and without them noticing his departure. He dashed down an alley towards the girl and towards the men who were watching her earlier.

            He gritted his teeth and his sword. She was on the ground, unconscious, and bleeding from her stomach. A bloody knife was lying by her as one of the men pinned her wrists to the ground by her head as he straddled over her with lust filling his eyes to the brim. The other two men were standing near by with malicious grins. Law's blood began to boil when the man, pinning the girl down, reached for his belt buckle. This _man_ was going to rape an unconscious girl, a child. The very thought infuriated the captain.

            Law's speed picked up. When he finally got close enough, he slammed his boot into the man's face, easily breaking his nose, and sending him flying several yards away. The man’s body hit the ground, bounced a couple times before rolling to a stop with a cloud of dust rolling up in the air around him. One of the other men shouted, "Boss! Are you okay?!"

            "Who the heck are you?!" the second guy demanded. The two standing men turned to face Law. “How dare you do that to our boss?!”

            "I know I'm a pirate. We do terrible things. But this is just wrong on so many levels," Law sneered, his intense glare hidden by his hat. "It's bad enough when a _man_ is low enough to try and take advantage of a woman when she's awake, but when she's unconscious? Did you knock her out as well? Three _men_ against one, very unconscious little girl who’s way smaller than you all, it's sickening."

            "This is none of your business! And you're going to pay for interfering!" the boss hissed, picking himself up from the ground. He brushed the blood from his broken nose with his sleeve. The men charged forwards, bringing out their daggers to slice the pirate. "Get him!"

            “I’m making it my business.” Law held his hand out. A little, light colored cloud circled around under his palm before spreading out around them. "Room."

            "Huh?" The men stopped charging to take note of Law's circle when the blue film encased them.

            Law pulled out his sword and sliced them up into several pieces before they could react. He smirked as their bodies floated in the air.

            "What the heck?! I’m in pieces!" one man shrieked.

            "What happened?! How are we still alive?!" the second man demanded.

            "What did you do to us?!" the boss hissed.

            Law only smirked and turned his back to them without a word. He dropped his eyes down to the girl. His brow furrowed while he studied her closer. He noted, for the first time since he first saw her that it was hard to tell how old she was. He has referred to her as a woman just a moment ago, but now looking at her, she really did look more like a child like when he saw her before. His chest and stomach twisted up with fury as to what those men were going to do to a kid when all of his emotions disappeared from his body. He narrowed his eyes in on her and noticed something about her felt so inhuman.

            He shook his head. It wasn’t possible. She was clearly human. She didn’t have fur, scales, feathers, or anything else that would suggest she was anything but human. He really felt ridiculous now. He wanted to get away from her.

            "Whatever. She's not my concern." Then, just as he began to turn away from her, a single dark grey feather floated down in front of his face. His eyes widened at the familiarity of the object. His body seemed to move on its own as his eyes followed the falling feather and found himself turning back to her.

            His breath hitched in his throat, his heart seized up, his skin broke into a cold sweat, his throat instantly dried up. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be possible.

            Yet there _he_ was.

            Kneeling beside her broken, beaten form, _he_ had _his_ hand placed on her head like _he_ was comforting a frightened child.

            Law's voice stuttered through the dryness now plaguing his throat. "C-Cora?"

            Corazon raised his eyes to Law and smiled at him. A silent message passed between the two men. _Take her with you, Law._

            Law blinked. Corazon was gone.

            More gunfire and screaming snapped Law out of his transfixion. He looked down the alleyway he ran into. Navy soldiers had finally arrived and were running around screaming and firing their weapons in attempted to get everything under control. He knew he had to get back to the sub. His crew was probably already there, wondering where he had disappeared to.

            Law pulled his eyes from the mess in town and back to the girl. Without hesitation or questions, he kneeled down to her. Placing his sword on the ground, he slipped one arm underneath her knees while sliding the other under her back. He managed to withhold a gasp at how light she was when he lifted her up. He could easily feel her ribs rubbing against his body through both of their shirts when he pulled her into his arms. The woman from before was right. This girl was malnourished. It felt like she only weighed about fifty pounds or so. Was less than a girl of her height should weigh.

            Law's eyes drifted to her face, her young child like face. He began to study her features once again. And, once again, he got the same feeling of her being inhuman. He growled at himself. There wasn't time for any of this. They had to get back to the sub before the Navy noticed them there. When she was secure in his arms, he grabbed his sword off the ground then stood up.

            "Hey! Don't leave us here like this!" one of the guys shouted as Law started to walk away from that area.

            "There are Navy soldiers near by! We'll be arrested! We're wanted men! Bandits!" the second one added.

            "You should have thought of that before deciding that you wanted to take advantage of this girl." Law glared at them from over his shoulder. The three men froze at the intensity in his eyes. The young captain took off for his ship and crew without another look or thought about the guys he was leaving behind. He easily ignored the bandits’ cries to be set free and their bodies put back together. That wasn’t going to happen. If he had the time, he would personally inflict more damage to their bodies for what they had planned for this girl, but he couldn’t do that. He’d have to leave it to the Navy to take care of them.

            His eyes helplessly kept wondering back down to the girl then. He was wondering if his running was jolting her around too much, if she was going to wake up because of that. He also wondered what he was going to do if she did wake up. She didn’t like being close to people according to that woman in town said. Would this girl try and hurt him? No, he knew she might try, but there was no possible way she could inflict damage on him. She was way too weak for that. Plus, he had a Devil Fruit, doctor knowledge, and years of experience of being a pirate in his arsenal. Whatever happened when she did wake up, he would easily be able to handle it. So he forced his mind to focus on getting them safely back to the sub and ran. Soon he broke through the town and saw the docks.

…

            The Heart Pirates continued to run through the town. None of them noticed that their captain had broken off from them and bolted down an alley. They’re eyes were too busy scanning for Navy soldiers. They saw a few. Their bodies tensed up. They readied themselves for a fight, but it never came. The Navy soldiers just ran passed them. It was obvious that the soldiers had spotted them, but it was also obvious the soldiers were more concerned about getting the village back under control. So they were free to get to their ship and get off this island before the Navy could come after them.

            They reached their sub. One by one, they climbed up the ladder. Most rushed into the sub, yelling out at each other to get everything ready to set sail. That’s when some of them finally noticed their missing captain.

            “Ah! Where’s the captain?!” Bepo shrieked. “He was with us just a minute ago!”

            “He took off?!” Penguin asked. He ran over to the railing, grabbing onto it while desperately looking around for their missing captain. “Why?! Why would he take off like that when he knew the Navy was here?!”

            “What do we do?! What do we do?!” Bepo asked while dancing around in a panic. “If we stay here too long the Navy will target us!”

            "Where is he?" Shachi inquired, his eyes scanning over the island when he joined Penguin by the railing. The sub’s engines were now humming in anticipation to leave this island. But they knew they couldn’t leave, not without their captain. "When did he take off? And why did he take off? He knew the Navy was here. It doesn’t make sense."

            "Do you seem him yet?" Penguin questioned as he and his friend continued to scan their hat and sunglasses hidden eyes over the island.

            "No." Shachi shook his head. “I don’t see anything yet.” He then noticed the island was starting to settle down back into its formerly peaceful state. The screams were becoming fewer, so were the gunshots, and the smoke was starting to dissipate. “Great. It looks like the Navy is starting to get everything under control now. If the captain doesn’t get here soon, we’re going to be targeted.”

            "Should I go find him?" Bepo asked, coming out of his panic just enough to let the obvious settle back into his mind. “I should be able to track his scent.”

            "There he is!" Penguin pointed to the village. "And he’s…got something with him.” He squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at what his captain was carrying. “What's he carrying? Did we forget some supplies or something?"

…

            Law glanced back over his shoulder at the village behind him. The sounds of the chaos were starting to settle down. He knew he was cutting things very close. The Navy would be on them any minute now if they didn’t get going. Soon the screams of the villagers were replaced with his boots thundered across the wooden dock.

            "Captain?! Where did you go?!" He heard Bepo’s voice screeching out at him when he was close enough.

            “Room! Shambles!” Law formed a Room and warped himself and the girl onto the deck of the sub without bothering to answer the bear’s question.

            "The Navy's here! We could have be-” Bepo paused when he noticed the unconscious girl in his captain’s arms. He blinked repeatedly, wondering if he really saw this girl. It wasn’t normal for his captain to bring strangers onto the sub. “Who's the girl?"

            "Never mind her," Law ordered. "Submerge! Now!”


	2. Mysteries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters will get longer and better as we go alone. There's just not much to do with a character who's unconscious.

Mysteries 

            “Huh?” Bepo hummed to himself as he watched his captain carry the mysterious blue haired girl into the sub. He had no idea why his captain was bring a stranger onto their sub. Nor did he know why he kept smelling something sweet in the air when a battle had just broken out on the island. He should be smelling a heavy combination of smoke and gunpowder not sugar.

            “Bepo!” Shachi screamed. “What are you doing?!”

            “What?” Bepo looked at the hatted man standing at the door of their home.

            “Get inside!” Shachi pointed to the open door. “We have to submerge! Or do you want the Navy to come capture us after coming this far?!”  
            “What?! No! I’m coming!” Bepo said, rushing through the door. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

            “Geez,” Shachi said once the bear passed him. He grabbed the large door and pulled it closed. With a heavy clang, the door was in place and he turned the lock, sealing them in and the water out. “What a time to doze off into a daydream.”

            “I wasn’t daydreaming,” Bepo said, panting from his intense sprint inside.

            “Sure you weren’t,” Shachi said. “You were there just contemplating the meaning of life.”

            The sub started moving without anymore more words passing between the two. It prompted the two Heart Pirates to stop their argument and help make sure they escaped the Navy without any problems. So they headed on through the sub, making their way down to the control room. Bepo sniffed the air as they went. Curiously the sweet smell had followed them in somehow. Either that or it was just stuck in his nose now.

…

            Law remained eerily calm as he trudged through the sub amongst the shouts and running about of his crew getting the sub prepared for diving under the surface of the water. His mind was racing far too much for him to form a clear though at the moment. Did he really just see Corazon back there? His eyes dropped down to the girl in his arms. It couldn’t have been a dream. The girl was proof of that. He still couldn’t believe he had actually brought her here. He just couldn’t believe he just brought a _complete and total stranger_ on his ship without even thinking about it and without the slightest bit of hesitation. And why did he do this? Because of Corazon, as insane as the sounded to him. Corazon, the dead man who’s been dead for years, told him to bring this girl to his ship, told him to not leave her behind.

            How reckless could he possibly be?

            He knew he could be reckless at times, but this was just unbelievable, even for him. He wasn’t really sure what bothered him the most. That he had brought this strange girl onto his sub without thinking about it just because he saw or thought he saw Corazon. Or that he deep down, for whatever reason, he knew he had made the right move by bringing her here. But how would he possibly know it was the right move? Other than saving her from getting raped, how could anyone possibly think bringing a _complete and total strange_ onto your ship was the right move? It was insanity. That’s what it was.

            But here he was. Continuing on with carrying her up to the medical bay to tend to her many wounds instead of leaving her behind like he should have. Insanity for sure.

            He felt even more insane while passing by his subordinates. The crew was tossing him, their captain, and the girl curious glances. And they all had the exact same question running through their minds: Why?

            He easily studied their eyes from underneath his hat while they studied the strange girl sleeping firmly in arms, but no one questioned him. He knew, that despite their growing curiosity, they wouldn’t ask, at least not right now. He was grateful for their ability to hold their tongue in the moment. They knew they had jobs to take care of right now. So they just quickly turned back to their current duties of leaving this island and evading the Navy. He didn’t have an answer for them. And telling them exactly what happened was completely out of the question. They wouldn’t believe him anyway, he knew they wouldn’t. He wouldn’t believe it himself if he wasn’t there. He was there and still didn’t believe it.

            Law did what he had to do, or thought he had to do. He never really returned any of their glances as he continued through the sub’s halls and up to the top floor of the sub where the medical bay was. His mind was spinning with the image of Corazon kneeling before this girl. It replayed over and over in his head. He wondered again if he really did see Corazon there or if he was just imagining things. If he was just imagining things, then why did he bring this girl, this stranger with him?

            Seconds later, he finally got to his destination and placed her down on the operating table. He paused to study her facial features when his eyes drifted to her face. She once again felt very inhuman to him. Pushing the feeling aside, he brushed her long, raggedy bangs away from her eyes. Once again the question of how old she was swam through his mind. Like the first time he really got a good look at her, she came off as a child. He tilted his head and at another glance, she looked like a young adult, possible close to his age. But her looks quickly went back to that of a child. It was like she was playing with his head somehow in her unconscious state.

            His released a low, irritated grumble. It annoyed him that he couldn't take a simple guess at what her age could possibly be. And it was started to really annoy him that he even brought her here. He had the urge to pick her up again, take her back out on the deck, and warp her over to a Navy ship and let them take care of her. But before he could even reach for her, he felt the sub submerge under the waves of the sea. It was too late now to leave her behind.

            He had no choice but to pushing aside his aggravation for now. So he walked over to the door of the operating room and closed it. Since she was a female, he didn’t want his all male crew glancing in on her. He knew they would be professionals, after all a lot of them were medics and they all wouldn’t have improper thoughts over a child no matter how cute she was. But he still didn’t want them stumbling in here for the moment.

            He then walked back over to the girl and removed her shirt or dress or whatever it technically was. He rolled it up and tossed it into a near by wastebasket. There was no way she was wearing that filthy thing again even if they did clean it. It was going to be burnt later. He turned his eyes back to the bleeding wound on the left side her stomach. A light gasp escaped his lips when he noticed the angle of the stab wound.

            Mindlessly, his fingers reached for the wound on her stomach while he leaned down for a closer look. Before his skin could connect with hers, there was a knock at the door. Penguin’s muffled voice asked, "Captain, permission to enter?"

            “Just a second.” Law stepped over to one of the cabinets. Reaching in he grabbed a couple towels and laid them over the unconscious girl's exposed body before allowing his subordinate to enter into the room with them. “You can come in now, Penguin.”

            Law walked over to the sink to serialize his hands before going to the drawers where his surgical supplies were stored and pulled out all the equipment he needed to clean and stitch up her wounds. The door opened. It was followed by a few footsteps of the man’s boots and the closing of the door. Penguin's voice then reached his ears again while he placed the items on a silver tray. He said, "Reporting, we successfully escaped without damage. It doesn't appear that the Navy is pursuing us. It’s possible they have their hands busy with what happened on that island."

            "Good," Law mumbled. When he turned back to the girl, Penguin was eyeballing her with caution and curiosity. He released an internal sigh when Penguin’s hidden eyes wondered to his. The captain could immediately tell that his subordinate wanted to question the girl and why his captain brought her aboard the sub, but he dutifully remained silent. He was thankful for that. He still had no idea what he was going to tell his crew. "Assist me."

            "Aye, Captain! What would you like me to do?" Penguin asked.

            "Get some water, soap, and some washcloths," Law calmly ordered. "We need to clean her up so no infections get into her wounds."

            Penguin nodded. "I'll go get it all right now."

            Law didn't respond as the man left the room. He continued doing his own job. He placed the tray of surgical equipment on a near by medical trolley then shoved it closer to the operating table. Before starting to sew up her cuts, Law flushed out the dirt in her wounds, wondering how this girl hadn’t gotten any infections from all of the dirt on her. His eyes then landed on the freshest wound on her stomach again. And once again he noticed the angle of the cut.

            "I got i-" Penguin's voice paused when he noticed his captain's intense stare at the girl’s stomach. He closed the door behind him before walking over to the operating table. "What is it, Captain? Is something wrong?”

            "She tried to kill herself," Law plainly stated.

            "What? What do you mean?" Penguin asked, he placed his basin of water, soap, and washcloths down on another medical trolley before looking down at the girl's exposed stomach. His eyes ran over all of her wounds on her exposed flesh, trying to figure out what his captain was talking about. She had so many cuts covering so much of her skin, they were all over her arms, legs, torso, neck, they were just everywhere. He hasn’t seen many wounds from suicide attempts so he really wasn’t sure what his captain was talking about. “Could you point it out for me? I’m not seeing it.”

            "The angle of this wound." Law pointed at the specific wound he was talking about. "It couldn't have been done by anyone but her. If it was done by someone else, then the angle would be more straight, not slanted like it is."

            "But why would she try to kill herself?" Penguin asked. He grabbed the washcloth, dipping it in the warm water before rubbing soap into the fabric and turning back to his captain's patient. Gently, he started to wash off the dirt on her exposed skin. "What was she doing when you found her? Trying to kill herself?"

            "Nothing." Law just about whispered, he trailed his eyes slowly over her other wounds, carefully taken them and their angles in. "She was unconscious on the ground. And she was about to be taken advantage of by three men. There was a knife laying beside her, at first I thought that it belong to one of those m-Room!"

            "Captain?" Penguin looked up when his captain formed a small Room around them. He gasped when Law cut part of the girl's neck off of her body. It shocked him, he wasn’t prepared for such a bold move. "C-Captain, w-what are you doing?!"

            "This just isn't possible." Law felt his facial expression mixed with curiosity and confusion as he inspected the girl’s neck. “It’s just _not_ possible.”

            "What is it, Captain?" Penguin questioned. “What’s not possible? What’s wrong?”

            "This cut here." Law pointed to the scar on the girl's neck he was holding. "The angle of it…she also stabbed herself here. In fact, just about all of these were done by her. However, with this one, she _should_ have died."

            "Should have?" Law turned the piece of her neck towards Penguin. Penguin stared at it in complete and utter confusion. “I’m still not following you, Captain. Could you explain it to me? Again?”

            "She hit her carotid artery," Law explained to the confused man while showing him the cut. "She should have bled out within minutes from this wound."

            "Maybe a friend of hers bound the wound and took her to the hospital before she could bleed out?" Penguin suggested while going back to wiping down her body.

            "No." Law shook his head. He put the girl's neck back in order and let his Room fade away. "She doesn't have any friends back on that island, possible none at all, ever. I spoke with a village woman about her. She said this girl only showed up on that island _three_ weeks ago. This wound is about a week and a half old. And she always runs from people when they get too close. There’s no way someone could have gotten her any help unless she was unconscious. And that clearly didn’t happen since there are no signs of scar tissue from stitches. It defies all medical knowledge that she survived this stab wound."

            "Well, is it possible that she has some kind of Devil Fruit powers?" Penguin asked. He dropped his eyes back down to the girl so he could clean her skin better. He opened his mouth to continue with his question but stopped when he got a strange feeling coming from the girl. She felt inhuman to him. “What the…?”

            “What is it, Penguin?” Law asked, noticing how carefully his subordinate was studying the girl now. He had no doubt that Penguin was picking up on the same inhuman feeling that he was. “Do you sense something?”

            “I do, but it’s not possible,” Penguin said, shaking his head.

            “What do you sense?” Law asked.

            “She doesn’t feel human,” Penguin said. He looked up at his captain. “But that’s not possible, is it? She’s clearly human. Maybe she does have a Devil Fruit after all? One that it could heal wounds like yours does? Perhaps she did want to kill herself, but changed her mind after she stabbed herself? She could be a Zion type. Think any of those have healing abilities?"

            "I doubt it. I’ve never heard of an animal that could stop itself from bleeding to death. Besides, typically Devil Fruit powers are unique, one of a kind. And Zoan types only turn into animals." Law crossed his left arm over his chest and tapped his chin in thought. “But since we don’t know everything about all the Devil Fruits in the world, I suppose it is possible that there’s some kind of variation of my own Devil Fruit.”

            "Captain!" Penguin suddenly shouted.

            "What is it?" Law asked. He looked at his subordinate’s confused expression before dropping his eyes down to the girl where Penguin was staring.

            "Her wound isn't bleeding anymore!" Penguin pointed at the wound on her stomach. Law leaned down to inspect the wound he had just looked at minutes ago. His eyebrows rose on his forehead. His subordinate was correct. Her wound had, somehow, stopped bleeding. "How is it possible? Did you do something with your powers to make it stop?"

            Law shook his head lightly. "I haven't done anything yet."

            "Such a mysterious girl," Penguin mumbled, going back to wipe down her skin like he was ordered to do. As he did, his hand came close to the towel lying over her chest, lightly bumping it. His face flushed immediately at the unplanned contact. “Sorry, Captain!”

            "Don’t worry about it. Just clean her skin that is visible to you," Law said, stitching her wounds closed. "I'll handle the rest when you are gone."

            "Of course! Yes, sir!" Penguin nodded furiously. He was grateful for that order. He didn’t want to overstep his, or the girl’s, comfort zone despite her being unconscious. It was best to leave her unmentionable parts for the captain, a doctor, to clean. He might like women, a lot, but he never would take advantage of one, especially one as young as this girl here. The two men then continued their tasks in silence. Only small, muffled sounds of some other members of the crew passing by the room could be heard for the duration of her treatment. When Penguin was finally done with her visible skin, he moved to her hair and tried to clean it as best as he could. With her lying on her back, he couldn't do much with it. But when he got it to a point of satisfaction for his captain, he dropped the cloth back into the basin. "Is there anything else you'd like me to do, Captain?"

            “Get some fresh water for the basin,” Law said.

            “Aye, Captain,” Penguin said. Picking up the basin, he stepped over to the sink to refill it with steamy hot water. He knew by the time his captain got to it the temperature would have cooled off to the right temperature. He then placed it back on the trolley and turned to his captain. “Anything else?”

            "That will be all," Law calmly ordered. "I'll handle the rest from here. You're free to go. Be sure to inform the crew to knock before entering this room until I'm finished working on her."

            "Aye, captain." Penguin turned and walked over to the door. As his hand touched the knob, he paused, a very strong thought rushed through his mind. A thought he wasn’t sure if he wanted to ask his captain or not. But, despite his doubts, he turned back to his captain. There were several questions running through his mind about their blue haired guest, but one he felt like he had to ask before he could leave the room. He swallowed before asking, "Hey, Captain?"

            "What is it?" Law asked, not looking up at the man.

            "What are you going to do with her?" Penguin asked.

            Law's hands paused. He looked up at Penguin, studied the man and his question. He noticed Penguin was patiently waited for him to answer. But did he actually have one? What was he going to do with her?

            Several intense seconds later Law finally found himself answered the question that seemed to be hanging around in the air like a stubborn odor that wouldn’t leave. He said, "Drop her off at the next island."

            "Aye,” Penguin said before heading out the door.

            Law didn't hear Penguin or the door open then close. His mind was locked on the words that fell out of his mouth. _“Drop her off at the next island.”_ He didn't like it. He didn't like the words he had said. He didn't like the thought of just dumping her off on a strange island with strange people who would do who knows what to her. And he didn't like that he didn't like it.

            He had absolutely no obligation to this girl, this stranger, yet here he was worrying over her like he’s known her for years, like she was a member of his crew, or something. Without thinking about why he was doing it, he cursed Corazon under his breath. He blamed a dead man for his own actions of bring this girl onto his sub. “Curse you, Cora! Why did you have me bring her here?! This is your entire fault! If I could knock you out, I would! You better thank God about that you’re dead already! If you weren’t, you would be after putting me through this!”

            Law shook his head. He had to be losing it. He brings this girl here because of a dead man. Now he’s cursing and threatening that exact same dead man. Nothing about this day made any sense.

            Finally finished with stitching her wounds up, Law moved to the other side of the operating table. He wet the cloth sitting in the basin then began to work on the girl's concealed body parts, grumbled about it every second. Once her body was completely, and officially, clear of dirt and grim, he wrapped her up in bandages after putting antibiotic cream to keep infections at bay.

            He then searched for a pair of scissors to straighten up her bangs, another action to which he had no clue as to why he was doing it. Perhaps it was his own preference at work this time. He hated when his bangs got too long and fell into his face. He always kept them short. He needed to be able to see after all. His work was a dangerous one, both as a surgeon and as a pirate. He didn’t need his hair getting in the way of making a fatal mistake. His crew counted on him.

            Once her bangs were to his satisfaction, he set to work on taking the girl's vital signs, measured her height, made an educated guess on her weight from when he held her and assumed she was old enough to have already started her menstrual cycle since her breast were large enough to fit that time frame as well. His mind then wondered back to what the woman has said before. _"She won't accept clothes, money or even food."_

            Law clicked his tongue in annoyance. If this girl was offered food and didn't take it, how is it possible that she's survived for so long? It was obvious she hasn't eating in a long, long time.

            Law clicked his tongue again then pulled out a needle. If this girl was going to be with them until the next island, he had to make sure she didn't have any kind of diseases or illnesses that would spread to himself or his crew. When he slid the needle into her arm, the girl whimpered slightly, but showed no other signs of waking up. He pondered on the idea of keeping the girl sedated while pulling the needle from her arm once he had all the blood he needed to run the tests.

            He shook off the idea. The woman from before never said the girl was violent. So what possible harm could such a small, fragile girl cause him and his crew anyway? Even if she wanted to try and attack them he knew they could easily over power her easily enough.

            He then set to work on examining her blood. He placed her blood sample under his microscope and adjusted the lens. He carefully ran his eyes over the sample, checking for anything and everything he could possibly think to look for. A drawn out sigh left his lips when he saw her blood was showing nothing. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, or what he expected to find exactly. But several minutes later, he rubbed his tired eyes in frustration. He didn’t find anything. Not a single thing. She had no diseases or illnesses, which was a good thing, but also a disappointing thing. Her blood was just blood like everyone else’s. It disappointed him for some reason.

            Abandoning the blood sample for a moment, he grabbed one of his notebooks, a pen and scribbled down everything strange he found about this girl and all the questions that kept popping into his brain. He viewed back into the microscope then scribbled a few more notes. He rotated back and forth like this for a good half hour before finally stopping. His head spun as clouds gathered in his brain. He couldn't think clearly anymore. Plus, he made himself a bit dizzy from jerking back and forth from the microscope to his notes. He decided he had enough of all these mysteries and put them aside, for the moment, anyway.

…

            Penguin paused outside of the operation room. He really didn’t want to leave his captain alone with that girl. But he knew he didn’t have the right to stay or any justifiable reason for staying. His captain was a grown man with a Devil Fruit and a high bounty. If anything happened, he knew his captain would be more than capable of handling himself.

            He just couldn’t shake this indescribable feeling settling in his body. It wasn’t like his captain at all to bring complete and totally strangers onto the sub. And it certainly wasn’t like his captain to help a stranger like this, even if this girl was just a child. He had to force himself to move away from the operation room.

            He shoved his hands back into his pockets and walked away. Going back downstairs, he found himself lost in thought until he reached the rec. room on the level below the medical bay. He peered inside of it. No one was there. It didn’t really surprise him that his crewmates weren’t there. They were still traveling by use of the sub’s engines. That meant they were down in the control room. And he knew they all were already talking about their captain and the strange girl that was now aboard their sub, their home.

            He continued on. Passing by the rec. room he wondered even farther down the sub. The halls of the sub were oddly quiet for a rowdy crew like them. Filled with an out of place thickness that could be sliced up with a knife. A shiver ran down his spine, causing him to physically shake. He hoped that this wasn’t some kind of calm before a violent storm thing. That girl looked so fragile and helpless. Yet she had already turned a lot on the sub upside down with in just a few seconds of his captain finding her. So was this really the calm before the storm? Were they in danger from this girl? Were her innocent looks just a cover? Would she try and ambush them when she woke up? Should they chain her down to the bed just in case? Should they turn around and give her over to the Navy? They weren’t very far away from the island they just left. They could easily hand this girl over to the Navy and they could take care of her.

            He just wasn’t sure what to think. He wasn’t sure what to do. All he could do was continue to put his faith in his captain’s choices. After all, his captain had brought them this far. They were in the Grand Line. A rough place where many pirates didn’t make it to the destination they were currently heading to. They had. They were working their way through the Grand Line and to the New World.

            “I just don’t understand it.”

            “I know. This isn’t like the captain at all.”

            “Bepo, did he say anything to you about her?”  
            “No. He just said never mind her.”

            Penguin looked up when he heard his crewmates voices. He was mere feet away from the control room. And from all of the shadows casted on the ground, he knew he was correct in his assumptions. They all were in the control room. He exhaled before walking into the room, making his presence known to them. He braced himself for their questions.

            “So? What happened?” Shachi asked.

            “What’s the captain going to do with her?” Conner asked.

            “Why did he even bring her on the sub?” Archer asked.

            “Okay, just hold on a second,” Penguin said as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. “Nothing really happened. I just gave my report to the captain then helped clean off her skin while he tended to her wounds.” He paused, wondering if he should mention the fact that the girl has tried multiple times to commit suicide. He decided not to and leave that up to his captain to tell. He didn’t want to cause pain in his crewmates by implying their captain might have brought an unstable child into their home. “He does, however, want us to knock on the operating room door before entering. He doesn’t want to expose her to us.”

            “Makes sense,” Archer said. “We are men after all.”

            “Thanks for pointing that out, Bud,” Conner said, rolling his eyes. “We never would have known we were men if you hadn’t told us.”

            “Shut up!” Archer snapped. “I was just saying!”

            “How is the girl?” Bepo asked. “Is she going to be all right? She looked like she has been through a really rough time.”

            Penguin turned his hat covered eyes to the bear. It didn’t surprise him at all that the only animal on the crew was the one to ask about her like that. “She’ll be fine. Her wounds really aren’t as bad as they look. The captain should be finished with her soon.”

            “That’s good,” Bepo said with sigh. “She just looks so small and helpless.”

            “Yeah.” Penguin nodded. He looked around at the men before him. He could easily tell that they were just as curious and worried as he was. He knew they were all wondering why their captain did this. And they would keep wondering until their captain opened up and told them. “Oh, yeah. The captain also said we’re going to drop her off at the next island.”

            “That quick?” Archer asked.

            “Why even bother bringing her onboard if he’s just going to kick her off on the next island?” Conner added.

            “I don’t know,” Penguin said. “I’m not even sure the captain knows himself.”

            “What do you mean by that?” Shachi asked.

            “Just the look in his eyes,” Penguin said. “I can see he’s rather confused about his actions as well. Despite knowing we all want answers, I think we all should keep our questions to ourselves for a while.”

            Reluctantly, the crew agreed with him.

            “So how close are we to another island?” Shachi asked.

            “There should be one about three days from our current location,” Bepo said when their eyes turned to him. “I was looking at my maps this morning.”

            “Then there’s nothing to worry about,” Shachi said. “She’ll be gone in a few days then.”

            The crew mumbled in agreement, all but for Penguin. He wasn’t so sure. Apparently his crewmates didn’t sense the odd calmness that he did, at least not yet.

…

            Once Law was done running every test he could possibly think of, he was mentally exhausted. He ran his hand over his face before standing up from his chair. He walked over to the operating table where the girl was still sleeping. He pressed his fingers to her wrist, taking her pulse. It was very low. It was eighty nine over fifty nine. He didn’t like it.

            Slipping his arms under her slim body, he lifted her up. He couldn’t help but turn towards her when her head rested on his shoulder. He breathed in, noticing a strange sweet smell had entered into the room. His eyebrow lifted in confusion before he brushed the thought aside. The crew was probably eating snacks or something and the smell floated up here. Or his nose just could be playing tricks on him. He decided on that one since he’s smelled things before that weren’t there.

            He walked her out of the operating room. Working his way down the hall, he turned into the first recovering room he came to. He laid her down on the bed then pulled the cover out from underneath her body. After laying the cover over her, he stepped away to pull the heart monitor machine over to her. He hooked her up to it. He watched the lines jumping across the screen while the beeping filled the room. He then wondered out of the room. Going to his medical supplies again, he gathered an IV for the girl then went back into her room. Thankful he left part of her arm exposed, he inserted the needle into her skin. And like with the blood he drew, she whimpered in her sleep when the needle pierced her skin, but didn’t make anymore sound.

            He then found himself sitting down on the bed. His eyes were locked onto her face, his mind racing with all his questions again. He had no idea how long he sat there just staring at her, trying to figure her out, until there was a knock on the door. His eyes drifted over to the noise.

            “Captain, are you all right?” Bepo asked, stepping into the room.

            “Yes. Why?” Law inquired.

            “You’ve been up here for hours,” Bepo said. “Supper’s ready. We’re all already down in the galley.”

            “Oh,” Law said, surprised at how long he had been up here just staring at the girl. He stood up and stretched out his stiff muscles, suddenly very hungry. “Let go then.”

            “Aye, Cap-” Bepo started to speak but paused when he caught the sweet smell again. He sniffed the room, trying to locate the smell.

            “Something wrong, Bepo?” Law asked, walking over to the bear.

            “No, sorry. I just keep smelling something sweet.” Bepo stepped aside so his captain could leave the room. His eyes drifted over to the girl. With all the bandages on her body she looked like a mummy. His gaze lingered on her for several second until he heard Law calling his name.

            “Bepo,” Law said.

            “Coming, Captain,” Bepo said. He turned and left the room. During their walk to the galley, the bear kept taking glances over at the man beside him. He wanted to ask so many questions, but he remained quiet like Penguin did before him.

            “You can ask about her, Bepo,” Law said.

            “I’m sorry,” Bepo said. “Is she…is she going to be all right? She has so many wounds.”

            “Physically she’ll be fine,” Law said. “Her wounds, despite the number of them, aren’t all that bad. Some of the scars are deep though. So she’s going to always have them on her body. Her mental state, however, I’m not really sure how she’s going to be when she woke up.”

            “Why do you say that?” Bepo asked.

            Law stopped walking. He looked up at the bear. “Penguin didn’t tell you?”  
            “No,” Bepo said.

            “I see,” Law said, shoving his hands into his pockets. He should have known Penguin wouldn’t say anything about that. “It’s because she’s tried to commit suicide multiple times.”

            “What?!” Bepo asked.

            “Yeah.” Law continued walking. “I won’t know until she wakes up what kind of mental state she’s in. But with how thin she is she shouldn’t cause us any problems.”

            “I wonder what happened to her,” Bepo said, following after his captain. “Where do you think she came from?”  
            “I don’t know,” Law said. “We won’t really know anything about her until she wakes up and tells us.”

            “So what are you going to do when she wakes up?” Bepo asked.

            “Nothing much,” Law said. “Just ask her some questions. If she can tell us where she came from, we can easily send her back that way.”

            “So we’re playing the waiting game,” Bepo said. “Oh, by the way, we should be arriving at another island in about three days. Penguin said you wanted to drop her off there. Do you think she’ll wake up before then?”

            “I don’t know,” Law said. “She might.”

            The closer the two got to the galley the more they could hear the playful banter of their crew. The banter died out when they entered into the room. All of their eyes went directly to Law. He sighed, knowing what they already wanted. He sat down at the head of one of the many rectangular tables in the room. He placed his hat on the table then laced his fingers together while leaning against his elbows. He then told them everything he had told Penguin and Bepo, even about her suicide attempts.

            “That’s just great,” Conner said. “A nut bent on self destruction is exactly what we needed on this ship.”

            “Oh, shut up,” Archer said with a glare. “We don’t know anything about her. She might just be to the point of thinking she doesn’t have any choices. She just a kid. We should wait until she wakes up before making assumptions. I’m sure she’s just scared or something. She’s obviously had a hard life.”

            “Fine. Whatever.” Conner grabbed his fork. Jamming it into his fish, he shoved the bite into his mouth.

            Everyone started eating then. The conversation of the girl quickly turned to their plans of heading for the New World and building up their reputation in the eyes of the Navy and the world. Law dropped his eyes down to his plate. He picked up his fork but didn’t eat yet. His mind was still back with the girl up in the medical bay. Mindlessly he started eating.

…

            It had been three very long days since he had brought the girl onto his sub. She still hadn’t woken up yet. And he was still puzzled by this girl lying in his medical bay. Nothing with her had changed a bit. Her blood pressure was still low. And the only noise she ever made was when he pierced her skin with a needle. He had run a few more tests on her in the days she’s been with him. Still he found nothing. She was still normal as she could be. He also noted that just about every single one of his subordinates also felt the inhuman nature around her, but none could make a guess why or how it could be possible she would give them all this feeling. Most of the crew avoided her. Only, Law, Penguin, and Bepo would enter into the room. And that was only to check on her condition.

            Now, Law’s eyes were constantly darting between his notes, his blood samples, and the still unconscious girl lying in the room. The only sounds in the room were the heart monitor and the soft hums of the sub engines. The sub was slightly warmer due to the hot weather outside. Other than that, it was a normal day. And the day they were finally going to get rid of this girl. He decided to drop her off at the hospital on the island they were going to land on and give them all of his notes on her medical condition. The medical staff would handle her from there. They would be able to get answers from her when she woke up then take the necessary steps to get the help she needed.

            As she lay there, completely oblivious to the world around her and soon to be off his sub, Law continued to quietly observe her. All of the questions he had about her were still pounding his brain with the force of a hurricane. Who was she? How was it possible for her to survive a stab to her neck? How could she have possibly survived all these stabs she had done to herself? How could she still be alive with how malnourished she is? Why did he even care about her? Why did he bring her to his sub? Did he really see Corazon with her?

            He pinched the bridge of his nose.

            For all of his medical questions, he blamed his inner doctor. Being the surgeon he was, he wanted to know how she had survived like she did. Those questions alone were making him want to keep her on board. It defied all kinds of logic that she survived. She must have some kind of powerful lucky star or a powerful guardian angel watching over her for her to have survived this long.

            Law tapped his pen on his notebook while these questions and many more ran through his mind. He rubbed his eyes with a heavy, frustrated, tired sigh. At least he was soon going to be rid of her. Then it would be ‘Out of sight, out of mind’, he hoped. A knock on the door pulled him from his muddied thoughts. "Yes, come in."

            "Captain." Law turned his eyes to Shachi. “We’ve arrived at the island. Shall we go ahead and dock? It doesn’t seem like there’s any Navy ships in the area.”

            Law divided his lips to form his answer _“Yes”_ but his voice caught in his throat when something flickered in the corner of his eye. He turned towards the girl. His eyes widened, his heart pounded, his skin grew damp from sweat when Corazon smiled at him. His pencil fell from his hand, clanking on the floor before rolling to a stop.

            He was here again. The tall, older, yet dead man had his arms crossed over his chest. He leaned against the recover bed as he looked at Law then turned his eyes to the unconscious girl. He then reached out for her, brushing the back of his hand over her cheek before crossing his arms again and looking directly at Law.

            A sense of dread began to fill Law's chest. His heart struck against his ribs, making it hard to breath. He was getting ready to drop this girl off on an unknown island with a bunch of strangers. How could he possibly do that to her?

            Shachi instantly noticed the color draining from his captain's face and called out to him with worry. "Captain?"

            Law didn't reply. He didn’t even hear his subordinate.

            Shachi took a couple steps closer. While moving his position, Shachi's eyes followed his captain's transfixed stare. He was confused at what made his captain so unsettled. The only other person in the room was the still unconscious girl. And there was no way she could be causing the strong captain such distress. Shachi cleared his throat and called for his captain again. "Captain? Captain, your orders?"

            Law flinched when Corazon winked and smirked at him. When Law blinked his eyes, Corazon was gone just like the first time this happened.

            "Captain? Uh...Captain?" Shachi tried again.

            "Y-yes?" Law's voice was dry when he came back to reality and registered the other man in the room was speaking to him. “What is it?”

            "Are you all right, Captain?" Shachi inquired. "You look completely disordered. It's not a look I'm use to seeing on you. It’s like you saw a ghost or something."

            "Maybe I did," Law whisper, but not low enough.

            “What do you mean by that?” Shachi asked.

            “Nothing.” Law forced his eyes away from the bed. He noticed the concerned look Shachi was giving him. He cleared his throat and let his voice rise back to normal. "Was there something you wanted?"

            "Yes, we're near an island," Shachi reported again. "Are we still dropping her off?"

            "No." Law's answer caused Shachi to cock his head to the side in a silent question. "Keep our course."

            "Uh, Aye aye, Captain." Shachi nodded then left the room completely confused at his captain’s behavior and his desire to not leave the girl on the island like he had previously ordered.

            Law pinched the bridge of his nose with another heavy sigh. He couldn’t believe he just did that. He couldn’t believe he had just said that. Why? Why did he want to keep this girl on his sub? And how was it possible that he saw Corazon for the second time? And at the same exact time of wanting to leave her behind? No way all of that was just a coincident. And now he had another, more important, question running through his head.

            What was he going to do with this girl when she finally woke up?


	3. Awake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One minor attempt of suicide.

Awake

 

            Strange, unfamiliar beeping was the first thing to greet her as she started to wake up from her days of dreamless sleep. She didn't bother to look for the source of the noise when she slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry. Her stomach stung so hard from the cut she had made on herself that it made her queasy. When her stomach spun rapidly inside of her, she closed her eyes to keep herself from getting sick. She waited a few seconds before reopening her eyes to clearer vision and a more calm stomach.

            Lying there, she continued to listen to the strange beep around her. She wondered what it was and where it came from before her eyes locked onto the strange sky above her. Somehow, though her fuzzy thoughts she started to notice that something about the sky wasn’t like it should be. The sky above her was an unfamiliar grayish blue and had lines and strange, small circles in it. She had never seen such a sky before. She wondered, since the sky was dark, if it was going to rain. But she felt no water in these strange colored clouds above her.

            The smells around her weren't familiar either. The familiar smells of trees, the sea, fresh wind, dirt, grass, animals, and flowers she was use to smelling were oddly absent. It was replaced with several smells she had never smelled before. And her animal friends were nowhere around her. She couldn’t sense them anywhere near her. She wondered where they were. She wondered where she was. She sensed the sea near by like it always was. But something about it wasn’t right.

            She shifted and found that the shirt she was use to wearing also felt different. It was softer and tighter on her body. And the hard ground she was use to lying on was a lot softer than it should have been. She raised her hand, touching her fingers to her chest. She found that her shirt was in fact missing. It was replaced with something she couldn’t identify with. She ran her hand down her body, and under the cover that she didn’t even notice laying on her, to find the strange fabric went all the way down to her thighs.

            It was at that point she realized that she wasn’t outside in the wide open spaces, but inside some kind of building or something. The beep in the room increased. It made her jumped. The sudden movement caused more pain to shoot through her already throbbing body.

            The unexpected rush caused her head to spin at the same time her stomach did. She closed her eyes in an attempted to settle the spinning, ignoring that rapid beeping that was now filling up the room. When she finally reopened her eyes, a man appeared in her view. She flinched causing the beeping to increase even more. His eyes were hidden behind a black and white hat, but his lips were smiling at her. "Ah, you're awake now?”

…

            Penguin was walking down the halls of the medical bay when he heard the heart monitor beeping faster. He entered into the room to find that their female guest had finally woken up. He leaned over the bed and smiled at her, missing the freighted look in her eyes. He said, “Ah, you’re awake now? Hold still. The captain will want to see you before you move."

            "She's awake?" Shachi asked from the door.

…

            She jumped at the second voice entering into the room. There were two of them in this place with her. It caused her breathing, and the beeping, to increase even more. She turned her head to find the source of the beeping, but her eyes found the another man instead. This one wore a green and red a hat with sunglasses hiding his eyes and was standing near the only door she could find. She had an escape route. Now all she had to do was get past the two men. Her body turned completely cold. She didn’t know if she could get passed them or not. But she had to try, somehow. She had to get out of here.

…

            "Yeah, she just woke up," Penguin replied, turning to his friend. "Inform the captain right away."

            "I'm on it," Shachi chirped. He turned to leave the room to fulfill his little order. He stopped when the heart monitor started beeping faster than it should and turned back to the girl.

…

            Her body turned even colder. A third person was going to be coming soon. The more people the worse and harder it was going to be for her to escape. She had to get out of this place. _Now._ It was just causing her fear to rise even higher and higher. She shot up into a sitting position. Something tugged against her skin, almost pulling her back down to the bed. She looked down to find some kind of round patches attacked to her chest just under the strange clothing she was wearing. She ran her fingers over the fabric and wires in confusion. She began to pull on them in desperation to get the strange things off of her body.

…

            "You shouldn't move," Penguin said, turning back to her just in time to see her tying to pull off the heart monitoring patches and her bandages. When she looked at him he saw the fear in her eyes. _The poor thing. She must know that we’re pirates and is now afraid we’re going to hurt her_. He lifted his hands in a nonthreatening position and slowly started to walk towards her. He kept his voice low, trying his best not to scare her anymore than she already was. "Just relax. We're not here to hurt you. I know you’re scared, but we really are not going to hurt you. I know we’re pirates, but we’re nice."

            “Maybe we should get too close,” Shachi said from behind Penguin. “She’s clearly very scared right now.”

            “I know, but we still can’t let her move,” Penguin said as he continued to walk towards her. “The captain won’t be happy if she pulls out his stitches.” He reached for her.

…

            She scooted back on the bed when the man was only a few feet from her. Then he did it. The last thing she wanted. He reached out his hand for her. She jumped at his closeness before scrambling off the bed. The strange patches pulled off her skin causing the unidentifiable beeping to slide into one long, uninterrupted beep. She jumped again. Her breathing became labored as her eyes darted around the room in desperation to escape. She was obviously panicking at her unfamiliar surroundings and the strange men. She had to get out of here. But the only exit she could fine was on the other side of these two men. Only small gap separated them. She could slip through, if she was lucky enough.

            The second man held up his hands and took a few steps closer to her. He said, "Settle down now. Penguin’s correct. You’re safe here. No one’s going to hurt you. And you really shouldn’t move. You’re going to pull out your stitches.”

            She stumbled back away from them. Bumping into something she didn’t see, she knocked it and everything on top of it over. She lost her balance when she hit it. She crashed to the floor. She jumped at the clattering sounds the debris caused and started to scramble away from the source of the noise. She paused when a light glinting off one of the sharp objects that clanked on the hard floor. It was broken glass. She had knocked over a glass and the small table it was sitting on. The glass caught her eye. She grabbed a piece of the broken glass, the broken sides digging into her palm, and jumped to her feet.

…

            "Oh crap,” Penguin cursed. This was the last thing they needed. He held up his hands and took a step back to try and show her that he wasn’t there to hurt her. He watched as her eyes darted between himself and Shachi. His eyes then dropped down to the broken glass that was by her side. He could see her blood already dripping down the transparent weapon from holding it tightly in her hand. On instincts, he shifted his body into a defense position, preparing himself to defend himself if it was need, but also tried to maintain an unthreatening stance. "Take it easy now. Put down the broken glass."

            Before he could do or say anything else, the girl took the broken glass, lifted it above her head, and swung it down, stabbing herself in the upper left side of her stomach. He’s heart skipped a beat when she dragged it from the top left side to the bottom right. Iron poured out into the air while bright red blood soaked her skin and bandages. Penguin screeched, "Hey! Don't do that! Shachi, you better get the captain! Quick!"

            "Right!" Shachi nodded. Spinning on his heels, he bolted out of the room.

…

            The girl saw her chance. With the second man gone, she had enough room to run out of the room. She ran. Dashing around the black and white hatted man before running through the door. She ignored the black and white hatted man calling for her as she quickly moved towards her escape route. She looked to her left and found several doors. She looked to her right to find even more doors and one at the very end of the hall. That had to be the way out of this place. So she ran for it. She skidded to a stop when another man stepped out of one of the other doors. He said, “What’s going on? Hey, what are you doing up?”

            She spun around, running back the other way just before the black and white hatted man stepped out of the room she was formally in. He called after her again, asking her to stop and calm down. Of course she didn’t. She was becoming desperate to get out of this place. She saw a possible escape. Stairs were at the opposite end of the hall. She bolted down them. They brought her to another hallway and to a bigger room with another door she assumed was an exit. She tried for it only to have more men appear to block her path. She stepped away from them. Turning around to find another way out, her eyes landed on something white, furry, and familiar. She blinked in confusion. There was a bear here. She walked towards the bear.

            “Hey, you really shouldn’t be up,” the bear said to her.

            She paused. Tilting her head in obvious confusion at his ability to talk. But she knew he was still a bear. So she continued on towards the talking bear. When she was a few feet from him, she reached her hand out for him. Before she could touch him, thundering footsteps came closer to her. She whipped her eyes around to see nine men now surrounded her. It made her heart also stop beating inside of her. She bolted again.

            “Wait!” the bear called out. “Don’t chase her!”

            He wasn’t talking to her. But she didn’t stop. She came to another set of stairs and ran farther down this odd building in complete desperation to escape. The thundering feet continued to follow her.

…

            “Captain!” Shachi called as he ran through the halls of the sub. Everything was a big blur to him as he ran down the stairs and through the halls, hoping he didn’t miss his captain somewhere. “Captain?! Captain, where are you?!”

            “What’s going on?” Law asked, stepping out of the storage room he was in.

            “Captain, she woke up! She ended up breaking some glass and cut herself with it!” Shachi said.

            “Captain!” Archer then called. The two men turned to see the other man running up to them. “She’s running loose! The crews trying to stop her but she’s so fast!”

            Law sighed while he rushed forward, leading his men back up to the upper levels of the sub to put a stop to this before something really bad happened.

…

            Blood dripped out of her wound, landing on top of her feet. Her feet slid on the wet substance when it trickled down to the bottom of her feet. It caused her to slide across the floor and into the hallway wall. She lifted her arms to try and catch herself but the hit still sent pain through her already damaged body. Ignoring the stabs of pain, She regained her balance just as some more men came running down the hall. She turned in the opposite direction and ran from them, her feet slipping a few times before the blood got wiped off enough for her to maintain her footing. The strange men still calling for her to stop.

            "Hold it!"

            "Wait!"

            "You shouldn't be up!"

            "Come back!"

            She continued ignoring the calls of these strange men as she tried to get away from them and out of this place she was in. But it didn’t matter which way she went she just couldn’t seem to find her way out of here. All of the halls looked the same. There were several rooms, but none led to outside. Turning another corner, she plowed into a very solid force. She stumbled backwards a few steps before stabilizing herself barely recognizing the solid force had a voice. It asked, "Why are you causing such a ruckus on my ship?"

            She didn't look at the man she ran into. With her eyes closed, she just raised her hand and swung the broken glass at the one who just spoke to her.

…

            Law saw her move coming. He easily caught her wrist with ease when she swung at him. He held firm as she tried to pull away from him, but his grip was far too strong for her. She desperately tried to pull free of his grip with weak punches and kicks. He paused momentarily and took in how fast her pulse was beating in veins before squeezed her wrist causing a sharp pain to shoot through it. He watched as she bit back her cries. She stopped struggling so much against him and the glass fell involuntarily from her hand. It clanked to the floor, causing her to jump and her pulse to rise once more.

            She swung her other fist at him only for him to grab it as well. He placed both of her thin wrists together and, holding them with one hand, he lifted her feet off the ground. Her frantic voice screeched out for the first time, ringing down the halls of the sub. "No! Let go of me!"

            "So you can talk," Law noted calmly as she continued to struggle against him. The gathering crew watched quietly as their captain easily held the girl in place.

            "Let go!" she screeched again, bringing her knee up as hard as she could. But he saw her moves long before she could execute them. Waiting for the right second, Law bent his elbow under her knee, holding her leg against his upper arm. It was also the perfect position to hold her in to keep her from biting him, if she got that idea. "Let go!"

            "Stop screaming and thrashing around like that. It's not going to get you freed," Law chided. He continued to feel her throbbing pulse in his hold. Scared just wasn't the right word for her. Petrified didn't even fit. He couldn't think of a word that would be befitting for how terrified she was feeling. He could feel the crew quietly watched as him as he trudged back to the infirmary with the half crazed girl in his hold. She continued to buck up against him, trying to use her only free knee to stab into his body. But the hold he had on her, and the strength he had over her, didn't allow her any more than tiny little bashes against him. Her attempts at getting away were completely futile. He nodded at Penguin and Shachi. “Come with me.”

            “Aye, Captain,” they said before following him to the infirmary. They watched quietly as their captain easily carried the girl back inside of the operating room.

            Law looked back at Shachi and Penguin. "Shut the door. Then both of you come over to the table."

            "Aye, Captain." Shachi nodded, completing their order for the both of them.

            "Hold her down," Law order when his two subordinates walked over.

            "You got it!" Shachi and Penguin chirped.

            Penguin pinned down her legs freeing up Law's arm.

            Law then took one of her wrists in each hand. He pulled her arms down for Shachi to hold to the table by her sides.

            "Let go of me! Let go!" she shrieked desperately.

            Law continued to ignore her desperate cries. He turned away from the three and walked over to his medical supplies.

            "Please, calm down," Penguin pleaded to her while she wiggled and jerk her legs in his hold. "We're not going to hurt you."

            "For someone who's so small, malnourished and weak, she sure has a lot of fight in her," Shachi pointed out. His hands were already starting to cramp against her struggling.

            "No kidding. How did the captain manage to hold on to her for as long as he did?" Penguin nodded. He was just about lying on her legs to keep her in place.

            But through her struggling, she managed to push Penguin away from her. She continued to struggle. Twisting her body every which way she possibly could. This caused pain to shoot through her newly wounded stomach, but she didn't notice due to her fear.

            "Settled down, please," Shachi begged as he desperately tried to keep his hold on her wrists as she thrashed wildly on the operating table.

            "Good grief," Penguin mumbled to himself. He stepped back over to the table to reclaim her legs. She twisted her body at that point. Lifting up her leg, she brought down her heel onto his ribs, actually knocking the man to the floor. “Oof!”

            Through the shock of her being so strong in the weak state she was in to the point of knocking down his best friend, Shachi's hold loosened on her wrists. Next thing he knew, he was stumbling back from her and she was freed. She jumped off the table and ran towards the door. A thin blue film startled her before her hand could land on the knob. The next thing she knew was the air in her lungs was pushed out of her lungs when her back collided with something hard.

            She regained her senses to find she was somehow back on the table. Her arms and legs once again being held down by the two men before. A few seconds later, the third man was crawling onto the table with her. His legs now pinned her arms to her sides as his harsh eyes pierced into hers. She was only able to hold his gaze for less than a second before adverting them. Warm fingers grabbed her face, causing her to flinch while they forced her to look at him. She closed her eyes tightly when he leaned down to the point their noses were almost touching.

            "Enough fighting against us. You _are_ going to settle down, by _force_ if necessary. I have some questions for you and you _are_ going to answer them." Law noticed she flinched at his words saying she was going to tell them about herself. Her eyes remained shut still. It was obvious to him that she was retreating into herself.

            Shachi spoke up. He said, "I don't think she's going to tell us anything."

            "At this current state, I don't doubt that at all. So..." Law held up the bottle he had been rummaging for in his medical supplies. He released her face so he could uncap the brown bottle. He then took her face in his fingers again. Applying pressure to her cheeks again, he forced her to open her mouth. He then poured the bottle's contents into her. "Swallow."

            He wasn’t surprised when she didn't. Instead, she spit the contents out while keeping her eyes tightly closed. He releasing a dangerous growl at his now wet, already blood stained, shirt. He leaned down to her ear. He felt her body jumping beneath him when he spoke to her. "We're going to try that again. This time _you will_ swallow."

            "No!" she screamed.

            "You will. You don't have a choice." Law lifted away from her ear. He took her in for moment. She was defiantly keeping her eyes closed tightly. He kept a close eye on her as he took the bottle in his hand and brought it up to his own lips. He took a decent amount of the sedative in his mouth. He then retook her face in his fingers, he leaned back down to her and pressed his lips to hers.

            “C-Captain!” Shachi and Penguin shrieked at the display the captain was putting on. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

            Her eyes popped open at his movements. He kept his eyes on hers and took in her frantic expression, noticing for the first time that her eyes were a dark grey and how frightened she really was. For a split second, he felt guilty for being so rough on her. He pushed passed that and jammed his thumb into the bleeding cut on her stomach. When she gasped at the pain, he spit the liquid into her mouth.

            He kept his lips on hers as he pinched her nose closed so she wouldn’t be able to spit it out again or breath. He jammed his finger into her wound again. She winced and whimpered at the intense pain he caused in her stomach. This time she had no choice but to swallow the stuff in her mouth. It was either that or choke. When he felt she had actually swallowed the sedative, he pulled back from her. She coughed and gasped for air. Some of the liquid had fell down her windpipe. Tears streamed out of her eyes as he crawled off of her. Once she was free of his towering presence she started to struggle against the men holding her once again. Law didn't respond to her or his men’s questioning looks as he wiped her blood off his fingers.

            A few minutes later, Law noticed the sedative only made her a tiny bit sluggish. He had his arms crossed and was tapping his finger impatiently on his arm. "Very odd."

            "What is it, Captain?" Shachi huffed from his loss of energy, but kept his hold on the still struggling girl.

            "The sedative I gave her isn't working," Law replied.

            "Well, people do react differently to it," Penguin suggested. He too was panting at his loss of energy, but kept his own hold on her. "Maybe she just needs a stronger dose?"

            "The dose I gave her should have knocked her out immediately." Law released a puff of air through his nose. He stepped closer to the girl earning another flinch from her. He reached out and pinched a pressure point on her neck, causing her body to go limp.

            "Isn't this a bit excessive?" Penguin asked. He lifted off of her and started to rub his side as Shachi shook out his tired hands.

            "Do your ribs share that opinion?" Law questioned.

            Penguin shook his head. His voice trailed off when his eyes locked onto the now unconscious girl. "It's just…"

            "Is anything broken? Do I need to check them?" Law inquired.

            Penguin shook his head again. "I was mostly taken by surprise. I didn't expect someone so thin to be so strong. She just so much smaller than us. I really don’t see how she was able to struggle so hard and knock me to the ground."

            "I concur with that." Shachi nodded. "She defiantly gave us a good work out. How is that possible? Honestly speaking, she doesn't look like she'd be able to fight against a child. How is she able to fight against _us_ like _that_? No way _all_ of that energy came from sheer desperation."

            "Good point," Law mumbled to himself. He studied his men before allowing his eyes to drop back to the girl. His mind spinning with all the questions he had about her as well as some new ones. How _was_ this girl about to fight so hard against two well-trained men, pirates no less? How _was_ she able to fight the sedative to the point it wouldn't work on her? "You two can go."

            "Yes, sir." Shachi and Penguin simultaneously nodded then left the room. Penguin paused at the door. He turned his eyes back to his captain, who continued to stare in thought at the girl, before they dropped down to the girl. With a light, quiet sigh Penguin left the room and closed the door behind him.

            Law remained staring at the girl, studying her, questioning her. With an exasperated grumbled he set to work stitching her new wound. While working his eyes noted something that shouldn't have been possible. It wasn't even possible to do with his Devil Fruit powers. Her wound, that he just stitched up yesterday, was healing rapidly. It was close to being half way healed.

            Law kneaded his eyes brows. "That’s not possible."

            He shook his head and got back to work on her stomach. Once he was finished with her and redressed her loosened bandages, he picked her up and headed back to the recovery room. On his way there Bepo met him in the hall.

            “Captain,” Bepo said, his ears flat against his head. “I’m sorry.”

            “For what?” Law asked.

            “For not being able to stop her,” Bepo said. “She was just so scared. I thought she was going to calm down when she saw me.”

            “What do you mean?” Law asked, turning into the recovery room. His eyes flickered over to one of his subordinates. His man was sweeping up the broken glass and cleaning up everything that she had knocked over. He nodded to the man when he looked at him and continued over to the bed.

            “She was coming towards me at one point,” Bepo said.

            Law paused then turned back to the bear. “She was coming to you?”

            “Yeah.” Bepo nodded. “She was walking towards me. It was like she recognized something or me. But when the others came she freaked out again. I’m sorry. If I had noticed sooner that she was calm around me I would have stopped the others from running up to her. I thought she would be more scared of me because I’m a bear, but she wasn’t.”

            “I see. Don’t worry about it,” Law said, laying her down on the bed. He then walked over to the communication system. “Someone bring up four chairs to recovery room four.”

            “Chains? What are those for?” Bepo asked.

            “To chain her down,” Law said before yawning. The answer caused both of his subordinates to give him confused glances “I don’t want another freak out episode to happen.”

            “Won’t chaining her down cause her to freak out more?” Bepo asked.

            “Possibly,” Law said, pulling the cover up over her. “But she’s a lot stronger than she appears to be. She might be able to actually hurt someone. I’m not going to take the chance. So she’s going to be chained down until I can figure out what to do with her. And _no one_ is permitted to remove the chains from her. _Period._ ”

            Bepo exchanged a glance with his crewmate before they both said, “Aye aye, Captain.”

            Not long after that Shachi wondered in with the chains his captain asked for. He and his other two crewmates watched as their captain put the chains on the girl’s wrists and ankles and attacked the opposite ends to the bed. They continued to watch as their captain finished with the chains and headed for the door.

            “Spread the word to the crew. No one is allow to release her from those chains,” Law said.

            “Aye aye, Captain,” the men said as they watched their captain disappear down the hall.

            “He is actually going to keep her on the sub?”

            “I wonder why.”

            “I wonder that too. It’s not like him at all.”

…

            Law paused when he was just outside of the door. He listened to his subordinates question his decisions. They were asking all the exact same things he was asking himself. He pinched the bridge of his nose. His brain was becoming groggy from having the sedative in his mouth. He swallowed a bit more than he intended on when trying to get the girl to fall back asleep. He was going to have to take a nap until it got completely out of his system. He felt like a nap anyway. Maybe it would clear his head and allow him to think about his next step, whatever that might possibly be.

            Shoving his hands into his pockets, he wondered back downstairs, avoiding as many as she subordinates as he possible could. He really couldn’t deal with their questioning stares right now. And when he did come across one, he allowed his hat to fall over his eyes. A clear signal that he didn’t want to be bothered, a signal they all learned very quickly. Finally reaching the third floor where his quarters were located, he walked the silent hall before coming to his room. He entered into the dark room. Once to his bed, he dropped his hat onto his nightstand and kicked off his shoes. Lying back on the bed, he laced his fingers together while resting his hands on his chest and let his eyes fall closed while thoughts of the girl became more and more distant from his mind as sleep finally to him into a dreamless sleep. Only one question buzzing in his mind as he drifted off: Who is this girl?


	4. Stubborn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. It took a while to get this one revised. Enjoy! Story will get better as we go along.

Stubborn

            Breakfast the next morning was oddly quiet but for the exception of their forks clanking and scrapping on their plates. The events from the previous day were playing again and again in all of their minds. Their questions about the girl just kept piling up one right after another. Yet no one would asked them since they all knew most of their questions wouldn’t be answered unless the girl spoke to them. And after yesterday, they knew it was going to be a long time for her to speak up, if she ever did speak to them.

            “Shachi, will you take her something to eat?” Law then asked, breaking the stiff silence among their crew.

            “Aye, Captain,” Shachi said. “What would you like me to take her?”

            “Just some broth and bread,” Law said. “With how malnourished she is we’re going to have to be careful with what and how much we feed her. She needs to be back to a healthy state as soon as possible. And those are my orders for her. No one is to slip her extra food for any reason.”

            “Sounds like she’s going to be here for a while then,” Bepo said, causing the rest of his crewmates to tense up.

            “That might be possible,” Law said, dropping his eyes down to his empty plate. “I’m still not sure what I’m going to do with her yet.”

            “Why not just drop her off on an island like you originally planned?” Conner asked.

            Law drew in a breath. He wanted to do that. He really did, but every time he thought about ditching her somewhere, the memory of Corazon beside her would pop into his head. He had to know why he kept seeing that dead man around her. But how was he going to get the answer? It’s not like Corazon could answer him. And the girl wouldn’t know about that man at all. Or he didn’t think she would know about him. She didn’t look old enough to know Corazon. But he could be wrong. After all Corazon used to travel a lot with the Doflamingo family so he could have met the girl at some point. Most likely she would have been a child at the time so if they did meet it was possible she wouldn’t even remember him. He was going to have to ask her at some point about Corazon. His eyes lifted up to his subordinate. He said, “I’m not going to doing that. I want her here.”

            “But why?” Conner asked.

            “Let it be, Conner,” Archer said. “I’m sure the captain has his reasons. It’s not our place to tell him what he can and can’t do.”

            “I’m not doing that at all,” Conner said with a glare. “I just want to know _why_ she’s here.”

            “I can’t answer that right now,” Law said. He stood up and shoved his hands into his pocket while walking away from them. “And I’ll hear no more on the subject. The girl stays.” He paused to look back at them. “Understood?”

            “Aye, Captain,” they all said.

            Law nodded then left the galley.

            “Well, I guess I’ll get her some broth warmed up,” Penguin said. He stood up with a sigh, taking his dishes and his captain’s over to the sink.

            “You seemed a bit stand offish from her when we talk about her,” Archer noted. “Or is it just my imagination?”

            “No, I’m not,” Penguin said. “It’s your imagination.”

            “Do you hold a grudge against her for kicking you?” Conner asked.

            “Not at all,” Penguin said. “I wouldn’t do that to her. She was clearly scared when she woke up here. The poor thing was beyond terrified. I’m just not sure how to react around her I guess. I’ll figure it out eventually.”

            “Sometimes I think you’re a little too forgiving for a pirate,” Conner said. He put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair while crossing his leg over his knee.

            “That’s Penguin for you,” Shachi said. “He’s always been the forgiving type. And he’s always been the big brother type.”

            “Not always,” Bepo grumbled.

            “Get over it,” Shachi said. “We’ve apologized multiple times for bullying you.”

            “I know,” Bepo said. “I was just stating the truth.”

            Penguin shook his head. He still occasionally felt guilty about how he and Shachi treated Bepo. But it was a mistake he had learned from. He was never going to treat anyone like that again. And this girl was no exception. Sure he wasn’t really sure how he was going to react when he was around her. None of them have even been in a situation like this. It was clear they all were going to have to be very patient with her and learn as they go along. He also wondered how the girl was going to react around him after she kicked him. Would she be sorry? Would she not care? Would she hate him for holding her down? He thought it would be better if he kept his distance for a while so she could adjust to the new world around her.

            He nodded then focused on his task of getting her something to eat ready. He opened one of the cabinets and peered inside. He hummed in thought while trying to decide which flavor of broth she might like best. He decided on the vegetable flavor in the end. After getting that shimmering on the stove, he pulled out a loaf of bread and cut off a piece about the size of his palm. He figured she wouldn’t eat much of anything. And what he knew from being around his captain, the medics, and all of the first aid treatment training they all went through, she had a long road of recovery ahead of her. At that point another thought struck him. How was his captain going to handle the girl? His captain was a patient man, but he also had his limits. Law was also known for being sadistic towards his enemies. This girl wasn’t an enemy, but how long would it take for Law to snap and become more sadistic towards her? Would Law become like that? He did after all want the girl on the sub. Penguin sighed. “I hope everything will be fine.”

            “Hey, what’s taking so long over here?” Shachi asked. “Are you going to finish the girl’s meal or not?”

            Penguin jumped at hearing his friend’s voice. He didn’t realize he had gotten so lost in thought for so long. He scrambled around grabbing a bowl, a spoon, and a tray to sit everything on. Once it was ready, he held it out for his friend. “Sorry.”

            “You’re so scatter brained today. Maybe you should let someone else do the cooking for a while. We wouldn’t want you to burn yourself,” Shachi said, taking the tray. He headed for the door. The murmurs of his fellow crewmates faded away from him as he walked down the halls of the third floor. Not wanting to drop the tray, he opted to walk up the ramps they used for moving crates from level to level instead of using the stairs. He by passed the second floor then the main floor until he reached the very top level of the sub where the medical bay was. He walked down that hall and paused at the girl’s room. The door was closed. He wondered if she was awake or not. He wondered if she has tried to escape her chains. He wondered if she’s succeeded in escaping her chains and was just inside waiting for her chance to escape. Surely not. He took a deep breath in and released it. Lifting up his hand, he reached for the doorknob.

…

            Inside of the recovering room, unaware of the company that would soon come to be in the room with her, she opened her eyes once again to the strange sky above her. Her body ached from all that struggling that she did against the men from a little while ago or whenever it was. She didn’t know anything about the time or how long she had been sleeping. She didn’t even know where the men were right now as she looked around the room. It was empty. The only other companion she had was the beeping from the strange machine she was once again hooked up to. Since no one was around maybe she could escape from this place. The door was just right there. And from what she could remember there was also a door in the hallway just outside of this room. She should be able to escape now.

            With a tired, frustrated groan, she tried to move. She winced in pain when her arms and legs only moved a little bit. Confused at why she couldn’t move much, she propped up on her elbows and found the reason she couldn't move. A cold grip of fear ran through her body when she noticed thick cuffs and chains were locking her down to the bed. The beeping increased with her panicked breathing. She tried pulling on the chains to get free. They wouldn't budge. The only thing she succeeded in doing is notice there was cloth wrapped around her ankles and wrists, just under the cuffs now attached to her. With panicked determination, she continued to jerk on the chains in hopes of getting free. She was so focused on them that she didn't even notice the door opening to her room. Nor did she notice someone walking into the room with her. She jerked the chains harder, pressing the cuffs into the cloth hard enough that she was starting to feel it on her skin.

            "You really shouldn't do that. While the captain did place some cloth between your skin and those cuffs you can still hurt yourself."

            She jumped at the sound of his voice. Her determination was quickly replaced with panic and fear as she did her best to try and pull away from him. Although she closed her eyes and turned away from the man, she got enough of a look at him to remember him. It was the guy with shoulder length hair, cap, and sunglasses, one of the three men who held her down. Her body trembled uncontrollably at his presence.

…

            Shachi paused in his motions to turn the knob and enter into the room when the heart monitor started beeping loud enough for him to hear out in the hall. Slightly panicked about what the rapid beeping could possibly mean in terms of her health, he quickly opened the door and stepped inside. His eyes landed on the girl. He relaxed when he realizes she was only panicking because of the chains on her. It wasn’t a medical emergency at all.

            He watched her for a few seconds, trying to give her the chance to notice him before he approached, but she didn’t notice at all. She was too focused on the chains. While he didn’t really want to speak without her looking at him first, he didn’t want her to continue pulling on the chains. He knew if she did she would eventually hurt herself despite the cloth his captain added underneath the cuffs. So he walked forward to get closer, but not too close. When he was about five feet from her bed, he made himself known. He said, “You really shouldn't do that. While the captain did place some cloth between your skin and those cuffs, you can still hurt yourself.”

            He watched as she jumped, startled from his unexpected presence. He carefully studied her and kept his position. It was obvious she was afraid. That was a no brainer. And it was also obvious that she was trying to get away from him despite being chained down. He knew that they were going to have to be very patient and careful with her. He knew that he and the crew were going to be able to do that, or most of them will. He wasn’t so sure about Conner. And he wasn’t sure about their captain either. He knew the infamous Captain Trafalgar Law could be patient, but he had his limits. The captain was a man who wanted what he wanted and always got what he wanted. He just had no idea how long his captain’s patient would last on this girl since it was clear it was going to take a long time to gain her trust. He wondered if his captain would revert to his sadistic ways to get what he wanted from her. After all, his captain had more practice in getting what he wanted through means of torture rather than a softer approach. He sighed. Only time will tell on all of that.

            For now, he had a more immediate problem to handle. How exactly was he going to feed this girl? Yesterday was a clear indication she didn’t want to be touched by anyone. He wondered why. Whatever the reason, he was going to do his best no to get too close to her so he could show her he meant her no harm. So he walked carefully forward. He noticed her flinching and trying to pull away more when he was close enough despite the fact she still had her eyes closed tightly. He ignored that and kept a calm exterior, hoping she would sense it.

            He placing the tray down on the nightstand then pulled the chair his captain had brought into the room over to the bed. He sat down and waited. There was no way he could feed her while she was in her current position of turning away from him. He stayed quiet for a while to allow her to adjust to his presence in the room. He waited for a couple minutes. She showed no signs of calming down at all. Which wasn’t a good thing. Her broth was already cooling off. He didn’t want her to eat a cold meal. So he tried another approach. He decided to try talking her down into a calmer state. Who knows? Maybe that would help her. Keeping his voice as low and calm as he possible could, but still loud enough for her to hear him, he said, "Hey there, sweetie. My name is Shachi. We actually met yesterday but I didn’t get a chance to properly introduce myself to you because of…er…well…I bet you must be hungry by now. You haven’t eaten in a while after all. And that’s why I’m actually here. I've brought you something to eat. It's only bread and broth. It's the captain's orders. He doesn't want you to get sick because you haven't eaten in sometime. Don't worry thought. Once you've gotten stronger you'll get other things to eat. It’s all a process to help you get healthy again."

            Much to his surprise, she parted her eyelids and cautiously looked at him from the corner of her eyes. Her body was still trembling, but at least she had shown a sign that she was listening to him. So he reached for the bowl of broth. He spooned some of the liquid into the utensil then brought it up to her lips. He sighed when her entire body jerked in another attempt to get away from him. But the chains held her strongly in place. He felt so sorry for her. He couldn’t even begin to figure out what could have possibly made someone so scared of other people that it would put them into a state like this. He tried soothing her by talking again. "We really are just trying to help you. The food's not poisoned or anything. It might not be the best food in the world, but it's eatable. Wouldn't you just try it? Please? Just a little bit? I promise you'll feel better after you get some food inside of you."

            He tried again to give her the food. But still she refused to even look at him. He sighed and placed the spoon back into the bowl. He tried to figure out another way to get her to eat. The only way he could think of was to force feed her. But he really, really didn’t want to do that to her. He felt that he had tortured her enough yesterday. Before he could get any farther with his thoughts there was a knock at the door. “Yes?”

            The door opened and Bepo stuck his head in. He said, "The captain asked me to come up here and check on you two. Did she eat, Shachi?"

            "No, she's refusing it," Shachi replied with a shake of his head.

            "Okay," Bepo said. "I'll inform the captain about it right away. He'll be here soon."

            Shachi watched Bepo disappeared back out the door and close it. With a silent sigh he turned back to the girl. He opened his mouth to speak to her, but paused when he saw, or though he saw, a calm look in her grey eyes. But it was gone far too quickly for him to really know whether or not he saw it. She jumped when realizing he was looking at her again. Her eyes closed and she turned away from him.

            "You really don't have to be scared of us, sweetie. That was Bepo. He might be a bear, but he's very friendly," Shachi said watching as she scrunched her eyes tighter and tried to curl into herself in response to him. "Look, a friendly word of advice, our captain can be patient, but if you don't give him what he wants you will regret it. It would be best for you to just submit to him sooner than later. He's very good at getting what he wants. And he will become sadistic to get it if he has to. It won't matter that you're a little girl, injured and scared."

            Shachi went quiet after that. There was nothing else he could say or do right now. He had no choice but to wait for his captain to come up here and take over. So he just sat there quietly studying her scared form until the door opened again. Knowing his captain would be the only one to come in without knocking, he turned his attention to his captain. He nodded to his captain when the man nodded at him. It was his cue to leave the room. So he placed the tray down on the nightstand and left without a word or another look at the girl.

…

            Law waited for Shachi to leave the room before walking closer to the bed and the girl with his hands in his pockets. He looked at the tray. It was clear that she hadn’t even taken one single bit from it. He clicked his tongue. That would not do at all. He picked up the spoon and stirred the broth. "I've been told that you are refusing to eat. You know that's not going to work. You _will_ eat."

            Law dropped the spoon, letting it clank against the bowl before pinching off a piece of the bread. He brought it up to her lips noting how she immediately jumped from the contact. He watched as she tried to turn her head farther away from him. Her neck was so stretched he knew it had to be hurting her at least a little bit. He huffed at her lack of obedience. This wasn’t going to be as easy as he liked for it to be. "Don't make me force feed you. Yesterday should have been a huge indication that you _are_ going to do as I say."

            With that he shoved the bread in-between her lips. He was already anticipating her to spit it out like she did with the sedative yesterday. So before she could do that he pinched her lips and nose closed with his fingers. He couldn’t stop a smirk as she fruitlessly struggled against him while stubbornly keeping her eyes closed. "You are either going to eat that bread or pass out. The choice is yours."

            It was easy for him to guess which one she was going to choose to do. So he patiently waited for her to pass out. With in about a minute and a half to two minutes, her skin started turning blue and her body went completely relaxed. He rubbed his temple in annoyance and hope this child didn’t give him a headache. He then pressed his finger to her chin and opened her mouth, removing the piece of bread from her mouth he placed it on the tray. He really didn't want her to choke on it while she remained in this state.

            While waiting for her to wake up, he studied her current position of being chained down to the bed. She _was_ going to eat for him one way or another. And if he had to feed her like a mama bird does for her baby like he did with the sedative, then so be it. He quickly set to work on rebounding her into a better position for him to dominate her. He needed her into a sitting position so he grabbed some extra pillows from the medical storage room and placed them behind her before unlocking the chains from her wrists. He crossed her arms over her stomach then put the chains back on her.

            He then waited for her to wake up. A few minutes later, she showed signs of stirring. He wanted to be on the bed before she woke up completely so he ditched his boots before crawling on the bed with her and straddled over her legs. Sitting down on his own legs, he waited for her to wake up. He watched her opened her eyes and jump at his unexpected closeness. Through her eyes he could see fear pouring into her very body and soul. She jerked in a fruitless attempt to get away from him. Her eyes dropped down to her arms. His eyes drifted over to the heart monitor. Her heart rate was now off the charts. He didn’t like it so high but this was necessary. He brought his eyes back to her. She was still struggling to get free. "You are quite the stubborn one. You'd think by now you'd notice you aren't going to break those chains. You're far too weak to even come close to doing so. So stop fighting me already. You _will_ eat this time."

            His eyebrows rose on his forehead when she suddenly stopped struggling, the beating of her heart began to slow down. If he hadn’t been paying attention he would have missed her actually speaking again since her voice was so low and scared. She said, “I-I won’t.”

            Law leaned down to her ear. He could feel her tensing up, her heartbeat increasing once again at his closeness. Out of nowhere he smelled something sweet. His eyebrows curled in confusion. He had no idea where this sweet smell was coming from. He knew no one had any snacks and Penguin wasn’t making any. He shook his head. That really didn’t matter right now. His breath brushed over her ear as he whispered dangerously low to her. "Yes, you will, my mysterious, stubborn little girl."

            He chuckled deeply and pulled away from her. Reaching for the bowl of broth, he pulled it into his hand. He then spooned the now cold broth and brought it up to her lips. He saw a flicker of stubbornness in her eyes. She was planning on passing out again. He said, "If you think that you'll just pass out like last time, you are sorely mistaken. I've given you a chance to obey me. You didn't. You have no choice anymore."

            He didn't give her time to do anything or respond in any kind of way. He just jammed his thumb into her still tender stomach then forcefully shoved the spoon into her mouth when she gasped at the pain. With lightning fast moves, he pulled the spoon out and pressed his lips to hers and pinched her nose closed. He then tilted her chin up with his other hand, he caused the broth to trickle down the back of her throat. He could feel that she was going to choke on it unless she swallowed it. A grin spread across his lips when she finally swallowed. He pulled away from her. "Good girl."

            He watched as tears streaked down her cheeks. For a split second, he almost felt sorry for her. But he reminded himself that this had to be done. She _had_ to eat. This was not a time for him to go soft no matter how small and scared she was. At least he found a process that would work in feeding her. Well, it would work for the broth anyway. His eyes drifted to the remaining object on the tray. It wasn’t going to work with the bread. She could just press it against her mouth with her tongue and never swallow it. There was only one thing he could do. He crumbled it up in the broth then stirred it around. Once it was soft enough he shoved the spoon of broth and softened bread crumbles into her mouth and pressed his lips back to hers, repeating the process until the bowl was about half empty. When it got to that point he could feel that she had enough, he also sensed her energy lowering from the exhausting procedure. He too was feeling a bit tired in repeating this process, his legs were starting to go numb as well. So he stopped. If he gave her anymore it would make her sick.

            "There," Law said, moving off the bed. He placed the bowl down on the tray and pulled his boots back on. "That wasn't so bad, now what is?"

            When he turned back to her, she was biting her bottom lip as tears freely flowed down her cheeks. Ignoring her tears, he decided to try and question her. "Now, I'm going to ask you some questions. I expect you to answer them. And you _will_ answer them.” He gave her a few seconds to absorb his words before continuing. “Who are you? What's your name?"

            He studied her but she just remained quietly sitting there. Her eyes were surprisingly open, but she was staring down at her legs. He expected to see some kind of plan forming in her eyes, but he didn’t see anything. They just stared blankly at her lap almost as if she was actually staring through her lap. She was just really spacey.

            "Where are you from?" He noticed her flinching at that question. "Where are your parents?"

            Law caught something shimmer out of the corner of his left eye, he whipped his attention towards it. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Everything looked normal. But something didn’t feel normal. He quickly noticed that something felt different about the room, he felt an odd pressure in the air. He continued to carefully scan the room for the source that made him feel so uneasy. After finding nothing unusual and nothing out of place, he settled down a bit and turned his eyes back to the girl to continue to question her. "I was told that the previous island we were on was not your home. Where is your home?"

            Her head dropped so low that her chin was now touching her chest.

            "Did something happen to your home?"

            More tears began to flow down her reddening cheeks, she gritted her teeth and clenched her hands at her sides. Law caught this. He watched her body tremble. Was he getting somewhere with her? He continued. "Was there a war? Did pirates or bandits or even the Navy destroy your home? Did they kill your parents? Is that why you're trying to kill yourself?"

            Just then he saw something snapping inside of her. She started to jerk violently against the chains again. She screamed, "Let me go! Just let me go!"

            "That's not going to happen." Law crossed his arms and continued to study the girl. He felt like he finally gotten somewhere with her. _Okay, going by her reactions to my questions_ _something did in fact happen to her. And it has something to do with where she’s from. But what exactly was it? What would happen to cause someone to be like this? Was it pirates? Perhaps marines? Bandits? Some kind of accident maybe? I’ve dealt with my own share of turmoil with what happened in my hometown, but my reaction wasn’t like this at all. I had the opposite reaction to trauma than she did. She’s completely closed off to people. I wanted to kill everyone._ Knowing he wouldn’t get anywhere with his own thoughts, he continued to question her. "Did you even realize that you _should have_ died with that cut on your neck you made?"

            She stopped screaming and jerking at that question. A quick flash of a question ran across her eyes before she ducked her head again. Law hummed in thought. _She might have just given me a clue. But what does it mean exactly? Does this mean she really doesn't know why she hasn't died from her suicide attempts? Could that possibly mean she has a Devil Fruit power but doesn’t know about it?_ "Do you know why you heal so fast?"

            She didn’t answer him. She just went back to staring at her lap.

            "Do you have any other family? I would be willing to drop you off with them if you just tell me where they are."

            "Let me go," she whispered, she begged. "Just let me go."

            "That won't be happening," Law replied. "There's something going on with you. Something inside of you, I'm guessing. How is it possible that you haven't died from all of your suicide attempts? What's going on inside of you? What secrets are you keeping?"

            "Let me go," she whispered and begged again. "Please, just let me go."

            Law sighed. He reached out and ran his finger over the cuff that bound her right wrist. He felt her flinch violently then stiffen when his skin made contact with her skin. He noticed she swallowed her desire to scream out from the touch but chose to ignore it as he traced his fingertip on her hand before taking a hold of her index finger. She flinched again when he pulled her finger back. "I am losing my patience with you. I will ask you _one_ more time and _only once_ more. If you don't answer me, I will start breaking bones until you spill every secret from every corner of your soul. Who are you? What's your name? How is it possible for you to heal so fast from such deep injuries? Why are you trying to kill yourself?"

            Law paused for a while. Giving her plenty of time and the chance to answer him. But all she did was keep her head low and eyes shut. He clicked his tongue. "Very well. I've given you multiple chances to do as I order you to do. Since you refuse to comply…"

            Law started to bend her finger back more. She winced at the pain that entered into her hand. He went to make the first break, but paused at the sight of a familiar hand placing itself on his fingers. He froze at the familiar touch of them. Coldness over took his body. His breathing hitched in his lungs. It wasn’t possible. _He_ wouldn’t possibly be here. _Again._ Slowly, he turned his eyes up. He forced himself to smother out the gasp that tried to force itself up his throat and passed his lips. His heart took a painfully share jolt in his chest upon seeing the man standing there. He swallowed hard, his throat feeling like sandpaper begging for water. Still one word managed to stumble out of his mouth. "C-Cora?"

            Stunned he watched as Corazon lightly shook his head at him. The dead man then tapped him on the hand. Law's eyes dropped down to the girl’s trembling hand. He was beyond confused at why Corazon was bringing his attention to her trembling. She was also trembling when he was in the room. He looked back up in time to see Corazon lean over to the girl and place a gentle kiss on her head. Then, somehow, his body filled with an unfamiliar, indescribable feeling. He knew that she wasn't trembling because _he_ had intimidated her. It was something else. Something far worse than any injury he could possibly inflict on her.

            He dropped his eyes back down to the girl. But how _did_ he know this? How _could_ he know this? Or was it because of Corazon? Did Corazon, dead Corazon, somehow know what happened to this girl? Was Corazon trying to tell him something? He knew he was. But what was his old friend trying to tell him?

            He looked back up, expecting to see Corazon standing there. He wanted to see if he could ask Corazon what he knew about the girl. Much to his dismay, and annoyance, Corazon was no longer in the room with him. Like before, the man had disappeared. He sighed, almost growled, in frustration and wanted to once again kill the already dead man. He pinched the bridge of his nose to gather his thoughts. He shoved his hands into his pockets and turned back to the girl. He said, "Very well then. I won't hurt you. But I do expect you to submit to me. And you _will_ submit to me whether you like it or not. So get use to the idea and just do it already."

            With one last look at the girl he noticed she was starting to become sleepy. He was glad. At least she wouldn’t try to cause any trouble when she slept. He picked up the tray and left the room. His mind repetitively going over what just happened in the recovery room. Silently, he cursed Corazon for everything he was doing to him now. _Dang it, Cora! I must be losing it! That's the third time I've seen you!. Why?! Why do I keep seeing you around this girl?! What do you know about her?! Or do you just want to torture me from beyond the grave?!_

            Before he knew he was down on the third floor and next to the galley again, Shachi and Penguin's voices invaded his thoughts. The two men turned their attention to him. Shachi was the one to speak first. He asked, "Were you able to get her to eat?"

            "Some," Law casually replied. He sat down the tray on the counter for whoever's turn it was to do the dishes later. He turned to his two subordinates, expecting more questions from them. He watched them exchanged looks of concerns and silent questions about his decisions to keep her on board. But they respectfully remained quiet. He was glad that they were obeying his orders, but he was also disappointed that they were too. He really wanted to talk about seeing Corazon. His crew held a great deal of respect for him. And he held a great deal of respect for his crew too. He wasn’t like other captains who ruled with an iron fist and fear. He had a relationship with his crew, but he wasn’t exactly their close friend either. He didn’t really feel like he could open up and talk to them about certain things. He was just like that. The closest one he is to is Bepo. And he knew he was more likely to open up to Bepo than anyone else on the sub. He just wasn’t sure he wanted to, at least not yet. Still, things were really started to get to him he was wondering if he should tell Bepo what was going on with him. Bepo would keep a secret for sure. “Where’s Bepo?”

            “Uh, I think he went to his navigation room to scout out routes to the next island,” Shachi said.

            "All right. I’ll be there with Bepo for a while if anyone needs me," Law said as he headed back for the door. “And from this point on I’ll be the one who takes the girl her meals. Penguin, I’ll write up a meal plan for her later and put it in here for you.”

            “Aye, Captain,” Shachi and Penguin said.

            Law stepped outside of the galley. He paused when he heard Shachi start talking again.

…

            "I really don't get it," Shachi said. "Why is the captain keeping this girl? There’s no way he’s actually going to make her a crewmate. She’s too weak for that, at least right now. But we don’t know anything about her. She could possibly become a strong fighter…"

            "Just let it go. There’s no point talking about this anymore. I'm sure he has his reasons despite saying he doesn’t know," Penguin replied, his voice taking on noticeable sympathy when he spoke of the girl. "It's obvious that the girl has gone through something very terrible. I wish there was something we could do to help her."

            “Well, the only way to do that is for her to talk,” Shachi said. “And after what’s happened you know there’s no way that’s going to happen.”

            “It will,” Penguin said. “She just needs to learn that we’re not here to hurt her but to help her.”

            "I wonder if she ever will." Shachi sighed. "I'm not so sure she will, but as long as she's with us, we will help her. You know that. And since the captain's order is to keep her onboard, he must have a plan."

…

            Shachi and Penguin continued talking, but Law started to walk away. He had heard enough. _Plan, huh? For once I don't actually have one of those._ Reaching the stairs he made his way down them slowly. He wanted to get to Bepo but he really wasn’t in a hurry to get to him either. By passing the fourth floor, he heard sounds of training coming from the open door of the training room. His crew was cheering on whoever was sparring with each other. Their loud voices faded as he continued to descend down the stairs to the fifth floor. Things were a lot quieter on this floor. With his hands still in his pockets, he wondered down the hall until he reached the room he was aiming for. He stood in the doorway just taking in Bepo as the bear stood over the table that was in the middle of the room. It took about a minute before the bear even noticed him standing there.

            “Oh, Captain,” Bepo said, looking up from his map. “I didn’t know you were there. Did you need something?”  
            “Not really,” Law said, walking into the room. He leaned against the table and crossed his arms over his chest unaware of the confused look Bepo was giving him. After several minutes of silence, he spoke up again. “I saw Cora.”

            “Huh?” Bepo blinked.

            “With the girl,” Law said. “I’ve seen him with her three times now.” His hat fell over his eyes. He could feel Bepo’s confused stare at him. “I know it sounds really weird, but I really have seen him.”

            “I’m not really following you, Captain,” Bepo said. “Isn’t Cora…”

            “Yeah.” Law nodded. “You know me bringing someone on the sub like I did with that girl is out of the ordinary.”

            “Aye, Captain,” Bepo said. “Well, I guess that would make a little more sense about you bringing that girl here. It was a move you wouldn’t do on your own.”

            “So you believe me?” Law turned his eyes to the bear. He wasn’t sure what Bepo was going to say now. And he was actually nervous about it. He could feel his palms sweating.

            “Yes,” Bepo said. “I know you wouldn’t make up a lie about Corazon. He means too much to you. But why would he appear to you now after all of these years? And around this girl?”

            “I don’t know,” Law said in a low tone. “All I know is he wanted me to bring that girl onto the sub and keep her with me.”

            “Do you think she’s someone he knew?” Bepo asked.

            “I also thought of that,” Law said. “It’s possible if she’s old enough. But I don’t know her age. And she’s still not in a position to answer any questions right now.”

            “So you tried to question her,” Bepo said it as more of a statement rather than a question.

            Law nodded. He knew Bepo knew what his typical means of getting information consisted of. What he didn’t know is how worried Bepo would be over the girl. He saw it when he looked back at his navigator. Bepo was clearly worried that he had hurt the girl. He sighed. It looked like two of his subordinates were already growing attached to the girl despite his desire for them not to. “Don’t worry. I didn’t hurt her at all.”

            “Oh, okay,” Bepo said, his voice filled with relief that he couldn’t possible hide. “I know we keep asking this question, but what are your plans for her?”

            “For the moment, I’m going to try and gain her trust,” Law said.

            “That’s not going to be easy, Captain,” Bepo said. “Think you can handle it? We’re pirates after all. Being gentle isn’t exactly at the top of our to do list.”

            “I know,” Law said. “But I have no choice. At least until I figure out her connection to Cora, I can’t let her out of my sight.”

            “Wait, if she knows Corazon is it possible she knows Doflamingo too?” Bepo asked.

            “That’s a possibility,” Law said. “But I doubt it.”

            “What makes you say that?” Bepo asked.

            “I’m not really sure. It’s just a feeling,” Law said. He pushed off the table to grab himself a piece of paper and a pencil. He then claimed a chair and started working out a menu for his mysterious little girl.

…

            Law wondered into the galley with his left hand in his pocket and his right hand holding his sword against his shoulder. Just like he knew, Penguin was already inside cutting up the girl’s snack for the hour. He walked closer to his subordinate just as he finished cutting up a mango.

            “Here you go, Captain,” Penguin said, holding out the tray.

            “Thanks,” Law said. He took the tray and headed back for the door without another word. It’s been three days since the girl woke up on their sub. And not much had changed. Only occasionally Penguin, Bepo, or someone else would ask how she was doing and he would reply the same. She still refused to talk and eat. He was really getting tired of force feeding her. But he continued to do so. He knew her will wasn’t as strong as his was. He was going to win her submission no matter how long it takes him to get it.

            Upon reaching her recovery room, he entered to find her like always, looking over at the door until noticing him coming in. She would then look away or closed her eyes. Occasionally, he’d come in and find her sleeping, but she’d always wake up when she sensed or heard him in the room. Today she looked away from him. His eyes dropped down to her bandages and the heart monitoring patches. He really needed to check her wounds and probably even sponge her down since it’s been a few days since she was washed. He really needed to get her hair cleaner than it was too, but that would really need to be done in the shower. And there was no way he was going to let her into the shower, at least not yet. He was going to have to figure out another way of getting her hair washed, preferably by someone else. He was also going to have to get her out of bed and walking around some. He didn’t want her muscles to become weak from lying around all the time. He also didn’t want her to get bedsores.

            “I brought you some fruit,” he said walking over to her. Once again she flinched and tried to pull away from him. He mentally chuckled. He wondered when she would realize she wasn’t going to get away from him. Sitting down on the bed, he kicked off his boots. The action had become more or less automatic in just the few days of doing this. It came from having to force feed her multiple meals a day. Propping his sword against the wall, he picked up a piece of fruit and brought it to her lips. “Eat.”

            She turned her head farther away.

            Growling in annoyance, he straddled over her again. Touching his finger to her face, he felt her jerk violently. She screamed. She seemed to do this a lot when he touched her. He would use it to his advantage and shoved whatever food he had into her mouth then pinch her lips and nose closed. He was expected her to pass out like she always did a lot of the time. But this time she started chewing only after a few seconds of refusing to acknowledge the food in her mouth. He was surprised. Was he starting to get somewhere with her?

            “I’m going to change your bandages now and give you a bath,” Law said, placing the now empty plate, cup, and tray down on the nightstand. He left the room to gather the supplies he needed to wash her off. When he returned he placed it all down then took off her bandages. He eyed the scars carefully, noticing they were still healing rapidly, before washing her down. After that was all done, he put medication on her wounds and wrapped her back up. He eyed the bandage as he wrapped it around her torso. Since she was staying with them for an undetermined amount of time, he was really going to have to find her some clothes. No one on the sub was small enough for their clothes to fit her properly. For the moment she was fine dressed in the bandages since she was completely covered with them, but she needed something that would fit her. He was also going to have to get her some menstrual supplies assuming she was old enough for that.

His eyes then landed on the heart monitor. He really didn’t want to put her back on that thing. He was started to get a headache from how often she made it beep so rapidly. He decided to leave it off of her. He then began to gather everything up to put it all back in its proper place when suddenly a loud boom exploded outside the sub. It rocked the vessel violently. He was thrown back against the wall, everything in his hands scattering onto the floor.

            “Captain!” Archer’s voice said over the PA system.

            Law’s eyes went to the girl. She was trying to curl into herself from the man’s loud unseen voice and the sub rocking. Another explosion happened once again rocking the sub. He cursed. “What’s going on?!”

            “We’re under attack!” Archer said. “A pirate ship snuck up behind us! They’re firing on us with cannons but appear to be preparing to try and board the sub!”

            “Prepare to attack!” Law ordered. “Get ready for battle!”

            “Aye, Captain!” Archer said. “All hands, prepare for battle!”

            Law pushed himself off the wall. He grabbed his sword and ran towards the door. He was half out of it before he paused and turned back to the girl. He hoped the pirates didn’t shoot at this room. That was the last thing he needed. He was going to have to end this quickly. He bolted through the sub. When he finally got outside, he found some of their attackers were already moving over to his sub by swing from ropes. Apparently the ship was closer than he thought. His own crew was already in combat. Guns were firing, swords were clashing, moans and grunts from getting punched filled the air as did blood. He turned his eyes to the ship. He looked up to the flag first, determining he didn’t know this group so most likely they didn’t have any bounties on them or their bounties were very low. He dropped his eyes down to the cannon rooms. Some of the pirates were reloading the cannons and preparing to fire them again. Those things had to go before they damaged his precious sub. He held out his hand. A smoke ring formed underneath his hand before spreading out with a blue film dome that casted over both water vessels. He held up three fingers, twisting them in a motion of switching two objects. “Room! Shambles!”

            Several splashes came from the sea below. He smirked when the enemy crew shouted out their confusion as to where their cannons went and why their rivals were now in the cannon room with them. He then warped himself over to the rival ship. Still with his Room activated, he pulled out his sword and divided several of the men’s bodies up with in seconds.

            “Ah! What did you do to us?!”

            “I’m still alive?! How is that possible?!”

            “Let us go!”

            “You’re the ones who started all of this,” Law said, resting his sword on his shoulder. “If you’re so weak then you shouldn’t have come after us.”

            “Who are you?!” the captain asked.

            “Trafalgar Law,” Law said, smirking when all their faces turned blue. “The Surgeon of Death.” He warped some more of his subordinates over to the ship. “Take everything they have!”

            “Aye aye, Captain!” His crew scattered. One ran up to the helm to move the ship closer to the sub while the others ran into the ship to find whatever valuables they could. It didn’t take long for them to link the two vessels with a gangplank and carry their booty over to the sub with practiced precision.

            “You’re going to pay for this, Trafalgar!” the captain cried out.

            “If you weaklings manage to survive the harsh seas of the Grand Line. But with how easily you went down here, I don’t see that happening,” Law said. He kicked the gangplank off his sub. It fell, hitting the side of the sub with a clank before making its splash in the sea. “Just be thankful we’re leaving you alive. We could have easily killed you if we wanted to.”

            “See you later!” Shachi and Penguin sang. “Thanks for the treasure!”

            “Yeah! We’ll be sure to put it to very good use!” Conner said. “Bye!”

            The rival pirates released several strings of curses as the Polar Tang pulled away from them. Law then turned to check his men out. He said, “Report. Are there any injuries?”

            His crew started sounding off. “Just a few bruises here.”

            “I got hit in the stomach, but no damage.”

            “I got sliced with a sword on my arm.”

            Law walked over to his subordinate to check the wound out. “It’s not very deep, but you’re still going to need stitches and have it cleaned immediately.”

            “Aye, Captain.”

The Heart Pirates then chatted in happiness as they started moved their booty on into the sub. “This is so great!”

            “I know! This treasure has to be worth at least a hundred million.”

            “I’m ready to hit the next island and party!”

            “I hope the island has lots of beautiful women!”

            “Yeah! I can’t wait until we get there!”

            Law watched his crew heading back into the sub before letting his eyes wondered up to the top of the sub, to the medical rooms where the girl currently was. He felt an odd sense of relief that nothing bad happened here. The sub was safe and so was she. His mind then drifted back to her walking. He would have like to have her walk around today, but after this it would probably be best if he waited until tomorrow to have her do that. He brought his attention back to his injured subordinate and headed inside to tend to the man’s wound.

…

            The next day Law was up a little earlier than usual. It was four thirty in the morning when he walked out of his room and made his way up to the medical bay. He entered into the girl’s recovery room. The room was quiet since he had removed the heart monitor from her. She was currently still sleeping. Today was the day he was going to have her walk around the room. And he knew she was going to be stubborn about it. He figured he was going to have to force her to walk by leading her around like a dog. He couldn’t let her walk free just yet. Not even with him in the room. He wanted to test her and she what she would do. After that he would most likely let her walk around the room completely chain free. He, of course, would be guarding the door so she wouldn’t escape.

            With that settled in his mind, he stayed with her for a while longer. Sitting on the bed just watching her sleep while trying to figure her out. He couldn’t help but notice she looked so calm and peaceful in the moment. He also couldn’t help but reach out for her. He placed the tips of his fingers on her cheek. Her skin was surprisingly soft. He hadn’t noticed that before. Her skin was also slightly cool to the touch. He wasn’t sure why thought. It was rather warm in the sub at the moment. He continued to watch her in the silence of the morning and contemplating all of his questions on her and why she felt so inhuman.

            He didn’t notice how late it was getting until the sun lifted higher into the sky. It poured into the porthole and right into his eyes. He shielded them and looked out the porthole. He stayed longer than he had intended to. His eyes then went to his fingers. Somehow, at some point in time, his hand had wondered down to hers. He had a hold of the tips of her fingers, brushing his thumb over her fingernails. He pulled back. Shaking his head in confusion, he stood up and headed for the door.

            Down in the galley his crew was still going on about the booty they gathered the day before. So it was just another ordinary day on the sea, minus the girl up in the medical bay. He ran his eyes over his crew. He needed to pick someone to wash her hair. Someone that would be gentle enough and calm enough to handle the girl. Then he was going to have to have them go into the girl’s room so she would get use to his presence there. He decided Shachi would be best. She had already met him.

            “Shachi, I want you to come with me when I fed the girl from now on,” Law said.

            “Aye, Captain,” Shachi said. “What for?”  
            “I want the girl to start getting use to other’s being around,” Law said. “Also, I want you to wash her hair when she’s calm enough. It probably won’t be for a few more days though.”

            “Oh, okay, Captain,” Shachi said. “That makes sense.”

            After they all had eaten, Law got the girl’s breakfast and headed upstairs with Shachi in tow. The two quietly walked through the sub and into the recovery room where the girl was waiting for them. She was staring at the door again when they came in. And like always, she turned her eyes away from them. Law placed the tray down then propped the girl back up on the pillows. He waited for her to notice Shachi before speaking. “He’s here so you’ll start getting use to him. He’ll be washing your hair soon.”

            “Hello, sweetie,” Shachi said with a wave. “How are you this morning?” She didn’t answer. “Well, the captain has your breakfast. It’s really good this morning.”

            Everything then settled back down into their normal routine. The only difference was Shachi was in the room. He awkwardly stood at the door. He didn’t want to get any closer to her. She was already nervous enough with two of them in the room. When Law was done feeding the girl, he dismissed Shachi. “You can go now. And take the tray back down to the galley.”

            “Aye, Captain. See you later, sweetie,” Shachi said before leaving the room with the tray in his hand. “Behave for the captain now.”

            “All right, little girl,” Law said when his subordinate was finally gone. He got up from the bed and moved down to her feet. “You’re going to walk around for a while. I don’t want your muscles getting weak from lying around all the time. I’m going to unlock the chains from your ankles but the ones on your wrists are staying put. If you can prove to me that you’ll behave, I’ll let you walk around the room on your own soon. I’m going to unlock your chains now.”

            He reached for her right ankle. He was anticipating her to try and kick him, so it wasn’t a surprise when she struck out at him once her ankle was free. But, since she was so short, she had no chance of reaching him. He did a rough measurement when she was unconscious and found her to be around five foot two or so. Despite that, he still grabbed her foot, making her jump and jerk violently in an attempt to get free of him. “Settle down now. You’re not going to escape from me.”

            He freed her other foot. This time she didn’t kick at him. He moved up to her right arm. Once that was unlocked from the bed, he held on tightly to the chain while moving around to the other side of the bed. Once she was freed from the bed, he pulled her into a sitting position. “Come on. Off the bed and on your feet.”

            She didn’t move.

            Sighing, he tugged her off the bed by the chains. She hit the floor on her feet at first but then dropped to her knees. He knew she just lost her balance. With the way she struggled against him and his men, he knew she was strong enough to walk. He pulled her upon her feet and started walking her around the room like she was his stubborn little puppy. She was keeping as much distance from him as she possible could. He didn’t mind just as long as she walked. Suddenly the girl pulled on the chain, but he had a tight enough hold it was impossible for her to get away. He turned around to see her trying to get to the door. He jerked her away from it. “Stop that. How many times do I have to tell you you’re not going to escape from me before you understand?”

            He watched her drop to the floor. She curled into herself and cried. He almost felt guilty for treating her like this. Almost. Sighing, he gave her a few minutes to calm down before pulling her back to her feet and continued to walk her around. After about an hour, he finally allowed her to get back on the bed. He chained her back down to the bed, leaving her in a reclining position on the pillows since he was going to be feeding her again fairly soon. Before leaving the room, he noticed her growing very tired very fast. He stayed in the room for a few minutes and just watched her sleep. He then left unaware of the girl’s face twisting in horror from the nightmare running through her head.

 


	5. Submission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the delay. I'm almost to the point of being able to update regularly. So bear with me for a little bit longer. We'll also get longer chapters as well.

Submission

 

            “All right,” Law said upon entering the girl’s recovery room. He closed the door behind him then walked over to the bed. Like always the girl tensed up at his closeness. And like always, he ignored it and unlocked her cuffs. He then walked back over to the door and took his usual place against the wall right beside it. He crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s time for you walk now. Off the bed.”

            The girl rubbed her wrists before slowly letting her feet slide to the floor. Pushing off the bed, she walked around the room, keeping as much distance between herself and her pirate babysitter.

            Law didn’t mind if she stayed as far away from him as she could. He was just glad that she was starting to obey him more often now. He recalled this past week while his eyes remained lock on her. He found it a bit hard to believe that she has been on his ship for an entire seven days. And in that time she has continued to fight him, but he started to notice that she was wearing down. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was trying to trick him or if he was legitimately getting through to her that she has no hope of escaping from his clutches. He saw no signs of her trying to put together some kind of plan in escaping. He wasn’t really sure if she was smart enough to do that, or assertive enough to pull another escape attempt off. She still didn’t speak to him or Shachi when his subordinate was in the room with them or even really look at them. And despite the fact that he still hasn’t gotten anything out of her, he felt that he was slowly getting somewhere with her. He really felt like he really was starting to wear her down.

            “You’re getting your hair washed today,” Law said after a while. “I’ve told you about that before. Your hair is a real mess and we can no longer afford to let it go unwashed. You hair should have been washed when you first came here, but I wanted to give you some time to get use to us bring around. Shachi is going to be the one who washes your hair since he’s be the only other one who’s been in here the most. He’ll be here in a little while.”

            The girl only responded by tightening her arms around her body. Her bare feet were silent as could be on the metal floor of the sub. And for whatever reason, Law couldn’t help but notice she had a graceful walk to her steps. It made him wonder if she was from a family of wealth or possibly nobility. But if she were surely there would be pictures of her going around in newspapers and bulletins to get her back. And he’s seen nothing of the sort in any newspaper that he’s read before. Of course that really didn’t mean she wasn’t from a noble family. Someone or something could have killed her entire family. Or her family might just not care enough about her to look for her. He was going to have to keep a closer eye on the newspapers and bulletin boards when they land on islands from now on.

…

            Law had no idea how long he was lost inside of his own thoughts on where the girl might be from while his eyes remained locked on the mysterious blue haired girl before him. But it was a knock at the door that pulled him back to the real world. He said, “Yes?”

            “It’s Shachi!” Shachi said from the other side of the door. “I’m ready if she is. Or if I need to come back in a little while I can.”

            “It’s fine. Now is as good as time as any,” Law said while he opened the door for the man. “Come on in. I’ve already told her you were coming.”

            “All right then. As long as she knew I was coming,” Shachi said when he entered into the room carrying an empty barrel and a towel over his shoulder. “Bepo should be right up with the water.”

            Law nodded in acceptance before returning his eyes to the girl. She had wrapped her arms tighter around her bandaged body and was practically walking right up against the wall to get as far as she possibly could from the two men in the room. He noticed that even with Shachi in the room during her feeding times, she was always more relaxed when it was just him in the room. She would always tense up more when there were two of them in here with her. Most of the time she would do what she was doing now, if she was walking. But if she was locked onto the bed she would keep her eyes anywhere but on them, her breathing would increase, and he knew her heartbeat would increase as well. It only prompted more questions from him about her. He wanted to know what happened to her to make her so skittish around people. Still, he had to wait for his answers. She wasn’t anywhere near answering anything yet. After all it’s only been seven days since he brought her here. They all just needed more time.

            He also started noticing a few days ago that she still kept looking over at the door like it was going to disappear on her if she didn’t check if it was still there. The only logical reason he could come up with for that was because it was the exit, the only exit unless she managed to break the thick porthole window, which wasn’t likely since it was made to be thick enough to handle the water pressure when they traveled under the waves. So she had to be keeping a close eye on her escape route. The door she had once escaped from. But he knew she wouldn’t get anywhere with his crew around. They were patrolling the medical bay hall now with her here. So far no one has reported hearing anything that sounded like she was trying to escape. He had a thought at one time to put a visual transponder snail in this room to watch and see what she was doing when no one was around her. He never did it though. He just couldn’t bring himself to actually do that. He wasn’t sure why though.

            "All right, back to bed now,” Law said. He watched her reaction carefully. Her eyes flittered constantly back and forth to Shachi and the floor as she slowly made her way back over to the bed. “Hurry up now. We don’t have all day. And you know he’s not going to hurt you. He’s been in here plenty of times before, remember?”

            His impatient was growing as she pushed herself away from the wall a bit more. Finally she picked up her speed and she walked back over to the bed and sat down on it. He then walked over to the bed himself, mentally noticing her flinching when he started putting the cuff back on her right arm. He tugged on the chain to make sure it was securely locked in place before shoving his hands into his pockets. He said, "Shachi is going to wash your hair now. Do _not_ cause him any trouble. I'm posting another crewmember over by the door in case you get the idea to try and escape again somehow. He won't come any closer under my orders, but if you cause the slightest bit of trouble he'll inform me immediately and I will return. And I won't be happy if that happens. So do us both a favor, just obey and don't cause any trouble for Shachi or me."

            Just then another knock came from the door. The knock was followed by a muffled voice saying, "Permission to enter, Captain. I have the water Shachi asked for.”

            "Come on in, Bepo," Law said, watching the girl closely. She didn’t seem anymore uncomfortable than she already was considering a third party was about to enter the room. It made him wonder why. He then thought about what Bepo had told him before on how she reacted to the bear when she saw him. She appeared to have no issues being around animals but was confused for some reason about Bepo. The door opened, her eyes flickered over to the bear entering into the room with a barrel in his paws. "He's not the one who'll be staying in here. He’s only bring in the barrel of water Shachi is going to use to wash your hair."

            "I'll just leave it here at the foot of the bed. The water's nice and warm. I didn't think hot would be good right now," Bepo reported. He moved closer to the bed, carefully watching the girl. He placed the barrel at the foot of the bed then looked up at her again. His nose twitched as he breathed in the air around her.

            “What is it, Bepo?” Shachi asked. “Are you just going to stand there and sniff the air all day?

            “No, I’m not. I thought I just smelled trees or something. But it’s nothing,” Bepo said, standing up straight. “I’m just imagining things I guess. I’ll be going now.”

            “Okay then,” Shachi said, watching the bear leave the room. “He can be so weird at times. Anything else, Captain?”

            “No, just get her hair washed completely,” Law said. “It might take a few washes to get it completely clean.”

            “Don’t worry, Captain,” Shachi said with a salute. “I’ll be sure to get every last piece of dirt out of her hair. You can count on me.”

            “Behave now,” Law said, regarded the girl one last time before finally leaving the room.

            When he stepped out another man stepped in. Since he was fairly new to her, she could only keep her eyes on him for a split second. She vaguely recognized him from the time she escaped from this room and it was clear she didn't like him being there. She curled more into herself and turned away from him and Shachi.

            “That’s just Conner. You don’t have to worry about him at all,” Shachi said. “He’s not as scary looking as he might seem.”

            “Hey!” the man protested. His outburst caused the girl to jump then enter into a round of tremors.

            “Easy, sweetie,” Shachi said soothingly. “He didn’t mean to get so loud.” He shot his crewmate a glare. “He’s just being very insensitive to your feelings.”

            The man scoffed but didn’t say anything while he leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

            “Anyway, if you’re ready to get this over with we can start now. This might be fairly uncomfortable considering your current state of being chained to the bed, but try to bear with it," Shachi said with a smile for her despite the fact she was refusing to look at him. "I promise I'll hurry. And I promise I won't hurt you one single bit. I’ll start off by washing the ends of your hair. That way you can get use to me being that close to you. Then I’ll slowly work up to the roots of your hair. Does that sound good to you? Will you lay down now for me? You can lay whatever way is comfortable enough for you. Just as long as your hair is hanging over the side here."

            Shachi waited patiently, for several minutes, before she finally shifted her body to lie down on the bed. She carefully inched towards him until her hair was hanging over the edge. He continued waiting patiently for her to find a comfortable position. Once she had stopped moving, he spoke again. He said, "You’re such a good girl. Thank you. I'm going to come closer now."

            He paused for a few seconds to let her adjust to that idea before actually stepping closer to her. He noticed her body flinch when she felt him close enough to her. He didn't say anything about it though. He spoke to her before adjusted the empty barrel so it would be under her hair. "I'm going to move one of the barrels closer now. I need it under your hair to catch the water. It's going to scrap across the floor, but it won't hurt you."

            He moved the water barrel closer to the bed, trying his best to not let it scrape too much. When he got it set, he then grabbed the bowl out of the barrel of water and started to wet her hair. He held up her hair with one hand while he poured the water over her tresses. That alone took a lot of the dirt out of her hair. “Okay, here we go now. How's the water? Nice and warm, huh? I think Bepo did a good job picking the right temperature. Kind of odd since he's a bear. I don't think he takes many warm or hot baths. He get’s too hot with that fur coat of his."

            He took a moment to glance down at her. He noticed she was stealing glances at the door, and probably his crewmate, from the corner of her eyes. He smiled and decided to continue talking to her again like he had been instead of bring attention to what she was doing. "It's been a while since your hair has been cleaned, huh? I'll bet you'll feel a lot better now that it's being washed. I know I feel better after washing my hair when it's been days since the last time it was clean. It’s so nice and refreshing, especially after a long hot day outside."

            Finally, he got her hair completely soaked and he pulled out a shampoo bottle from his pocket. He held it up so she would be able to see it before he used it. He waited for her to notice it before talking again. "This is just shampoo. It won't hurt you. It will sting your eyes if it gets into them, but I won't let that happen. I promise."

            "I doubt she's that stupid, Shachi," Conner scoffed. “Surely she already knows what shampoo is.”

            "I don't think she's stupid at all. I think she's just scared and confused." Shachi turned a quick glance at the other man. "She needs to see that we mean her no harm whatsoever. I'm just showing and telling her what I'm doing so she doesn't get taken by surprise before I do it. It's called 'earning her trust'."

            "Hm…" The man hummed in thought. "Possibly, but I don't see us gaining her trust anytime soon. She won't even look at us in the eyes. Or have you not noticed that?"

            "Pay him no mind, sweetie. He can be a bit of a pessimist at times. He's actually a really nice guy." Shachi turned his smile back towards her. To his surprise, he caught her actually looking at him. Her eyes quickly averted from his when he noticed, but she did sneak a couple more quick glances at him. "If you have no objections, I'm going to shampoo your hair now."

            Shachi waited a minute. When he saw no signs or objections, he popped the lid and squirted the contents into his hand. Once he had enough of the cream in his hand, he sat the bottle down on the bed then began to work the cream into her hair from the bottom up. After a couple minutes he started working his way up, occasionally pausing to get more shampoo since her hair was a lot thicker than he thought it would be. "You have really pretty hair. It reminds me of the sky. You know, on those bright sunny days when there are absolutely zero clouds in the sky? You’ve probably seen lots of those being outside as much as you have. And there we go. You’re all lathered up now. I'm going to start washing it out. Then I'll brush your hair out so it won't get tangled."

            Shachi reclaimed the bowl in his hand. Dipping it into the water, he poured the liquid over her hair as carefully as he possibly could. But while rinsing the shampoo out of her hair he accidentally splashed some water on her face. The drop landed near her eye, causing her to jump and curl back into herself. "Sorry about that, sweetie. Let me wipe that away so it doesn’t get into your eye. I don’t want you getting hurt."

            He tugged the towel off his shoulder then pressed it to her face, earning another flinch from her and causing her to tightly close her eyes when his hand came close to her face. He lightly dabbed the drop away from her eye as quickly as he could. Returning the towel to his shoulder, he went back to washing out her hair. "I'll be more careful."

            It took up at lot of the water to get all of the shampoo cleaned out of her hair and he was able to see some dirt remained. So just for good measure, he washed her hair again. Luckily, the last of the dirt came out with it. So he didn’t need to call Bepo to bring more water for him. He was glad. He got the feeling her neck was starting to hurt her despite the fact she wasn’t showing any signs of discomfort. Once he was sure he got out all the shampoo, he pulled the towel off his shoulder again and carefully squeezed the water out of her hair, starting at the bottom and moving upwards until he got enough out of it. "There you go, sweetie. Your hair is finally washed and clean. You can sit up now."

            She quietly sat up and scooted away from him.

            Shachi pulled out a comb out of his pocket and showed it to her. "I'm going to comb out your hair now. I'm going to have to sit behind you to do that. Is that all right?"

            He blinked behind his sunglasses in surprised when she actually nodded slightly in response to him. It took him a few seconds for his brain to register that he didn’t dream the action into reality. He stepped towards the bed, carefully monitoring her comfort level and making sure to keep as much distance between him and her. He sat down. The distance didn't matter. She still flinched with him so close. Scooping her hair into his hand, he slowly began to run the comb through her hair. He tried his best not to pull on her hair when the comb teeth collided with a tangle. "Sorry about having to use a comb on your beautiful hair. It's all I could find around the sub. I don't know many men who actually use brushes since they don’t typically have such long hair like women do. The next time we dock at an island I'll pick up a brush for you. It'll be better for your hair than this old comb."

            Shachi went quiet for a while after that but he felt like he just had to try again to reach her. "You know, you really don't have to be so scared of us. We really mean you no harm. We're just trying to help you." She shifted, but didn't reply. "And Penguin won't hold a grudge against you. You remember him, don’t you? The man you kicked in the ribs when the captain pulled you back into this room after you escaped? That's Penguin. He even has his name on his hat. He's a really nice guy. He's not upset at you at all for attacking him like that. He understands that you were just scared. None of us blame you for anything. We'd be scared too if we woke up one day to a bunch of strange, ugly men hovering over us."

            Taking a soft breath, he continued to talk softly and cheerfully to her. "And Bepo, the bear that came in before, is a real softly. He's only aggressive to enemies, which you're not one. You'll just love him once you get to know him. You're such a little cute that I bet he'd let you cuddle against his fur. He won't let any of us. Only the captain can lean against him. Of course we four have known each other longer than the rest of the crew. And I have to say that I believe Bepo is that captain’s closest friend due to an issue that happened when we were teenagers. Maybe Penguin or I will tell you about that some day. But it makes sense that Bepo would allow the captain to lean again him. And believe me, Penguin and I have tried to do it too, on several occasions. Especially when we've been near islands of snow and ice. He's the lucky one on those islands, born with a built in fur coat while the rest of us freeze. But he's terrible when it comes to heat. He can become so pathetic and miserably. Although, I don't blame him for whining like he does. He is the one with a build in fur coat, literally. It can't be helped that he gets so hot."

            Shachi went quiet after that. He leaned to his right a bit so he could quietly studied her. She was hugged her knees to her chest, but didn't seem as stiff as she was before. He wondered if he had reached her with anything he had said. He hoped he did. He hoped that she was starting to realize that they weren’t going to hurt her at all. He turned his eyes to the door when he heard footsteps coming closer. His eyes went back to her when she shifted. He sighed upon seeing her curl back into herself and trembled again. Maybe he wasn’t reaching her after all. Maybe they just wouldn’t be able to reach her.

            The door opened, revealing Law with Bepo close behind him. The captain cast a glance at the bored man still leaning against the wall by the door. "You can go now."

            “Great.” Conner nodded as he left the room.

            Law then turned his attention to Shachi and the girl just in time to see Shachi sliding off the bed. He asked, "Well? How was she? Did she cause any trouble?"

            "She's been a very good girl, Captain," Shachi reported. He shoved the comb back into his pocket. "She didn’t try to fight me at all the whole time."

            “Good.” Law nodded. His eyes went to the girl. He caught her giving him a quick look before she looked at Bepo then started down at the bed.

            “Uh, should I get the barrel now or wait?” Bepo asked.

            “Go ahead, Bepo,” Law said.

            “Aye, Captain,” Bepo said.

            Law watched while Bepo slowly inched towards the girl. He couldn’t help but noticed that the girl was watching Bepo secretively from the corner of her eyes. And she was showing no signs of fear or being uncomfortable with the bear so close. What he did saw was slight curiosity in her grey eyes. He wondered why. Was it because Bepo was actually a mink instead of a normal bear that she’s probably use to seeing? That had to be why. There was nothing else it could possibly be. He continued to watch for any other signs or hints to anything. He just wanted something, anything to help him figure out his mysterious little girl.

            He almost scoff out loud upon realizing that wasn’t the first time he’s thought of her as _his mysterious little girl_. He forced his mind back onto the girl and Bepo. His bear subordinate had his paws on the barrel but his eyes were on the girl. And the girl was actually looking back at him. He carefully shifted closer to see that it appeared the girl was looking Bepo directly into his eyes. It was a quick passing moment before she averted her eyes when Bepo smiled at her. He watched Bepo blink in confusion then sniff the air curiously before finally picking up the water filled barrel.

            "Well, I'll be leaving now," Shachi announced when Bepo started to walk away from her and the bed. He grabbed the empty barrel and headed for the door. "See you later, sweetie."

            Law kept his eyes locked onto the girl. His mind was going over and over what Shachi had told him. She didn't cause any trouble at all. He felt like it was a small step, but a step nonetheless. So he made an on the spot decision. "I'm only going to leave your right wrist chained up now. This will give you a bit more freedom to move on the bed. Don't make me regret this decision."

            With that he said left the room. Leaving the girl with her own thoughts of what everyone had said.

            She remained curled into herself until several minutes after the men had left her completely alone. She laid down on her right side. Her eyes locked onto the cuff bound around her right wrist. She stared at it for a long time before she started tracing the cuff with the tip of her finger. She exhaled softly and waited for the tall black haired man to come back with her next meal.

…

            “I can’t believe it’s been two and a half weeks since she’s been with us,” Bepo said while unrolling a map on the table in his navigation room.

            Law only nodded in response. He couldn’t really believe it either. And he still couldn’t figure out what was causing him to keep her here with them. She wasn’t the type of person that needed to be around pirates. They both were lucky that nothing bad happened to her when the pirate group attacked them before. He knew it wouldn’t be much longer before another pirate crew got the same idea.

            “Captain?” Bepo’s voice said. “Uh, Captain?”

            “What?” Law asked, turning his eyes to his navigator.

            “You were lost in thought again,” Bepo said. “Were you thinking about the girl again?”  
            A frown tugged on Law’s lips.

            “I’m sorry.” Bepo bowed his head. “I didn’t mean to…”

            “Don’t worry about it,” Law said, a bit confused at why he frowned at Bepo’s question. It was a legit question. And she seemed to always be on his mind. He sighed and rubbed his neck with the feeling this girl was going to drive him insane before he got any answers from her. “I was thinking about her. It’s all I seem to think about anymore.”

            “I think that’s understandable,” Bepo said, bringing his eyes back to his captain. “You’re the curious type. And I think anyone would be questioning themselves if they were in your shoes, especially since you’re not the type to randomly bring someone onto the sub unless you see potential in them as part of the crew.”

            “Yeah.” Law nodded. “Anyway, how much longer until we get to the next island?”

            “Well,” Bepo said, dropping his eyes back to the map, “since the wind and currents have been with us we’ll arrive sooner than I expected. We should be at the next island at the end of next week.” He looked back up. “Is there any reason you’re in such a hurry to get there?”

            “I just want to get the girl some of her own clothes since she’s going to be staying with us for a while,” Law said. “She can wear a shirt of mine if needed until then, but she can’t always wear my clothes or bandages around her body. Plus, I need to get some monthly supplies for her.”

            “So she’s old enough for that,” Bepo said before blushing. “I’m sorry.”

            “It’s fine. It’s a natural part of life,” Law said. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. And even though she does have her monthly cycle it doesn’t mean she’s very old either. She could just be an early starter.”

            “I suppose you’re correct. You’re the doctor after all. Anything else you wanted?” Bepo said.

            “Nothing for now,” Law said. “Let’s go to breakfast.”

            “Aye, Captain,” Bepo said. He left his map on the table and followed his captain out into the hallway. “So how is she doing with Penguin coming into the room now?”

            “She’s doing like she always does,” Law said. “Curling into herself and not making eye contact at all.”

            “I see,” Bepo said. “Do you think we’ll ever get through to her?”  
            “It’s a possibility,” Law said. “It would be better if we knew what happened to her. Then I could adjust things around a bit where it would help her better.”

            “Do you think that I might be able to help with that?” Bepo said. “It does seem like she’s a lot less scared of me than she is of everyone else.”

            “I’ve thought about that, but I’m not so sure it’s a good idea right now,” Law said. “She needs to realized that we’re not going to hurt her. If she doesn’t then she’ll never be able to live in society at all and she will most likely succeed in killing herself.”

            “I hope she doesn’t,” Bepo said. “I think she’s really a nice girl.”

            Law nodded. He couldn’t help but agree with his navigator. The girl had to be a nice person since she didn’t purposefully try and attack them outside of that one time from being so scared. If she weren’t a nice girl then she would be doing everything she possibly could to escape instead of shying away from them all.

            Wandering up the stairs to the third level, the two pirates were quickly greeted with the aroma of their breakfast. The halls were filled with the yummy smells of fried eggs, jam, bacon, and sausage so it wasn’t a surprise that’s what they were having for breakfast when they had entered into the chatter filled galley. Penguin had made them a completely balanced breakfast like always with bread despite the captain not liking it. Law wasn’t going to deprive his crew of something he didn’t like personally.

            “Good morning, Captain,” his crew said upon him and Bepo entering into the galley.

            “Morning,” Law said, sitting down in his chair. He took off his hat and placed it on the table before he started filling his plate. The morning then proceeded on like normal. He ate and read the newspaper while his crew talked about what they were going to do for the day.

…

            “Here you go, Captain. I decided to slice her up an apple to accompany the rest of her breakfast,” Penguin said, passing the tray over to his captain.

            “That’ll be fine,” Law said, taking the tray filled with one fried egg, a piece of bacon, toast that was lightly buttered and jammed, the apple, and a glass of milk.

            “Who’s coming with you today?” Penguin then asked.

            “I’d like you to come,” Law said. “Shachi’s been in more than enough since he’s washed her hair a couple times now. I want her to get more use to you.”

            “Are the rest of us going to have to go in there too?” Archer asked.

            “It all depends on her,” Law said. “If she keeps doing what she’s doing, then I’ll start having the rest of you go with me when I feed her.”

            “Great,” Conner grumbled.

            “Shut up,” Archer snapped.

            “Why? We’re pirates not babysitters,” Conner said.

            “Enough,” Law said before the argument could go any farther. “I know some of you are still questioning my decisions about the girl. And that’s fine. I’m still not clear on everything myself. And I will not have someone who’s going to be so negative around her much.”

            “Good,” Conner mumbled.

            Law chose to ignore his subordinate. “I hope to get her to the point where she feeds herself. When that happens, and when she shows more signs of calming down, I’ll have her eat in the galley with us. Until then be a little more patient with her.”

            “Aye, Captain,” the crewmates said.

            Law nodded. With the tray in his hand and Penguin behind him, he left the galley to head up to the medical bay. For a while only the sound of their boots tapping on the floor could be heard through the hallways and stairs.

            “Conner doesn’t mean any harm,” Penguin then said when they reached the first floor. “He’s just a bit…”

            “I know he can be a bit difficult when it comes to things that aren’t explained clearly,” Law said. “You don’t have to defend him like that. I’m not going to get upset with my men voicing their concerns about anything.”

            “Aye, Captain,” Penguin said. Ascending the last flight of stairs to the medical bay, the two men continued their walk in silence. He opened the door to allow his captain to go in first before following him in. He wasn’t sure why he always did that when he came in here. He just wanted the girl to see his captain before walking into the room himself. Staying beside the door, he closed it and leaned against the wall like he always did.

            Law proceeded on over to the girl. He noticed that she had put the pillows behind herself at some point before they came up here. He wasn’t sure what to make of that. Once close enough, he placed the tray down on her lap before sitting down on the bed himself. He shifted his position then reached for the fork. His hand paused in midair when he found her fingers were already on the silver utensil. He blinked in confusion as he watched her cut a piece of the egg off and lift it half way to her mouth. Coming back to his senses, he looked to see that she was glancing back and forth between him and the fork. "Oh, uh, go ahead. You can eat it."

            She nodded slightly then put the bite of egg in her mouth. He watched her chew the bite slowly before turning to look at Penguin. His subordinate was holding his own look of confusion before his hat covered eyes lifted up to look at him. With no answer as to why she was suddenly deciding to feed herself, Law shrugged at the man then turned back to the girl. She had taken a small bite out of the toast and was just putting it down to take a small sip of the milk before going back to eating the egg.

            Still confused, he continued to watch her quietly as she continued to slowly eat what was on her plate. Occasionally, he would glance over at Penguin who was still just as confused as he was. Was this girl actually starting to give into him? Or was this possibly some kind of trick? He kneaded his eyebrows. He just couldn’t convince himself that it was a trick. Despite only knowing her for little over two weeks, she didn’t come off to him as the trickster type. If she were, surely she would have made a move long before now. Just then he heard a soft voice speaking out to him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He thought he was imagining things at first since it was so soft.

            "Did you…did you just say something?" Law asked the girl. He noticed that her bangs had fallen over her eyes. He began to think again that he had just imagined the voice, but he then saw her nod slightly.

            "I…I submit…to you," she said in a voice just above a whisper.

            Law was a bit taken back by her words. He just sat there for a while with his eyebrows kneading in consideration if she really meant what she said or not. He took a slow deep breath in and slowly let it out. He decided that he was going to give her the benefit of the doubt, at least for the time being. He was still going to watch her very closely even though she said she submitted to him. "Very well. I accept your submission. You can call me Captain from now on. Do you understand me?"

            "Yes," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear, "sir."


	6. A Clue P1

A Clue  
Part 1

  
Law stood at his opened closet. He ran his eyes over his shirts, wondering which one would be better for her to wear. He figured with how small she was one of his long sleeved hoodies probably wouldn't be the best for her right now. He slowly reached in for one of his dark blue, short sleeve shirts. He tugged it off the hanger then just stared at it for a while. He figured it didn't matter what shirt he picked out for her. His shirts were just going to be very large on her small body. All of their clothes were going to be small on her. Despite that he figured it would be best if she wore his clothes since he was the one she was more use to being around.

  
It's been two days since she gave her submission to him. So he decided to try letting her eat down in the galley for a change. She was only going to be in there with Penguin, but he still wanted some kind of clothing on her body while she walked through the sub despite the orders he had planned for the rest of the crew. Closing his closet doors, he turned and left his room to go find his subordinate. Considering it was close to lunch, he knew the man would be in the galley. But just as he got to the stairs, Shachi came running up to him.

  
"Captain, Archer has spotted a Navy vessel in the area," Shachi said. "What are your orders? Should we attack?"

  
"Have they spotted us yet?" Law asked.

"I don't think so," Shachi said. "But it's only a matter of time before they do. Should I tell the crew to prepare for battle?"

"No," Law said. "I don't want to get involved in a battle with the Navy right now after making progress with the girl. Have Archer submerge the ship immediately and stay underwater until the Navy ship is gone."

"Aye, Captain," Shachi said, unable to hide his pleased smile.

Law sighed when Shachi ran off from him. He couldn't help but noticed that his subordinate was happy he was thinking of the girl. He shook his head. It shouldn't bother him. He's already shown concern for the girl when the pirates' attacked the sub. Shrugging it off, he headed on to the galley. The smell of beef, pepper, and boiling vegetables hit him when he reached the third level. It made his stomach rumble in hunger. While traveling with Penguin as the cook, he grew to really like the man's beef stew. It was one of Penguin's best dishes. But he knew it wouldn't be much longer before they got an actual cook for the sub. Penguin was still just their temporary cook. He's just been so use to the man cooking for them that he hasn't bothered putting much effort into looking for an official cook. Besides, Penguin never complained about having to do the cooking since the rest of the crew pitched in a lot of the time. Though he did figure that Penguin wouldn't be able to handle it if their crew kept growing. He was going to have to be on the look out for a chief that would be more accustom to cooking for a large group.

He entered into the galley to find that Penguin was mindlessly stirring the two large pots of stew. He stayed back for a while just to observe his subordinate. He knew Penguin was having second thoughts about agreeing to his orders in bring the girl down here. But he also knew that the man wouldn't go against his orders. He said, "It's going to be fine. She's still going to be under control with the chains I've instructed you to use on her."

"Aye, Captain," Penguin said, glancing at the chains he had sitting on the counter top near by. He had gotten them before coming in here to make lunch so he's been occasionally staring at them off and on for the past couple of hours. "I know that."

"Then go get here whenever you're ready. I want her to eat before the rest of the crew comes in here," Law said, handing his shirt over to the man. Just then the warning sirens alerted them to the sub's descent under the waves. "They've already put up everything that she could possibly use as a weapon up out of her reach and they're going to stay near the doors since we're going to be traveling underwater for a while. So there's nothing to worry about. Have her put this on. Also, she doesn't have to go back to her room after she eats. So why don't you take her to the rec. room for a while? The change of scenery will do her some good."

"Aye, Captain. I'll do that," Penguin said with a nod just as they both felt the sub's smooth dive under the water. "I guess I'll go get her right now. The stew's pretty much done."  
Law nodded the left the room and the man with his thoughts.

Penguin stood at the stove for a few minutes longer before deciding he needed to get to his orders. So he grabbed the chain, laid it over his shoulder, and then placed his captain's shirt over his shoulder before heading out of the room. He trekked slower than he knew he should. He was trying to figure out how to talk to the girl and how she might react to him. Shachi had told him that he spoke to her about how he wouldn't hold a grudge against her for kicking him. And he wouldn't. He had no intention of ever holding a grudge like that on her. He just didn't know she was going to feel about him leading her around with these chains. He didn't think it was a really good idea in multiple ways. She was just a scared child. He felt like this would only cause her to be more scared of him. But he knew what his captain was doing so he didn't bring it up with him. He felt like he was going to treat her like a dog rather than a person.

"Hey, Penguin, are you okay?"

"Huh?" Penguin looked up to see Bepo looking at him with a mixed expression of curiosity and worry.

"I asked if you were all right," Bepo said. "You're walking in a daze and about walked into the wall."

"Oh," Penguin said when he saw that he was a foot away from crashing into the wall. "Yeah, I'm just a bit distracted."

"Because of the girl?" Bepo said. "The captain told us that you were taking her down to the galley to eat."

"Yeah." Penguin nodded. "I'm heading there right now."

"What are you going to do after that?" Bepo asked.

"I think I might take her to the rec. room for a while," Penguin said. "The captain said she doesn't have to go back to her room immediately."

"Maybe she'll enjoy the change of scenery," Bepo said.

"Maybe." Penguin shrugged.

"I'll let the crew know you're planning on doing that," Bepo said. "That way they'll steer clear of that room for a while. Though they might still come in there."

"That's good point," Penguin said. "The captain never did say he didn't want her around the rest of the crew."

"Maybe we shouldn't go in there at all then," Bepo said.

"Probably," Penguin said. "But it'll take a while for the crew to eat lunch and they still have others stuff to do around the sub so they probably won't even come into the rec. room while we're there."

"Some did mention that they were going to spar with each other at some point after lunch," Bepo said. "I'll still tell them you two be in there."

"Great," Penguin said with a wave. "I better get going."

"Okay," Bepo said. "Just don't try and run into walls again."

"I won't." Penguin laughed and continued up the stairs. When he reached the main floor he peaked around to the door and found three of his crewmates were standing around just talking. Without making himself know, he continued on up to the medical bay until he reached her room. The door was still closed like always. He took a deep breath, released it, and reached for the doorknob.  
…

The girl was laying on her right side. She had her right hand tucked up near her head while she traced the fingers of her left hand over the cool chain linking her to the bed. She knew it was coming close to lunchtime. So she knew soon the captain would be entering the room with her meal in his hands like he always did. She glanced over to the door when she heard footsteps coming up to her. When the door cracked open, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, pulling the pillows back behind her like she started to do a few days ago. She was ready to receive her meal.

But she wasn't ready for this mealtime to be different from all the times before. Instead of the captain coming in with her meal, the man known as Penguin walked in all alone and without a tray of food with him. She eyed the man while swallowing nervously. She had no idea why he was here without any food with him. Her eyes then landed on a dark blue shirt that was draped over his shoulder and a chain was sticking out from under it. She watched him walk halfway into the room before he paused and looked at her. When she felt his eyes on her, she dropped her own eyes to the bed with the occasional quick glances to see if he was coming any closer. She wrapped her arms around her bodywhen she started to tremble.

Penguin easily noticed the concern in her eyes. He even noticed her trembling from the distance he was at. He waited for a minute before finally speaking to her. He said,"You're going to eat down in the galley with me today. It's the captain's orders."

When he saw her nodded slightly, he took that as a sign that it was okay for him to come closer. He walked closer to her but automatically paused before coming into striking distance of her feet. Her soft, timid voice barely reached his ears when she spoke to him. She said, "I…I won't k-kick you."

"Yeah," Penguin said, drawling out the word. He didn't move forward yet. He just cautiously studied her while she pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly. He then finally closed the remaining distance between them with soft footsteps. He held out the shirt for her. "Here you go. The captain wants you to put this on before we leave the room. I'll have to remove your cuff so you can put it on."

Her hand trembled as she reached for the item. She grabbed it and quickly pulled it and her hand away from him. Slowly, he reached for the cuff that was attached to her wrist and unlocked it. He took a few steps away from her as the cuff landed on the bed. Narrowing his hidden eyebrows, he watched her carefully to see what she would do. He relaxed when all she did slipped the shirt over her bandaged body. He couldn't help but notice that she paused with the shirt over her nose. He wondered if she noticed it smelled like the captain. He also wondered if he should tell her it was the captain's shirt or not. Law never told him not to tell her who's shirt it was but he didn't tell him to tell her either. He decided to keep quiet about it for now. It really didn't matter one way or another. He then noticed that she had slid her legs over the side of the table and was sitting there obediently waiting for him to tell her what he wanted her to do next. He said, "Oh, yeah, I have to put these chains on you now. It's another order from the captain. He still hasn't deemed you trust worthy yet. So we're still taking precautions with you."

She nodded.

"Hold out your hands."

She slowly raised her hands for him. He noticed that she flinched when he stepped closer, but she didn't lower her hands or pull away. He clamped the cuffs on her wrist, causing her arms to dip to her lap from the weight of them and the other link of the chain meant to be a leash. Tenderly, he said, "Sorry about that. I guess they are kind of heaving for someone li-uh-for someone who's underweight as you are. Come on now."

With the chain in one hand, he motioned to the door with his other, singling her to follow him. She slid off the bed, the shirt draping down almost to her knees and hung off her right shoulder, and followed him out the door without a word. While walking through the halls, she timidly scanned the area for the other men she knew were in this place with her. But no one else seemed to be around. And all the other doors in this hallway were closed so she couldn't see inside of them.

With her eyes still looking around, she didn't notice Penguin looking back at her until he spoke to her. He said, "If you're trying to find something to harm yourself, you won't find it. The crew has put everything that could be used as a possible weapon up out of your reach. Or if you're trying to fine an escape, you won't fine it either. Captain has ordered us to stay close to the exits while you're out of your room. Besides, unless you're familiar with the layout of the sub you won't be able to find your way out of here so easily. You'll run into one of us before you even come close to finding one of the exits."

Penguin studied her carefully for signs of disappointment upon hearing his words. He relaxed when she didn't show any signs of that. She just dropped her dark cloudy eyes down to the floor. He tilted his head a bit as he continued to study her before faced forward again. He wondered if he misread the situation. Maybe she wasn't trying to find something to harm herself or escape at all. Perhaps she was only trying to see if anyone else was around. He didn't look back at her until he felt the chain he was holding become taut between then. He turned to find her staring off to her left with a slightly confused, slightly concerned look in her eyes. He walked back to her to see what had caught her attention. He noticed that one of the doors to another recover room had been left open. She was staring out through a porthole at the water world around them as fish swam by. She flickered him a quick glance before looking back at the porthole. It took him a few seconds to figure out she was asking him something along the lines of 'Where exactly they were? Or why do I see water here?' He said, "I guess captain hasn't mentioned to you that we're underwater since I've been the only one to come to your room since we dove. We're in a submarine."

Her eyes flickered again to him with even more confusion. As he studied her eyes, she quickly dropped them down to the floor. While he kept studying her, he couldn't help but noticed her confusion kept growing. It was also obvious that even though she wanted to keep her eyes down she kept looking around the sub, at its walls, at the porthole. Then it finally clicked in his head. "Oh…you don't know what a submarine is, do you?"

She flinched at his words and immediately dropped her eyes back to the ground, looking like a scolded child. "Hey, it's okay that you don't know what a submarine is. A submarine is just like a ship. The only major difference is we travel underwater a lot of the time instead of above it like other ships do. We can emerge from the water any time we want. We do also travel a lot of the time on the surface. Most of the time when we are traveling underwater is to get away from the Navy and other pirates and even from storms. You're not scared, are you?"

He waited for an answer, but knew she wouldn't actually give one. She didn't have to anyway. He could tell that she was, at the very least, nervous about being underwater since she most likely has never been in a submarine before. "You don't have to be worried about being underwater. We are perfectly safe here. This is one of the best submarines ever built. And we won't let anything happen to you while you're in our care. I promise. Come on now. Let's go get something to eat. You're probably hungry by now."

He stayed patient with her while waiting for her to move again. She took one last glance at the porthole before taking a couple small, timid steps towards him. Penguin waited until she was close then continuing their way through the halls and to the stairs. While descending down to the next level, Penguin stole careful secret glances at her. He noticed she was walking closer to him now. He took that as a sign that he was right about her being afraid of being underwater. He didn't say anything to her. He just allowed her to remain as close to him as she felt like. He felt her hesitate when they passed the first and main level of the sub. They both could hear the chatter of some of the crew as they passed the level. He glanced at her. She had started shaking again but was still keeping up with him. He was glad that from the stairs they weren't able to see his crewmates and they weren't able to see them. He figured she would try to bolt away from them or curl into a scared ball again. He picked up her pace to get away from the men.

"Here we go," Penguin said, finally leading her into the galley. He guided her over to the table then motioned to a chair since his captain never said he had to hold onto the chains all the time. Besides it would be a bit difficult to get their meal while having to hold the chain. So he decided to trust her. "You can sit here. I have to set the chain down so I can get our food. I'm trusting you to not try and escape, okay?"

She gave him a light nod while obediently sitting down in the chair he pointed out. He laid the chain down on the table before stepping away from her. He kept glancing back at her while he moved around to get them their lunch. Once he had two bowls filled with the stew, he walked them over to her and placed them on the table where she was still sitting obediently right where he left her. The only movement he ever saw her do was timid glances around the room and her flinch when he got too close to her. He then said,

"What would you like to drink? You're probably getting tired of drinking water all the time. How about some tea? Do you like tea?"

She didn't answer him at all. She just her eyes back from the stove and looked down at the bowl and spoon in front of her. She lifted up her hands, spreading her wrists apart. There was about a foot length of chain in-between her hands so they weren't going to cause her problems in feeding herself.

"Have you ever tried tea before? It's okay if you haven't," Penguin said.

She lightly shook her head.

"That's okay." He walked over to the fridge and opened it. "You can try it now then. If you don't like it, I'll get you some water or something else. You're lucky though. I made this tea earlier today so it's nice and fresh. It's always best when it's freshly made."

He pulled out the pitcher then grabbed two cups and walked back over to the table. He poured the brown liquid into one cup and placed it down in front of her then poured himself a cup before sitting the pitcher down on the table and taking his own seat beside her. He watched her as she slowly lifted the cup off the table and brought it to her lips. She took a small sip of it. She gave him the impression that she liked it since she didn't snarl her nose or anything. He couldn't keep himself from smiling. He was starting to find it cute at how timidly she was being. "How about trying it with sugar? Would you like to try it like that?"

She gave a single nod after a moment of silence. He reached for the bowl of sugar sitting on the table. He lifted the lid off and dropped a small white cube into her cup. "Let's just try that for now. Too much sugar can make you sick when you're not use to it. And considering you're still a bit under weight I wouldn't want you to get sick. The captain wouldn't be happy with either of us. And we wouldn't want that, now would we?"

He smiled when her eyes lightly lit up at the taste of her sweetened tea. He turned his attention to his bowl of stew and started eating it. He ended up finishing before she did. So he poured himself some more tea while he waited patently for her to finish. Then just watched her slowly eat her meal. With anyone else he would get annoyed at them if they ate this slowly, but with her he didn't mind it one bit. He found that he was enjoying watching her eat. He didn't know why and he didn't question it.

He just continued to watch her eat while thinking about his captain's in the girl and what she should and shouldn't eat. With his captain's orders and list of foods he wanted her to eat, Penguin was careful to make sure he made all of her meals as nutritious as he possibly could even though she often didn't finish all of her meals. Even with the smaller meals she was getting each day. His captain still wasn't forcing her to eat more than she could handle. Luckily she was eating enough since she had put on a couple pounds since being under his captain's care.

"Are you finished?" Penguin asked when she released her spoon.

She nodded.

Penguin picked up their dishes and walked them over to the sink. He noticed there was probably a little over fourth of the stew left. And not wanting it to go to waste, he finished it for her then put the dish in the sink with his own. He walked back over to her and picked up the chain. "Captain said you don't have to immediately go back to the medical bay as long as you behave. So how about we go to the recreational room for a while? I think you'll like it in there."

She stood up.

He took that as a yes, reclaimed the chain, and led her out of the room. As they walked down the hall to the rec. room, Penguin noticed she was more relaxed this time. She wasn't walking as close to him anymore, but wasn't far away like she was when they first left the medical bay. He smiled to himself. He wanted her to trust them. And it looked like they might really be on their way to that happening.

"Here it is," Penguin announced when they came upon an open door. He led her into the room and allowed her to look around for a few minutes. There were a couple pale yellow couches, one on one wall the other on another wall, there was a round table in the middle of the room with cards scattered over the, near one of the couches was two bookshelves crammed full of books and laying around the far side of the room was exercise equipment that the crew had brought up from the training room. "You can feel free to do whatever you wish here. If you like to read, we have books for that. As you can see I'm sure. Do you like to read?"

The girl dropped her eyes to the floor and became stiff.

Penguin felt confused at her action and felt like they had taken a small step backwards. His heart sank in his chest. He didn't want that to happen. "Um, okay, you don't have to become stiff like that again. Uh…maybe it would be best if I just stopped talking now. I'm going to read since I don't have any other orders to fulfill at this time. You can join me on the couch if you want to."

Due to the chains that connected her to him, she had no choice but to follow him over to the couch near the bookshelves. She remained standing as he grabbed himself a book and sat down on the couch. She looked around the room again, unsure about what she should do. Penguin peered over the top of his book. He wondered what she was going to do before dropping his eyes back down to the pages.

She remained standing for several minutes just cautiously looked around. She then timidly sat down in one of the chairs around the nearby table when her legs started to burn. She placed her cuffed hands in her lap, causing the chain links to jingle, and sat quietly unaware that the man she was with was taking occasional glances up at her. She continued to stare down at her lap. She only took a couple glances over at the man she was with and even more glances over at the door. She wondered where everyone else was and if they were going to come into the room with them. She took another glance up at the door. Her body jumped when she found that someone was standing there this time. Her body jumped, her eyes widened, and her breathing increased upon seeing the captain standing there.

"I didn't mean to startle you," Law said, his eyes locked onto the girl as she pulled her feet up in the chair and hugged her knees.

"Do you need something, Captain?" Penguin asked when he noticed the man there. He stuck his finger in between the pages and lowered it to his lap.

"Not really," Law said. "I was just heading to the galley and decided to come see how she was doing."

"She's been doing just fine," Penguin said. "Sitting there quietly like the good little girl I know she is. And I didn't have a lick of trouble with her in the galley. She ate almost all of her food."

"That's good," Law said. He turned and walked out the door. "I'll leave her in your care for a while then. I'm going to eat lunch then go to my room to study for a while. Send someone to find me if she gets out of control."

"You got it, Captain," Penguin said. "But you don't have to worry. I know she's going to behave herself."

The girl kept hugging her knees until Law was long gone. She placed her feet back on the floor then dropped her eyes back down to her lap. She continued to stare at her lap for about five minutes then she turned her eyes to look out the porthole. She sighed softly while watching the colorful sea life swim by the window.

Penguin glanced up from his book to find the girl contently staring out the porthole. He was a bit surprised to find she looked almost content at watching the sea life swim by. She also looked comfortable in the room now. He wondered if she even remembered she was in here or if her mind was actually out in the sea with the fish. Whatever it was, he was glad she was sort of enjoying herself at the moment. He wished there was a way he could let her watch the sea life all the time in her recovery room. She must be getting really bored just sitting up there doing nothing. But since he couldn't do that he started to think about what he could do with her once she was more comfortable with him being around. Perhaps he could teach her a game of some kind? But what type of game could he play with her? Since he didn't know what she would like, he figured he could probably pick out some games he used to play as a child. There were plenty of easy card games he could teach her if she didn't know them already. He turned his attention back to his book. He could figure games out later. He really wanted to finish this book today.

It was coming up on two hours later when Penguin sensed Bepo walking through the door. His eyes drifted over to the girl and found that she was staring at the bear. From the angle she was at he couldn't tell if she was looking at him in the eyes or not. Brushing it aside, he said, "What's up, Bepo? Did you need something?"

"Nothing really." Bepo regarded the girl with a friendly smile. He blink in confusion when her eyebrows lifted up on her forehead before she dropped her eyes back down to her lap. "I was going to practice some, but some of our crewmates are becoming very unruly in the training room." He casted the girl another quick glance before turning them back to Penguin. "It might be better if I just wait and do that later. She seems comfortable right now. I don't want to scare her with my practice since she might not like it."

"I think it'll be all right. She doesn't seem to be tensing up with you in here." Penguin placed a finger in-between the pages he was currently reading then lowered the book to his lap. He then looked at the girl. "Bepo is a martial arts master. He wants to practice his fighting moves in here since the training room is a bit of a mess right now. He'll be at the other end of the room. He has no intention of causing you harm. Is that all right?"

She only shifted in her chair in reply.

"Go ahead, Bepo," Penguin then said. "I'll keep an eye on her. If she show signs of being scared, I'll tell you to stop or just take her back to her room."

"Well, okay then." Bepo blinked a couple times. He slowly made his way passed the girl to the other end of the room. He gave her one more concerned glance before he started his practice off with slow, fluid movements. After a few moves, he looked at her again to find she was watching him curiously. He also saw no signs of fear or distress with the training that he was doing so he picked up his pace. He often looked back at her while he practiced to check on her. At one point she seemed to be nervous about something. Before he could stop or say anything to her or Penguin, she turned her eyes back to the sea life swimming by.

For the next hour and a half the three occupants of the rec. room got lost in their own activities. Penguin got pulled deep into his book, Bepo got lost in the rhythmic movements of his martial arts training, and the girl continued to stare contently out the porthole. Just then the distance mumbles of some of the crew interrupted the quiet setting and started to come closer to the room. The girl whipped her eyes over to the open door when three men walked inside of it. She watched as they walked in the room about four feet then stopped to continued their talking. She dropped her eyes to the floor but kept looking over in their direction from the corner of her eyes while her breathing slowly increased.

"Yeah, apparently the Navy turned and went the other way," a man she didn't recognize said.

"Too bad," another said. "I was kinda looking forward to another fight."

"Don't get so edgy," the third said. "We have plenty of time to engage with the Navy and other pirates."

Three more men then came in and gathered with the other three men staying within three feet of the door. They added to the conversation of fighting against the Navy and pirates. Mentions of cannons, blood, broken bones, and other such things mixed together in her ears as her chest heaved up and down. She turned her eyes to the man reading. He seemed unaware of her discomfort and to the fact that the extra people were in the room. She pulled her feet up onto the chair and wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging them close to her chest while her breathing slowly increased towards the point of hyperventilation. Beside her body small shimmers started to appear in the room.

…

Bepo kicked, spun, and threw several punches out into the air, still unaware of the extra company that was in the room with them and making the girl very uncomfortable. He paused suddenly when his animal instincts told him that something was wrong. His fur stood on its ends while a shiver ran down his spine. He felt something like this before but only when a serious storm was about to blow in. And he knew there wasn't any storm anywhere near them. He turned his eyes slowly to look around the room to try and figure out where this feeling of danger was coming from. Nothing seemed to be out of normal. Penguin was still sitting on the couch reading his book. A few extra crewmates had wondered in at some point. Then his eyes landed on the girl. He blinked in confusion when he saw strange sparkles surrounding her. He blinked a few more times, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him or something. But when he looked again the sparkles were still there. He wasn't seeing things and his eyes weren't playing tricks on him after all. He tilted his head. "What is this? Why is the room sparkling all of a sudden? Do we have some glitter onboard or something?"

He looked around at his crewmates. None of them heard him talking. And they didn't seem to sense what he was. He then let his eyes wondered back to the only girl in the room. She was hugging her knees and casting glances over at his crewmates near the door. He couldn't figure out what it was but something about her seemed different suddenly. He tilted his head again upon realizing the feeling of an incoming storm was coming from her. But he couldn't think of a single reason for such a small timid girl to feel like a wild storm was about to blow through the sub, and while it was underwater no less. Did she possibly have a Devil Fruit after all? But what Devil Fruit could possibly create a storm? And why did he feel her Devil Fruit, assuming she had one, when he's never sensed a Devil Fruit power before?


	7. A Clue Part Two

A Clue

Part 2

 

            Bepo continued to grow more and more curious while he studied his feelings and the danger that he knew was coming from the girl. He still had no idea how and why it was happening, but he was fairly sure that she herself wasn’t dangerous or a real threat to them. He just didn’t know what was going on here. And his confusion grew even more when one of the glittery sparkles appeared right in front of his eyes. He blinked at it before it suddenly started to take a more solid form. He watched the shimmering sparkle until it became a clear light blue crystal. He kneaded his furry eyebrows then looked around the room again. All of the sparkles were becoming more and more solid. They all were becoming light blue crystals. This girl had some ability that could summon crystals. But what did that have to do with the storm he felt coming?

            "Did you see that one sword the pirate had? It was incredible!" a crewmate said.

            "Yeah! You know I have been thinking about getting a sword and learning how to use it. It’s been an interest for me since I was a kid and I think I might be able to handle it. What do you think? Wouldn’t I make a great swordsman?" The crewmate laughed then jabbed out his finger like it was a sword. “On guard, you fiend!”

…

            The girl tightened her hold on her legs. She closed her eyes and tried to block out their voices but it wouldn’t work. Their words and laughter continued to pierce through her mind, body, and soul. Tears gathered and burned in her eyes, forcing themselves out of her tightly closed eyelids. Her breathing was now bordering on hyperventilation. Her head was starting to spin from all of her rapid breathing. She wanted them to stop. She needed them to stop. She mumbled under their playful banter, “Stop it.”

            Why wouldn’t they stop? Could they not see she was in such distress? Why wouldn’t that one man, the one she was with do something to stop this? She wanted to look over at him, to ask him to make them stop. But she couldn’t get herself to bring her eyes up to him.

…

            "You? A swordsman?" Another crewmate laughed. He held up his hands in mock fear of his friend poking his finger sword at him. His voice became high pitched, as he spoke with a horrible, pretending to be scared voice. "Oh no! Please, Mr. Pirate, don't cut me down! I didn’t mean you any harm, Mr. Swordsman! Spare my life!"

            "On guard you worthless scum!" The man poked his finger sword into the faked scared man’s ribs, pretending to run him through as if it was a real sword.

…

            “Stop it,” she wheezed. Her mind filled with shadowy images. All with shard pointing fangs and fingers that closed in on her. The pirates’ laughter mixed in with the images she was seeing. She felt as if the world was closing in on her. “Stop it…stop…don’t…I didn’t…I can’t…”

…

            "Ah! I've been hit!" All the gathered men laughed when their fellow crewmate grabbed his stomach and dramatically dropped to the ground like he was gutted. “Oh, the pain! Grandmama, I’m coming to be with you!”

            “You’re such a goof!”

            “You should have gone into the theater instead of becoming a pirate!”

            “Yeah, you really could have knocked them dead on the stage!”

…

            "Stop it," she whispered to herself. She grabbed her head more tightly as their laughing increased and tried to curl into herself to get away from their laughter, to get away from the dark images rolling through her head. “Please…just stop it. Don’t do…this…anymore. It hurts.”

…       

            Shachi was walking down the hallway with a light whistle playing on his lips. He came upon the rec. room and decided to drop in and see how the girl was doing since he didn’t have any orders or anything else to do at the moment. He hoped she was doing all right with her first real trip out of the recovery room. It would be amazing if she was doing fine. He wanted her to come to trust them. And consider that their captain was letting her out like this it appeared they were on the right track.

            He tromped down the stairs, hearing the loud laughter that was coming from down the hall. His whistle caught in his throat while he kneaded his eyebrows, wondering where exact the laughter was coming from. He hoped they weren’t in the rec. room with the girl. He relaxed and shook his head. The girl should be fine. Penguin was with her and he was very good at carrying out commands their captain gave them. He wouldn’t let anything happen to the girl. The light tune came back to his lips as he headed down the hall.

            When he finally reached the room he turned into it, his whistling cut off when his eyes dropped to his fellow crewmates, one which was on the floor acting as if he was injured or something, goofing around then immediately shot over to the girl. His heart took a sharp jolt in panic to see how much distress the girl was in. Despite there being several feet between him and her, he could clearly see her body trembling. Her face was red and stained with tears from crying. His brain didn’t even register the many crystals hovering in the air around the room. He just slapped himself on the head in frustration with how inconsiderate his crewmates were being. "Oh geez! You morons! Penguin!"

…

            Penguin was still lost in the depths of his book. He didn’t notice anything that was going on around him in the rec. room until he heard his best friend shouting out his name in a panic. He looked up to the man calling out his name. “Huh?”

            “The girl!” Shachi said, pointing at the distressed blue haired girl.

            “Oh crap!” Penguin cursed when he realized what had happened. He had unintentionally let himself get lost in the world of the book he was reading and didn’t even noticed his crewmates had came in the room with them. He closed his book and placed it down on the couch beside him. But before he, Shachi, or even Bepo could do anything about their crewmates or the girl, her scream erupted over the jollies the Heart Pirates were having.

            “Stop it!” she screamed, finally bringing everyone’s attention to her.

            "Hey, are you okay?" the want to be swordsman asked. He walked closer to her and reached out for her shoulder.

            "No! Don't touch her!" Penguin shouted, but it was too late. His crewmate placed his hand on her shoulder.

            She screamed again. A pain and fear filled scream like none of them had ever heard before. She flung herself backwards. Tipping the chair and herself over. The chair hit the floor of the sub, making her release a startled scream and causing the crystals to become clearer to all of the pirates.

            “Huh?” The Heart Pirates all gasped when they finally noticed glittering sparkles of crystals around the room. The light blue crystals were of all shapes and sizes, just lazily hovering around the room. But what puzzled them the most was when wind began to spin around the crystals like small whirlwinds. And with each passing second, the whirlwinds became stronger and stronger.

            "What's happening?!" another crewmember asked, holding down his hat when the wind became strong enough to blow it off.

            "Stop it! Stop it!" The girl continued to scream from her spot on the floor. Curling more into herself, she held her head in her hands as she managed to scoot back away from all the men in the room. The chain, that Penguin was supposed to be watching, slid off the couch and onto the floor with a startling clank. She jumped at the sound and scooted away faster until she had herself pressed firmly against the wall as far away from the pirates as she could get. “Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!”

            “What the heck is going on here?!”

            “Someone stop her!

            “How is she even doing this?!”

            “Is she crazy?!”

            “Will you all knock that off?!” Shachi demanded. “Haven’t you all scared her enough?!” His crewmates blinked at him like they didn’t have a clew what he was talking about. He sighed. They really were clueless. “Just keep quiet! Let Penguin handle this! Penguin!”

            “Uh, yeah!” Penguin nodded and walked over to the girl. He struggled a bit against the wind she was somehow creating. Hoping she could hear him over the wind, he spoke as softly as he could. "Hey, shh, it's okay, sweetie. They didn’t mean any harm." Staying four feet away from her, he kneeled down to try and make himself less imposing to her despite the fact she was refusing to look at him or anyone else. He kept his voice low and soothing as much as he could. "It’s okay, honey. Just take it easy. You don’t have to be scared. They're not going to hurt you. They really didn't mean any harm to you. They were just joking around that’s all. You know? Having some fun? They didn’t hurt anyone at all."

            "Stay away from me!" Tears poured down her cheeks as she screamed out again, the wind seemingly picking up at her outburst. “Stay away!”

            Penguin knew she didn’t hear him. He wasn’t sure if it was because she was so scared or if she just didn’t hear him over the wind.

…

            Bepo lifted his arm over his face, pushing against the girl’s wind as much as he possibly could. But no matter how much he tried to dig his feet into the metal floor, her winds still managed to push him back. He finally he felt the back of his boot press against the wall. It helped stabilized him. He stared at the crystals in front of him. There were just so many. He counted at least thirty near him. All of them different shapes and sized that ranged from an inch to two and a half inches long. He wanted to count them all but the wind was just too much. It kept drying out his eyes and blowing his fur and boiler suit all over his body. His brain went over and over all of the Devil Fruits he’s heard of. None like this came to mind. But she had to have a Devil Fruit. What else could she possess?

            He looked out to his fellow crewmates. They were having just as much trouble as he was keeping their footing. Some had already been blown against the wall as some were on the floor trying not to get thrown up against anything while dodging all the loose paper and other lightweight items that were currently flying around the room.

            "What are these?" He had somehow heard a crewmate ask. His black eyes wondered over to the one who had spoke. They all had finally taken noticed of the crystals hovering in the room. His heart hammered inside of his ribcage when he saw his crewmate reaching out for one of the crystals. But before he could issue a warning on leaving the crystals alone, his crewmate tapped a near by crystal with his finger. A gust of wind exploded from the crystal. It knocked them all back against the walls, pinning them in place. “What the heck?!”

…

            Penguin cried out when the wind shoved him back into the table and chairs, knocking them all over. His hip hit the leg of the table while his head collided with the edge of it. Luckily his hat was thick enough that it cushioned the blow, at least for the moment, but he could already feel a bruise forming on his hip. He knew they all would be in trouble if the wind picked up even more. His body and the table and chairs were still sliding over the floor. And not only would they be in trouble but the sub would be as well, assuming that she could increase her winds even farther. It was possible that she could rip the sub apart. He didn’t want to chance it. They needed help. They needed their captain.

            Struggling to look over at Shachi, the man was being pinning next to the door. He raised his voice over the howling winds as much as possible. He called out, “Shachi! Get the captain!”

…

            "Right!" Shachi nodded. Pushing against the wind, he reached for the edge of the doorframe. Once he had his hand firmly on the edge, he pulled himself towards the opening. His arms burned by the time he managed to pull himself through it and disappear down the less windy halls and up towards his captain’s quarters.

…

            Penguin watched until his best friend was finally out of the room. His eyes then turned back to the girl. She was still curled against the wall. Questions ran through his mind. The one at the top was asking if this girl even noticed what she was doing. She was so upset that he could only assume that she didn’t. He couldn’t help but wonder why she suddenly released this power. He knew she was scared from the second she woke up here. So what was it that really caused her to release her power on them now? And why wasn’t she using it to try and escape them?

            He tried to pull himself along the floor to get back over to her. But with nothing solid and stable to grab onto, his hands and boots just kept sliding back away from her. It this kept up much longer his body, along with the chairs and table, was going to go flying through the air and into his crewmates. He fruitlessly called out to her. "Okay, sweetie, calm down now! We're not going to hurt you! Please, just calm down!"

…

            Law was sitting at his desk in his room, leaning over his medical book that was talking about a new procedure in reconstructing a cheekbone. It was riveting stuff for him to read. But all the while running his eyes over the words in front of him, his mind suddenly snapped back to the girl. Questions of how she and Penguin were doing started to over take his mind. With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. He told himself that they were fine. If something had happened someone would have came and got him by now. His eyes wondered over to the porthole in his room. He had the curtains pulled back so the sea life floating by could easily be seen. He had almost forgotten they were underwater. How long have they been submerged? Perhaps it was time for them to head back up to the surface.

            It was starting to feel rather stuffy in his room. Bepo was probably sweating right now and whining about how hot he was to the others. Surely the Navy was long gone by now. They had at least been underwater for a few hours. Thinking he should get up and have the sub surface again, he just leaned back over his book. He had already ordered for them to surface when the Navy was gone. His crew was probably just making sure they had lost the Navy ship before surfacing. And that was only because of the girl. Shachi was glad that they weren’t going to fight after all. So he was positive the order to submerge made more than just Shachi happy.

            Leaning back again in his chair, Law placed his hands behind his hatless head and started up at the ceiling. He thought it odd how much his crew, most of them, actually cared about the girl. He thought it even odder that he cared so much about her. It was still bugging him that he brought her here. It wasn’t as bad as it was before, he just still wanted answers as to why Corazon wanted him to care for her and why he was so willing to do so. It didn’t fit him or a pirate crew. He had to be losing his mind. Shaking his head he thought maybe he could figure that all out once the girl started speaking to them.

            He leaned forward with the intent to get back to his studying when he felt an odd sensation inside of his chest. Something told him that he needed to go check on the girl. Grabbing his hat, he rose to his feet. All it took was one step for him to notice the breeze that had now entered into his room through his partially opened door. Check the porthole again he made sure they were still underwater. They were. There was no possible way for this amount of wind to be inside of his submarine. And he knew they didn’t have any type of machine that would cause wind like this. He bolted for the door. Just as he stepped out into the hall, Shachi’s voice called out to him.

            "Captain! Captain!" Shachi said.

            Law turned his eyes down the hall. The older man was running up to him, clearly panicking a bit about something. A shiver ran down his spine. He didn’t like that all. Walking towards his subordinate, he asked, "What is it?"

            "Captain, we have a problem," Shachi said just as he reached his captain. He pointed back down the hall. "The girl is somehow creating wind inside of the sub. And there are these weird crystals floating around the rec. room too. I think she created them."

            Law frowned. His feeling about something being wrong was correct. Something had happened with the girl. With no other words between the men, he started to lead the way back down to the rec. room. A question to whether or not he should have brought his sword with him passed through his mind as they pushed their way through the wind and down the stairs. Ultimately, he decided it was probably better that he didn’t bring it. The girl wasn’t an enemy. He, somehow, knew that for sure. He just had to get to the rec. room and figure out what happened. That is, if he could manage to get to the rec. room. With the wind in the closed off vessel, it had nowhere to go.

            He tightened his hat down on his head and continued to push himself forward. A quick glance over his shoulder showed him that Shachi was having just as much trouble as he was. With the slow progress they were making it was going to take them several minutes to get to the room that should only took a few seconds to reach. He had no choice. Holding up his hand, he created his blue sphere around them and part of the rec. room. “Room. Shambles.”

            Appearing in the room, Law’s eyes widened at the scene before him. The wind was worse than out in the hall. Books, papers, and even a couple of his own men were flying around the wind torn room while the rest were doing their best to anchor themselves down. His eyes flickered to one of the crystals that Shachi had mentioned. Instantly he could feel the raw power with in them despite being unsure of what they were exactly and how it was the girl who was using them to create this windstorm on his sub. But now wasn’t the time for questions like that. If something weren’t done soon to stop the girl then they all would be in severe trouble. So he tried to push against the wind. It didn’t work. There was no way he would be strong enough to walk over to her. So he did the only thing he could. He turned back to Shachi. “Shachi! I have to use you!”

            "Aye, Captain!" Shachi nodded in understanding to what his captain meant.

            "Room!" Law called out. He once again called up on his own Devil Fruit powers. Spreading his Room over the rec. room, he switched their bodies. "Shambles!"

            The second the girl was in Shachi's place, Law grabbed her shoulders. Instantly, he felt the violent trembling her body was producing. Momentarily it made him forget about his struggles against the wind and the chaos around him. When a gust of wind made him almost lose his grip on her, he snapped out of his thoughts. Roaring over the winds, he said, "That is enough! Stop it right now!"

            "I didn't do it!" she screamed back. “I didn’t do it!”

            Law pulled back his hand to slap her out of this. His hand was suspended in the air. It wouldn’t move. It wouldn’t obey him. Then he felt it. A cool touch of fingers ghosted around his wrist. Turning his eyes, the coolness of the fingers ran down his arm and into his heart. He knew who it was before he even saw them. Corazon had once again appeared. The man shook his head at Law then disappeared. Exhaling, he turned back to the girl. That’s when he noticed it. Something was off about her. In a weird way, it felt like she wasn’t even here. Then it clicked in his head. He could tell that she wasn't talking to him. She was talking to someone else. Her mind wasn’t in the room with him and his crew. Her mind was completely somewhere else, somewhere in another place, possibly even another time.

            "I didn't do anything to him! I don't know where he is! Please, leave me alone!" she screamed.

            "What are you talking about?" Law questioned even though he knew there was no way she heard him through her hysteria or over the winds.

            "Captain!" Bepo's panic voice broke through the raging winds, snapping the captain out of his thoughts. Law tossed the bear a quick glance. The bear's fur was flying all over as his massive body was still being pressed against the wall like everyone else. "Do something! Please! Captain, please help us!"

            Law turned back to the girl. Since slapping her was out of the question, he reached up and applied pressure to the pressure point on her neck, effectively knocking her out instantly. As she went limp in his arms, the wind vanished along with the crystals. The crew fell to the ground with grunts and groans before they picked themselves up. The room was quickly filled with questions of the girl and what had happened.

            "What just happened?"

            "How was she able to do that?"

            "Does she have Devil Fruit powers?"

            “She can’t. If she did, she would have used them before to escape from us.”

            “Then what did she do?”

            “I don’t know.”

            "Captain, do you have any idea what she did?" Shachi asked, pushing himself off the wall.

            "I don't have a clue," Law replied, not taking his eyes off the now sleeping girl in his arms. He studied her sleeping form for several seconds before running his eyes over the condition of his crew. "How is everyone? Any injuries? And what happened here?"

            The crew sounded off. All reporting they didn’t receive any injures, only a few bumps and bruises from flying books and paper that had given them a few paper cuts.

            "It was my fault." Penguin pulled himself off the floor.

            "How is it your fault?" the crewmate who had touched her asked. "You didn't do anything. She's just freaked out on us."

            " _Exactly_ …I didn't _do_ anything." Penguin's reply earned him several confused glances from his crewmates.

            "Explain," Law ordered.

            "I was supposed to be watching her while she was in my care. But I allowed myself to get too wrapped up in my book and didn't notice the rest of the crew coming in," Penguin explained. "She wasn't comfortable with it at all. Then it only got worse when one of us touched her."

            "That's right," Shachi said, backing his friend up. "When I came in the room it was obvious she was nervous. We were blocking the door. You know how she keeps glancing at them. I guess she just couldn't handle having her only escape route blocked. We freaked her out without realizing it."

            "Are you two serious?" Another crewmate asked. "She freaked out because the door was blocked?"

            “That and by being touched,” Shachi clarified.

            "They have a point," Law said. He looking back down at the girl in his arms, shifted her into a better position, and stood up with her in his hold. "She does have a habit of keeping an eye on the doors. But I don't think that's the only thing that caused her to lose it. If that were it, then she would have had this reaction when I chained her to the recovery bed. That prevented her from getting to her escape route too. But she didn’t do anything like this."

            "So, it wasn't really about not being able to escape. It was more about all of us in the room," Shachi summoned up. "Kinda makes it sound like she was ganged up on or something."

            "But why would someone want to do that?" Bepo asked, smoothing down his wind blown fur. He walked over to his captain and looked at the girl in his arms. She looked so peaceful sleeping there. She didn’t look like she could hurt anyone, even with her wind crystals. The thought of anyone hurting her bothered him. She was good. He could tell that. He knew that.

            "I have no idea. I'm just spit balling here." Shachi huffed at their lack of answers to their increasing questions about the girl.

            "I'm going to take her back to her room now.” Law glanced around the mess now cluttered in the formerly clean rec. room. “Clean this place up."

            "Aye, Captain," the crew shouted.

            Law nodded then left the room without another glance at them. Working his way up to the medical bay, his head was buzzing. His brain was trying to form any kind of answers that would satisfy him. He got none. Just more questions piled on to his still growing pile of unanswered questions. He was almost to the room she stayed in when Penguin's voice rang out to him.

            “Captain, wait!” Penguin ran down the hall. He continued to speak once he had caught up to his captain. "Captain, I really am sorry. You entrusted me with taking care of her and I failed you."

            "Don't worry about it," Law said, entering into the room.

            Penguin raised an eyebrow when his captain said that. He wasn’t expecting it to just be brushed off. The girl could have hurt them. Still, he followed his captain into the room. "What do you mean, Captain?"

            "I don't blame you for anything that happen just now," Law replied. He laid her down on the bed. He continued speaking to Penguin as he removed the chains from her wrist and replaced the correct one on her right wrist, linking her back to the bed. A tick of his heart caused him to second guess chaining her back to the bed. But with what happened in the rec. room he couldn’t take the risk of leaving her unbound. He had no idea what she was going to do when she woke up. “I expected something like this would occur before you brought her back up here, but not the wind of course.”

            "Are you saying that this was some kind of test for her?" Penguin asked.

            "Not really." Law shrugged. "Though I do believe it has confirmed that she has been through something extremely painful. Well, I'm not sure painful is really a strong enough word for it. Traumatized might be more fitting."

            "For what?" Penguin asked

            "Whatever it was she's been through," Law replied.

            "But what has she been through? What could have happened to her to cause her to be this afraid of people? And what were those crystals things that appeared in there?" Penguin questioned while his hidden eyes dropped down to the girl.

            Law didn't answer for a while. He had no answer to give. All he said was "Go help finish up cleaning the rec. room for now."

            "Yes, sir." Penguin sighed. He took one last look at the girl before finally leaving the room.

            Law remained standing by the unconscious girl’s bed. His mind was once again going over all of the mounting questions they had about her. About twenty minutes later there was a knock at the door. It broke him from his thoughts. "Yes? Come in."

            The door creaked open, soon followed by Bepo poking his head in. "Can I talk to you for a moment, Captain?"

            "Come in." Law said. The bear did as he was told and stepped into the room. "What did you want to talk about?"

            "Well, it's about her." Bepo nodded at the unconscious girl.

            "What about her?" Law turned his body to his navigator.

            "It’s kind of about her freaking out. Maybe a bit before it happened..." Bepo started but paused.

            "Yes?" Law inquired.

            "I sensed something," Bepo continued. "It was like when I can sense when a very bad storm is approaching. You know, because I'm a bear? It felt like she was calling up a storm. Is that possible?"

            Law narrowed his eyebrows at the bear. "I don't know. It seems that all this girl can do is give us more unanswered questions after unanswered questions. I’m going to have to get her to answer our questions if she's going to be staying on this ship with us."

            "How are you going to do that?" Bepo asked.

            "Continue trying to gain her trust," Law replied. "It's obvious that my typical tactics of torture aren't going to work on this girl, even if I did want to use them. And I blame Cora for that."

            "What do you mean by _that_ , Captain?" Bepo asked.

            "It's nothing. Never mind that. We're just going to have to start treating her more like a member of the crew," Law said.

            "She's a member of the crew now?" Bepo gave his captain a quizzical look.

            "No, we'll just treat her like it," Law explained. "Show in more everyday gestures that she's not in any danger here and that we view her as a normal human being.” His body twitched at the word _human_. He forced it aside for now. “I’m sure it'll work out a lot better than keeping her locked up like this. Unless there’s something else, you can go now."

            "Aye, Captain." Bepo nodded. “I’ve nothing else to say.”

            Law kept his eyes on his navigator as the bear left the room. It was obvious that Bepo was still slightly confused at was he was planning on doing with the girl. But there was nothing that could be done about that. They did not need another episode like the one that happened today. On a regular ship it wouldn’t have been so bad. Ships were open to the outside world so her wind would have been easily released through doors unlike in the confined space of his sub. She needed to keep control over her abilities, whatever they truly may be.

            Now again alone with her, he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to her. He took a strand of her blue hair in between his fingers. Her hair was soft, practically silkily soft. It wasn’t what he was expecting from a girl who came from nowhere and from being in the dirty mess that she was in before. In her sleep, she shifted, touching her cheek against the back of his fingers. He could feel her shivering in her sleep but her skin wasn't cold. It was from what happened before. Mumbling, he said, "Such a strange girl you are. What happened to make you so scared of people? Why do you keep shivering like your cold? Just who the heck are you? And why do I keep talking to myself and asking the same questions over and over?"

            With a heavy sigh at the annoying questions that wouldn’t leave him in peace, he sat down on the edge of the bed. He didn’t want to leave her just yet. It annoyed him even more that he wanted to stay with her. But he needed to think more about his decision to treat her more like a member of his crew. She wasn’t going to have any crewmember duties to preform, she wasn’t a pirate after all, but he did want her to learn life skills, if she was missing any. And that meant things that people normally did on daily bases like cleaning, taking their own bath, and basic stuff like that. Right away he knew she wasn’t going to be showering in the crews’ quarters. She would have to use his private bathroom in his quarters. He knew his crew wouldn’t peak in on her and vice versa, especially if he ordered them not too and stationed Bepo outside the bathroom just in case. He just didn’t want to chance an accidental walk in on her.

            And neither would she be sleeping on the same floor with the crew. She still needed a tight hold on her, especially after what happened today. He didn’t blame Penguin for anything that happened. He just knew this girl was going to need someone to set boundaries for her and keep a firm hold on what she can and can’t do. She needed stability. His crew wouldn’t be able to do that on their own. They already proved that with how worried they were over her and how happy they were when they didn’t engage the Navy ship. Still, he didn’t want her sleeping up here in the medical bay. This place wasn’t a bedroom. It was a place for recovering. With his crew growing he knew that he would need this room for the injured at some point in time. She needed a room. A place where she could put her own clothes in a dresser or a closet, once he got them for her that is. They still had a while before reaching the next island where he could do that.

            He knew only one place that would suit her. And that was his room. She was going to stay in his room at least until he could come up with a better solution.

            He then pondered over whether or not he was going to allow her to leave the sub. Instantly he knew she wouldn’t be leaving the sub any time soon. She would have to gain his trust before he allowed that to happen. And she would have to get use to being around more people. He definitely didn’t want something like today to happen around others. If someone outside of his crew saw what she could do he had no doubt that they would try and kidnap her. Pirates and even the Navy were bound to take an interest in her strange wind ability. They could easily use her to their advantage and would without carrying how it affected her.

            Hot anger flared up in his chest at the mere thought of that. There was no way he was going to let that happen. She had been damaged enough. Who knows what would happen if he let someone take her. He knew other pirates weren’t as nice as his crew was. And despite his own reputation for being sadistic towards his enemies, he would never hurt a member of his own crew or this girl. Trust and loyalty in his crew was important to him. He never would rule over his crew with fear. It wasn’t his style. So whenever the time came for her to step off of the sub, someone was always going to be with her. That was one thing that he would not budge on. Either she was with at least one of them or she remained on the sub.

            And thinking of his sadistic nature towards his enemies brought up another issue he needed to address. He was going to have to be careful about letting that side of him out when she was around. She surely would become even more afraid of him if she saw him like that. But that was a problem for later. He had no intention of letting her be around him during those times. Most of those times happened during fights anyway. Right now he was more concerned about the first and most important step, gaining her trust. And like that it was all settled. He was going to give her a week of supervised freedom around the sub then see where he would take her from there. All that was left to do was discuss this with his crew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters will be getting longer soon. Thanks for reading. Enjoy. And feel free to point out mistakes. I'm still trying to get better at proofreading my stories.


	8. Moving Forward

Moving Forward

 

            It was almost dinnertime when Law finally pulled himself away from the girl. He had his plan set in stone inside of his mind. The only thing left to do was to tell his crew about his plans. So he wondered out of the room and down the hall, noticing that the sub had finally surfaced. The sky was turning a light grey, signaling that it was going to rain soon. At least a storm wasn’t coming in. It would have been a waste to come back to the surface to only have to dive back down.

            The sound of his boots thumping against the stairs was the only sound that accompany as he descended. He was sure the majority of his crew was scattered around the sub talking about what the girl had done. Finally reaching the third flood, he came across Archer in the hallway. “Archer.”

            “Aye?” Archer turned to his captain.

            “Summon everyone to the galley,” Law said.

            “You got it, Captain,” Archer said with a nod.

            Law watched as his subordinate wondered down the next flight of stairs before he turned the opposite way and headed for the galley. The mix of spices Penguin was using for their supper waft up into his nose the second he walked into the galley. Glancing over at the stove, he found Penguin hard at work adding vegetables into their stew.

            “Did you need something, Captain?” Penguin asked when he noticed the man standing there.

            “We’re getting ready to have a meeting in here about the girl,” Law said, sitting down at his typical spot at the head of one of the tables. “Also, I’m going to eat with her up in the recovery room. So when it’s ready prepare us both a dish.”

            “Aye, Captain,” Penguin said, unsure about what his captain had to say about her and what happened. Surely he wasn’t going to kick her off the sub because of that. He brushed it aside. Surely it had to do with what they spoke about in the recovery room. Either way they all would know soon enough.

            It didn’t take long before the crew had finally assembled in the galley. Muttering to each other as some sat down at the tables while others remained standing around the room. They all went quiet while exchanging glances.

            Law exhaled. He knew they were all waiting for him to speak. Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms and legs while letting his hat fall over his eyes. Tapping his finger on his arm he went over his plan one more time to make sure he didn’t forget anything important. He then inhaled and exhaled before lifting his eyes to his men. With their eyes all on him, he told them what he wanted them to do. He said, "No one is to mention a single word on what happened in the rec. room when the girl is around. And no one is to ask her questions about it either."

            He watched patiently, understanding their confusing that was in their eyes and their murmurs. Once they settled back down he continued to explain. "I believe that it’s for the best to keep quiet about it. I highly doubt she meant to do what she did."

            "But how are we supposed to find out exactly what she did when we can't ask her about it?" Conner asked, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. His lips curled down into a frown revealed to them all that he didn’t agree with their captain’s decision.

            "She's not going to tell us anything even if we do ask," Law replied, completely understanding Conner’s disagreement with him. But he knew the man wouldn’t disobey him. None of them would. They all respected him far too much to do that.

            "Then what are we supposed to do?" Archer asked.

            "Just let her do this on her own time. If she wants to open up to us then she’ll do it when she’s ready," Law said. The crew exchanged looks again but clearly understood what he was saying. So he took the time to tell them what else he decided. "We're also gonna stop treating her so much like a prisoner."

            "What?!" the crew, but for Penguin, practically shouted. “After what she did in the rec. room?!”

            "Calm down. I'm not going to let her just automatically run free. She's still going to be limited, but being chained up all the time isn't helping anything here," Law explained. "We need to show her that she's being viewed as a human being.” And there was that tick again. Human being just didn’t suit her no matter how many times he called her that. He forced himself to continue. “That we're not going to hurt her. And that we're not going to hold anything against her for what she did with those weird crystals. Understood?"

            “Aye, Captain,” the crew said.

            “Good.” Law nodded. The rest of his plan could be explained later. He stood up and walked over to Penguin. He could hear the stew bubbling in the pots once close enough. The smell was it was making his stomach rumble and his mouth water. “Is it ready?”

            "Aye, Captain!" Penguin jumped. Rushing around the room, he filled two bowls with the stew, placed them and two cups of lightly sweetened tea on the tray before handing it to his captain. All of their eyes followed their captain out of the room.

            It wasn’t until Law was out of the room that they started discussing their captain’s decision. He listened to them for a few seconds.

            "We’re not allow to ask her about it? I'm not so sure about this."

            "Trust the captain. He knows what he's doing."

            "Of course! We'll follow him no matter what!"

            Law walked off then. He had no reason to worry about them at all, not even Conner who clearly didn’t like his orders. Their voices had completely faded away from his ears by the time he reached the stairs. Silence had engulfed him as he worked his way up the stairs to the medical bay. He paused to look out a porthole. It was raining just like he knew it was going to. The sky was still a light grey. No thunder or lightning was around. He hoped that it didn’t storm until after they arrived at the next island. The girl really needed her own clothes. His was just too big on her to wear all the time. Continuing up the stairs he wondered if he should just adjust some of his shirts that he didn’t wear that often. He then brushed it aside. There was no point. In a week they would be arriving at the next island. She could just wear his shirts until then.

…

            The girl opened her eyes to the familiar sight of the sub ceiling. It took a moment for her buzzing mind to remember what had happened. Her heart took a sharp jolt against her chest. She had revealed something to them. She had turned against them. Drawing in a shaky breath, she wondered what they were going to do with her now. Shifting she found she was once again chained to the bed. She wasn’t surprised. It was always like that.

            Rolling over onto her side, she fingered the cuff around her wrist. It was only a matter of time before someone came back in her, possibly that captain guy. She wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep. Nor did she know how much time had passed before she finally heard footsteps outside of the door. When the door cracked open, she shot up and waited for whomever it was to come inside and deliver her punishment. It was the man who had told her to call him captain. Violent shivers wracked through her body when he moved closer to her despite the fact it was clear he was only bring her something to eat.

            Law didn’t miss a single movement of hers. It was painfully obvious that she was scared, a different type of scared than from before. He could clearly see that he was correct in his assumptions on her not meaning to have unleashed that _attack_ or whatever it was on his crew. She didn’t mean to do it and was now afraid of getting punished for it. Once he was next to the bed, she ducked her head and curled as much into herself as she possible could. Keeping calm, he sat down on the edge of the bed with the tray still in his hand. He said, "I figured you'd be hungry by now. You've been out for a while."

            Instantly, she straightened out her legs and held out her hands. He took his bowl from the tray then placed it in her hands. Without hesitation she picked up the spoon and started eating as fast as she could. It puzzled him. He wondered if she was really that scared of being punished for what she did. Eating his own meal, he continued to watch her. Her hands were shaking from her obvious terror. She sloshed both her stew and her tea onto the tray and the shirt of his she was currently wearing. Tears streamed down her face each time she rushed to clean it up the best she could.

            Law could feel his pirate heart sinking into his chest each time she did this. He showed no indication to her that he was going to punish her for what she did yet she was clearly still expecting it. It actually gave him even more confidence in taking the next step he had planned for her. It was something she clearly needed to happen. He hoped his week of letting her roam around free of the chains would help her become more comfortable around them so he could take her a step farther. Just one week was all he needed to see what she would do.

            The clanking of her spoon against the bowl alerted him to her being finished. He, however, still had half a bowl left. He quickly ate it before finished off his own tea and setting the empty dishes on the tray. Picking it up, he headed for the door. He only got three steps before her timid voice reached his ears. She said, "I'm sorry for…about before…I didn't mean to..."

            "Don't worry about it. It was an accident after all." Law didn’t have to turn around to know that she was confused. He could feel it radiating off of her. Standing still for a few moments, he let it sink into her brain a bit before finally leaving the room. Stuffing his free hand in his pocket, he made his way down to the galley to return the dishes, wondering what was currently going through the girl’s head right now.

…

            The next day started off like any other for her. She woke up and waited patiently for whoever was going to come get her for breakfast or bring her breakfast. After what happened yesterday she was expecting to eat in this room again. She wanted that. She didn’t want to see the rest of the men. She knew they were going to hate her for what she did. Lost in her own thoughts of yesterday’s events she barely registered the door being opened. It wasn’t until she caught a bit of movement from someone coming closer did she finally know that someone else was in the room with her. Her body jumped to his presence.

            “I didn’t mean to startle you.” It was the captain. He had came in with nothing in his hands, not even his sword that he carried around often, so she knew she was going to be allowed out of this room for breakfast.

            When he got close enough to her, she raised her hand for him to unlock her cuff. Once freed from her restraint, she raised her other hand in expectation of have the other chain put on her wrist like before.

            "You're not going to wear that other chain from now on," he said while turning and walking away from her. Confusion flooded into her. She remained sitting on the bed, unsure of what to do until he looked over his shoulder at her and beckoned her to follow. "Come on."

            The want to stay right where she was engulfed her like a tight blanket. But her body obeyed his command. She slid off the bed and instantly followed after him. She quietly continued to follow him down the stairs. Her eyes glued to the floor below her until they had finally reached their destination, the galley. Unaware of the captain watching her from the corner of his eye, she quickly peaked up. She found a few of the other men were in the room with them. Her heart raced at the sight of them. One she knew, it was Penguin. The other one she couldn’t remember if she’s seen him before or not. Her eyes dropped back down to the floor still unaware that the captain was watching her twitched and fiddle nervously with the shirttail of his shirt she was wearing.

            "Just relax,” the man beside her said. “Nothing bad is going to happen here. My men are not going to hurt you. We're going to sit down now. Come on."

            Her body once again obeyed him. She followed him farther into the room making sure to stay on his left side, far away from the other men as she could possibly get. Remaining by his side, she watched as he sat down at the head of the table he had led her too. She stayed on her feet until he gestured for her to sit down beside him. She sat down on his right hand side, still away from the other two. Placing her hands in her lap, she stared down at them unwilling to look up and around at anyone or anything. Her fingers curled around the shirt fabric when a few of the men started to come into the room.

            “Just relaxed,” the captain said. “They’re only getting their breakfast and leaving the room. Only a few are going to stay in here with us.”

            She swallowed. Flickering her eyes up to the men, she watched as they filled their plates and got their drinks before rushing out of the room. A few minutes later, a couple more of the men came none. From what she could tell, none of them looked in her direction as they did what the men before had done: filled their plates, got a drink, and left the room. Soon only a few remained in the room. Besides her and the captain, the only others in the room were Penguin, Shachi, Bepo, and one other man that she couldn’t recall the name of, if she even knew it to begin with. Shachi, Bepo, and the nameless man sat two tables over from them.

            Penguin was the only one who made contact with her. And that didn’t happen until he had her breakfast in his hand. Her body tensed up when he walked over to the table. Without looking right at her or saying anything, he placed her plate down in front of her with a glass of milk. She glanced up at the captain.

            “You can eat,” he said with nod towards her plate.

            She glanced down at the food. She recognized the pancake, the small pile of scrambled eggs, and the sliced orange, but the other thing she didn’t recognize at all. It was sort of cup shape with a dome on top of it. Picking up her fork, she poked the unfamiliar item, breaking part of it off.

            “It’s a muffin,” a voice said, causing her to jump. She looked up for a quick glance at Penguin. He had returned at some point with his own breakfast and was sitting beside her. “It has blueberries in it. They’re really good. You should try it.”

            She dropped her eyes back down to the muffin. Poking the broken piece with her fork, she brought it up to her lips and put it in her mouth. Her eyebrows lifted. The muffin was sweet. One of the sweetest things she had ever tasted before. She cut off a bigger piece and ate it, unaware of the exchanging glances of the men around her.

…

            Law continued to watch her every second that passed by. That is, until he noticed his men gathering at the galley door. Glancing up from her, he nodded to them. Earlier this morning he realized that he didn’t need her in the same room as all of his men at once. So he spoke with them to order them to come in only in groups of three to four. He also ordered them not to look at her or address her at all, just get in and get out while staying far away from her as possible. Still, he wanted a few to remain so she could start getting use to the idea of having them all around. So he picked out the few he knew she would be most comfortable around. Penguin and Shachi had spent the most time with her so they were obvious. And Bepo was also an obvious choice since she had looked him in the eye. He then chose Archer since he was one of the calmer of his men.

           When his men started coming into the galley, he carefully watched for signs of extreme stress rising in the girl. Luckily, with the orders he had given his men, she didn’t get as stressed out like he thought she might. She only tensed up when they came in but relaxed when they left. After all of his men, but for the chosen four, had gone, Penguin brought her food over. He watched her curiously and confusingly pick at the muffin before Penguin encouraged her to try it. It was obvious she liked it. She finished it first before eating the other food on her plate. A smile came to his lips, a smile that he shared with Penguin. His plans were working fine for the moment. All he had to do now was ease more of his men into eating with her throughout this week of testing her.

…

            Over the next week the girl found herself in the same routine. When she was asleep in the recovery room she would wear the chain on her right wrist. But when she was out of the room, she didn’t wear any chains at all. And she was always with someone when she was out of the recovery room. And those revolved around the men she had been with before, the captain, Shachi, and Penguin. Only very few would remain in whatever room she was in. Every so often another man or two would enter into the galley when she ate until they all were eating in the room with her. Like always, she refused to look at any of them. Her mind was still buzzing with the fact that she hadn’t received any kind of punishment for what she had done with her crystals.

            Currently, she was sitting in the galley with Penguin and Archer who was cleaning up after lunch. The captain was with her up until a few minutes ago when he said he was going to check on something. She didn’t know why, but she didn’t like that he wasn’t here with her. Her eyes dropped back down to her chain free wrists. She didn’t understand anything that was going on.

…

            “Are you sure?” Shachi asked.

            “I am.” Law nodded. “She really should have been taking showers a few days ago. But I wanted her to be as comfortable as possible before letting her do that. I believe now is the time for her to start taking her own showers.”

            “But what if she needs help?” Shachi asked.

            “She won’t,” Law said. “She has been washing herself when I take water to her for it.”

            “Well, all right then,” Shachi said shoving his hands into his boiler suit pockets. “I’ll do it. But could you pick her up a brush while you’re out? You can use part of my pay to pay for it. With her hair she really needs a nice brush rather than that old comb I’ve been using on her.”

            “I’ve already added it to the list,” Law said with a nod. “And don’t worry about her expenses. I have plenty to take care of it.

            “How long are you going to be gone?” Shachi asked.

            “I’m not planning on taking more than two hours,” Law said. “It just depends on if the stores have what I need. And it depends on if I run into any trouble with unexpected marines or pirates.”

            “I hope you don’t,” Shachi said. “I’m not sure how well she’s going to handle you not being here. She seems to react to you better than any of us.”

            Law nodded again. It was true. While the girl easily obeyed Shachi and Penguin, it was clear to them all that she was closer and more comfortable with him. He figured it was because he handled her more and had a no nonsense policy. He didn’t care either way. As long as she obeyed them, he knew everything would be fine. “Just have her throw her bandages in the trash. I want to check her injuries when I get back.”

            “Aye, Captain,” Shachi said.

            The two parted ways. Shachi headed for the galley while Law headed upstairs towards the exit. He paused on the second floor stairs. A small bit of doubt was hovering around in his chest. This was going to be the first time he left her with his crew while he was off the sub. He forced the doubt down. This had to happen. For one, she needed her own clothes. And for two, she needed to be tested while he was away. He didn’t think anything bad was going to happen, but he still wanted to hurry and get back. Pushing his way on up the stairs, he left with only his sword and his list for the girl.

…

            She was still staring down at her wrists until she saw movement from the door. She glanced up, hoping that it would be the captain but only found that it was Shachi. Avoiding eye contact with him, she glanced over his shoulder in an attempt to see the captain. But the tall man never came within her view. She dropped her eyes back to her wrists and waited for his return.

            She shifted when Shachi came closer to her. He said, "Captain said you should have a shower now. If you're ready, just follow me and I’ll take you to it."

            Obediently, she stood up and followed him out of the room without a word. She followed him through the hall and up the stairs. Cautiously, she glanced around for the other men, and the captain, she knew was on the sub with her. She didn’t see anyone else. Eventually, the man she was with paused and opened a door to a room she’s never been to before. Stepping inside of the darkened room, she noticed something about it smelled familiar. It took her a minute to realize this room smelled like the shirt she was wearing. She also knew she had smelled this scent somewhere else, but couldn’t place where.

            With a little confusion and curiosity in her mind, she glanced around the room they were in. Looking to her left, she found two double doors on the wall. There was also a desk with a matching chair on that side of the room with a porthole on the back of the wall. Moving her eyes from the porthole to her right she found a large bed with a nightstand and a small lamp beside it. Moving to the foot of the bed she found another door.

            "The bathroom's here," Shachi said while walking into the door that was at the foot of the bed.

            She took small steps over to the door as he opened it and walked inside. Poking her head in, she glanced around before stepping fully into it. She found that it was a rather simple bathroom. It contained a tub on her left, tucked nicely in the corner and the shower in the other corner just beside it with a towel rack hanging up near the tub and shower. Opposite of those was the sink with a square mirror over it and the toilet.

            Her eyes was pulled back to the man she was with when he started speaking. He was standing near the shower, pointing out items as he spoke about them. He said, "This is the shampoo, conditioner, soap and a washcloth you can use.” He pointed to the drying rack near the shower. “Here's a towel for you to use and the shirt the captain wants you to wear when you're done. Just hang the towel back up here so it can dry. Oh, and just throw away your bandages there in the trashcan. The captain will check your injuries later then bandage them if it's needed. I'll be waiting right outside for you. Just come on out when your done. Is there anything else you need?"

            She shook her head. Shachi nodded then skirted around her to let her get her shower done. She glanced back when the door clicked closed. She looked around the room for another minute before finally moving over to the shower. Reaching up, she turning the knobs on. The water rushed out onto the floor below, splashing lightly on her bare legs. Letting the water heat up, she adjusted it to the temperature she wanted then took off the shirt and bandages. Looking around she found a small trashcan between the sink and the toilet. She dropped them into it as instructed then stepped into the shower, pulling the curtain closed. The warm water cascaded down her skin, heating her up and relaxing her tension from not knowing where the captain was.

            After a minute of letting the water wash over her, she reached for the shampoo and layered it up before moving onto her body. When she was finished, she turned the knobs off to the shower before stepping out of it. She grabbed the towel that Shachi had pointed out to her and wiped the water off her skin before wringing as much water out of her hair as she could. Once that was done, she grabbed the shirt that was waiting for her. She slipped it over her head, pausing for a split second to take in the scent that was embedded in the fabric before letting it fall over her body. Then she adjusted it until it was in place, the hem hanging over her thighs so it fit more like a dress than a shirt. But the shirts she wore were always like that. This one was no different from the rest. It was navy blue and short sleeved. It was so big on her that it fell of her right shoulder, baring her skin.

            One last wrung of the towel on her damp hair, she placed it back on the rack. Stretching it out enough so it wasn’t bunched up and could dry properly. She ran her eyes around the bathroom then exited it. And like he said he would be, Shachi was waiting patiently for her by the bedroom door. He had his arms crossed and was leaning against the wall, a smile spreading over his lips when he looked up at her. Her eyes dropped to the floor.

            “Let’s go back to the recovery room now. I’ll comb out your hair for you,” he said to her.

            She nodded. Following after him quietly, she kept her eyes on the floor. Occasionally, she would glance up and look around in hopes of seeing the captain. But once again, she found him to be nowhere. It bothered her that he wasn’t around. Still, she said no word about it to the man she was with. She just obediently followed him back to the room and sat down on the bed. Like he had done before, Shachi sat behind her. A light flinch escaped her when she felt him lifting up her hair to comb it out. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she hugged them while the man behind her started combing out her tangles. She began to think again on what she had done in the rec. room, how no one has say anything about it, and how she had received no punishment before it. Then her mind shifted to the captain. She wanted to know where he was. Swallowing, she parted her lips and asked, “Where is…where is the captain?”

            With Shachi behind her, she wasn’t able to see the happy smile he now wore from her asking him a question. He said, "The captain's out getting you some of your own clothes. I guess you haven’t noticed that we have docked at an island. So you're not going to have to wear his shirts anymore. I also asked him to grab you a hairbrush while he was out. So no more old comb for your beautiful hair. Isn't that exciting?"

            "H-his clothes?" She asked so quietly that he almost missed it.

            "That's right," Shachi answered. "You've been wearing his shirts. The captain didn't want you walking around a bunch of guys only wearing those bandages around you."

            She looked down at the dark colored shirt she was wearing. She almost couldn’t comprehend wearing his shirts. But that did explain why they were so big on her. He was a tall man and a lot bigger than her. Then something clicked in her brain. She remembered the time when he had pinned her down to the bed. Somehow, through her fear, she was able to remember his scent. And the shirts she had been wearing, plus the room she was formerly in, were _his_. It was _his scent_ she smelled. It was _his_ bathroom she had used for her shower. She tightened her arms around her knees, resting her chin on them, unsure of what to do with this information she now had running around in her head. "But, ya know, if you really wanted to keep on wearing his shirts, I get the feeling he'll let you."

            She kneaded her eyebrows, wondering why he would say that and why she would even want to wear someone else’s clothes.

…

            Law had hesitated again when he landed on the docks. The fact this was the first time he was leaving the girl in complete care of his crew, or a few of them, ran fresh in his mind. While they had this chance, some still got off the sub to venture into the town. A few, Shachi, Penguin, Bepo, and Archer, had stayed behind. Mostly to keep the girl company and be there to make sure nothing happened, but also to keep an eye on the sub.

            He had scanned the docks for other pirate ships and Navy. So far no Navy ships were anywhere near the vicinity. There were a few pirate ships, but he didn’t recognize their Jolly Rogers so he figured if they did try to cause trouble he’d be able to handle them easily enough. Still, he wanted to avoid fights and get back to the sub as quick as possible. Luckily, the island they had landed on wasn’t very big at all. All of the shops were pretty much located in the same area.

            What he found unlucky about it was the clothes shops were divided into men and women’s. That meant he was forced to go into a women’s clothing stores to pick up articles that most didn’t see men picking up. Which is where he currently was. Disliking the situation he was in, he released a slow, irritated sigh. Shopping didn’t normally get on his nerves since it was something he had to do no matter what he was actually picking up, even if it was for his mysterious blue haired girl currently taking up residence in his submarine. What was bothering him were all the looks he was getting from the women inside of the store he was in. The older generation of women were glaring at him. It was expected. They did, after all, have different values than the younger generations. There was one exception to the bunch however. And that one was about seventy years old, with glasses high on her nose as she checked out the young captain with flirtatious winks.

            He did his best to ignore her and the younger women who kept giggling behind their hands and watching his every move. They were the ones who were bothering him the most. One would think if you saw a man carrying around such a large sword with him that they wouldn’t be so flirty like this, especially if that man was a pirate. Apparently he was wrong. He wasn’t here to cause trouble and was clearly shopping so that probably had a lot to do with it. Wishing of having someone else shop for her passed over his mind like a meteor shower.

            But he really didn't have a crewmember that would fit such a task. Bepo wouldn't work because of certain female produces that the girl needed. The bear wouldn't understand them or which ones to get. And Shachi and Penguin were definitely out of the question. If he had ordered them to go pick her up female clothes and undergarments, he knew he wouldn't see them again for at least a month. He also knew that they would bring back inappropriate clothing. He was the only one he could trust to do this and actually return to the ship with the appropriate attire she needed.

            Another sigh passed through his lips while he continued to filter through the clothes before him. Luckily, picking out her clothes was proving to be a rather easy. He knew she wouldn't fit fancy or expensive clothing, they wouldn't fit their lifestyle anyway. She needed clothes that she would be comfortable in, clothes that wouldn't draw attention to her. And that's what he was picking out for her, simple clothes with little to no decorations on them.

            He plucked a shirt off the rack. A smirk appeared on his lips from the design that was on it. It was a short sleeve navy blue shirt with a baby, cartoon styled, polar bear on the front of it. He was definitely getting that one for her. He folded it up and placed it in the basket he was carrying then moved on to the more sensitive items.

            Since he was able to take her measurements when she was unconscious and, using her height, it was easy to guess what her actual weight and body shape was going to be when he got her back to a healthy state. So this was going to be a quick in and out of the ladies underwear section. Or it would have been if it weren’t for a nosy woman that popped up. He glared at her as she stared at him. "What?"

            "What are _you_ doing here? You're a _man_!"

            Law smirked at her. "Really? No kidding."

            "Get out of here before I call the authorities!" she barked.

            "Relax, woman," Law replied. "I'm just picking up a few things then I'm gone."

            "What do you need those for?" she demanded, poking her cane at the underwear in the man’s hand. "Are you planning on something kinky?!"

            Law growled. Unable to handle the woman any longer, he let something slipped out that he didn't mean to say. "Look, _woman_ , what's wrong with a guy buying his girl some clothes?!"

            "Oh my." The woman's face flushed at his words. She began to fan herself with her hand as her chest heaved up and down. She turned on her heels and walked off. "I think I'm going to faint! You are up to no good! Well, I hope you two are at least _married_!"

            "Wait a minute!" Law called out with his own lightly flushed cheeks. "I didn't mean it like that! She's not _mine_! I just meant that…well, I was just saying…I didn't mean…" He groaned. The woman was gone and so was his chance of clearing the air up.

            When some of the other women in the store giggled at him, he shot a harsh glare at them, making them scatter like scared little rabbits. Unintentionally, he noticed that a couple of them held jealous looks on their faces as they sauntered off with the impression he was married or at least already involved with a woman. He rubbed his hand over his face with another highly annoyed sigh. Usually he was so careful with his words and never let anything slip out like that. It was done and over with now. So he shook what just happened out of his head before finishing up his shopping for her. There was no point in stewing over a slip of the tongue. The women here apparently didn’t know who he was. So there was no reason to worry about them running off to tell the Navy about him having a female on his ship. But that was something he was going to have to address later on. For now, in a certain way, she was his. She _was_ his responsibility since he brought her on the sub and was taking care of her. A strange tingle of pride seemed to settle in his chest upon having that thought though he didn’t know why he even had it in the first place.

            Pushing it out of his mind, he got back to his shopping. When he was finally done with his task, he returned to the sub, with six bags of full clothes and other items for her. As he reached the dock, he formed his Room and warped into the hallway of the medical bay since there was no way he could climb up the ladder with his hands full like they were. He was going to just warp into her room but figured it would scare her if he popped in out of thin air. Like he knew he would, he found Shachi was still with the girl. The man was done with her hair and was calmly talking to her about whatever popped into his head. Law noticed that the girl didn't seem as scared. She was still obviously nervous around him as she hugged her knees and stared with her blank expression down at the cover.

            When he walked into the room, Shachi was currently telling her about a fishing story that happened shortly after they had the sub constructed. Shachi was saying, "It was so huge! It pulled both of us into the sea. If it wasn't for Bepo being on the deck as well, we could have been stuck out at sea for days, probably would have gotten eaten by a sea king."

            Law smirked at the memory of that event. The giant fish they had caught wasn't a sea king, but it might as well have been. He was busy reading when Bepo came screaming into the sub about having to go after it. Bepo's words were scrambled as he took control of the sub and took off in the direction that the sea creature was pulling Shachi and Penguin.

            Shachi then noticed his captain in the room. "Oh, Captain, your back."

            "How was she?" Law inquired, walking over to them. He placed the bags he was carrying down before looking at them, catching her timid glance at him when he straightened up.

            "Great." Shachi smiled. "She's been a very good girl."

            Law nodded. "Your dismissed then."

            "See you later, sweetie." Shachi waved while making his way to the door. "I hope you got her some cute outfits, Captain. She's such a cutie. She _needs_ cute clothes."

            "Just get out!" Law halfway snapped. He knew better than to completely raise his voice around her. Shachi gave his captain a toothy grin before finally shutting the door to the room. He grumbled at his subordinate’s antics despite the fact he did manage to pick out a few shirts he thought was _cute_ , like the polar bear one. "Stupid goofball." He turned his eyes to her. She was looking at the bags he had set on the floor. "You can look through them. They belong to you."

            She raised her eyes to him, still unable to make eye contact, and dropped her eyes back to the bed.

            "They're for you. They’re your clothes. I'm sure Shachi told you where I was. Go ahead and pick something out to change into," Law said.

            She lowered her eyes back to the bags. After a minute, she slid off the bed and stepped over to them. She kneeled down and nervously started pulling one item out at a time. With each item she pulled out, she placed it neatly on her lap.

            "I'm going to ask you some questions," Law said.

            She flinched and started to fiddle with the brush she had just pulled out of the bag.

            "Relax. It's only going to be yes or no questions. Will that be all right?"

            She fingered the brush again before placing it, and the clothes, back into the bag. With a light nod, she moved on to another bag.

            "Are you a Devil Fruit user?" Law asked.

            "I…I don't understand," she replied softly. She pulled out two pairs of shoes. One was black sandals while the others were boots similar to the ones the crew wore. She placed them on the floor beside the bags.

            "Did you ever eat a fruit that tasted very, very bad?"

            "No."

            "Do you get weak when you touch the sea water?"

            "I've…never been in it." She pulled out the shirt with the polar bear on it.

            "Did you create those crystals and that wind last week?"

            She flinched. Her voice was so low Law barely registered her reply. "Y-yes."

            Law paused with his questions when he noticed her staring curiously at one of the bras he had bought for her. It appeared she didn’t know what it was. With that information he assumed that whatever happened to her happened at a young age. She must not have had a woman influencing her and informing her about women clothes and other products. He continued with one more question. The most important question he had at the moment. Licking his lips, his palms sweated a little bit. He said, “I’m going to ask you one more question. I want you to really think about this before answering. Do you know a man who goes by the name Corazon?”

            She paused, resting a shirt on her knees while thinking about his words. Finally, after several seconds, she said, “No.”

            Law stopped with his questioning at that point like he said he would. He believed her. She showed no signs of knowing the dead man at all. It was disappointing but there was nothing that could be done about it. "That's all I'm going to ask you for now. You did good in answering me."

            Without a reply, she stood up with the polar bear shirt, a pair of jeans and underwear in her arms.

            Law tapped his finger on the sheath of his sword. His eyes drifted down the bra that was sticking out of one of the bags. He knew some women didn’t wear them. But he wanted her too. "Let me check your injuries. Then you can get dressed."

            She nodded before placing the clothes she was holding on the bed. She then lifted his shirt off her body and allowed him to check her wounds.

            Allowing her a bit of privacy to take off the shirt, he momentarily stepped away from her to grab a tube of antibiotic cream from a near by drawer where he had been keeping it in, propped up his sword, then stepped back over to her. The wounds she had caused herself had healed strikingly fast. Still, he didn’t want to take chances and apply the cream to her wounds. He placed smaller bandages on her this time and recapped the tube. After everything was back where it should be, he pulled the bra out of the bag. “This is a bra. Women wear it around their breasts for support. Do you understand?”  
            She shook her head.

            He bit the inside of his cheek, wondering if she even knew what the word _breasts_ even meant. “Do you even know what breasts are?”

            Another head shake.

            “They’re these.” Law pointed to her body. “Would you like me to help you put the bra on?”

            She nodded.

            Law didn’t move closer to her yet. Instead, he studied her lowered eyes. It was obvious she was only allowing him to do this because she had no self esteem what so ever. She probably never made a decision for herself on her own. It was something he was going to have to work with her on that. While he wanted her to obey him, he didn’t want her to be his slave. He wanted her to understand freedom of choice and how to be her own person. Closing the distance, he instructed her on how to put the bra on while showing her how to do it. Once he was finished, she pulled the rest of her clothes on and he reclaimed his sword. “It might feel a bit uncomfortable for you to wear a bra since you’re not use to them. But eventually you won’t even notice it’s there. There are several different styles. I wasn’t sure what you would be prefer to wear so I just picked up the most basic one they had. Later on if you want to try something else then you can. Understand?”

            She nodded, wiggling her foot into one of the sandals. Completely dress, she waited patiently for her next command.

            "Let's go then." Law shoved his sword free hand into his pocket. She took a couple steps and stumbled in the sandals she was wearing. On instincts, Law shot out his arm, catching her around her shoulders. "Careful."

            She jumped away from him and collapsed her hands in front of her, hanging her head with tears piercing her eyes. "S-sorry, s-sir."

            "There's no need to apologize." Law shoved his hand back into his pocket, his eyes down on her shoes. It wasn’t a surprise that she had tripped in them. "You don't have to wear those right now. I figured you wouldn't be use to wearing them. You can start wearing them later. Just start with a few minutes a day then increase that time when you get comfortable with them. There will be times where you're going to have to wear them so getting use to them is a necessity, but it's not an immediate one."

            She nodded and slipped them off before following him out of the room and down the stairs.

            “Captain, you’re back,” Bepo said, meeting them on the main floor.

            “Yeah.” Law nodded. “I got back a little while ago. Has anyone else returned?”

            “Not yet,” Bepo said. “But I’m sure they’ll be coming back within an hour or two since that was the time allotted for this island.” His eyes went to the quiet girl standing beside his captain. A smile formed on his furry lips at the sight of the polar bear on her shirt. “Hey, that’s a very cute shirt.”

            The girl looked up at the bear. A light pink tint spread over her cheeks. Her eyes dropped back down the floor as she shifted back and forth on her feet.

            “I think she likes the shirt,” Bepo said.

            Law nodded in agreement.

            “And she looks really cute in it too,” Bepo said.

            Law felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. For being ruthless pirates, his crew sure had a bizarre attachment for cute things. But he figured it would be fine for them to dote over her cuteness. She did have a certain charm about her with the way she was. It was like her innocence and uncertainty was bring something out in his crew that no one else could or would be able to do. And that was just in a short period of time. He had no idea how she would affect them once she opened up and formed relationships with them all.

…

            The rest of the night went the same as it always did since her arrival here. She stayed at Law’s side no matter where he went, following him around, obeying whatever she was told to do which didn’t turn out to be much of anything. She kept her eyes locked on the floor the entire time, only taking small occasional glances up at the men but never making eye contact with any of them.

            Soon the captain had settled them into the rec. room. He had sat down on one of the couches and ordered her to sit with him. She obeyed and didn’t move from that spot. Her body shivered uncontrollably at being back in this room. It was the last place she wanted to be. But nothing happened. Only a few of the men came in while they were there. It only added more confusion to her. She wondered if they really weren’t upset with her at all for what she had done.

            It was coming upon nine o'clock when Law caught her covering up a small yawn. He closed the book he was reading and place it back onto the shelf before speaking to her. He said, "It's time for bed. Let's go."

            She stood up immediately.

            Shachi and Penguin, the only other two in the room at the moment, bid their goodnights to her simultaneously. They said, "Good night, sweetie."

            She only nodded lightly at them before following Law out the door. Her eyebrows kneaded when he only lead her up one flight of stairs then turned down the hall. It was the same hall that Shachi had taken her down for her shower. She wondered if the captain wanted her to take another shower.

            “Just follow me,” Law said, sensing her confusion.

            "Yes, sir." She collapsed her hands in front of her and continued to quietly follow him. A short while later, she entered back into his room. The only difference was the bags that held her clothes were sitting near the two double doors. Her head tilted in confusion at why they were in here before she pulled her eyes to Law.

            He nodded his head towards the bathroom. "You may use it first, if you need to. I've already put your own toothbrush and toothpaste on the sink."

            She lightly nodded.

            While she cautiously walked over to the bathroom, Law stepped over to his closet. Once she was inside the bathroom he quickly changed into his nightclothes. He was use to just wearing pants or shorts to bed, but with her around, he figured it would be best to wear a shirt from now on. He pushed his arms through the sleeves just before she emerged from the bathroom. He turned to head for the bathroom himself. He paused when he noticed a quizzical look on her face as she stared down at his bed. He said, "We're going to share it. You can lay down now."

            She didn't move. She just continued to stare, quizzically, at it. Law shrugged it off and stepped into the bathroom to preform his own nightly routine. When Law exited the bathroom he couldn't help but blink several times in his own confusion. The girl was curled up against the wall near his nightstand still wearing the same daytime clothes. He knew she saw the nightclothes he got her. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it when he noticed she was shivering. Not knowing what to do about her, he ran his hands through his hair and walked over to the light switches. He flicked one switch on and another off. He noticed her curious glance at the ceiling when the main lights went out and smaller ones came on. He sat down on his bed. "They're like night lights. It would be too dark in here being underwater. We needed some kind of light at night for the times we’re underwater."

            Her only response was curling into herself more. He sighed and watched her. Her eyes were carefully scanning every inch of the lightly lit room. He had no idea how long he had watched her. Next thing he knew her eyes were closed and she appeared to be sleeping. He rubbed his neck with another sigh before laying down himself and waited. A while later, Law rolled over and looked at the girl again. She still appeared to be asleep. She, at some point, had lain down on the floor and was also still curling into herself as tightly as she could possible get.

            He got up and walked out of the room. Turning down the hall to the storage rooms, he pulled out a blanket then went back to his room. Placing the blanket on the floor beside her, he grabbed the pillow he had intended her to use off the bed. He quietly stepped back over to her. When he confirmed his was asleep, he gently lifted her head and slipped the pillow underneath. He then unfolded the blanket and placed it over her. He watched as she grabbed the cover in her sleep and pulled it tightly around her. It was something he caught her several times doing in the recovery room. But since she was now free of the chain, she was able to wrap it more securely around her. After he made sure she was tucked in, he walked back to his bed, climbed in, and closed his eyes quickly falling asleep himself.

…

            It was a couple hours later when something woke him up. Pushing up on his elbows, he looked around but nothing appeared to be out of place. Even the girl was still right where he had left her. That's when he heard soft whimpers coming from her. Pushing his blanket off of him, he walked over to check on her. Kneeling down, he noticed her face was scrunched up with fear. She was having a nightmare. More whimpers escaped her lips from the torture her nightmare was causing her as she clenched the blanket she was now cocooned in.

            He kneeled down and placed his hand on her shoulder. She jumped at his touch, but didn't wake up. Surprisingly, she did calm down shortly after that. His touch, somehow, made the nightmare disappear. Narrowing his eyebrows, he watched her sleep for a while before going back to bed.

 


	9. NIghtmare Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to go on hiatus. I'm back now. Enjoy this chapter.

Nightmare Truth

 

            Law sat quietly on the couch in the rec. room with a book in his hands. He was trying to read it but the girl sitting beside him keep stealing his attention. For the past three weeks that she has been sleeping in his room, she would have a nightmare almost every night. It had become routine for him to get up when she had one. He never asked her about them though. For one, he knew she wouldn’t answer him if he did. She still hasn’t opened up to them about anything. And for two, usually all it took to calm her back down was a simple touch from him.

            He had no idea why his touch calmed her down so much, but it did. It would calm her down back into a peaceful slumber for the rest of the night without even waking up. Some times he wondered if she even remembered them when she woke up the next day. But seeing the drained look in her eyes told him that she did. He wished she would tell him or someone about them. That way she wouldn’t be carrying them around with her all day. Then he’d remember that she’s been carrying around a nightmare for quiet some time. Her entire life must have been a living nightmare with how people treated her back on Renata.

            As he continued to watch her from the corner of his eyes, his mind started to wonder onto somewhere else. He wondered what she was thinking about when she sat there like she always did. Was she thinking about her nightmares? Was she thinking about how to escape from him? No, he knew that one wasn’t possible. They had stopped at a small, uninhabited island last week. She had the chance to bolt out the open door, but she didn’t even get close to it. She _wanted_ to stay on the sub. And that was just fine with him. It was only a temporary stop from when a sea king hit the bottom of the sub anyway. They had to check it out to make sure there was no damage. There wasn’t. So they headed back out to sea.

            Then he wondered if she was possibly thinking about friends or family members, assuming she had any. He didn’t think she had any friends. So it was possible she had family, everyone has a family whether or not their blood relatives are in their lives or not. She could possibly be an orphan. Maybe all of her blood relatives were dead, at least her parents. Maybe she had siblings somewhere. The chances of finding them were pretty slim though.

            “Knock, knock,” Penguin said upon entering the rec. room. The man was holding a plate of cookies in one hand and two cups of milk in the other. “I thought you two might like a snack.”

            Law closed his book. He opened his mouth but didn’t get a chance to reply. The sub took a violent jerk, sent them all, the book he was holding, plus the cookies and cups of milk, tumbling to the floor with a chorus of clanks and clatters.

            A surprise shriek erupted from the girl while she curled into herself on the couch.

            On instinct, Law reached out for her. But before his hand could make contact with her body, he remembered she didn’t like to be touched. He jerked back.

            “Captain!” Bepo’s voice rang out over the voice pipe. “We’re under attack!”

            The girl jumped again. Her eyes darted all over the room in search for Bepo.

            “It’s okay, sweetie,” Penguin said, trying to mop up the spilt milk with a handkerchief. He pointed over to the voice pipe on the wall. “He’s speaking through that. He’s down in the control room.”

            She looked at the strange golden yellow thing mounted on the wall that he pointed at then curled back into herself and closed her eyes. Her body trembled from another dip of the sub and she rolled off the couch.

            “Pirates or Navy?” Law asked.

            “Pirates!” Bepo replied.

            “Battle stations!” Law ordered.

            “Aye, Captain!” Bepo said.

            Shrills of alarms went off, frightening the girl even more as she curling against the side of the couch and tightly shut her eyes. Law internally sighed. He really didn’t want to leave Penguin behind to tend to the girl, but he couldn’t leave her all alone. Bolting for the door, he said, “Stay with her, Penguin!”

            “Aye, Captain!” Penguin said. He looked back at the girl. His instincts told him to pick her up and hug her as securely as he could. But his mind said to leave her alone. So he did. He continued to clean up the mess and just watched her.

…

            Law formed his Room and warped up to the main deck. His crew was already in battle. Swords clashed, guns fired, punches were exchanged. The mix of blood and gunpowder tainted the salty sea air. Glancing up at the Jolly Roger on the opposing ship, he found there was moon shape scar over the left eye. That meant these pirates were the Moon Scar Pirates with a collected bounty of 160,000. Most of that went to their captain. For a human, the Moon Scar Captain could hold his own in a fight against other normal humans. But as far as he could recall, none of this crew had any Devil Fruit users onboard. So this should be an easy battle for his crew. And that was a good thing. The quicker this ended the quicker the girl would settle back down.

            He surveyed the battle before him. The Moon Scar Pirates were holding their own against his own crew. They appeared to be about evenly matched, at least until the Moon Scar Pirates started pulling out dirty, underhanded tricks. His lips curled down when he saw one of the Moon Scar Pirates purposefully got hit, dropped to the ground, then threw a handful of dirt in his man’s face.

            His subordinate stumbled backwards while his opponent pulled out a gun. Law formed his Room, wrapped the gun into the sea, and then sliced the man, killing him.

            “Thanks, Captain,” his subordinate said, brushing the dirt from his eyes and face.

            Law nodded, making sure his man was fine before entered into the fight himself. He easily divided up several of the rival pirate crew before Shachi’s voice cried out over everything. He said, “Crap! Eight of them went into the sub!”

            Every single curse word Law knew flew out of his mouth, including some he invented on the spot. His heart pounded against his ribs. His lungs contracted. His head spun. Unfamiliar people, who wanted to kill them on the sub, that would do who knows what to the girl was not a good thing. They had to be stopped. _Now._ Dividing up as many rivals as he could, he stuck them to their ship while shouting out orders to his crew. He said, “Bepo! Shachi! Archer! Conner! Get into the sub and stop them! Everyone else, continue fighting! I want this battle ended! _Now!_ ”

            “Aye!” they all shouted.

            Law warped himself instantly into the rec. room.

            “Captain,” Penguin’s startled voice said. “Is the battle over already?”

            Law glanced at the girl. Tears had stained her red cheeks but she was sitting up now. Hugging her knees, she gave him a quick glance before looking back down at the floor. He turned his eyes back to Penguin and jerked his head towards the hall, telling his subordinate he need to speak with him in private. He walked over to the door and stepped out into the hall.

            “What is it, Captain?” Penguin asked when he reached him.

            “Eight of them got onboard the sub,” Law mumbled.

            “What?!” Penguin hissed as lowly as he could.

            “Stay with her,” Law ordered. “Bepo, Shachi, Archer, and Conner are looking for them right now. I don’t believe they’ve gotten this low yet. I’ll be standing guard right out in the hall so they don’t be able to come in here.”

            “Aye, Captain.” Penguin nodded.

            Law then looked back to the girl. When she glanced up at him, he said, “I need you to stay in here with Penguin for the time being. I’m going to close the door but be right outside in the hall. Do you understand?”

            She nodded.

            Law gave Penguin one last look before stepping out into the hall. The door clicked behind him.

            Penguin watched her from underneath his hat brim. She stared at the door for an entire minute before letting her eyes drop back to the floor. He stayed right where he was. Keeping his body as relaxed as possible but ready to strike if one of their enemies happened to get inside of the room. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen. His crewmates would get them, if not them his captain would. Though he didn’t know why, he knew his captain was already very protective of the girl. He figured they all knew that already. They just didn’t know why.

            Tapping his fingers against his thigh, he carefully listened for sounds out in the hall while bouncing his eyes between the girl and the door. Often he would find her glancing over at the door. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was waiting for the captain to come back inside or if she was trying to figure out why the door had to be shut and why the captain was standing out in the hall.

            A loud pop caused both of them to jump. Penguin knew it was a gun going off. And he knew it was none of them shooting the gun. The enemy was near. His eyes shot to the girl when she whimpered and curled back into herself. Taking a couple steps away from the door, he readied himself for a fight if it was need. Muffled sounds of screaming then sounded out in the hall. He swallowed the lump in his throat when they cut off. Silently praying that the captain, or someone, had taken the enemy out while he took a step closer to the door. Several heart pounding seconds later, the door slid open, revealing his captain.

            “It’s over,” Law said.

            Penguin relaxed with a sigh. “Good.”

            Law’s eyes went to the girl. He walked over to her and squatted down. She took a timid peak up at him, avoiding eye contact. He said, “It’s fine. There was a little fight caused by another pirate crew, but it’s over now. Do you understand?”

            She nodded.

            “Good.” Law stood up and headed back for the door. “I have to check the men for injuries. It won’t take long. I’ll be back in a little while.”

…

            After checking his crew for injuries, and answering their questions on how the girl was doing, he made his way back to the rec. room like he said he would. By the time he got back the girl had pulled herself off the floor and was once again sitting on the couch. She gave him a fleeting glance when he entered the room. Reclaiming his place on the couch, he picked up his book and started reading again.

            Soon after that they all went to the galley for their evening meal. Then Law, with the girl following him around like frightened puppy, made some rounds around the sub to check on it and his crew before it was time to go to bed. Leading her back to his room, they both went through their separate nightly routines before lying down. Like always he slept on his bed and she slept on the floor in the same spot she had since that first night. With one last look at the girl, he clicked off his lamp and pulled the cover up over him. Closing his eyes with a low sigh.

            Three hours later he was woken up again by the girl’s whimpers in the otherwise silent water vessel. And like he always did, he crawled out of bed and walked over to her. Clicking on his lamp, he rubbed his hand over his face and through his hair to help him wake up. Kneeling down next to her, he started to reach for her shoulder but paused. Something was different this time. Her cheeks were flushed and she had sweat beading on her face. Her fingers were clutching the blanket, that she always cocooned herself in, in a death grip.

            Reaching out, he pressed the back of his fingers against her forehead. Her skin was hot and clammy. He gnawed on the inside of his cheek in thought. She shouldn’t be on the floor if she was getting sick. Eyeing the blanket and the grip she had on it, he decided not to disturb her in trying to get it away from her. So he slipped his arms underneath her tiny body and pulled her into his hold. He stood up, walked her over to his bed, and carefully placed her on the mattress near the wall. As he laid her down, her fingers shot to his shirt, clinging desperately to him instead. "N-no…s-stop…"

            Law narrowed his eyebrows. She was talking in her sleep. But was it because of her nightmare or her fever? Or maybe it was both?

            "I didn't do anything…please stop…Stop!" she screamed, her fingers almost poking holes into his shirt.

            "Hey, wake up." Law grabbed her shoulders and lightly shook her. "You're having a nightmare."

            "Stop it! I didn't do anything to him! I don't know where he is! Leave me alone!" she screamed again. The hold on his shirt got tighter, somehow.

            "Come on! Wake up!" Law's raised voice caused her eyes to snap open on command. He jumped when they did, his heart taking a startled jolt in his chest. Instead of her dark, cloudy eyes looking back at him, her eyes were glowing a pure white. The glow hovered around her eyes before it shot out and into his eyes, engulfing his entire body as well…

            His room and the girl faded from his vision and into a solid white void before the sounds of a baby crying slipped into his ears. _He blinked, trying to get the white void to go away. But it didn’t go anywhere. The baby’s cries grew louder. Other voices started filtering in with the cries. He could only make out a few words at a time._

_“Shut it…”_

_“…my fault…I didn’t…”_

_“…just a baby…”_

_“…don’t care…a freak…get it out…Now!”_

_With one more blink, the white void began to fade and so did the baby’s crying and the other voices. A little girl with light blue hair, around five or six years old, appeared to him. She was squatting down with her hand hovering over a small patch of grass in an otherwise dirt filled field. She was wearing a torn, stained, dirty brown dress with a strange diamond shaped silver pendant hanging around her neck. With a closer look he found that each corner of the pendant held an unfamiliar crystal of different colors._

_Looking at it clockwise, the one at the top was a light blue, the next one was a light green, the one at the bottom was a grayish blue and the last one was red. There looked to be some kind of writing on the pendant, but he was too far away to see what it said. The pendant looked to be rather valuable. His eyes dropped down to her hand. Underneath her outstretch hand was green crystal practically identical to the blue ones that appeared in the sub a few weeks ago. His eyebrows kneaded. This was the same girl that he had on his sub? Did she have more than just those blue crystals?_

_"What's she doing?" Law asked himself. He walked closer to her with no concern that she would see him. He had to get a closer look at her to make sure they were the same. Sure enough, he managed to get a better look of her. While she was still younger than she was in his room, she was definitely the girl he currently had in his care. The colors of her hair, skin, and not to forget the crystals, were unmistakable. The only real thing difference was the color of her eyes. This little girl's eyes were a stunning electric blue, full of curiosity to what was happening beneath her hand, instead of the lifeless grey they currently were. His eyes drifted down to her pendant again. He could see the letters clearly now. Engraved in the silver plate were three letters: Neo. “Neo? Is that her name?”_

_A light green glow was coming from the green crystal underneath her palm, pulling his attention to it. The glow beamed down to the ground. And much to his surprise, a small batch of yellow flowers sprouted up from the grass patch. A smile grew on her lips. Suddenly, while her attention was on the ground and his attention on her, something hit her on the temple. A small drop of blood oozed out of the wound and slid down her skin. His eyes dropped to the ground where a rock now laid. Anger flared up inside of his chest. He whipped his eyes to laughter the echoed through the air. Two boys were near. One of them was tossing a rock up and down in his hand._

_"You're not supposed to be doing that." The boy, tossing the rock up and down, had black hair and dark green eyes. He was wearing a simple white and blue striped shirt with a small sailboat on it and light brown shorts and shoes._

_"You're such a freak." The second boy was half a head shorter than the first one. He had dark blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a red shirt and black pants. "What kind of stupid powers are those anyway?"_

_"Th-they're not powers. They're-" The girl's head hung low, like she was ashamed now of what she had done since she was caught doing it._

_"Shut up!" The first boy tossed the rock he was holding._

_It hit her on the forehead this time. More blood dripped down her face to her lips. Brushing it away, she bit her lip, obviously biting back her pain and tears._

_Law frowned deeply and clenched his fists. He stomped over to the boys, forgetting he wasn’t wearing any shoes. But no pain came to his feet, something he didn’t notice. "Hey, you brats! Don't do that to her!"_

_He shot out his hand to grab the black haired boy's shirt. His eyes widened when his hand when right through the boy. The kids didn’t even hear him. He pulled his hand back to his face, his eyes widened with wonder and confusion. "What the heck? Why can't I touch them? Is this some kind of vision? Or is this the nightmare she was having? If it is, how is this possible?"_

_Law turned his attention back to the two boys. They had moved closer to the girl._

_"Freak! Freak!" The second boy began to taunt her. "Why don't you go back to where you came from?!"_

_"How can she go back? She has no clue where she even came from!" The first boy walked up to her while laughing and taunting her just as much as the other boy. He grabbed the pendant and jerked it off her, snapping the chain. "I'll be taking that now."_

_"Give that back! It's mine!" The girl straightened up. Her small hands shot out to grab it in desperation. When the boy moved it farther out of her reach, she followed it, unaware of him bring his foot out. Her ankle caught on his causing her to fall to the ground. She laid there for a few second before lifting up. A small glare was in her eyes. “Give it back!”_

_"Why? You're not using it for anything." The boy smiled as he swung the pendant in circles. "I, on the other hand, could use it. It looks like it could be worth something."_

_"B-but it's mine." The girl pushed her body up halfway off the ground._

_"Shut up!" The boy kicked her on the arm, forcing her back to the ground._

_She whimpered and sniffled._

_Law’s anger returned. This was just wrong._

_The boy looked at the word on the pendant. "Hey, there's something written on here. Neo? What the heck does that mean? Is it your name or something?"_

_"She won't be able to answer that." The second boy laughed. "She's nothing but an orphan. Been that way since she was a baby. How could she know if she even has a name? She's not like us. We have parents. She's just a parentless freak that no one wants."_

_Law growled, clenching his teeth and fists. It wasn't her fault she didn't have parents, assuming they were speaking the truth about her being an orphan since she was a baby._

_"Give it back!" the girl screamed suddenly. More crystals then appeared around her, floating in the air like mini protectors. They were all shades of greens._

_Law gasped, stumbled back a step, and narrowed his eyebrows at what happened next. The flowers that she had created before rapidly grew and cracked like whips at the boys while some of the vines wrapped around her like a protective shield. He was almost shocked at how these plants were protecting her that he almost missed seeing one of the vines actually striking the first boy in the face, right below his left eye. The boy cried and fell back on his butt._

_"This is pretty much like what happened in the rec. room the other day. I get the feeling that it was her crystals that actually created the wind, not actually her in that or this situation." Law tapped his chin and wondered if his assumption was correct. The girl wasn't in any kind of defense mode. She was actually cowering away from them. "But how is it possible for crystals, lifeless crystals, to protect her? Are they somehow alive?"_

_"Y-you're going to pay for that!" the second boy screeched. He helped his friend up and ran off. "We're telling!"_

_When Law blinked, the scene had changed. He now stood in a house. There were several children standing around in a rather small room. The blue haired girl was curled up in a corner crying, but didn't make a sound. He noticed the color of her eyes had dimmed quite a bit from before. There was a woman standing at the door with several other adults who were screaming at her._

_"She hurt my son!" a woman screamed. The boy who the girl had hit with her vine was standing with her. Law could tell the kid was only faking his tears now. The boy wanted the girl to get into trouble. "She's a monster!"_

_“She’s a menace!”_

_“Our children at not safe around her!”_

_"She shouldn't be allowed around other kids!" a man demanded. "Send her away!"_

_“Yes!” the crowd agreed. “Send her away!”_

_"I am so sorry." The woman bowed to them. "I have told her time and time again not to use those freaky powers of her. I assure you, this will not happen again."_

_"It had better not." The woman, with the hurt son, huffed before leaving with the rest of the adults._

_"I assure you it won't happen again," the woman said to the retreating adults. She closed the door then stomped over to the girl with an angry glare on her face._

_Law felt his own anger rising up in his chest again. This girl was about to be blamed for something that wasn’t her fault._

_"What have I told you about those stupid powers of you?! How could you have attacked a defenseless little boy?!" The woman placed her hands on her hips and towered over the scared girl._

_"I didn't," the girl whimpered, wrapping her arms tightly around her shaking body. The now dried blood remained on her face. "They attacked me."_

_"Shut up!" The woman raised her hand and slapped the girl._

_Law clenched his hands when the woman hit the girl. He wanted to grab the woman and toss her through the wall of the house, but remembered his hand went right through the boy from before. This wasn't actually happening right now. This was a dream. A nightmare._

_"I don't want to hear any of your lies! I welcomed you into this house! And this is how you repay my kindness?!" the woman continued._

_"But I-"_

_"Go to your room!" the woman hissed, pointing to the hallway. All of the other older children watched with malicious smiles on their faces. The younger ones didn't seem to understand what was going on, but clearly feared the little blue haired girl as they clung to the older ones. "You do not get supper tonight! Get out of here now!"_

_The girl sniffed and left the room. The woman's voice instantly became cheerful as she turned to the other children. "Don't worry, my sweets. She won't bother any of you. How about we eat now? I made cookies for dessert."_

_Scowling at the woman,_ _Law followed after the girl. Watching as tears streamed down her cheeks, no doubt blurring her vision. But she easily maneuvered through the small hallway and up a set of stairs that came down from the ceiling. They both entered into a small attic. Despite not being able to touch anything, Law still automatically ducked to keep himself from hitting the slanted roof. He looked around. There were two dust covered windows, one at each end of the house, several boxes, plenty of dirt and cobwebs, and no bed. There just a worn blanket and a pillow nestled between two trunks._

_"Well, I guess that explains her confusion with my bed," Law murmured to himself. He jerked his attention to the side when he saw a rat scamper across the floor from the corner of his eyes. This defiantly wasn't a place for a child to live. Her soft sobbing drew his attention again. When his eyes landed on her, he felt her sadness, her pain, her loneliness. He felt it all. And he knew exactly how she felt._

_Things started moving forward then. Time passed him like he was looking at pictures or a visual transponder snail. They showed him more abuse the girl endured through her young life. The woman from downstairs was teaching the kids to read and write, but the girl was left out. She just kept to herself, huddled in a corner, or she would leave the house all together without anyone noticing she was gone. She was left out of everything. Picnics, play time, little field trips on the island they lived on, hugs, kisses. She got no attention other than getting picked on and bullied from both kids and adults._

_“You’re such a freak!”_

_“You should just kill yourself!”_

_“Die! You little monster!”_

_“Where did you even come from? You should just go back there.”_

_All the while he was watching her through all of this, he could help but noticed that, since she got yelled at and hit for striking the boy, her crystals didn't appear. Not even when she was alone. She just sat by herself. Her eyes losing more color with each passing vision, memory, or whatever it was, that he saw._

_The images stopped. They were replaced with the real life vision again like before. The girl was now sitting on an old swing that was attached to a tree branch. And she looked just absolutely miserable. Her eyes had become so lifeless as she sat there being lightly swayed by the breeze that was blowing. Something had happened to her. Something more than what he had just seen. He wanted to hold her. To wrap her up in his arms and tell her that it was going to be all right. That she was safe with him. But he couldn’t. This wasn’t real. Or it wasn’t real right now. It had obviously happened._

_A sudden sense of impending danger settled around Law. He whipped around. Coming towards them was the adults from before, plus a lot more, marching up to the girl with serious intentions. It looked like the entire village was after her now. All of their faces were twisted with anger and hatred, some even carrying weapons like brooms and pans._

_Law clenched his fists, feeling even more helpless than ever._

_The woman from before was crying now. Planting her hands on her hips, she screamed, "Where is he, you little monster?! Where is my son?! What did you do to him?!"_

_The girl slowly looked up at the woman. The second her face was high enough, the woman slapped her. It was hard enough to send the girl flying off the swing. The girl hit the ground and didn’t move._

_Law gritted his teeth and clenched his hands even harder than before, piercing his skin with his nails. If he could have hit that woman, he would have. No, he would have done more than that. He would have killed her. Without thinking._

_"Where's my son?!" The woman demanded again. "You've attacked him once already! I know you did something to him! Where is he, you…you little monster?! What did you do to him?! You freak! I should kill you right here and now!"_

_Law stepped in between the crowd and the girl, despite it being a useless gesture._

_"I don't know where he is," the girl cried. Finally lifting up, she held her swollen cheek tenderly, unable to bring her eyes up to the crowds hateful glares. "I haven't done anything to him.” She sniffled. “I haven't done anything to anyone. Please, leave me alone."_

_"Don't you lie to us, brat!" a man hissed. He kicked at her, but only grazed her leg, splitting open the skin._

_She whimpered at the pain, but didn't move to hold the cut now on her leg._

_“Stop it!” Law demanded. He threw a punch at the man who had kicked her. Since he couldn’t make contact, he stumbled forward. Catching himself, he whipped around to glare harshly at them. He reminded himself over and over that this wasn’t real. It didn’t help. He was too angry._

_"You've been nothing but trouble since you got here!" another woman added._

_The crowd agreed and started talking all at once to the point Law couldn't tell what exactly they were saying. All he could tell was they were going to hurt this girl, or worse. He felt painfully helpless watching this scene before him as the mob advanced on her. And despite knowing it wouldn’t do any good, he moved in for another attack. But, before he could throw another punch, he stopped. The crystals had appeared again._

_And just like before, the crystals were of all shapes and sizes. Only this time they ranged in colors of reds, greens, blues, oranges, just about any color you can find in nature was present in the crystals. There had to be about fifty of each color floating around._

_And that wasn't the only thing he noticed._

_Like the flowers before, the entire surrounding environment began to react out of character and in ways that shouldn’t have been possible. The flora grew up way larger than it should be, they touched the darkening clouds that were gathering above them. Animals seem to go beyond their natural instincts and started attacking people. Wind whipped, ripping leaves off their branches, as thunder rumbled and lightning crackled above them. His eyes whipped to the sea. While he couldn’t see the water, he could see the masts of the ships being rocked back and forth wildly from the waves crashing against them._

_His eyes dropped back to the girl. She was the only one not being affected by this storm. That’s when he realized she was this storm. But he got the feeling again that it wasn't really her doing this. It was her crystals. Her crystals were protecting her. "How can she…how powerful can she possible be with these crystals?"_

_Law had no idea how long the storm had raged on. He watched helplessly as people got blown away, as objects got shot through their bodies, blood flew everywhere, the elements continued to rage until only the girl and nature remained. She collapsed on the ground. Everyone else…was dead._

_His steel orbs roamed over the island. His mind was having trouble processing what had just happened. And he was an adult, an adult who was use to killing and seeing terrible things. This girl…this child was not use to this at all. She was only a baby and had just killed an entire island of people._

_He had no idea how much time had passed when a couple Navy ships had arrived on the island. The soldiers scrambled off the ships. Law wondered if someone was able to get a call out to them or if they happened to be passing by and noticed all of the damage. They looked around for survivors, not noticing him at all. He watched as one Navy soldier found the girl sleeping on the ground, picked her up, and headed back towards the other soldiers._

_"Hey! We have a survivor here!" the solider called out. "She needs a doctor!"_

_"Let's get her to the onboard doctor!" another solider said, the leader of this group._

_…_

_Law blinked. He was now standing in a hospital room with the girl. She was sitting up in bed, after sleeping for almost a week-how he knew that he wasn’t sure-, staring blankly down at her lap._

_A nurse was the only other one in the room. The nurse checked the IV solution that was pouring into the girl's arm. She looked at the uneaten meal on the table then turned a sweet smile to the girl. She said, "You really should eat something. I'm sure your hungry after sleeping for so long."_

_The girl didn’t reply._

_"Well, nurse? Has she said anything?" the doctor asked when he walked into the room. He walked over, but paused at the foot of the bed, taking in the girl._

_"Nothing," the nurse replied, turning to the man. "She won't speak or eat."_

_"I guess it's to be expected." The doctor crossed his arms. "Whatever happened on that island must have been very traumatizing for her."_

_"What about the other survivor?" the nurse asked._

_Law noticed the girl flinching. He flinched as well. How was it possible that someone else survived that storm of hers?_

_"He's too hysterical to answer any questions," the doctor replied. "He keeps saying things about a monster attacking him and his home with nature."_

_"With nature?" The nurse raised an eyebrow at the doctor._

_"I know it sounds crazy, right?" The doctor laughed. His laughter caused the girl's breathing to increase, but neither he nor the nurse noticed. "He said plants grew as large as battle ships, animals turned against the islanders, things like that."_

_Law watched her anxiety increase._

_"How strange." The nurse tilted her head. “Monsters using nature?”_

_"He said it's all because of some girl. He said she had some kind of freaky powers or something," the doctor said._

_Law watched as the girl's eye widened and she started to hyperventilate._

_The nurse and doctor turned to her at that point. The doctor said, "Are you all right, little girl? Calm down now. There's no such monster. The boy's just scared."_

_The doctor moved closer to the girl. When he reached for her, she flinched and stumbled backwards off the bed, pulling out the IV needle in her arm. The nurse gasped and rounded the bed to pick the girl up. "Hey, easy now, honey, it's okay. You’re safe here. No one's going to hurt you."_

_When the nurse got too close, the girl bolted for the window._

_Law's gut clenched and found his body moving on his own when it was obvious the girl was going to jump through the window. His eyes caught every shard slicing through her skin, her blood flew through the air. He dove out the window and tried to grab the girl, his hand when right through her leg. "Crap! I forgot!"_

_He had no choice. He could only watch her fall. Or so he thought. The crystals that appeared with the wind in the sub appeared here. The wind caught her and lowered her safely to the ground. Law then landing on the ground himself. He looked up to find people staring at her, mumbling questions. Fear whirled in her eyes when she noticed them._

_"Hey! Come back here!" the doctor's voice rang out. He and the nurse came running out of the building._

_She whipped her eyes to them before taking off._

_Law watched her go. He followed. She ran and ran, through the town and then the forest, until her now bloody feet couldn’t carry her any longer. Slowing down to a walk, she wondered into a cave. His heart skipped a beat. It looked just like a cave you would find a bear in. He looked around but found no bear in sight. He kept on his guard. Just because he didn’t see a bear didn’t mean one wasn’t near by. Entering into the cave, he saw the girl holding a broken, splintered bone, most likely left behind by the bear or some other animal._

_A painful cry erupted from her throat. She raised the bone over her head and slammed it down into her right thigh. She lifted the bone again, swinging it down into her thigh again, blood poured down her leg._

_“Stop that!” Law rushed forward, desperately trying to get the bone away from her as she continued to stab herself repeatedly over her body. The air in his lungs was sucked out of him. She stopped stabbing herself. Her little body now housed fifteen, at least, stab wounds. One question ran through his mind: How has this girl not killed herself yet?_

_He stood there. His body numb. His mind silent. He didn’t even react when a black bear entered into the cave. His eyes just remained locked on the girl while the bear sniffed her curiously before laying down beside her like she was its own cub._

_The image slowly faded away. Then more pain came. He watched her growing up with the same results everywhere she went. She ran from just about everyone she met. Some people tried to be nice to her. She even accepted help for a while, but it all ended the same way. She'd reveal her abilities in one way or another then get branded a freak and try to kill herself._

_Voices of hate and fear rang out at her all the time._

_"What the heck are you?!"_

_"Get away from my kids, freak!"_

_"You're such a monster! Go away!"_

_"Freak! Freak! Freak!"_

_Everywhere this girl went brought more pain for her. The more pain she felt, the more attempts at suicide that would just failed. The world spun, everything blurring together in mash up of colors. Law’s stomach turned. He felt like he was going to be sick. He had to look away from it. Closing his eyes tightly, he wished he were back on the sub, in his room. He didn’t want to see this anymore…_

            _Eventually the memories faded away from Law,_ the girl and his room shifted back into focus. His body was shaking from the event. Or maybe it was the girl shaking. His brain was too busy spinning for him to be sure. He blinked and found himself staring down into here tear filled eyes. The glow was still around their bodies but was slowly fading away from them. Tears were streaking down her cheeks like mini rushing rivers. Her eyes were clouded over more so than they have been before, so he wasn't sure if she really was seeing him or if her mind was still stuck back in that nightmare.

            "S…sorry…I didn't mean to…I didn't mean to do it. I didn't mean to hurt them. I didn't mean to k…to ki...,” she whispered. Her lips continued to move without sound. But she didn’t need to speak. He knew how she was feeling.

            "Shh. I know you didn't mean it." Law placed his hand behind her head and pulled her to him until her forehead was pressed against his chest. He remained perfectly still when he felt her other hand grasping his shirt.

            While he held her firmly to his chest, he tried to shake off the pain of hers he was still feeling. He couldn't. It was too fresh in his mind. It was too painful to deal with, even for him. Even with all he's been through. His former misery seemed like nothing compared to what she went through. He at least had Corazon for a while then Bepo and the rest of the crew following soon after. She had no one. Not a single person.

            His thoughts were broken when he felt her go limp against his chest. He pulled back a bit to find she had fallen asleep. He gently laid her back down on the bed. Or he tried too. Despite her falling asleep, she still had a death grip on his shirt. He had no choice but to lay down with her and allow her to cling to him until her grip loosened.

            As he laid there, stroking his hand over her soft blue hair, he thought about what he had seen. His eyes lifted up when Corazon appeared on the bed. For a moment the two men just stared at each other. Corazon stroked his own hand once against Law's hand that was stroking the girl's hair. Everything finally clicked inside of his head. This was what Corazon wanted from. He knew that now without a doubt. Corazon wanted him to help this girl, this girl whose pasts had similarities to his own.

            Corazon lifted his eyes with a knowing smile.

            As the man faded away, Law said, “Okay, Corazon, okay. I have no idea exactly why you want me to do this. But I'll do it. I'll trust you. I'll help her. I’ll keep her safe. No one will ever hurt her again. I promise.”

            Corazon’s eyes sparkled just before his image winked out.

            Law propped up on his elbow to just watch the girl sleep, to make sure she didn’t have another nightmare. While he kept his vigilant watch over his charge, who was still in his arm and clinging to his shirt as if her life depended on it, his mind drifted back to her necklace and what it had said. Usually when someone wore a necklace with a name on it, it was their name. So he assumed that was the case here. He mumbled, "Neo, huh? That’s such a strange name for such a strange girl. Well, one thing is for sure…"

            He paused. His eyes running all over her now peaceful face. He brushed her bangs away from her skin before they fell stubbornly back into place. "…you are definitely something new."


	10. Connections

Connections

            Law woke up after a couple hours of sleep. His side was a bit sore from sleeping in the same position for so long so he shifted his body a bit to release the tension. Looking down at the girl, he found her fingers were still holding onto his shirt, but her grip had loosened at some point in the night. Remembering her fever last night, he touched her forehead, finding it now cool. Carefully untangling the rest of the way, he freed himself from her hold completely. Before getting off the bed he made sure she was securely tucked into her blanket then pulled his own blanket over her. He grabbed his boxers, jeans, and headed for the bathroom for his shower, closing the door behind him as quietly as he possible could. Even though the girl was in the next room, he felt bad for leaving her. Somehow, he felt connected to her now. He felt an indescribable desire to protect her from any and all kinds of harm. Her pain was now his pain. Her fears were his fears. He was going to protect her. Just like he promised Corazon last night.

            The water was nice and hot on his skin. He tried to let it wash all the feelings and things he saw. It didn’t help. While the pain wasn’t as bad, it was still there. Now he understood why she was too scared of people. Anyone who had grown up like that was bound to have some serious damage done to them. Managing to make it through his shower, he shut the water off and stepped out. Once dry he put on his clothes and left the bathroom while still soaking some water out of his damp hair with the towel. His eyes immediately landed on the sleeping girl in his bed. She was still tightly cocooned in her own blanket while also under his. He pulled his eyes from her and stepped over to his closet. He pulled out a shirt and a pair of socks. Slipped it over his head before he walked over to the bed, carrying the towel and socks.

            He sat down with his right leg bent up under him and quietly watched the girl sleep. He reached over and placed his hand gently on her shoulder. She didn't flinch or anything. He figured last night's nightmare and confession really wore her out. Even though it was about time for breakfast, he decided to not wake her up. She needed to sleep. He got the feeling it was the first real, restful sleep she's had in a long time. And she looked so peaceful sleeping now. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders from the event that happened between them.

            He turned away from her, put on his sock, and reached down for his boots. He slipped them on before leaving the room quietly. He paused when he started to close the door. He left the door open a few inches then shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away. The hall was silent until he got closer to the galley. Then he could hear his crew chatting happily and the clanking of dishes. When he entered into the room he as greeted by a hearty, "Good morning, Captain!"

            "Morning," Law mumbled half heartily. He walked over and sat down with a tired sigh.

            "Where's the girl?" Conner questioned when he didn’t see her.

            "She's still sleeping," Law replied.

            "Did something happen?" Bepo asked when he noticed the out of place concern look in his captain's eyes.

            "Yeah." Law raised his eyes and looked at each and every one of his crew. He pretty much could assume how they were going to reach to what he was about to tell them. "She kind of told me what happened to her."

            "What?!" they all asked, shock flooded their expressions.

            “Did she really, Captain?” Shachi asked.

            "Yeah." Law nodded. "And it's not a very happy story."

            "What happen, Captain?" Penguin asked.

            Law paused to look at the man. Penguin was probably the most gentle of his crew. And he could tell that the man really cared about the girl despite not knowing anything about her. He knew that his entire crew cared about her in their own ways. He took a deep breath then told them everything that happened, only leaving out his feelings towards her and Corazon. He had no idea how to explain either of them to his crew.

            “She has more crystals?”  
            “She can show you her past?”  
            “I can’t believe she can glow.”

            “What do you think her powers really are? Devil Fruit?”

            “I don’t know. Maybe magic? Possibly a curse?”

            Law massaged his temples. He was starting to really hate questions. But at least he had some answers now. Now he could help her better. Their breakfast was filled with chatter about the girl. Plans and suggestions of how to help her were tossed around for over an hour. Finally, when it all died down and everyone else left, he asked, “Penguin?”

            “Aye, Captain?” Penguin slipped the last plate into the cabinet and turned to the man. “What’s up?”

            “I want you to tutor her,” Law said.

            “Sure thing,” Penguin said without hesitation.

            “And we’re going to start today,” Law said.

            “Are you sure?” Penguin asked. “Wouldn’t that be a bit soon?”

            “No.” Law shook his head. “You’re only going to start her out on how to write the alphabet and form small sentences.”

            “All right,” Penguin said. “That sounds easily enough. I can go get some worksheets ready right now. How much longer do you think she’s going to sleep?”

            “I have no idea,” Law said. “And I’m not going to wake her up. I want her to sleep for as long as she can.”

            “Probably a good idea,” Penguin said. “I’m still having problems processing all of this.”

            Law nodded. He knew exactly how Penguin felt.

            Penguin quietly observed his captain. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like the man had left something important out when he told them about the girl’s memories. He could see some kind of light inside of his captain’s eyes. A light that never was there before.

…

            She shifted at the unfamiliar softness she found herself laying on before opening her eyes. After a couple blinks, she pushed herself up into a sitting position. She blinked again in confusion. She was no longer laying on the floor. She scanned her eyes over the familiarity of the room in search of the captain until they landed on the partially opened door.

            She tilted her head and stared at it. The only time she had been around an open door was when the men were around. She couldn't recall a single time a door was open when she was alone. She continued staring at it until Law walked into the room. He said, "You're awake, that's good. And it looks like you're feeling better."

            She continued to stare at him. He remained by the door. He locked eyes with hers. To his surprise, she didn't look away. He could tell she was trying to figure something out. "Do you remember what happened last night?"

            It took a second, but realization slipped into her eyes. She remembered her nightmare. She remembered her glow flowing into his eyes and over both their bodies. Fear jumped into her eyes. Her heart thrashed against her chest, pulsing in sync with her veins. She backed into the corner of the bed and wrapped her arms around herself, closing her eyes tightly. Her body quaked with fear.

            Law sighed. From all away across the room he could see her violent shivers. He quietly closed the door. He then walked over to the bed. Before climbing onto it, he stepped out of his boots. He figured this was going to take a while and wanted to be comfortable. His eyes locked onto her as she pulled more into herself when she felt him getting close to her.

            Law paused when he got to the spot he wanted to be at, two feet away from her. He made sure not to block her in, but was close enough that she knew he wasn't going anywhere. He patiently waited for her to get use to him being so close before finally reaching for her. He placed his hand on her head, instantly feeling her twitch. She jerked her head away and threw out her hands at him. "Stay away!"

            He snatched one of her wrists. In a soft, yet firm voice, he replied, "Don't order me around."

            She tried to pull her hand away from him, but he was much stronger than she was. With ease, he pulled her onto his lap. Her body became stiffer than a board when he put his arms around her, pinning her to his chest. She tightly shut her eyes, her smaller frame trembling uncontrollably against his. Despite knowing they could appear at any second, he knew her crystals weren’t going to appear. She wasn’t going to hurt him. Softly, he said, "It's okay. I understand that you’re scared. I can also understand how you feel. I was once treated like a monster too."

            She flinched again.

            "I wasn't much older than you were. I was sick. I had what's called Amber Lead Syndrome. It's a non-contagious, hereditary disease that was in my hometown. The government knew the truth about what was happening to us. But they did nothing to help and ended up wiping us out. I survived and escaped. However, I was going to die when I turned thirteen. It caused me to become hateful, vengeful that my life and family had been taken away from me. I wanted to destroy everything and everyone I came across." That was until I met a man named Corazon, the man I asked you about before. He actually gave me back my life. He took me to so many hospitals, trying to find a cure for my illness. Each time the doctors and nurses would yell at me, call me a monster. They were scared of me and the disease I had."

            While Law spoke, he noticed that her body had relaxed some. "But Corazon wouldn't give up on me. I was cured when we finally found this certain Devil Fruit I now possess." He paused a few beats before continuing. "I told the crew about what happened last night."

            Her body tensed up again.

            He gently rubbed her lower back. "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you or treat you like a monster. In fact, we are going to help you. We're going to teach you how to read, how to write…and we will help you gain control over your abilities."

            She trembled.

            "That's why you keep shivering. You're experiencing an internal cold from all the neglect you've dealt with. You've never been hugged before, have you? You don't know what it's like receiving warmth from another person," Law said. He felt her lightly nod against him. "Well, you have now. And my crew will show you more affection, if you will let them. They won't trap you anymore. And they won't get so close to you until you are ready for them too. They were just clueless when that incident in the rec. room happened. Now that we have more information on you, we can make you more comfortable."

            He paused again to let her absorb the information. "Will you show me? Will you show me your crystals?"

            He waited patiently for her reply. He got it several minutes later when her crystals appeared in his room. He scanned his eyes over the shimmering colorful crystals floating in his room. He could easily sense the intense power, the danger, they held. Her trembling became more intense when they appeared. He tightened his hold on her and rubbed her back. "Okay, that's enough for now. You can make them disappear again. Thank you for showing me. You did real well."

            What she did next surprised him. She clenched a hold of his shirt, right over his heart, and spoke openly to him. She said, "What you saw…what I did...I didn't mean to...I'm sorry. I really am sorry…I really didn't mean to hurt them. I didn't mean to kill anyone. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. I didn't mean t-t-"

            "I know you didn't. That wasn't your fault. You are not a murderer. You were just a child, a scared little child who was ganged up on by adults. You naturally reacted in defending yourself against them…or your crystals did. I'm still kind of confused about what I saw. But I do know you need help and no one would give it to you. Instead they blamed you for being different. They didn't want to try and understand you. I believe that you needed to use your gifts. I don't think it was a good thing for you to constantly hide them. I don't know exactly what your gifts are, but I get the feeling that they are a natural part of you. You've always had them, right?"

            She nodded. "I…I-I can control the elements. All four of them, water, fire, earth, air. I can even talk to all kinds of creatures."

            He smiled and took her opening up, no matter how small it was, as a sign of trust. It made him more confident in what he was going to say to her next. "I'm giving you free roam of the sub now. You can go wherever you wish. But _do not_ leave the sub without my permission and without someone with you. I also don't want you sleeping on the floor anymore. You're going to sleep on this bed, my bed, from now on. Do you understand me?"

            She nodded.

            "There's something else I need to know right now. It's about your name. Neo was the name on the pendant you use to have. Is it your name?"

            "I don't…know," she replied. "No one ever called me anything but…"

            "I see." Law nodded. "Well, we'll call you Neo from now on. You have a name and we will use it."

            She pulled away from him at that point. Her eyes lifted up to his. Tears had once again stained her cheeks.

            He smiled before reaching for her. She flinched away from his hand coming close to her face. "It's okay. You don't have to be scare. I'm not going to hurt you."

            She relaxed a bit, but kept a wary eye on his approaching hand.

            He gently brushed her tears away. "See? No harm done."

            They both went quiet after that. He sat patiently for a while as she timidly studied him for something. He wasn't really sure for what. Maybe signs to see if she really could trust him? Or maybe signs that she couldn't trust him? It didn't matter to him. He was going to prove to her that she could trust him and his crew. He rubbed his hand over her back again. "We should get up now. I'll step out into the hall so you can change your clothes. When you're dressed and ready, come on out. Okay?"

            "O-okay." She nodded and he let her crawl out of his warm embrace. She followed him off the bed. As he headed for the hallway, she grabbed her a pair of clothes, a white shirt with two blue stripes on each of the short sleeves, a bra, and jeans, then stepped into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she stepped out into the hallway where he was patiently waiting for her.

            He gave her a small smile then headed down the hall with his hands poked lazily in his pockets. She watched him for before hurrying to catch up with him. He casted her a glance as she walked quietly beside him. He noticed that she wasn't keeping her eyes glued to the floor at the moment. She was holding her head a little higher than she ever has. Her eyes scanned all over the hall with a small amount of curiosity while still holding a rather large amount of caution.

            Law continued to watch her from the corner of his eyes. She stayed right by his side until a couple crewmembers wondered out of one of the supply rooms. That’s when she stepped behind him and grabbed a hold of his shirttail. He nodded a greeting to his men while they continued on down the hall. Patiently, he waited for her to come back out. She did just before he led her into the navigation room.

            “How’s it going, Bepo?” Law asked.

            The bear was hunkered over a couple maps laid out on the table in the middle of the room, a baby transponder snail snoozed peacefully on the edge of the table. He said, “I think I found the perfect place.” He pointed to the map. “This island here is the perfect spot for your…” He tossed the girl a look, unsure if he should say exactly what he wanted to. “…plan.”

            “No one comes there?” Law looked over the map.

            “Most likely not,” Bepo said. “This island is pretty far away from the routes ships typically take.”

            “Are you sure?” Law asked.

            “Yes.” Bepo nodded. “I heard some people talking about it on the last island we were on.”

            “Good,” Law said. Catch movement from the girl, he looked down to find her staring curiously, and confused, at the baby transponder snail sitting on the table.

            She licked her lips. Her voice just above a whisper, she asked, “What is this? I’ve seen it before. But this one looks different.”

            Bepo gave his captain a confused look.

            Law knew the bear wasn’t expecting her to speak at all. He said, “It’s a transponder snail.”

            “Trans-ponder?” She moved closer to it.

            “They’re used for communication or visual aid,” Law explained.

            She glanced up at him, completely confused.

            Law exhaled. He knew she wouldn’t understand the technical parts of the transponder snail, so he tired to figure out the best way he could explain it. “Well, it’s a device that allows people to talk to each of from distant. For an example, Bepo could take one of these up to the deck of the ship. Then I could pick this one up and talk to him. It’s kind of similar to the voice pipes that you’ve heard my crew talk through before.”

            She followed his point to a pipe on the wall.

            “There are only a few differences between them,” Law said. “The pipes don’t need to be fed and they can’t be taken with us when we leave the sub. The transponder snails can travel with us. They need to be fed and taken care of because they are living creatures. Do you understand?”

            “Yes.” She nodded.

            “All right, Bepo,” Law said. “Continue on to our destination.”

            “Aye, Captain,” Bepo said.

            Just then a low rumble emitted from Neo’s stomach. She dropped her eyes to the floor and fiddled with the tail of her shirt. Her cheeks tinted a light pink.

            “Let’s get you something to eat now,” Law said.

            “See you later,” Bepo said.

            Neo tossed the bear a quick glance before rushing after Law who was already at the door. She stayed close to his side while he made rounds in various rooms of the sub when some of the men stopped him. She cautiously looked around as her growing in familiarity of the sub walls. Only when other crewmembers appeared would she drop her eyes to the floor, unaware of how Law was constantly glancing over at her to make sure she wasn’t getting upset. She stayed closer to his side, never moving away, until he finally brought her to the galley. She found that the man named Penguin was the only one inside the room at the moment. He was bustling about the galley until he noticed their presence. He gave her a friendly smiled but she wouldn’t meet his eyes or give one back.

            "Good afternoon, sweetie. Did you sleep well?" Penguin said.

            She stole a timid glance at him before she turned her eyes up to Law in confusion.

            "You slept through breakfast. Penguin is cooking lunch right now," Law said, easily catching her confusion.

            Her eyes wondered of his face. Her mind noticing for the first time how much taller the captain was to her. He was an entire head taller than she was. The top of her head came to his chin. She had no idea why she noticed that.

            "It's gonna be a while before it's finish," Penguin added. "But, if you want, I can give you a snack while we wait. You're probably hungry since you did miss breakfast."

            She looked over at him then back up to Law. The captain nodded, knowing she was seeking permission that it was okay to get something to eat. "You can eat a snack if you’re hungry."

            "O-okay. I…I am," she replied timidly.

            "Come on in then." Penguin gestured for her to enter farther into the room.

            She fiddled with her fingers before taking a few more timid steps into the room, while glancing several times back at Law, until she was closer to him and the fridge. Still, she said far away from him.

            Penguin easily noticed and didn’t bring it up. Instead, he started pointing out what they had to eat. “Well, let’s see. We have fruit, cheese, crackers…”

            She followed his movements before her eyes landed on the knife lying on the counter next to some vegetables. All the times she had stabbed herself came flooding back to her mind. The blade was in reach of her. She could easily grab the sharp object and stab herself again. The men weren’t close enough to stop her. Her pulse thundered under her skin while her fingers twitched.

…

            Law watched her carefully as she broke away from his side. He wondered why she kept looking back at him. Perhaps she was just making sure he was still there. That was the only thing he could come up with. He had become a solid force in her life. And something happened between them two last night. She was probably feeling it too. If only he knew what it was.

            Then he saw her turning to the knife that Penguin had laying out on the counter. His body tensed. He narrowed his eyebrows. He wondered what she was going to do. Out of reflex, he held up his hand, ready to create his Room and warp her back to his side if she even made the slightest move towards the knife.

            His body relaxed when she adverted her eyes from it. It appeared that she was finally over hurting herself. But he was still going to keep a close eye on her just in case. Trust still needed to be built up between himself, the crew, and the girl. At least they were on the right track now. They knew about her past.

…

            Penguin looked at her at that point. He noticed her looking at the knife before she quickly looked away. His heart leaped into his throat. He had forgotten that he had the knife laying out the on the counter for her to easily grab. They were suppose to be keeping sharp things away from her. He grabbed a towel and tossed it over the knife to hide it while stepping between her and the knife. "Sorry about that, sweetie. I was cutting up vegetables for lunch and forgot it was there. Here you go. Start with this. If you want something else, I can get it for you."

            She hesitated but took the small plate of cheese and crackers he was holding out to her. "T-thank you."

            Penguin flashed her a smile before turning back to his duty of cooking. The meat he was cooking sizzled more when he flipped it over. Spices filled the room in a fresh wave.

            She remained standing there just staring down at the food he had given her. Her stomach rumbled at the sight of it and at the smell of whatever he was cooking. She found herself soon saying, "I'm…I'm sorry."

            "Huh?" Penguin paused to look at her.

            "For kicking you," she clarified, nervously fiddling with the plate.

            "Don't worry about it, sweetie." Penguin smiled again. "I know you were just scared and confused."

            "Neo," she quickly said. She tossed a quick glance up at him before locking her eyes back on the plate. "C-call me N-Neo."

            Penguin stared at her before pulling his eyes over to his captain. He found his captain leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed and a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. Apparently his captain was very pleased with how things were going. He also realized that Neo was apologizing on her own. She wasn’t ordered or told to do it. He turned his eyes back to her. A good feeling washed over him. They were making progress after all. "All right, Neo."

…

            Law stayed in the doorway for a little bit longer. He watched Neo sit down at the table, where she always sat beside him, and quietly ate her snack before slipping away to attend to other business he had. It was a little over an hour later when he finally returned to the galley to see how things were going. He was a bit surprised at what he saw.

            Neo wasn't cowering down like she was doing when he had left. She was still sitting at the table, but her head was up. Her eyes were following Penguin and Shachi, around the room as they worked on getting their meal prepared. The captain couldn't help but notice she held a small trace of curiosity in her eyes as she watched the two men. And that she only stiffened a little bit when they got close to her. But for the most part, she seemed to be fine with the two men now.

            Law walked over to her and sat beside her. She looked at him and greeted him. "Hello, C-Captain."

            "Hello, Neo," Law echoed back. Her eyes remained on him for a minute before flittering back over to the other two men in the room. His eyes remained on her for a long while after that before he finally looked away from her. But as he sat beside her, he found that he kept stealing glances at her. He couldn’t help but watch her for some unknown reason. Then he cleared his throat, regaining her attention. "We're going to start your tutoring sessions later today. I wanted you to be aware of it so we don't surprise you with it. Penguin is going to be the one who's going to tutor you. Will that be all right with you?"

            Penguin smiled at her when she looked at him. She turned her attention back to Law and nodded. "Yes, sir."

…

            Neo continued to follow Law around for the rest of the day. She watched as they headed downstairs and into one of the storage rooms. There was another man in there. He was holding a clipboard and was scribbling something on it while taking quick glances into the box he was standing by. While Law started up a conversation with the man, she timidly inspected the room and even took a few steps away from him. She walked slowly around the room, eyeing all of the wooden boxes that were in the room before coming back to the door. She peaked out and looked down both directions of the hall. It was empty. No one else appeared to be around but she could hear the growing more familiar humming and clicks of the sub’s engines and walls.

            She turned back to the room to make sure that Law was still with her. Her eyes contact with him hesitantly. She wanted to go out on her own to explore the sub. She watched while he nodded at her. He somehow knew she wanted to go out into the hall on her own. He said, "It's okay. You can explore the sub if you feel like it."

            Neo swallowed. She turned back to the hallway then stepped out into the empty space. The murmurs of Law and the other man faded away from her ears as she took timid step after timid step down the hall. She brought her hands up to her chest and folded them there. Her heart was beating frantically in her chest, but instead of running back to Law, she continued on down the hallway. She came to another room and peaked inside through the open door. This one was just like the last one. It had nothing but crates in it, a few with black markings she didn’t understand. The crates were mostly large but a few smaller ones sat on some of the larger ones. Slight curious as to what was in the crates filled into her. It was quickly stifled when she head two voices down the hall.

            She pulled out of the room when two crewmates appeared coming around the corner from the stairs and towards her. She collapsed her hands in front of her as they saw her and dropped her eyes to the floor. They smiled and one of them greeted her. "Hello, Neo."

            "H-hello," Neo said softly. Then, before the men could say anything else, a loud crash came from the room they were standing beside. The unexpected sound startled her. She jumped with a startled squeak then turn and ran back towards the room where Law was. Just as she got to the room, the captain stepped out of into the hall. She grabbed onto the front of his hoodie and buried her tear streaked face in the fabric.

            "Neo?" Law looked down at her, his hand automatically going to her back. Her entire body was shaking. “What happened?”

            When he didn’t get an answer, Law looked down the hall and saw two of his subordinate enter into a room with confused looks on their faces. He looked back down at her. Knowing with how she was clinging to him, he wasn't going to be able to walk without stepping on her bare feet. So he bent down and slipped his left arm under her knees. Supporting her back with right arm, he lifted her into his embrace then walked down the hall. He stepped into the room. "What happened?"

            "Looks like this crate wasn't secured very well," one of the crewmates explained.

            "It fell over and scared her," the other one said. "Sorry about that, Neo. We'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

            Law nodded in understanding of what happened then stepped out of the room just as Penguin appeared with a smile. He said, "Hey, I've been looking for you two."

            "What's up?" Law asked.

            "I got the papers ready. So I can start Neo's first tutoring lesson now," Penguin reported. He then noticed Neo in Law's arms and shaking. "Did something happen?"

            "A crate fell over and startled her," Law replied.

            "Oh." Penguin looked at Neo then back up to his captain. "Should we wait and start her lessons later?"

            Law glanced down at her. She had stopped crying. "No, I think it's fine to start now. She’s calming down."

            Penguin nodded and the three headed back upstairs for the rec. room. When they reached the third floor, Law placed her back on her feet. Her hand stayed tightly around his hoodie as she followed him and Penguin down the hall and into the rec. room. Law guided her over to the table and gestured her to sit down. She did and patiently waited for her next orders while running her eyes over the papers lying on the table. The papers had markings on them, some matching the strange markings on the crates, with tiny arrows pointing in different directions. Law sat down beside her then spoke to her. "Penguin's going to start your first lesson on writing right now. Have you calmed down enough now to listen to him?"

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded. "I'm sorry…about before."

            "Don't worry about it," Law replied. "It wasn't your fault. Go ahead and start, Penguin."

            "Aye, Captain." Penguin nodded then sat down. He slid a couple pieces of paper over to Neo and a pencil.

            Law leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, and watched as his subordinate started Neo's first lesson. He stayed in the rec. room for a little over an hour before leaving the room to continue with his own duties. He knew Neo was in good hands with Penguin. There was nothing to worry about.

…

            Penguin quietly watched Neo as she continued to drag her pencil over the paper. The two were currently sitting together in the galley, a change of scenery from the rec. room. While watching her, he thought about how much she had grown within just the past two weeks since he had started tutoring her. She wasn’t holding strong eye contact with everyone, except the captain, but she was talking more to him and with other members of the crew within the first week. Though she still had trouble speaking out when there were more than four people in the room. During those times she would keep her eyes down on the floor or fiddle with her shirttail.

            During the second week of tutoring, he found that she was wondering away more from the captain, though she never went far from him and never went close to the exits of the sub, even when they docked at an island. Then their captain didn’t want her anywhere near islands anyway. The captain had said she would probably freak out if she saw people. So they didn’t want to chance it right now. So the captain made sure she was somewhere in the inner sub the few times they had docked since she started talking more to them. But each time she did wonder away from the captain she stayed away a little bit longer. She was also holding better eye contact with the crew though it still never lasted very long. Penguin was glad. Though it wasn’t fast progress, they _were_ making progress. And the crew was still being as patient with her, letting her take her own baby steps in everything she did.

            None of the crew ever pushed her in any kind of way and made sure to give her room in the halls if they passed her. And they always calmly greeted her when they saw her. And they always made sure not to block the door if they ended up in the same room as her. They all seemed a little over accommodating at times. But he knew that every single one of them would be on their best behavior around her, even if they weren’t under their captain’s orders.

            Still he was worried for her. He knew that the captain was going to start training her in self defense soon. While he understood the need for it, he thought she was far too sweet and shy to become a pirate, if she ever did become a pirate. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen to her. He knew his captain had said she was staying with them. So that would make her a pirate, whether she wanted it or not. The Navy would automatically label her one when they saw her with his crew. He couldn’t see her leaving them thought. She didn’t know anything about herself. So where would she go if she did want to leave? Either way, he didn’t want her to ever leave them. He wanted her to stay. He just didn’t want her to get hurt and that was going to be inevitable with the life they were leading.

            "Penguin, I'm finished," Neo said.

            "Let's have a look," Penguin said while reaching for the papers she was holding out. He ran his eyes over the words. She still had a ways to go, as her letters were still shaky, but her writing skills were improving. "Very good. You're doing very well, Neo."

            "Thank you," Neo replied quietly. She rolled the pencil between her fingers and looked down at the table. Before either of them could say anything else, her stomach rumbled. Her cheeks flushed like always.

            "I'm getting a bit hungry myself. Not surprising considering it's almost lunchtime. I guess I wasn't watching the clock." Penguin bit back his chuckle. He found it extremely cute that she could get embarrassed so easily. And he didn't want her to feel anymore uncomfortable than she already was. He stood up and headed over to the fridge. He reached for the handle and paused. A smile formed on his lips when a wild idea popped into his head suddenly. He turned back to Neo. "Hey, Neo, would you like to help me?"

            "Huh?" Neo looked at him and blinked. "Help with what?"

            "Cooking. I could teach you," Penguin replied. "It'll be fun."

            "Um, okay." Neo placed her pencil down on the table before standing up and walking over to him. She waited patiently for her orders.

            A bright smile donned his lips. If she had advance social skills, she would immediately know he was up to something. But because she didn't, Penguin was free to work on his idea without her knowing the actual reason behind his motives. "We're going to be making grilled fish and onigiri. It's the captain's favorite."

            Neo nodded then stepped closer when he beckoned her closer with a wave of his hand. She flinched and swallowed when he pulled a knife out. He smiled at her. "Don't worry. I'll handle the knife."

            Neo nodded again and forced herself to ignore the sharp object that she had used on herself so many times.

            A little while later, some of the crew wandered in. Shachi walked over and glanced at what they were making. He looked at Penguin with suspicion. "You're teaching her how to cook the captain's favorite?"

            "Uh huh." Penguin gave his friend a toothy grin.

            "I see." Shachi nodded with a toothy smile of his own.

            "Is there a problem with it?" Neo asked.

            "Not at all," Shachi replied as he turned to her. "It's a good thing to learn. It'll be useful in the future. Trust me."

            "Um, okay." Neo nodded before turning back to the fish she was grilling.

            Shortly after that, Law walked into the room. He blinked in surprise that Neo was in the kitchen with Penguin. He was even more surprised that she was cooking for them. "You're cooking?"

            "Penguin said he wanted to teach me." Neo turned to the captain and collapsed her hands in front of her. "We…we made your favorite. Is that okay?"

            Law watched her before casted a raised eyebrow at Penguin, who was trying his hardest to suppress a guilty grin. He pulled his eyes back to Neo. "It's okay. Knowing how to cook is a good skill. We'll add it to your tutoring."

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded in understanding.

            "It's ready!" Penguin then announced.

            Neo turned back to help him set it out on the table. The rest of the crew gathered at that point. They all sat down and started in on their meal.

            "Hey! This is really good!" a crewmate crowed.

            "Yeah! It is!" another agreed.

            "Looks like you're going to make a decent cook, Neo." Penguin elbowed her lightly in the arm.

            "Um, t-thank you," Neo replied softly. "Thank you all. But Penguin was cooking too."

            "The credit is all yours." Penguin smiled at her. "I was just there helping you, coaching you in what to do. You're the one who did the actual cooking."

            Neo's eyebrows turned up in confusion. Her eyes drifted to Law. He nodded at her to confirm Penguin's words. She turned her eyes down to the fish and rice balls on her plate. She mindlessly poked the fish before taking a small bite of it. They all could tell she was confused at the praise she was receiving so they changed the subject to let her settle back down. While she picked at her plate, Law carefully studied her. He knew it was getting close to taking the next step in helping her.

…

            “Neo,” Law said once the girl had come out of his bathroom.

            “Yes, sir?” Neo asked.

            “Come sit.” Law patted the bed in front of him.

            Neo obeyed him and sat down. She folded her hands in her lap and waited for him to continue speaking.

            “There’s something I want to talk to you about,” Law said. “And that’s what’s going to happen soon.”

            “Happen?” Neo tilted her head.

            “I’m going to be taking you to the next level,” Law said.

            “I don’t understand,” Neo said.

            “I’m going to have Bepo start training you in self defense,” Law said.

            “Self defense?” Neo asked.

            “It’s a fighting style that protects you from getting hurt by others,” Law said.

            “Fighting?” Neo asked, her eyes filled with confusion and a touch of fear.

            “I know it’s going to be scary, but it’s necessary that you learn how to defend yourself from others that want to hurt you,” Law said.

            “Hurt me? Like those people…” Neo wrapped her arms around her body.

            Law could see she was starting to understand where this was going. And she didn’t like it. He placed his hand on her shoulder, feeling her jump at his touch. “Neo, it’s all right. No one’s going to hurt you. I won’t let them. But learning to fight must happen as long as you’re living here. You’re not going to be doing it for a while longer, but I do want you to start getting use to the idea. We’ll take it really slow when you do start. Do you understand?”

            “No,” Neo whispered. “I don’t.”

            “That’s okay,” Law said. “You will in time. Go to be now. It’s getting late.”

            Neo nodded. She crawled over to her side of the bed and snuggled down into her covers.


	11. The Next Step

The Next Step

 

            Neo was slowly walking up the stairs to the main level of the sub when she heard some of the crew talking amongst themselves. Since she was a few steps below the level, she only caught bits and pieces of their conversation as she moved up the stairs. They sounded excited about getting to do something. Then she reached the floor and turned the corner. The men that were talking were gathered around the large door that lead to the main deck, or so she had been told. She never went outside so didn’t know for sure where the door led. Staying close to the stairs, she watched as one of the men spun a strange looking circular devise. It released several unfamiliar clanks, clicks, and groans before the door was pushed open with a loud creak. Light filtered inside the room as the men wondered farther outside.

            While peering out the now open door, she saw part of the sea in the distance along with the edge of an island. Gulping, she inched closer to the door. Her heart fluttered like the wings of a hummingbird, pumping blood through her veins. Part of her didn’t want to go near the door. But her feet didn’t listen. They kept carrying her closer to the open door. The familiar smell of salt from the sea poured into her nose. A warm breeze brought the smell of the island to her as well. The wooden floor was warmed by the sunlight when she reached the arched sunlight carved out by the door. The sub curved. Her heart took a sharp jolt in her chest when she saw the town. Then the people came into her view, speckling the coast like colorful ants. Fear gripped her chest. She was coming closer to strangers. Her mind filled with her past. The closer the sub drew to the island, to the people, the more her heart pounded. Seeing the crowds of people gathering all together, the air in her lungs hitched. She spun around and ran away from the door. Through her tear blurred vision she saw his familiar yellow and black hoodie rounding the corner where the stairs were. She instantly dove into his chest. Gripping the front of his shirt, she pressed her face into his body and cried. Her voice cracked when she said, “I don’t…want to be here. Don’t l-let them hurt me.”

            Law felt his eyebrows lift in confusion. He then heard his men laughing about something out on the deck. Upon seeing the door open and seeing the island’s people, he understood. This was the first time since she was on his sub that she had seen the outside world. Of course it was going to bring back memories for her. Slipping one arm under her knees, he lifted her into his arms, careful to angle his sword away from her, and descended back down the stairs. He said, “It’s all right, Neo. No one’s going to hurt you. I won’t let them. You’re staying on the sub anyway. I have to go onto the island for a while, but Bepo is going to stay with you. I want you to stay with him and work on your lessons. Do you understand?”

            Neo nodded against his chest.

            “Good girl.” Law walked into the rec. room, noticing the books and papers that Penguin was using to tutor her scattered on the table. He sat her back down on her feet and looked into her eyes when she looked up at him. Despite not saying anything, he could clearly see it in her eyes that she didn’t want him to leave her. Reaching up to her hair, she flinched but didn’t pull away, he tucked a soft strain back behind her ear then brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Don’t worry. We’re not staying over night here. We’re just picking up a few supplies then we’ll be gone.”

            Neo nodded.

            “Oh, there you are,” Bepo said as he walked into the room with a book in his hand.

            Law quickly dropped his hand from Neo’s face. The brim of his hat dropped over his eyes as the bear came closer.

            “I’m staying with you while the others go get supplies,” Bepo said. He then noticed his captain standing there. “Something wrong, Captain?”

            “No, nothings wrong,” Law replied. He shoved his hand into his pocket and headed towards the door. “I’ll be back later. Make sure she stays in the lower levels until I get back.”

            “Aye aye, Captain,” Bepo said. He turned back to Neo with a smile. “Well, what would you like to do now? Some worksheets? Or would you like to read?”

            “Um.” She turned her eyes to the table. “Read?”

            “Good choice,” Bepo said waving the book he had. He walked over to table and sat down. “I have to catch up with my logbook. Feel free to sit down and start reading when you feel like it.”

            Neo stayed where she was. Her eyes roamed back to the door. She wished the captain would come back and stay with her. But she knew he wouldn’t be gone for very long. So she wondered over to the table and sat down beside the bear. Pulling the book she had been reading closer, she opened it and scanned her eyes over the pages. Curiously, she started taking several glances up at Bepo. His black eyes scanned over the pages of his own book while he wrote furiously in it. Her eyes then drifted up to his ears. He was different from the animals she had seen before, but she didn’t know why. Several more times she looked up at him until he finally caught her looking at him. She jumped. Her cheeks flushed as she tucked her head down.

            “Is there something wrong?” Bepo asked.

            She shook her head. Her eyes flitter back up to his. He was still looking at her with curiosity. Her eyes then drifted up to his ears before dropping back down to the book in front of her.

            “It’s all right if you want to ask me a question,” Bepo said.

            Neo slowly drew her eyes back up to him. Unable to keep their eyes locked, she stared at his orange boiler suit. She licked her lips. Softly, she said, “You…you’re different.”

            “What do you mean?” Bepo asked.

            “You…you’re an animal,” Neo said. “But you’re different.”

            “Oh, I see,” Bepo said. “I am different from other animals you’ve seen. I’m a mink.”

            “A mink?” Neo asked.

            “I’m still an animal but I can walk on my feet and talk,” Bepo said. “There’s a whole island with minks on it. They’re the same as me and some are different. And this island is on top of a giant elephant.”

            “Giant elephant?” Neo finally lifted her eyes to him.

            “Yeah.” Bepo nodded. He then went into a description of what an elephant was since he was fairly sure that she didn’t know. And despite the fact she didn’t smile at him, he could tell that she was enjoying listening to him talk about the elephant. “But I don’t really remember much about my home island. I left there when I was really young to look for my brother who had left.” He paused then added, “Would you like to touch my fur?”

            Neo shifted in her chair. Her eyes roamed over his white fur and ears. “Can…can I?”

            Bepo nodded. He leaned closer to her, resting his chin on the table. “Go ahead.”

            Neo swallowed. Slowly, she lifted her hand off of her lap and reached out for him. Gently touching the tips of her fingers to his fur before pulling away. Hesitantly, she reached back out for him. Her fingertips touched his fur again for a few seconds before she slid her hand over his soft fur on his head. Gently she stroked his fur then scratched behind his ear.

            Bepo reveled in the attention he was getting despite keeping the happy noises down his throat. He didn’t want to scare her in anyway. When she pulled back from him, he glanced over at her. Her cheeks were rosy red as she shifted in her chair. He could tell that she loved petting him. Her eyes, despite still grey, showed a small light of enjoyment in them though it only lasted a few seconds. And maybe, just maybe, he would let her do it again when she was feeling better and more vocal. He wouldn’t mind getting petted by such a cute little girl. The two settled back down into their reading until noise came from the hall. They lifted their eyes to the door just as Shachi and Penguin walked into the room.

            “Hello!” Shachi chirped. “And how’s our favorite blue haired girl doing?”

            “I’m…fine,” Neo said.

            “We have a surprise for you,” Penguin said. He lifted the bag he was hold and swung it a few times. “Come with us. We’re heading down to the training room.”

            Neo hesitated and looked at Bepo.

            “I don’t think the captain will mind,” Bepo said. “He never said that you couldn’t leave the rec. room. You go on. I’m going to stay here and finish my logbook.”

Neo nodded before standing up. She followed the men into the hall and then down to the fourth floor. Her eyes scanned around the room they had led her in. It was a room she had peaked into a couple of times, but had never come into. There were objects in this room, some lying on the floor while others hung on the walls and were laid across bars, which she didn’t know what they were or what they were for. One time she did saw a few of the men in here. They were holding a couple strange bars in their hands and lifting their arms in the same up and down motion. Unable to be vocal with her curiosity, she stood quietly for her orders. Her eyes curiously scanned over Penguin when he pulled something colorful from the bag. He then put part of it to his lips and blew into it. The colorful thing grew and became round.

            “This is a blow up beach ball,” Penguin said.

            “We saw it and just had to buy it for you,” Shachi added.

            “We’re going to play,” Penguin said. He twirled the ball between two fingers. “You ready? Here it comes.”

            Neo remained standing still while Penguin tossed the ball towards her. It hit her arm with a low pop then fell to the floor and rolled to a stop.

            “Uh, okay,” Penguin said, picking the ball up off the floor. “That wasn’t a bad first time.”

            “You’re right. It was terrible,” Shachi said.

            Penguin elbowed his friend in the ribs. “Don’t be rude. She’s not use to this after all.”

            “Sorry.” Shachi adjusted his hat. “Perhaps we should give her a demonstration.”

            “That will probably be a good idea.” Penguin turned to Shachi and started tossing the ball back and forth. “See? It’s fun.”

            Neo watched them, unsure of what was actually fun about what they were doing.

            “Would you like to try now?” Penguin asked.

            She nodded.

            “Here it comes then,” Penguin said. He gently tossed the ball to her.

            Neo mimicked the men’s movement. Her eyebrows rose when she captured the ball between her hands.

            “Very good.” Shachi clapped.

            Neo tilted her head. She ran her fingers over the smooth surface, unable to place its unfamiliar texture.

            “Now, toss it back to me,” Penguin instructed.

            She did.

            “That was great,” Penguin said. “Here it comes again.”

…

            Law was sitting at the local tavern haven just finished up getting the supplies that they needed. It was always his policy that the work needed to be done first then they could kick back and relax. And that’s what some of the crew was doing right now. He figured some stayed back at the sub when they went to load things up. But some had stayed with him and were scattered around the tavern. A couple was chatting up a few beautiful women. The sight of them made him hope they remembered they weren’t staying very long here. His attention on his men was broken by a slender, long black haired woman that walked over towards him with a delectable sway of her hips. Instantly he knew what she wanted. It’s what they all wanted when they saw him, sex. He just wasn’t into that. Besides, his mind was only on one girl. And that girl was back on the sub waiting for him to return. He needed to do that. He needed to speak with Bepo again before starting the girl on her training in self defense.

            “Hello there,” the woman said. She sat down in the chair beside him, crossing her legs to reveal a slit in her dress that went all the way up to her hip.

            Law took another sip of his beer.

            “You look rather lonely over here,” she said, her eyes trailing down his shirt then back up to his eyes. “Would you like a little company?”

            “No,” Law said flatly. He saw her eyes dim a little then light back up. His lips curled down into a light frown when the woman reached out and traced her long finger over his knee. It really bothered him when women did this.

            “That’s such a shame,” she said. “I would like to have some company. It’s getting a bit rough in here.”

            As if on cue, a glass shattered against a wall. It was followed by shouts of two drunken men and cheers as they torn into each other. Law gave the brawl a causal glance to make sure if wasn’t his men that was involved. Satisfied that it wasn’t his men, he turned back to his drink to finish it. He had to get back to the sub now.

            “Why don’t we get out of here? Just the two of us?” she purred and leaned over to reveal more of her cleavage to him.

A cheep trick that worked on most men, but it wouldn’t work on him. He was far too cautious of the women around him. Some were bounty hunters only looking to catch him off guard so they can capture or kill him for his 150,000 and growing bounty. A few have tried, but none succeeded. He also knew a few have tried to get to him through his men by using them as bait. It didn’t work either.

Law chugged back the last of his drink and stood up. Resting his sword against his shoulder, he turned and left. He caught a glimpse of disappointment in her eyes as he left but didn’t bother saying anything to her. Making his way back to the sub he wondered how Neo was going to react to her self defense training. He figured she wasn’t going to like it very much at all. Still, it had to be done. Despite knowing she wouldn’t be fighting any time soon, she still needed to be able to defend herself when the time came.

Working his way through the crowded streets he found his eyes looking over the people. He wasn’t sure exactly for what. He was just doing it. There had been no reported sightings of the Navy and only a few other, low level pirate crews were on the island at the moment. His eyes just seem to have a mind of their own today. Before he knew it, his boots were clunking along the woodened deck where the sub was anchored. Grabbing a hold of the ladder, he easily hauled himself up and sauntered into the open door of the sub. Once inside a couple subordinates greeted him hastily as they headed back to the island. Without a word to them, he wondered down to the rec. room where he found Bepo but not the girl. “Where is she?”  
            “Probably down in the training room still,” Bepo said, looking up from his book. “Shachi and Penguin said they had her a gift. Did you need something?”

“We’re going to start her training today,” Law said.

“Are you sure it’s not too soon?” Bepo asked.

“I believe she’ll be fine,” Law said.

“Aye, Captain,” Bepo said, closing his book. “I’m ready.”

Law nodded and left the room. Despite sounding so confident in answering his navigator he was having doubts about this. She was such a scared little girl he had no idea how this was actually was going to affect her in the long run. He grunted and pushed the thoughts aside. Reminding himself once again that this was necessary. It was the first step in getting her to use her crystals. This was just to get her self confidence up. And she was going to need it when he started her on using her crystals.

Upon reaching the training room he leaned against the doorframe and watched the scene before him. Neo, Shachi, and Penguin were tossing a blow up beach ball back and forth between them. And Neo appeared to be enjoying it despite not smiling. A smile, however, appeared on his own lips. He never thought about doing something like this with her. He was glad that his subordinates thought of it. She was, in a way, still a child. She needed to have fun and play games that she didn’t get to do as a child. He allowed her a few more minutes before making his presence known. “All right that’s enough play time. It’s time for Neo to come with me and start her self defense training.”

“Sure thing, Captain,” Shachi said, tucking the ball under his arm.

“We were just having some fun with her before you came back,” Penguin said.

            Law nodded then turned around. “Come along, Neo.”

            “Yes, sir.” Neo rushed to catch up with him.

            “See you later, Neo,” Penguin said with a wave.

            Neo waved to the two men then disappeared down the hall.

            Neither of them spoke while Law led them back up to the rec. room where Bepo was waiting for them. He kept stealing glances at her, wondering once again if he should wait a little bit longer before starting her on this. Determination to not coddle her hit him once they had reached the rec. room. There was no turning back and no second guessing now. It was going to happen. They stepped inside. “We’re starting your self defense training now.”

            Neo instantly started to fiddled with her shirttail. Her eyes were down on the floor again, looking like the scare child she often was. "Do I...do I really have to do this? I don’t want to hurt anyone."

            Law exhaled. Doubt wanted to seep into his mind again. A side of him that he hasn’t felt in so many years was starting to bubble to the surface again. And that was his protective big brother side. He wanted to protect Neo from all harm. But he knew that was just naive thinking. He knew he couldn’t protect her from everything that was going to hurt her in this world. Just like he couldn’t protect Lami. His hand tightened on his sword at the thought of his little sister. Perhaps that was why he was being so protective of Neo. There must have been something about her that reminded him of his sister and he was projecting his big brother protective side onto the blue haired girl. “Neo, we’ve talked about this. You have to do it.”

            "But you want me to learn how to fight," Neo timidly pointed out. "And fighting hurts people."

            "Neo, look at me." When she didn't his voice took on his authoritative tone while remaining calm and soft. "Neo, captain's orders, _look_ at me."

            She took a breath then obeyed and looked up at him. She gave him such a sweet, innocent, yet scared and vulnerable look that he almost gave into to her in a split second. Luckily, he was able to keep control of himself and stomp down his protective side. He knew this had to be done. "Learning how to fight doesn't mean you _have_ to hurt someone. A lot of people learn how to fight so they can protect themselves from getting hurt. Doing this doesn't mean you will have to fight. At this point in time, we'll protect you when the need arises. All you're going to do here is gaining some self confidence."

…

            Bepo had locked his eyes onto his captain ever since he and Neo wondered into the rec. room. He got up and walked away from the table to the end of the room where they would have more room to work. While standing there, he couldn’t help but observe how his captain was with Neo. It was unusual to see the captain talking in such a soft tone to anyone. In fact, he couldn’t recall a single time when his captain had talked so softly. Usually, his captain was all business, even when they were just teenagers.

            And this wasn’t the first time he’s seen Law acting this way. He has seen it before. But it really came clear shortly after the surgeon inform him and the rest of the crew of the girl’s past. He wasn’t sure how exactly the man had come to know of her past, outside of her glowing thing, but he could tell something had changed in the man. He wasn’t really sure if Law had noticed it too. He figured the man did. But knowing his captain, he knew Law wouldn’t talk about it unless he wanted to. So he didn’t push it.

…

            "Bepo is very good at what he does. He'll go slowly in the beginning until you’re comfortable to move on. And he will be the only one in the room. Of course I'll be here, occasionally, but for the most part, it will just be you two for now. This is a necessary first step in helping you gain control over your abilities. Do you understand me?"

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded.

            "Good." Law nodded back. "Time to start. Bepo?"

            "Aye, Captain!" Bepo nodded. "Are you ready, Neo? We can start right now if you're ready for it."

            Neo took a slow, deep breath before walking closer to Bepo. "Y-yes, I'm ready."

…

            Law leaned against the wall. His eyes were carefully watching Neo's reactions to what Bepo was telling her. The bear was starting off with showing her how to throw a punch.

            "Now just bend your knees slightly. Keep your chin down and your fists beside your face like this." Bepo raised his paws and bended his knees to demonstrate what she was supposed to do. Neo immediately mimicked his position. He smiled. "Good, good…now throw your fist out like this."

            Bepo demonstrated the punch for her a couple times in slow movements then a couple times faster. Neo continued to mimic his moves.

            Law remained leaning against the wall for a couple of hours. During her training, Neo kept stealing glances over at him. He knew she didn’t want him to leave her while she was going through this. And despite the fact that he wanted to leave the room, he stayed. He stayed for her. But he wasn’t going to stay each time she would do this. She would need to get use to him not being around since there were going to be times he would have to separate from her. So he spent his time going over his crew and which ones would be the best sparring partners for her. He had a few in mind that would work, as long as they didn’t go too easy on her, which he figured they would. There wasn’t a single man on his crew that didn’t want to already spoil her. For a split second he thought that he would have to spar with her. But a sharp jolt of his heart told him that he wouldn’t be able to lift a hand to her at all. He sighed heavily, wondering what this girl had done to him that caused him to be so weak towards her. There was something there between them. He couldn’t deny that to himself even though he was denying it to his crew. Something had happened between him and Neo when she engulfed them both in that glow of her. He just didn’t know what it was. And he was fairly sure she wouldn’t know either. It looked like he was just going to have to do the best he could for her until they found someone who could tell them who, or what, she actually was. If they ever found anyone for that.

…

            "You are getting ready good. I think you're going to have really pretty handwriting when you've mastered writing," Penguin commented. He was comparing one of the first pages of Neo's handwriting to a new one that she had done today. They were once again in the rec. room for her tutoring session for the day, sitting at the table like always.

            "Really?" Neo asked softly.

            "I do." Penguin slid the papers across the table to her. "See for yourself how much you've improved."

            "I guess." Neo stared at the pages. She felt her eyebrows lifting on her forehead. Penguin was right. She was improving. The first letters she had done was large, crooked, and really sloppy with bold lines from her holding the pencil too hard. And now her writing was a neater, smaller, her lines were straighter and lighter in color from now holding the pencil more gently, and they were within the lines that Penguin had drawn on the papers for guides.

            "You guess?" Penguin chuckled. "I know you have. The proofs right there, literally, on paper. Bepo talks all the time about how you have improved on your self defense lessons as well. He's really impressed."

            "Yeah." Neo rolled the pencil in-between her fingers and thought about the past few weeks and what all the martial arts master as taught her and was teaching her. The lessons started off with just her and Bepo. He showed her a lot of offense and defense moves. And he was the first one she ever sparred with. Of course he went easy on her. She went through the moves while he _acted_ out the part of an attacker. Over three weeks she got faster and more confident in her moves. So Law had stepped up her training. While she was still a beginner, Bepo was no longer holding back as much as he did when they first started. He was more of a challenge for her despite the fact he was still holding back quite a bit of his strength.

She had even started sparring with a few other crewmates, Shachi and Archer. Yesterday she even managed to toss Shachi onto his back, but she suspected that he let her do it. He's had years of practice after all. She figured he was just trying to give her a confidence boost and so she'd know if she was tossing him correctly. "Well, I admit I like my tutoring sessions of cooking, writing and reading with you a lot more than the fighting sessions."

Penguin smiled at her. He tilted his head and studied how much she has improved with everything. She was talking a lot more now. It still mostly happened when there was only her and a few others in the room. She still had issues being vocal around the entire crew, but she was obviously improving and becoming more and more comfortable within the crew. His captain's plan was working very well despite the fact they were just flying by the seat of their pants.

Penguin leaned back in his chair and pushed it back on two legs while continuing to study the girl sitting with him. He had to wonder why his captain was actually doing this for her. It's not like him, the Surgeon of Death, to be so nice. While his captain did tell them about Neo’s nightmare vision thing he couldn’t see that actually being the whole reason. He had noticed a change in his captain since that day. A change that he couldn’t help but assume that his captain was starting to have feelings towards the quiet blue hair girl on their sub. But what kind of feelings? He knew his captain had a little sister. So was his captain only looking at Neo as a sister? He had noticed that his captain was always more relaxed when Neo was in the room. Could a sister do that? Or was there more to it?

            "I wonder if the captain is possibly developed feelings for…" Penguin's voice trailed off when he realized he was speaking out loud.

            "What?" Neo asked.

            "Huh?" The legs of his chair tapped against the floor when he sat them back down.

            "You wonder what about the captain? Something about his feelings?" Neo blinked innocently at him.

            "Nothing." Penguin waved his hands at her and smiled. _I almost slipped there. I only suspect the captain might be developing feelings for her. The captain wouldn't have been happy about that if I brought it up. She wouldn't understand those feelings at this point anyway._ "I was just…it was nothing important. I guess I just got lost in thought."

            "Oh." Neo tilted her head. "Okay then." She dropped her eyes back down to the paper in front of her and started writing again. Thirty minutes passed before she heard footsteps coming down the hall. She glanced up just in time to see the captain walk into the room. “Hello, sir.”

"Neo.” Law nodded at her. “How's it going?"

            "Great." Penguin held up the two pieces of paper for his captain. He released them when Law took them. "She's improving quite a bit."

            "Good work, both of you." Law smiled before returning the papers to Penguin. He shifted on his feet and fingered the sheath of his sword.

            "Was there something else, Captain?" Penguin asked when he noticed the man actually showing signs of hesitation.

            "We're docking in about an hour," Law replied, looking at Neo. "The place that Bepo located for your crystal training is near.”

            "Oh." Neo shifted uncomfortably. She dropped her eyes to the pencil in her hand. "Okay, Captain."

            Law studied her, unaware that Penguin was studying him just as hard. He watched as Neo fiddled nervously with her pencil. Joy spread over him upon having Bepo chose an island that didn’t have any people living on it. He knew she wouldn’t be able to handle that at all. With a nod to Penguin he finally left the room.

Penguin watched their captain go before he looked at Neo. He studied her nervousness then said, "Hey, how about we switch gears and work on your reading until we dock?"

            "All right." Neo nodded.

Penguin reached behind him to the bookshelf. He pulled a book off the shelf that she had been reading and handed it to her.

She opened it to the place she had left off the last time she read from the book. As she read out loud, Penguin half listened to her and half worried about her.

            Penguin took this time to mentally filter through his own feelings for her. He hadn’t realized how much he had grown fond of her from all the time they spent together. And because of her tutoring, they were spending a lot of time together. He was the main one who was teaching her how to read, write, and cook. It was always hard for him to tell how she actually felt about these activities before. Today was the first time she admitted that she liked them out loud. He felt that it was more proof that she had grown to trust them. He hoped it continued. Whether she knew it or not, he and sever others already considered her part of their crew. Without realizing it, she had become a little sister to him. He wanted to help her in any way he possibly could.

            And while she was making progress in all of her sessions, Penguin couldn't help but worry about her taking the next step in her training. Their captain was getting ready to start her in using her crystals again. Her crystals that held the power to destroy so much and so many people. He wasn't sure if she was mentally ready to face that part of her past like this just yet. But he did trust his captain. And with how intently he notice his captain studying the girl a few minutes ago, he knew that Law wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt her now. The man obviously knew what he was doing and how Neo needed to be handled despite never having been in a situation like this before.

            Penguin's lips pulled into a smile. _I'm starting to think that my hunch about the captain is right. And I always had a feeling that the captain was leaving something out about what happened when Neo revealed her past to him. He must have bonded with her through that experience somehow. Maybe because of his own past?_

            "Um, Penguin? Penguin?" Neo's voice broke into his thoughts.

            "Yes?" Penguin slightly jumped before turning his attention to her.

            "I'm stuck on a word." Neo blinked at him. "You weren't listening. Did I do something wrong?"

            "No, no, of course not." Penguin smiled at her. "I'm sorry for making you feel like you did. My mind just drifted off for a moment. It won't happen again. I promise. What word are you stuck on?"

            "This one." Neo pointed to the word on the page.

…

            Penguin was leaning back in his chair when Shachi had walked in the room about an hour later. He was so lost in listening to Neo read to him that he didn’t realize how much time had passed. “What’s up?”

            "We're docked. Captain wants you two to meet him on the deck," Shachi said.

            "Thanks, Shachi," Penguin replied.

“See you later.” Shachi waved to Neo before disappearing back into the hall.

Penguin then quickly put up their learning tools for the day. "Let's go."

            "Okay." Neo nodded, stood, and then followed him out of the room.

            Their walk was fairly quiet as they slowly made their way through the sub hall and up the stairs. The passing crewmates gently greeting the two, still making sure not to get too close or trap her in any kind of way. She greeted them back softly, with a low 'Hi or Hello' while Penguin greeted them more openly.

When they got to the door and the bright light pouring in with the salty air, her body froze. Her heart thundered in her chest. She didn’t want to leave the safety of the sub.

“It’s all right, Neo,” Penguin said. “We’re the only people who are going to be here.”

Neo nodded slowly. She took one step into the bright sunlight and then another. When her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw Law patiently waiting for them. He wore a smile upon his face that she didn’t understand.

Law said, "Follow me."

            Neo obediently followed him over to the edge of the deck, Penguin tailing behind her. She waited patiently, and watched curiously, while the captain unhooked a part of the railing. A metallic click sounded through the air. Timidly, she asked, “What…what are you doing?”

            “We’re climbing down the sub ladder,” Law explained. He pulled the railing up until it was angled in the air. “It’s built into the side of the sub so we can get off and on.”

“Oh.” Neo watched carefully as Law descended down the ladder with ease. When his head vanished over the side, she walked closer so she could see him. She hesitated when reaching for the railing.

“Just take it slow,” Penguin couched. “Hold onto the rail until you get your foot in the first rung. You have plenty of room so you won’t fall. But if you do happen to fall the captain will easily catch you.”

“O-okay.” Turning her body, she mimicked how Law lowered himself down. Her hands were tight on the railing until she could feel the warm metal of the first rung on her toes. Slowly, she made her way down one step at a time. When she got to the bottom of the ladder herself, Law was standing on a rock. She lowered herself to it finding the rock he was standing on was warmed from the sun but also cooled by the sea slapping up on it. She wondered if the captain wanted her to wear her shoes, but figured since he didn’t say anything about them it was fine for her to be barefooted. Once Penguin had joined them, they walked along rocks that had formed a rocky bridge to the island. She eyed the island as they got closer to it. Just as Penguin had told her, there appeared to be no other people on the island. All she could see were different size and shape rock formations and a few trees. She barely noticed the roughness of the rock being replaced with the warm, soft sand of the beach.

            "Walk out into the water," Law said.

            Neo looked at him. "W-would it be all right I ask what for, sir?"

            "I just want to make sure you don't have Devil Fruit powers," Law replied. "We who do have them can't get into the sea without it paralyzing us."

            "Para-lyz-ing?" Neo sounded out the word carefully.

            "Immobile," Penguin explained. "The captain is a Devil Fruit user. If he were to get into the ocean, he wouldn't be able to move."

            Neo's eyes shimmered with concern upon hearing this bit of information.

Law quickly noted it and quickly put an end to it. He said, "You don't have to worry about it. I'm not going into the water. And Penguin will be right by your side while you are. If you feel weak at all, just grab onto him and he'll pull you out. We're not going to let you get hurt. But this must be done. Into the water now."

            "Y-yes, sir." Neo walked towards the water with small steps. She paused when the cold water brushed up against her toes. She didn't continue into the water until Penguin appeared at her side with a warm, comforting smile. She then continued to step farther out into the water. The water was cool on her skin. A small shiver ran over her body the farther they walked out into the sea. She felt something brush past her leg and jumped.

            "How are you feeling?" Penguin inquired. "Do you feel weak at all?"

            "No." She shook her head. They were up to their hips in the salt water. "Not at all."

            "Come back then," Law ordered. "You officially don't have devil fruit powers."

            The two turned and wondered back onto the beach. Neo pulled at her now wet pants as they clung to her skin. She didn’t like how they felt on her now.

            "What now, Captain?" Penguin asked.

Neo looked at him before looking at their captain. She wondered that same thing but didn’t have the courage to ask it.

            "I want you to escort Neo around the island," Law explained. "Neo, for today, all you're going to do is familiarize yourself and get comfortable with this island. We're the only ones here. There are no other people. And there are probably not many animals. It's the perfect place to take the next step in your training. Tomorrow I'm starting you on using your crystals. Do you understand?"

            "Y-yes, sir." Neo nodded with her eyebrows kneading together in worry.

            "Well, shall we get started on exploring the island then?" Penguin asked. "This is going to be fun. I love checking out new islands."

            Neo looked at him then back at Law.

Law instantly knew the reason she was looking at him. She was seeking permission that it was fine for her to leave now. He said, "Go ahead now. Just be back before it gets dark."

            "Aye, Captain." Penguin nodded. "Let's get going, Neo."

            "Okay," Neo said. She waved to Law before she turned and followed after Penguin. Without a word, she followed Penguin as he led her farther into the island. Once they had rounded a large rock formation, they found several patched of trees clustered together at random spots on the inner island. They looked dull. Several of the leaves were tinted brown. It was clear that this place didn’t get much rain. They weaved through some of the trees for a while. During that time, her jeans were starting to dry off. It made her feel better not to have them clinging to her skin.

            “How about we climb up there and get a look at the entire island?” Penguin asked.

            Neo brought her eyes back to the man she was with. He was pointing up to a rock formation that had a lot of smaller rock formations along the sides. “Can we climb up that?”

            “Of course we can,” Penguin said. His eyes ran over the rocks before him. “It’ll be easy. There are plenty of footholds. Just follow me.”

            “O-okay,” Neo said.

            Penguin stepped forward. He planted his foot on a rock and began to haul himself up.

            Neo followed, placing her feet and hands where he did. She glanced over her shoulders went small rocks pinged down the sides. Turning back to Penguin, she continued to climb.

            "Wow!" Penguin stretched out his arms as far as he could, having reached the top of the rock formation. He breathed in a breath of satisfaction while staring at the scene before them. "Look at that view! You can see forever! You can also see over the entire island. The captain was right. We're the only ones here."

Neo carefully scanned her eyes over the horizon. The sun was just on the verge of setting. It’s golden yellow and oranges painted the sky and the water below. It was one of the prettiest things she had ever seen before. And the man was right. They could see over the entire island. She pulled her eyes away from the sunset and looked over the almost barren island. She saw a few small animals scrambling around on the island, hunting for food probably. Her eyes eventually landed on the rest of the crew. They were small black spots scurrying alone the beach where they had previously been. She wondered what they were doing.

            "We should start back now," Penguin said. He walked back towards the way that they had climbed up the rocks with Neo following close beside him. "It's gonna get dark soon. And I don't want to freak out the captain if you're not back by his side before the sun sets."

            "Freak out?" Neo blinked innocently at him. She followed him back down the way they came. "I’ve heard some of the men say that before. You mean he'll get upset, right? Why? Because of his orders? We're going to be back before the sun goes down. And I'm with you. He said I could leave the sub as long as I'm with someone."

            Penguin chuckled. "Don't worry about it. You're right. It's just his orders. He is our captain after all."

            " _Our_ captain," Neo mumbled softly. "Penguin, would it be all right if I ask you something?"

            "Of course." Penguin held up his hand for her to take. He waited patiently as she debated whether or not to take his hand.

            "Am I a pirate now?" Neo asked. Slowly, she slid her hand into his. Her entire body tensed at the contact of their skin.

            "Um." Penguin looked at her. He could feel her tensing under their touch. This was the first time they had actually made solid contact with each other since that first day. He forced himself to relax as his mind recalled what had happened when his crewmate touched her for the first time. He knew that that wasn’t going to happen again. Still he knew that he needed to remain calm so she didn’t feed off his energy. She stepped down from the rock and he released her. "Honestly…I never really thought about it. I think that's a bit of a tricky question to answer. You don't do the things we do, but you are with us. And the Navy will label you one if they saw you with us. Hmmm, I'm not sure. Um, hey…" He placed a friendly hand on her shoulder making her tense again. "Which ever the answer is, you are definitely part of our lives now. You are our friend. We care a lot about you. And don't you ever doubt or forget that."

            "Friend." Neo whispered as she raised her eyes to him.

Penguin remained quiet while she looked him over and tried to process his words. He could see easily that she was confused. It was obvious that she was. But he also saw _acceptance_ of the crew in her eyes. Noticing his hand was still on her shoulder, he dropped it to his side. “Let’s go.”

Neo nodded and continued to follow him.

…

            Neo shifted and clenched her blanket against her. Drops of sweat speckled her forehead. She was panting fairly heavily from her nightmare that plagued her mind. She curled more into herself and started talking in her sleep. "No…please stop…I didn't do anything…I didn't…"

            "Neo." Law shook her shoulder once he was woken up. Like he always he, he placed his hand on her shoulder, and woke her up. "Wake up now. You’re all right."

            Neo's eyes sprung open. She gasped and shot up, he eyes darted around the unfamiliar outside area. She grabbed her head and shrunk into the log she had claimed earlier that night when she and Penguin had returned to the beach where they were setting up camp. Without having the wall to sleep next to, she had claimed a log as a substitute. This gave her the security she needed as well as an easy escape route if she felt she needed it.

            Law sat quietly, noting that she was more scared this time. He figured that was because they were outside instead of inside of the sub. She was use to waking up in the familiar surroundings of his room. When this would happen in his room, Neo would cower into the corner on the bed until she had calmed down enough to listen to him.

            So he continued with that routine here. He gave her a minute or two for her senses to register she had the nightmare again and she was awake now. When she gave signs of settling down, Law moved closer to her and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest. As always, she stiffened up at his touch, but eventually settle into his secure embrace. Giving her a few more seconds to relax, he then said, "You're safe. Settle down now. Was it the same one?"

Neo nodded against him.

As he held her, he could easily sense that there was something on her mind other than her nightmare. He said, "You know you need to tell me what's on your mind. It will only hurt you to keep it inside. Speak to me now."

            "W-what if I lose control again?" Neo's soft voice was barely registered over their crackling fire. She scanned her eyes over the sleeping crew that was scattered out on the ground with their sleeping gear. Penguin, Shachi and Bepo were camped out on her left side, Law had been on her right and the rest of the crew was laying across the fire from her. Two crewmembers were walking the beach closer to the water edge for security purposes. "I don't want to hurt any of you."

            "You won't hurt us,” Law said.

Neo turned her eyes up to him. Her worried eyes locked onto his confident ones.

The wind started to blow. It waved a strained of her hair in her face. He reached up and tucked it behind her ear. He chuckled at the intense stiffness he caused her in doing this gesture.

            "B-but how do you know that?" Neo whispered.

Law’s eyebrows lifted on his forehead as he stared into her worried eyes. Though she was consciously unaware of it, she was pleading to him to help her.

            "I won't let that happen," Law replied softly. He brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek, earning another stiffening reaction from her, before lowering his hand to his lap. "I'm going to start you off slow, one element at a time. It'll work out just fine. I promise nothing is going to happen to you or the crew. You might not realize it, but you have gained some trust in us. Hold on to that and I'll prove to you that you can fully trust us. Now, come here and close your eyes."

He placed his hand on her head and gently guided her down to his chest.

"Shouldn't I lay-"

            "Hush," Law ordered. "Just close your eyes."

            Neo didn't say anything more. She obeyed his order and closed her eyes.

Law continued to hold her like that, unaware that two of his subordinates were still awake and watching them.

…

Shachi and Penguin had witnessed the entire event between their captain and their favorite blue haired girl. They exchanged grins before laying back down to avoid a serious scolding by the surgeon.


	12. Fire & Water

Fire & Water

            "Why don't you just sit and relax?" Penguin said while he and Archer stood about the fire making breakfast.

In the early morning sun, Bepo and a few others were out on the beach sparring with each other while the rest of the crew was scattered around the fire or had wondered to the sub for one reason or another. Their captain was leaning against a log with his hat down low while keeping a watchful eye on Neo since she hadn’t gotten much sleep last night.

            "I don't mind helping," Neo replied as she picked up a bowl.

            "It's okay, sweetie." Penguin took the bowl from her hands. "You're going to have a busy day today. You just relax for now. We'll handle breakfast this morning."

            "If that's what you want," Neo said softly, dropping her arms to her sides.

            "We got this," Archer said. “You just sit down.”

            Not knowing what else to say, and still to timid to protest, Neo walked back over to the log she slept against last night. She sat down beside Law and hugged her knees.

The captain didn't say anything. He just continued to secretly watch her quietly stare blankly into space. He knew she was nervous. That was evident last night when he got her to confess she was worried about hurting them. It didn't help anything that she only got a couple hours of sleep too.

            Before she woke up this morning, Law had ordered the crew to remain as calm as possible when she got up. They quickly agreed without explanation from their captain. They didn't want to do or say anything that would make her even more nervous than she already was. So they kept the talking to a minimum when she got up and scattered out to give her space. Penguin and Law were the only ones who never left her since she had been spent the most time with them on the sub.

            Penguin scooped her some oatmeal into a bowl and walked over to her with it an a cup of water. A smile appeared on his face when she didn’t even notice he was there. Bending down, he softly called to her. "Neo?"

            "Yes?" Neo jumped then looked up at the man. Her eyes dropped to the bowl when he held it out to her.

            Penguin gave her a sympathetic smile. "Do you think you can eat something this morning?"

            "I think so." Neo took the bowl while he placed the cup on the ground beside her. It was warm on her hands from the steaming oatmeal inside. There was a light hit of cinnamon floating up with the steam that drifted into her nose. It was a welcoming smell, but she wasn’t sure if she would be able to eat any of it. "Thank you."

            Penguin only nodded in return. He watched as Neo picked up the spoon and stirred the contents of the bowl to help cool it down some. She scooped some oatmeal into the spoon then drew it up to her lips. She inserted half the spoon passed her lips before pulling it out. She mindlessly chewed on the small bite of oatmeal in her mouth. It became apparent to him at the moment that she wasn't going to eat much this morning. He then looked over at his captain. The captain only shrugged and shook his head slightly. Penguin understood his meaning. Law wasn't going to force her to eat anything this morning. So he pushed back to his feet to get his own breakfast just as the rest of the crew started wondering over to the fire.

            As they gathered their breakfast, they sat around and started talking about their own training regiment they were going to do while they were on this island.

…

            "Neo?" Law called a little while later. He walked back over to her from where he was speaking to some of his crew. He had his sword resting on this right shoulder like always and his left hand shoved in his pocket.

            "Yes, Captain?" Neo looked up at him, wondering when exactly he had moved away from her. She looked around to find the majority of the crew had left the fire and was sparring with each other along the beach.

Law, squatting down, nodded to the bowl full of now cold oatmeal in her hands. He said, "You don't have to eat that. But I do want you to eat at lunch. Do you understand me?"

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded.

            "Then lets get going. It's time to start," Law said calmly while standing back up.

            "Yes, sir." Neo stood up as Penguin walked back over to her.

            "Good luck. Just keep calm and breath. You're going to do just fine," Penguin said while taking the bowl and cup from her.

            "Thank you, Penguin," Neo replied softly.

            "Let's go," Law ordered then started to walk away from the camp.

Neo gave Penguin one last look before following after the captain. She followed him quietly as he looked around for the perfect spot.

Law wanted an area where, if she did lose control, she wouldn't end up hitting any of his crew. But he also wanted to be close enough so she could see the crew was still there. He found the perfect spot about a hundred and fifty yards away from their campsite. It was on a part of the beach the jutted out into the sea. And it had no plant life near so there was no way for anything to catch fire if a spark jumped out. "This spot will do."

            Law turned back to Neo. She was looking back over to the campsite again. Some of the crew had wondered back over to the fire. They were close enough that they could easily tell they were there and facing towards, but couldn’t see what exactly they were doing. "Neo?"

            Neo jumped. She collapsed her hands together and turned back towards him with misty eyes. She dropped her eyes to the ground. "Y-yes, sir."

            "I didn't mean to startle you," Law said. He tilted his head slightly and watched her.

            "It's…okay. I wasn't paying attention," Neo replied. She fiddled with her shirttail before looking over her shoulder at the crew.

            "They're not going anywhere, you know?" Law pointed out. Neo looked up at him. "And you're not going to hurt them or me. Are you ready to start now?"

            "Yes." Neo nodded slowly.

Law sat down then signaled for her to do the same.

Neo sat down and tucked her bare feet under her legs and waited for her instructions from the man. “I’m…I’m ready.”

…

            "Will you calm down? You're acting like a nervous parent or an old brother. She's going to be fine," Shachi huffed.

            "I know, I know," Penguin said, but his knee was bobbing up and down erratically. After quickly cleaning up breakfast, he sat down on one of the logs, eyes locked onto Neo in the distance. He pulled his attention from her and looked around. He finally noticed the rest of the crew had returned to the fire and they too were watching their captain and Neo. "When did you all get here?"

            "We've been here for a few minutes," Archer said.

            "Oh, I get it," Penguin said with a smirk. "You all are just as nervous as I am."

            The crew exchange guilty looks. Shachi, trying to act innocent, cleared his throat and crossed his arms when Penguin looked at him. “I only ate too much breakfast. While that settles, why not keep an eye on Neo?”

Bepo chuckled and said, "I guess we can't help it. Even though she's only been with us a few months, we've all grown fond of her and want her to be safe."

            "She's in safe hands with the captain," Shachi said and everyone nodded. "But we're still going to worry, at least until this first lesson is over. It's fire, the hardest, most dangerous element on the planet. And this is the first time in so long that she’s going to use her crystals of her own will again. You know it’s going to be hard for her."

            Penguin glared at Shachi. "Thanks a lot! Make me worry even more!"

            "Sorry." Shachi chuckled with an apologetic smile.

            "Just watch," Bepo then said. "She'll be just fine. She's in the captain's hands. He knows how to handle her."

            “Let’s hope so,” Conner said.

            “Do you always have to be so pessimistic?” Archer asked.

            “Shut up!” Conner snapped.

…

            "Summon _one_ fire crystal," Law ordered.

            "Y-yes, sir." Neo lowered her eyes from his. She focused on a small area in front of her. Within a few seconds, a single red crystal hovered in front of her chest. When she had it in place, she raised her eyes back to his while her body started to tremble.

            Law studied her eyes. He could easily see her entire body tremble but she was trying hard to hold her fear at bay. "Just take slow deep breaths, Neo. You're doing great. When your ready make a small flame just like a candle's."

            Neo nodded and lowered her eyes back to the crystal. She took a few slow, deep breaths like he had said. She calmed and her trembling subsided a bit. As she stared at the crystal, a small flame appeared at the top point. It started off small then slowly grew to the correct size. She swallowed hard. Her heart thumped into her chest. Her hands shook at her sides.

Law watched her carefully. He was looking for any signs that could mean she was going to lose control while her body started to tremble again. He watched as her curled and uncurled her fingers. “All right start manipulating the flame now. Make it bigger, change its shape. And try having some fun with it. That will help keep you calm if you think of this as a game rather than something serious."

“But I’ve never played a game before,” Neo said, unable to take her eyes off the flame.

“Well, think of when you were tossing the ball back and forth with Penguin and Shachi,” Law said.

“Why?” Neo looked up at him.

“Because that was a game,” Law said. “You enjoyed it, didn’t you?”

“I did.” Neo nodded.

“Then you have played a game,” Law said. “Now continue.”

            "Okay." Neo followed his orders. She became surrounded by Law’s silent as she manipulated the flame. Slowly, she brought part of the flame out of its body and looped it around to form a circle. She then broke off part of the flame and created a few smaller circles around the bigger one making it resemble a paw print.

            Law narrowed his eyebrows when her breathing started to come in sharp, raspy breaths. Her eyes were locked onto the flame, but her mind was somewhere else. Her mind was going back to that island, to those people she had killed. Her breathing increased and the flame started to flicker erratically. Her eyes started to water as she mumbled. "Stop…I can't…I don't want to do this…I don't want to hurt anyone again."

            "Neo, calm down," Law said while carefully eyeing the flickering flame. His brow creased when she didn't response to him. "Neo?"

            "Stop!" Neo screamed. She grabbed her head as the flame flared up.

            "Neo! I order you to stop!" Law snapped just loud enough for her to hear him. He saw her snap back to reality. He watched as the fire and the crystal immediately disappeared as she fell to the ground with her hands over her face. She stayed in the position for a few seconds before curling into herself then leaned forward and pressed her forehead against the warm, rough sand. He knelt down to her. Placing his hand on her back he felt her twitch. "Sit up."

            Neo only curled into herself more.

Law lowered his voice. "Neo, I order you to sit up."

            Slowly, she sat up and sniffled.

Law watched her for a few seconds before laying his sword down on the ground. Shifting his position to sit on the sand, he picked her up and pulled her onto his lap, holding her firmly to his chest. Her body tensed in his touch as she clenched a hold of his shirt and cried into his chest. "It's okay, Neo. You're safe. You're fine. I'm right here. You weren't going to lose control. You did just fine for your first try. I've very pleased with how you did. We'll just sit here for a moment then we'll resume your training. Okay?"

            Neo nodded.

            Law quietly held her firmly against him for about fifteen minutes. As they sat there he let his head tilt towards her hair. Breathing in her sweet sense, his head started to become cloudy. It caused him to lean in closer to her until his nose touched her soft hair. He stayed like that until her body relaxed with a slow exhale and her hand loosened on his shirt. Heat flared up on his cheeks as he jerked away from her, wondering what possessed him to get so close to her like that in the first place. A couple seconds later, after his face cooled off, he pulled back from her a bit and noticed she still had sand on her forehead. "Close your eyes for me."

She didn't reply as she let her eyelids drop close. She flinched when he brushed the sand off her face.

"Are you ready to start again?" Law asked.

            She replied thirty seconds later. "Y-yes, sir."

            "Let's try something a little different this time. I want you to sit in front of me," Law said. She obeyed and shifted herself back to the ground. When she was facing him again, he held out his hands to her. "Take my hands."

Neo slowly reached for his hands. She slid her smaller hands into his larger, warmer ones, noticing for the first time how small her hands were compared to his. He appeared to easily dwarf her in more that just his height.

Law took her hands in his instantly feeling their softness as well as her tenderness and her trembles. He gave her hands light squeeze, seeming to calm her down. "Go ahead and start manipulating one crystal again. When you get nervous or scared, just squeeze my hands."

            Neo nodded lightly. She summoned her crystal again and started off small with her manipulations.

Law just sat patiently as she worked the flame into different shapes. When she made the flame larger, she started to tremble again. But this time she squeezed Law's hands. He returned the gesture with light squeezes, rubbed circles on the back of her hands, and spoke calmly to her. He said, "I'm right here. You're doing great. Just keep focus and breath slowly."

            She did as he instructed and was able to calm down again. And that's how things when for the next couple hours. She worked on making her manipulations bigger and bolder. And when she got scared, she'd squeeze Law's hands and he would return the squeeze and rub circles on her skin.

They settled into a routine and became quiet for a while. After about two hours of training, he almost broke that silence when Neo's expression changed and she stopped manipulating the flame. He paused when she went back to work. This time she manipulated the flame into a more complicated design. Although it wasn't an exact replica, Neo formed a fire image of him.

Law watched it flicker in amazement. He had no idea that she would have this much control over the fire as she did. His hand holding trick worked. It helped her relax more and over the hours they've been working, she got more comfortable with the fire. He brought his attention back to her when she added more fire images of the crew. _I didn't expect her to have 'this' much control considering what happened to her. I thought it was going to take her longer to get use to using her crystals. I guess my hunch about her and her abilities was correct. She needed to use them. They're a natural part of her. But who exactly is she? Where did she come from? And what, exactly, is she capable of doing with these crystals?_

            "C-Captain?"

Law snapped out of his thoughts when Neo's unsure voice penetrated his ears. His heart about jumped into his throat when he saw what caused her alarm. Her left forearm was on fire. Without a word, he dropped her hands, grabbed her arm, and smothered out the flame with his own hand, cursing under his breath. "Neo! Are you all right?! I'm sorry! I wasn't a paying attention! I shouldn't ha-"

            "It didn't hurt." Neo's voice had gone back to calm when she broke through his panicked rant.

            "What?" Law paused and looked at her. She was looking down at her arm where the fire had been.

            "I got a bit scared with all the fire I was creating and caused a spark to fly off and landed on my arm," Neo explained, even though he didn't ask what had happened. She looked up and locked eyes with him "But it didn't hurt. Why? Fire hurts, right?"

            "Yes." Law nodded slowly. He dropped his eyes down to her arm that he was still holding. He noticed that there wasn't any burn marks on her arm either. No redness either. There was just nothing. He ran his fingers over her skin to make sure he was seeing what he was seeing. She stiffened at his touch. "There's no burn marks."

            "Why?" Neo asked.

            "I'm not sure. Maybe you're more in tuned with the elements than I first thought you were," Law replied. He rubbed his chin in thought before looking at her again. "Are you calm enough to continue?"

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded.

            "Then proceed. This time, when you're ready, expand the flames bigger than you have been," Law ordered.

            "Yes, sir." Neo did as she was told.

            For the next couple hours, Law continued to give her instructions on what to do. He had her expand the size and shapes of her flames. Holding only her left hand in his, he instructed her on what to make. She made a large rock form, some trees, a dolphin when a pod swam by, and the Polar Tang.

By the time lunch came around, Neo had three fire crystals out. And hovering above each of them was a fire tornado. Each one smaller than an F1 tornado, but her control over them was solid. She had them floating over the sea so their heat would bother them too much though they were still close enough for the two to feel the heat radiating off of them.

            Law cast her a glance. She was slightly panting and sweat was starting to bead on her forehead. His attention on her was broken when he caught Bepo walking up to them out of the corner of his eyes. He turned to the bear. Bepo had stopped several yards away from them. His dark eyes locked onto his captain's hand still holding onto Neo's hand. He raised his eyes to his captain and jumped when he noticed his captain caught his stare. “I’m sorry.”

            “Don’t worry about it,” Law said, shrugging it off. “What did you need?”

            “Lunch is ready,” Bepo said.

            Law nodded again then turned back to Neo. "All right, Neo. That'll be enough for now."

Neo didn't reply. She kept her concentration on her fire tornadoes. They began to shrink down and eventually the fire was gone and so were her crystals. When she slumped forward, Law pulled his hand from hers, stepped in front of her, and placed them on her shoulders while expertly keeping his sword balanced on his own shoulder. "It seems your crystals are also tied to your stamina."

            "What do you mean?" Neo looked at him. “Stamina?”

            "You're tired from using your crystals for hours," Law explained. "I suspect you'll get stronger the more you use them, but I also suspect that you don't have an endless supply of usage. Do you understand now?"

            "Yes, Captain." Neo nodded. "I do."

"Lunch is ready. Let's go back now," Law said and stood up with her. The small group of three headed towards their campsite. "We'll start up again after you've had some rest. I don't want to wear you out too much." He kept a close eye on her to make sure she wasn’t going to pass out from exhaustion. "You did very well today, Neo. I'm pleased with how you've handled yourself today."

            "Thank you, Captain." Neo dropped her eyes to the ground and twitched.

            Law kept a close eye on her while they continued their short journey back to their campsite. When they finally reached their destination, he immediately noticed the crew was worried, but were starting to relax now that they had rejoined them. He also noticed that they wanted to speak to Neo about her training they saw her do. But they didn't say anything. They knew she needed space to relax right now and process the day's events. Penguin was the only one who spoke to her.

            "Here. You're probably thirsty," Penguin said while handing her a cup of lightly sweetened tea. He was also holding a bowl for her. "I bet you're hungry too."

            "Thank you, Penguin." Neo took the tea first and took a couple small gulps of it.

            "How are you feeling?" Penguin asked carefully.

            "I'm okay," Neo replied. "A bit tired and hungry."

            "I have your lunch right here. You go ahead and eat." Penguin handed her the plate.

            "Thank you." Neo took the bowl from him before sitting down. She sat her tea on the ground beside her while placing the bowl on her lap. She then picked up the spoon and took a bite of the beef and rice strew. The flavors busted into her mouth when she placed the stew on her touch. Her stomach growled and her mouth watered at the food now in her mouth. The beef and potatoes were very tender. They broke apart with the slightest pressure of her teeth. And the salt and pepper was perfectly blended into it. Skipping breakfast contributed a lot to being so hungry. But she felt something else inside of her too.

            Law walked over with his own bowl and cup in hands and sat down beside her. When he noticed a strange look on her face, he questioned her. "Are you all right? Do you feel sick?"

"No, sir, I don't feel sick. I..." Neo stared down at her stew before looking up at him. "I actually feel better than I ever have."

            "That's good," Law replied with a light smile. "And things will only get even better the more you use your crystals. We're going to sit here for a few hours so you can relax, but after that I want to increase the number of your crystals. Are you going to be okay with that?"

            "Yes, sir. I believe so." Neo nodded her head.

            After they had finished lunch, Law noticed Neo was staring intently at the fire in front of them. He was about to ask her what she was thinking, but was stopped when she spoke before he did. She pointed at the fire then looked at him with slightly curious eyes. "Captain, do you think that fire will hurt me since I didn't create it?"

            "It's possible," Law replied. "Are you thinking about trying an experiment?"

            "Ex-peri-ment?" Neo blinked.

            "It means preforming a test. You asked if the fire here would hurt you," Law explained while the crew watched silently. "The only way for us to know is if you tried. Reach for the fire."

Neo nodded and shifted closer to the flames. Holding her hand out she felt the heat warming her skin. She looked back at Law.

"Do you feel the heat?" he asked.

            "Yes, sir." She nodded again.

            "Hold your hand closer to it and see if it's hotter," Law ordered. She did and nodded when she felt the fire. "Now, summon a fire crystal and take control of the fire."

            Neo summoned a crystal. They all watched her silently as the crystal started to glow. The glow radiated over the fire then faded away. She instantly felt the heat disappear from her skin. "It's not hot anymore, Captain."

            Without farther instruction, she slowly reached out for the fire and slipped her hand in it. She looked back at Law again. His eyes were slightly widened, as were the rest of the crews. Neo swallowed. "It's just like when the flame landed on my arm. It doesn't hurt at all."

            "What does this mean, Captain?" Conner asked. “How can she possible do that? No way this is possible.”

            "It appears that as long as Neo is in control of the fire, the fire won't ever hurt her," Law said.

            “She’s really not human, is she?” Conner asked.

            “I’m sorry,” Neo said. She pulled back from the fire and ducked her head as if ashamed of being different.

            “You idiot!” Penguin shouted as he punched Conner on the arm.

            “Hey! What was that for?!” Conner turned towards his crewmate.

            “You’re being rude!” Penguin snapped.

            “I was just asking a question and stating a fact!” Conner said.

            “You were being a jerk!” Penguin said.

            “Take that back!” Conner grabbed the front of Penguin’s boiler suit.

            Law frowned when Neo tucked herself into his side as his two subordinates argued. She closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to get away from the fight. He turned his attention back to his crew. “Enough, you two.”

            Penguin and Conner turned towards Law.

            “Neo’s not comfortable enough around us to see you two fighting each other,” Law said. “Give her a little more time. And I’ll hear no more arguing today.”

            “Yes, Captain,” Penguin and Conner said. Without looking at each other, they walked away so they didn’t go any farther than they already had.

            Penguin walked over to Neo and knelt down beside her. “I’m sorry, Neo. It’s just normal for us to fight like that.”

            “It is?” Neo turned her eyes towards Penguin to see the man nod. “I don’t like it.”

            “The crew will keep their arguments tame from this point on until you get more use to living among such a large group,” Law said. “But do understand that arguments will happen. It’s normal for people to disagree with each other.”

            “Oh,” Neo said. “I’ll try to understand that.”

            “Good girl.” Law nodded.

…

            "Good luck today, Neo!" the crew cried out when she started to walk off with their captain.

            "Thank you, everyone." Neo waved to them before turned to catch up with Law. She slowed down when she was back by his side. "Are we going to be working on my fire crystals today?"

            "Hm." Law hummed and thought about her question. He stole a glance at her while they walked along the beach together. For the past five days he's been working with her on her fire crystals. She was now using multiple crystals and easily manipulating the flame without much fear of them at all. And had even gotten to the point of jumping through a hoop of fire. She was progressing faster than he thought she would. He was glad she was. And he was glad his hunch about her using her crystals was right. "I think we can move on to a different crystal today."

            "Which one, sir?" Neo asked.

            "Well," Law looked around the island, "I think water would be best."

            "Water," Neo said softly. She stopped walking and looked out at the sea.

            When Law noticed she had stopped, he turned back to her. "What's wrong?"

            "You have a weakness against the sea," Neo replied automatically. "And I can manipulate it."

            "And you won't hurt me." He smirked at her when she looked back at him. She was once again holding a concerned look her eyes. He pulled his sword off his shoulder and tapped her lightly on the head with it. "You've handled the hardest element with such ease these past few days. There's nothing for you to worry about."

            "Yes, sir." Neo glanced back at the sea. "But I'm still worried. I'm sorry."

"It's nothing to apologize for. It appears that it’s just natural for you to worry. You're just not use to it since you've never allowed yourself to get this close to anyone before," Law explained.

            "Does it ever stop?" Neo's voice was low as she spoke.

            "No," Law replied honestly. She looked at him again. "The more you come to trust us, the more you will worry about us and our safety. But you're gaining confidence so you won't worry about hurting us with your crystals, you'll just worry about us in a different way."

            "It'll change? What do you mean?" Neo asked.

            "Well, look at the crew. When you first came to live with us, they were concerned about you because they didn't know you. And when you revealed your crystals they could tell you _were_ a danger." When Neo flinched, Law placed his hand on her shoulder making her flinch again then tense. He gave her shoulder a light squeeze. "But the more we got to know you, the more we saw you for who you are. A sweet little girl that doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Our feelings for you changed. We worry about you differently now. We want to know you're safe, that you're eating, that you're completing your lessons, that you’re getting enough sleep. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

            Neo thought for a few seconds before nodding. "I do. Your feelings for me have changed."

            Even thought he knew she was talking about them all, Law's chest still tightened at her words. His eyes drifted from hers to his hand, which was still on her shoulder. He quickly pulled his hand away from her and shoved it into his pocket where he thought it belonged. "Let's get started."

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded. "What would you like me to do first?"

            Law hummed again in thought. "Summon a couple water crystals and let's see if you can create fresh and salt water."

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded again then summon two water crystals. "Would you like me to use one for salt and the other for fresh at the same time?"

            "Think you can handle the split?" Law asked.

            "I think so. I'll try making the right one fresh and the left one salt." Neo hesitated a bit. She then focused on the crystal on her right and formed a small round ball of water. Once she had it stable, she focused on the other crystal and formed another small ball of water. "I think they're divided."

            "Let's see." Law stepped forward and tested the water. Not wanting to touch it, he just leaned in and sniffed the liquid, easily telling the salt water from the fresh. "You did it, Neo. The right one is fresh water and the left is salt. How are you feeling?"

            "It's hard," She replied honestly. The water balls began to quiver. "I-I feel like I'm going to lose control."

            "Then you can stop the division. I think once you get more control you'll be able to split it easily, but I don't believe you'll ever need to do that for any reason," Law said. "You’ll most likely just use one or the other depending on the situation. For now, you should just work on water manipulation."

            "Yes, sir." Neo banished the water. Before doing as she was ordered, she took a deep breath to calm herself down. She then started to manipulate the water just like the first day she manipulated the fire. She started off small then expanded the size and her control over it. Occasionally, Law would add in something to increase her training and offer his hands for comfort if she needed him to.

            A couple hours later, Neo had a rather large stream of water floating in the air. She put dips and curves in it so it looked like a roller coaster.

            "She's doing great," Penguin said when he walked over to Law. Law only nodded in response as he kept his eyes on his young female charge. Penguin bit his lip, to stop himself from smiling, when he noticed his captain refusing to take his eyes off Neo.

            Neo didn't notice Penguin as she continued to keep her focus on her water manipulation. Her focus was shattered when a sea snake went unnoticed and slipped into her water stream. It then suddenly shot out at her from her water coaster, its mouth open revealing its sharp fangs to her. She screamed and stumbled backwards then fell on the ground. She raised her arm to block the snake and closed her eyes tightly. "Ah!"

            "Room!" Law's voice cried out. "Shambles!"

            Neo didn't look up as Law divided the snake in two. The two halves flew past Neo's cowering form and landed on the ground with a sloshy thump. Law then killed the creature by slicing its head off. While he sheathed his sword, Penguin rushed over to Neo.

"Neo?" Penguin said.

            "I'm sorry," Neo squeaked. She cracked opened her eyes, tears streamed down her cheeks. Law walked over to her and kneeled down beside her. He placed his hand on her shoulder. She clenched a hold of the front of his shirt again. "I'm…I'm sorry, Captain."      

            "It's all right, Neo," Law said soothingly. He removed his hand from her shoulder and placed it on her head. "You didn't do anything wrong. It just startled you, right?"

            Neo nodded.

            "I think you've done enough for today anyway," Law said. "Let's head back to camp now."

            "O-okay." Neo let go of his shirt to rub the tears out of her eyes. When she lowered her hands, Law had his hand held out to her. She blinked a few times before sliding her hand into his. He then helped her to her feet and led her, by the hand, back over to the fire.

Penguin, biting back a grin, followed a few steps behind.

“What’s Archer doing?” Neo asked when she spotted the man out on the beach away from the fire. He was smoothing out a mount of sand before standing up and walking to the water. She watched curiously while he dipped a bucket into the water then wondered back over to the mount of sand.

“He’s building a sandcastle,” Penguin said. “It’s kind of a hobby of his.”

“Hobby?” Neo asked. “That’s when a person does something in their share time for fun, right?”

“That’s right.” Penguin nodded.

Captain, would it be all right if I go watch him?” Neo asked.

“It’ll be just fine,” Law said.

“Thank you, Captain,” Neo said before heading towards Archer. She stood back a couple feet while watching the man pile wet sand into the bucket.

“Hello, Neo,” Archer said with a smile.

“The captain said I could watch you,” Neo said. Squatting down, she wrapped her arms around her knees. Her eyes were locked onto the mount of sand. Being this close to it she noticed it held the shape of the bucket Archer was using.

“I see,” Archer said. “You’ve never seen a sandcastle before, have you?”

“No.” Neo ducked her head, her eyes dropping to the sand at her feet.

“It’s okay that you haven’t. You’re learning about them now,” Archer said. “That is, if you don’t mine me teaching you about them instead of Penguin.”

“Would that be okay with the captain?” Neo asked, bringing her eyes back up to him.

“Yes, it’ll be fine,” Archer said.

“How did you do this?” Neo pointed to the bucket shaped mound before picking up a handful of sand, letting it slip through her fingers. “It won’t take shape.”

“That’s because you have to wet it,” Archer said. Scooping more damp sand into his bucket, he packed it down then turned it over and pulled the bucket back to reveal its shape. “See? The wet sand sticks together. Now, you just take a tool and carve out little squares in the top live this.”

Neo dropped her eyes down to the sand beside Archer’s legs. There she saw a variety of knifes and a couple spoons. Her eyes went back to the mount just as a part of it crumbled.

“Oops,” Archer said. “Looks like I pushed a little too hard.”

“It crumbled,” Neo said.

“Indeed it did,” Archer said. “Even though the sand sticks together when wet it can still crumble.”

“Will you do it again?” Neo asked.

“Sure. Would you like to give it a try?” Archer said.

“Can I?” Neo asked.

“Of course,” Archer said, holding out the bucket to her. “Would you like to get some water?”

Neo nodded. Taking the bucket from him she stood up to get it from the sea. But she didn’t even take one step towards the water. Instead she sat the bucket down and summoned a water crystal. She took a glance over at her captain to find he was watching her. Her eyebrows rose a bit when he nodded at her. She didn’t even have to ask him for him to understand what her question was. Turning back to the bucket, she swallowed and summoned a water crystal to fill the bucket. Once it was full, she asked, “Now what?”

“You dump it on the sand,” Archer said.

Neo nodded. Sitting back down, she tilted the bucket over and watched as the light colored sand start to darken.

“Now scoop that sand into the bucket and pat it down until it’s completely full,” Archer instructed. He waited patiently for her to get that task done before continuing. “Now turn the bucket over and tap the top of it then pull the bucket off.”

Neo did as she was told. Her eyes widened a bit when she lifted the bucket up and the sand kept the shape of the bucket. “I did it.”

“Good job,” Archer said. He picked up a spoon and handed it to her. “Now use the handle to scrap out squares on the top like I did a minute ago.”

Neo took the spoon from him and slowly started to carve out the top like Archer had done. It took her twenty five minutes to get that part of it done. Next he taught her house to carve out windows then they moved on to adding more castles, both getting lost in their project.

“All right, you two,” Law said, pulling their eyes to him. “That’ll be enough for now. Dinner’s ready.”

“All ready?” Archer stood up and dusted the sand off his boiler suit. Looking out at the sea he noticed the sun had turned bright colors of red, yellows, and oranges. “I didn’t realizing it had gotten so late.”

“I’m sorry, Captain,” Neo said, standing up. “Archer was teaching me how to build a sandcastle.”

“It’s all right, Neo,” Law said, looking down at their sandcastles. “You can do this again tomorrow after training if you want to.”

“Yes, sir.” Neo nodded.

“Come along then.” Law turned and guided them back to the fire.

Neo sat down beside the captain. The warm, crackling fire made her realize that she had gotten cold while being so close to the sea.

“You looked like you were having fun,” Shachi said.

“Fun?” Neo blinked. “I was?”

“Well, you enjoyed playing with Archer, didn’t you?” Shachi asked.

“Yes, I did. Very much.” Neo nodded.

“Then you had fun while you were playing,” Shachi said.

“Oh,” Neo said. “I guess so.” She turned her eyes to Law. “Can I play some more?”

“Of course,” Law said. “I’ll have the crew teach you some more games. It’ll be good for you to experience normal kid stuff since you didn’t get to do that as a child.”

“Great,” Penguin said with a smile. “This is going to be so much fun. We still have the beach volleyball set in the sub.”

“We can teach her how to play volleyball!” Archer said.

“Sure,” Conner said, leaning back against a log with his hands behind his head. “We have plenty of children on this crew for her to play with.”

“Shut up!” Archer said. “You love to have fun as well!”

“Not really,” Conner said with a shrug.

“Yeah right,” Archer mumbled. “We can also use some rope and teach her how to jump rope.”

“I don’t understand,” Neo said. “Volleyball? Jump rope? Why would you want to jump rope?”

“For the fun of it,” Penguin said. “We can show you what we mean after we eat.”

“Okay,” Neo said. “Is that all right, Captain?”  
            “That’ll be fine,” Law said. “You’re not training anymore today so you can play with the crew some.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Neo said.

After dinner, Penguin and Archer ran off to the sub to gather the supplies they would need. When they got back they started to explain how to use them to Neo. Since it was dark now they could only show the net and volleyball to Neo and tell her about the game. With the light of the fire they were able to demonstrate how to jump rope.

“See?” Archer said. “It’s easy.”

Still sitting beside Law, Neo leaned closer to Archer. Carefully she watched as he spun the rope over his head and under his feet.

“You can also jump with more than one person,” Archer said. He stopped jumping the rope and held it out to Bepo and Shachi. “Come on, Conner. Let’s give her a demonstration.”

“No way,” Conner said. “I’m not making a fool of myself.”

“Oh, come on,” Archer said. “You know you want to.”

“I do not.” Conner closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Fine. Penguin, you want to jump with me?” Archer asked.

“Sure.” Penguin walked over to the man. They stood face to face while Bepo and Shachi started swinging the rope around them.

Neo gasped as she watched them jump the rope at the same time. After a couple of minutes, they stopped. “I didn’t know people could do that.”

“Would you like to give it a try?” Archer asked.

Neo jumped and scooted closer to Law until her arm was touching his. “N-no. I-I don’t want to.”

“You don’t have to,” Law said. “You can try it later when you’re more comfortable with it.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Neo said, her body relaxed.


	13. Air & Earth

Air & Earth

 

            "Are you ready to go?" Law asked.

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded and handed over her dishes to Shachi.

            "Good luck today, Neo!" Shachi said. The rest of the crew waved and wished her luck as well. She waved back at them before turning her attention back in front of her. Shachi turned to gather up the rest of the dishes, he noticed Penguin just standing there with an off expression on his face. "Don't tell me you're still nervous about her training. She’s been doing just fine."

            "No, not really. Though I think I should just go ahead and give it to her now," Penguin replied, rubbing his neck. He quickly turned around and headed for the sub without another word.

            "What's up with him?" Bepo asked. “Give her what now?”

            "Who knows?" Shachi shrugged. "He's becoming such a big brother to Neo. He's always going to worry about her now."

            "Just like the captain," Bepo said. “He’s always worried about her too but he doesn’t show it like Penguin does.”

            "So it's not our imagination after all." Conner snickered.

            "You've noticed too?" Archer asked.

            "How could I not notice?" Conner asked. "We're living in such close quarters with the captain. And we're so use to him being so cold, tough, and sadistic towards enemies. This is the first times he's ever shown interest in a girl in _any_ kind of way. Plus he's so gentle with her. It's just out of character for him. Honestly, it’s kind of creepy. I hope this doesn’t affect him when we’re having to fight pirates and the Navy."

            “I don’t think that it’ll have an effect on anything. And maybe he is actually in character. And this is just the first time we've seen him like this," Archer said. "What do you think, Bepo? You, Penguin, and Shachi have known him longer than the rest of us."

            "I really don't wanna talk about the captain like this," Bepo replied.

            "Come on. Just tell us what you think about the captain and Neo," Conner probed. “The captain won’t mind at all. We’re all in this together, right?”

            "Well, I guess it would be all right. He's a lot softer than he let's people know. He has a protect side to those he cares about. And I really do believe that his feelings for her are currently changing into something more than just being her caretaker. Just don't tease him about it," Bepo warned them. "You all know what will happen if you do."

            "Yeah, we know," they chorused then mimicked the moves Law makes when using his Devil Fruit. "Room! Shambles!"

            "I can't help, but wonder if their relationship will develop. Romantically speaking," Archer said. “They do spend a lot of time together.”

            "It possible," Shachi replied. "But even if it does, nothing will happened between them for a long time, at least for her. We've only known her a short period of a few months after all. This kind of thing takes time to actually happen. It never just happens with the snap of your fingers. Besides, Neo has a lot of growing up to do. _If_ the captain really is developing feelings for her, he won't act on those feelings until she understands them. Then there's always the possibility that Neo won't develop feelings for the captain too. She might always just see him as she does now, as her protector and captain."

            The crew gave him skeptical looks.

            Shachi shrugged. "Just being realistic."

            "So you haven't imagined them as a couple?" Conner asked. He smiled when Shachi couldn't stop his cheeks from burning red. "Ah! You have thought of them as a romantic couple!"

            "Well, you all have to!" Shachi snapped back at him.

            “I have not,” Conner said. “I don’t think of such things. It’s pointless.”

            "Don’t think of what?" Penguin asked, appearing out of nowhere.

            "Nothing!" the crew shrieked.

            "They were talking about Neo and the captain being a romantic couple," Bepo replied honestly.

            "Bepo!" the crew shouted. “Don’t say that!”

            "I'm sorry." Bepo hung his head.

            "I should have known. With those stupid grins on your faces, it's actually pretty obvious." Penguin sighed. "Just don't do anything that'll enrage the captain. And don't hurt Neo. And, whatever you do, do _not_ try to set them up at this point. It is _far_ to early for that."

            "Aye aye, Big Brother Penguin!" the crew sang then laughed.

            Penguin huffed and wondered if the crew was going to be able to control their urges to _accidentally_ set up their captain and Neo on occasions.

            "So where did you disappear to?" Shachi asked.

            "Neo's starting on her wind crystals today." Penguin held up his hand to reveal a blue ribbon folded inside of his palm. He curled his fingers back around it when the wind picked up, threatening to blow the thin piece of fabric out of his hand. "She's going to need this. I should have thought about it earlier and gave it to her before they left."

            "You got her a present? When and were did you get that?" Conner asked.

            "I picked it up a while back," Penguin replied. "I almost forgot about it. Now would be a good time to give it to her. It'll be good for us to give her presents every once in a while. It'll help solidify her trust in us and show her that we care."

            "Never thought of that. We'll have to start doing that then," Shachi said and the entire crew agreed with him.

            “That’s another part of life she missed out on.”

            “Though we have to be careful on what we give her. You know the captain won’t want us to spoiler her.”

            “Yeah. That’s going to be the captain’s job.” The crew laughed.

            "Well, you better hurry," Archer said. "They're not training on the beach this time."

            Penguin nodded and headed off in the direction Neo and his captain went.

…

            "We're not going to the beach?" Neo asked when she noticed Law leading her in the opposite direction of the water. This past week and a half she got use to being on the beach where she could see the crew. Now, Law was leading her to a near by rock formation. Though it wasn't the one she and Penguin stood on the check out the island. This one was shorter and the largest rock was very flat on top and the crew was farther away. Her eyes went back to the crew. They were a lot smaller from this distance. She couldn’t see if they were watching her or not. It unnerved her. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered from a coldness that was settling into her.

            "Not for your wind crystals. They'll blow the sand around too much and get in your eyes. That will be a control exercise we'll save for later when you're more comfortable with your wind crystals," Law replied, as he started stepped up on the smaller rocks.

            With his long legs, it was easy for him. But for Neo's shorter legs, it was more difficult. She pressed her hands on a rock’s warm, rough surface, and pushed herself up. Once high enough, she slipped her right foot on it and pushed herself upon the rock. When she pushed herself up, she went to move her left foot onto the rock, but her toes hit the edge of the rock. She stumbled forward into something just as solid as the rock she was standing on. She stiffened at the familiarity of Law's chest, his scent, and his chuckle.

            "Are you all right?" he asked.

            "Y-yes, sir." Neo pulled back from him. She collapsed her hands in front of her and kept her eyes down.

            "Come on now," Law said after a few seconds of watching her. "Let's get started. Go ahead when you're ready."

            "Yes, sir." Neo walked out farther onto the rock to get away from the edge. "What should I do?"

            "Hm." Law looked around then he looked down at the rock they were standing on. There was some small rocks, dirt, and some sticks that he figured got blown here by a storm. He kicked a pebble before looking back up at her. "Summon just one wind crystal for now. I want you to remove all of the small rocks and sticks away from this area and into a pile."

            Neo nodded and summoned a crystal. The wind started to blow immediately after the light blue crystal appeared. Slowly, she twisted the wind around the crystal before moving it out towards the rock. The wind scooped up a stick. It wobbled before falling from her wind current. She tried again. Lifting up the stick, she focused as much on it as she could before moving it over a few yards to start her pile. Next she picked up two sticks and added more each time she placed the objects on the pile.

            Law patiently watched her as she gathered up all of the debris she could fine and placed them in the pile. She was just about finished when he pointed to the largest stick in the funnel. He said, "Keep that one and a handful of rocks. We can use them in the next part your training."

            "Yes, sir." Neo brushed back a strand of hair from her face when the wind teased it. She kept the ones Law told her to then moved the others as far away as she could.

            "Same routine as it's been with your fire and water crystals," Law said. "Once you're comfortable with one crystal, increase it. Just keep the winds low for right now. They can be fairly dangerous when strong."

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded, placed the larger stick and rocks down, and then proceeded with the same training regiment like she's been doing. Her increased winds were cool on her skin, protecting her from the heat of the sun and cooling off the rock at her feet. She'd repetitively brush back her hair only to have it blow in her face again.

            Law hummed to himself and rubbed his chin. He should have thought about this before they had come out here. Her hair was just below her shoulder blades now, a few inches longer than it use to be since it’s almost been six solid months since she’s been with them. He should automatically know it would cause problems when she used her wind crystals. He was about to have her stop so they could go get something to tie her hair back when Penguin called to them.

            "Hey!"

            Neo stopped her wind and turned to look at him.

            Penguin stopped by his captain’s side. He held up the dark blue ribbon. "I think this is going to come in handy today. Permission to interrupt her training for a moment?"

            "Go ahead." Law nodded.

            Penguin nodded back then walked over to Neo. "This is a gift I got for you. Would it be all right if I tied your hair back? I know it’ll help you in your training today."

            Neo looked at the ribbon in his hand before looking up and over at Law. The captain's nod told her it was fine. She turned back to Penguin and said, “Okay.”

            Penguin stepped behind her.

            She couldn't stop a flinch when he touched her hair.

            "Sorry," Penguin said softly. "I won't be long."

            "I-it's okay," Neo replied. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out before speaking again. "I'm fine. I know you’re not going to hurt me."

            Law still walked closer to her knowing his presence would help keep her calm. Even though she was comfortable around Penguin, the man still hasn't touched her much. In fact, he hasn't really touched her at all since Law ordered him and Shachi to hold her down when she first woke up in the sub.

            Law's hat was hanging low as his eyes jumped and glued to Penguin's hands in Neo's hair. He felt his chest twitching and his lips pulling down into a frown, but quickly pushed it away. He mentally grumbled at himself for the jealous feeling he had. He shouldn't have felt that way. It was a good thing for the crew to give her presents and get this close to her. And there was no way he was developing feelings for her. She was still very much a child. Plus he still didn’t really know her.

            "There you go. That should keep your hair out of the way." Penguin's voice pulled Law from his thoughts. The man was already heading back towards the edge of the rock. "I'll just get out of your way now. See you later, Neo. Captain."

            "Thank you, Penguin," Neo called out to him.

            Penguin smiled before disappearing below the rock.

            "You ready to start again?" Law asked.

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded and called forth her wind crystal again. Law resumed his position in watching her manipulate the wind. She easily moved a gust around the surrounding area. She picked up a couple of the rocks she was ordered to keep and moved them around in the air when he told her to do it. The rocks spun around in a single wind current before she slipped the current into three separate currents. Once she felt comfortable with the one crystal she increased it to two.

            A couple hours later, when Neo was obviously comfortable manipulating the wind with multiple crystals, Law broke into their silence. "Okay, now I want you to use that stick I told you to keep. Hold it into the air while also using your winds to hold up one rock at a time. I want you to hit the rocks with the stick."

            Neo nodded and obeyed him. She floated the stick in the air with ease. It became a bit more difficult to control the stick when she tried to simultaneously float all of the objects into the air at the same time. It took her about ten minutes to finally get the hang of floating multiple items. She then started to try and hit the rocks hovering in front of her. She missed. She missed so many times that she lost count and became discouraged. Her shoulders slumped.

            "Just keep trying. You'll get the hang of it," Law said confidently.

            Neo tried a five more times before finally hitting one of them. Her eyes widened. She looked back at Law.

            He had a satisfied smirk on his lips. "See? Told you. Continue."

            Neo nodded and turned back to her task. An hour later, Neo was repetitively tapping a rock on the stick, up and down, like a paddleball.

            "Very good, Neo. It looks like you've got a pretty good handle on your wind crystals," Law said.

            "Thank you, Captain." Neo turned to him while keeping the rock and stick hovering in the air beside her.

            "Let's try something a bit bigger now," Law said.

            "And what would that be?" Neo asked.

            "You," Law stated plainly.

            Neo faltered in her control on the stick and rock. The two items dropped to the ground while her crystal vanished. She swallowed hard and tried to stop her trembling.

            Law walked towards her. "I know you're scared. But you don't have to be. You've been doing wonderfully. And I'm going to hold on to you. I don't want you to accidentally fly away on me."

            Neo took a deep breath, knowing she couldn't protest against his orders. She then looked up at him. "Yes, sir. I'm...ready."

            "Good girl." Law nodded. He laid his sword down on the ground then held out his hands. "Let's get started."

            "Yes, sir." Neo slid her hands into his, automatically stiffening at the contact of their skin. She took a breath and summoned her crystal again. She started the wind off slowly.

            Law knew she was hesitating, but patiently waited for her to increase the wind on her own.

            Then she did. And soon the wind was strong enough to hold her weight. She wrapped the wind around herself and slowly lifted her feet off the ground. When her feet were half a foot off the ground, she started to panic. She squeezed his hands and her breathing became sharp and intense. "C-Captain…"

            "I'm here." Law rubbed his thumbs over her hands. “You’re safe. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

            She started to calm down a bit until a sudden gust of wind came off the sea. It startled her to the point she took control of the gust. She wrapped the wind around her legs and pushed her feet up over her head. Her head and stomach spun. “Captain!”

            "I've got you. Relax. Banish your crystal now." Law tightened his hold on her hands. Tears streaked her face as he pulled her back down and into his chest when the wind stopped and her crystals disappeared. He stroked her hair to calm her down.

            When her feet was back on solid ground, she pressed farther into his chest and clung to his shirt. The wind kept blowing off the sea, making her tremble more. She mumbled into his chest. "C-Captain…I…I don't want to do that again."

            "That's probably a good idea. It looks like a storm might be blowing in," Law said. His eyes went up to the darkening sky. In the distance clouds were gathering together. Lightning was already flashing violently in the large fluff of grey. But he couldn't tell if it was going to come their way or if it was going to go in a different direction. He looked back down to the girl in his arms. "Are you calm now?"

            She nodded. "Yes, sir."

            Law eyes pulled back down to the ribbon in her hair. His chest twitched again. He rubbed his hands on her arms before speaking again. "Let's go back now. We'll pick back up on your wind crystals tomorrow."

            "All right." Neo pulled back from him. She rubbed the tears out of her right eye with her hand. "My head hurts."

            "It's the ribbon. It'll take time for you to get use to wearing your hair up," Law explained.

            "Would it be all right if I took the ribbon out?" Neo looked up at him.

            "Of course it's all right," Law replied and finally released her completely. She reached up for the ribbon. When it was obvious she couldn't figure out how to get it out, he did it for her. "Let me do that."

            Neo stiffened as he tugged on the ribbon. It loosened and her hair fell over her back. She reached up and rubbed her tender scalp. “Ow.”

            Law handed her the ribbon. "It'll take a few minutes for your head to stop hurting. If it doesn't, let me know and I'll give you something for the pain."

            "Thank you, Captain." Neo took the ribbon, wound it around her finger before slipping it into her pocket. The two then headed back to the crew to wait and see if the storm was going to come their way or if it was going to go around them.

…

            Neo tilted her head as she inspected the net that was stretched out between two poles that Penguin and Archer had shoved into the sand. The storm had gone around them but the wind was still blowing so the crew decided to take this time to show her how to play volleyball. Mindlessly she tightened her hold on Law’s arm and lend into him. “Is…is that really part of a game?”

            “It is,” Law said. His lips twitched into a smile when he glanced down at her. He could help but to continue to grow fond of her child like innocence. “They’re about ready.”

            “Oh.” Neo pressed her temple to Law’s shoulder, unaware of how she sent his heart racing in his chest.

            “Are you ready to watch how this game goes?” Shachi asked, tossing the ball up and down in his hands.

            “I guess so,” Neo said, her eyes following the ball up and down as Shachi tossed it into the air.

            “Okay! Let’s do it, guys!” Shachi said, run over to the gathered group as they cheered.

            Neo blink several times. The crew had scattered out on both sides of the net. Shachi then tossed the ball up into the air. With a smack of his hand to the ball it sailed over the net. She gasped and tightened her hold on Law’s arm again. “What was that?!”

            “Shachi hit the ball with his hand,” Law said. “That’s what the game is. They hit the ball back and forth.”

            “I remember,” Neo said, her eyes following the back as they crew hit the ball back and forth. “Um, to score a point the other side has to miss the ball, doesn’t it?”

            “That’s correct,” Law said.

            “And they find it fun?” Neo asked.

            “Some do while others don’t like it,” Law said. “That goes for just about anything on the planet.”

            Neo looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

            “Well, some people don’t want to be pirates while some do. Some people want to be Navy soldiers while others don’t,” Law explained. “It’s the same for any life style choices, jobs, clothes, and even food.”

            “Even food?”

            “For an example, I don’t like bread while the rest of the crew does,” Law said.

            “You don’t like bread,” Neo said. “I think Penguin has told me that before.”

            “I’m sure he did since you’ve been cooking with him,” Law said.

            “Do I not like something?” Neo asked.

            “I’m sure you do. You all ready don’t like new people and new places,” Law said. “You’re only just beginning to experience life. Eventually you’ll learn what you like and don’t like in other areas.”

            “I see,” Neo said, turning her eyes back to the game before them. She cringed when one of their crewmates jumped into the air and spiked the ball hard. His hand connected with the ball, creating a loud pop in the air before it hit another crewmate in the face.

            “Hey! You did that on purpose!”

            “No, I did not!”

            “You did too! And you’re going to pay for it!”

            Neo squeaked and buried her face in Law’s arm. “I don’t think I like this game.”

            Law sighed, a frustrated sigh. He had forgotten that his crew could be competitive with each other when they played games like this. That’s why the game supplies had been put in one of the lesser used storage rooms. His crew had gotten too rough during a game that resulted in quiet a few injuries. “It’s fine. The crew can get a little heated and competitive when they play games. Why don’t we go back to the fire?”

            “Okay.” Neo nodded. Still clinging to his arm, she followed him back over to the fire. The crackling of the blaze wasn’t loud enough to drown out the shouts and curses the crew was exchanging while they continued to play their game in a more heated fashion. “Am I going to have to play that game?”

            “Not if you don’t want to,” Law said. “But if you want to give it a try I’ll select a few crewmates that won’t get into fights like that with you near.”

            “I don’t know,” Neo said. “I don’t think I want to do it. Not now anyway.”

            “And that’s just fine,” Law said. “We’ll just sit here and watch them.”

…

            Law sat leaning against one of the only trees on the island.

            Neo was sitting on the ground beside him. Her legs were crossed underneath her and her hands placed in her lap. She had an earth crystal out, but she wasn't using it. It was just hovering in front of her as she stared blankly at it. She sighed before speaking. "I'm scared, Captain. I know I've been improving. But this crystal…my earth crystals…they're the ones I was using before I lost control. Before I k…killed them."

            Law remained quiet. He knew this lesson was going to be more mentally taxing for her than the others. He considered all of the elements to be dangerous in their own rights, but, if he had to choose, he'd consider earth to be the least dangerous and easy for her to control. But because it _was_ the crystal she was using before those people ganged up on her, this was going to be rather difficult for her.

            Law looked around. For this lesson, he figured it would be better to do it in a more private setting. So he took her behind some rocks so it would be just the two of them.

            Law went to reach for her, but she surprised him by leaning into his side first. Her right hand slipped up to his chest and she clenched a hold of his hoodie, her crystal disappearing. Her body still tensed even though she was the one who touched him. "I'm scared."

            "I know you are," Law said while loosely wrapping his arm around her.

            "What if…" Neo paused. Law glanced down at her when she started to tremble. "What if that other one, the other one who survived, finds me? What will they do? What will I do? They're going to hate me for what I did."

            "Nothing's going to happen. That was years ago. It’s possible that they won't even recognize you since you've grown up. And this world is very huge. Most likely we won't ever run into them." Law wanted his words to be true, but he still couldn't be sure. Neo had such unusual coloring. Plus, she had that unexplainable inhuman air about her. There was no way he and his crew were the only ones who sensed that about her.

            Neo tilted her misty eyes up to him. "They can't take me away?"

            "Not for an accident. You had no malicious intent when _that_ happened. You are not at fault at all. Even by the law, you are innocent. Even, if by chance, that person does fine us and tries to hurt you or take you away because of what happened, I'll stop them. You are under my protection now. I won't let anyone touch you." Law removed his hand from her side and placed it on her head. He stroked her hair a few times. "You want to try your earth crystal now?"

            "I-I…I'll try," Neo stuttered. She took a deep breath and summoned an earth crystal. He wasn't surprised at all when she didn't release her hold on him. He watched her quietly and kept his own hold on her. She looked at her crystal. It started to glow a light green. A couple vines rose up out of the glow. She snapped the vines around a couple times before having them disappear back into the crystal. The glow disappeared as well.

            When she started to hyperventilate, Law tightened his hold on her. She took another deep breath then made her crystal glow again. The glow beamed down to the ground. Slowly, a small patch of grass began to grow underneath the glow. Eventually, the grass patch expanded and tiny purple flowers sprouted up. That was all she could handle and she banished her crystal.

            Law rubbed his hand on her back when she leaned into him again and sobbed. He laid his cheek on her hair and soothed her. "You did very well. You can relax now. It's over."

            All she could do was nodded as tears freely dripped down her cheeks. Law continued to quietly hold her. He didn't move until he felt her body go limp again his. He didn't have to look to know she'd fallen asleep. He waited a few minutes, to make sure she was completely out, before moving. He slipped his left arm under her knees while keeping his right arm around her. After she was secured in his embrace, he carefully picked up his sword and carried her back to their camp.

…

            "Neo! Is she all right, Captain?" Bepo questioned when he noticed Law walking back with Neo asleep in his arms.

            "What happened?!" Penguin asked with panic clearly in his voice.

            "She's fine," Law quickly replied before anyone else could voice their concern.

            "Why is she asleep?" a crewmate asked.

            "Because of her earth crystals and what happened," Law vaguely said. He didn't want to take the chance that Neo was waking up and listening to them. It took a moment for the crew to catch his meaning. When they finally did, they just muttered quiet 'Oh right' then went back to their own business to let Neo sleep peacefully.

            Law stepped over to the log Neo always slept by. He carefully sat her down and placed her head on his lap. Penguin walked over and squatted down to inspect her. "Captain? Is she going to be all right with using her earth crystals considering what happened?"

            Law looked down at her and thought about his subordinate's words. "It might take some more time, but I believe she'll be fine."

            Penguin smiled. He reached out and brushed her bangs away from her face. "She's doing a lot better, isn't she?"

            "She is." Law nodded.

            "I'm glad." Penguin looked up at Law. "Thanks for doing this for her, Captain."

            "She's the one doing all the work." Law shifted.

            "Of course." Penguin nodded. He knew better than to push this conversation any farther.

…

            Neo hummed and shifted before opening her eyes. She blinked her blurry vision away and found she was staring right into the fire, its warmth covered her face. She stared at the fire a moment before turning her eyes up to Law. He smiled when she flinched and stiffened. She, realizing she was using his leg as a pillow, quickly sat up and looked around. Shachi, Penguin and Bepo were the only members around the fire. The others were off on the beach sparring with each other. Her eyes landed back on Law, causing her to flinch again. "I fell asleep."

            Before anyone could say anything, Neo shivered. She pulled the blanket, that she just noticed was hanging around her hips, back up over her arms.

            Law reached over and placed his hand on her forehead, earning another flinch from her. "You've a low grade fever. You should lay back down."

            "What about my training, Captain?" Neo asked.

            "It can wait," Law replied, he patted his leg. "You're not doing any training with a fever. Lay back down here now."

            Neo could only nod. Her tired body obeying his command instantly, she laid her head back on his lap. She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep to the sounds of Penguin speaking with Law over the snaps and cracks of the wood. "Should I make her some soup for when she wakes up, Captain?"

            "Yes. She'll need to eat something."


	14. Advancing

Advancing

            “How’s she doing?” Penguin asked.

            “Is she going to be all right?” Bepo added.

            “She’ll be fine,” Law replied.

            “That’s good,” Shachi said.

            “I’m so relieved,” Penguin said with a sigh. “What do you think caused this?”

            “Stress,” Law said. “I’m not surprised it happened. The earth crystal was the one she was using when that incident happened.”

            “Do we have anything to worry about?” Archer asked. “Is this going to affect her in any way?”

            “I don’t think so,” Law said. “She’s been doing just fine in her training. All she needs to do is get use to the idea of using her earth crystals. And she’s doing just that.”

            Neo shifted while listening to the soft talking of the crew over the crackling of the warm fire. While lying there she noticed that her pillow wasn’t as soft as it use to be. Turning her eyes upward she come to find herself staring up at Law. Through her confusion at why she was looking at the captain she barely noticed that he was looking down at her. She didn’t register this until he placed his hand on her forehead, her body tensing at his touch.

            "Your fever's finally gone away. That's good. I want you to eat a little bit now," Law said.

            "Yes, sir." Neo sat up, noticing she had been lying on Law’s leg. Her body shivered at the breeze that blew over her. She pulled her blanket around her while trying to remember what happened before she fell asleep. Then she remembered that she was training and using her earth crystal. "Oh…I was training. Did I sleep for long?"

            "A couple hours," Law replied.

            "What about my training?" Her eyebrows were turned up in worry that she had done something wrong.

            "Your training has been put on hold until tomorrow. I don't want you training this quick after having a fever. It could come back. So you're going to rest for the rest of the day," Law order.

            "Yes, sir." Neo fixed the blanket around her body and leaned back against the log.

            "I'll make you some soup now," Penguin said. "It'll be ready in just a few minutes."

            "Thank you, Penguin," Neo replied. She settled down beside Law and watched the crewmates spar on the beach until Penguin brought over her soup. The warm spices and tomato soup washed over her face when she took the warm bowl from Penguin. “Thank you. It smells good.”

            “You’re welcome,” Penguin said, placing a plate and cup of water down on the ground beside her. “I brought you a few crackers as well. Don’t force yourself to eat them. Only eat what you can or feel like.”

            “Um.” Neo glanced over at Law. When he nodded in agreement to Penguin’s word, she picked up her spoon. She blew on the steamy soup before saying, “I will.”

…

            The next day while Neo was finished up her breakfast, Law was thinking about how he could make using her earth crystals easier for her. He came up with an idea, but wasn’t sure if it would work. The only way to know for sure is to try it and see what happened.

            “You finished there?” Archer asked.

            “Yes.” Neo nodded and handed over her dishes to him.

            “Good luck with your training today,” Archer said.

            “Thank you, Archer,” Neo replied.

            “Let’s go,” Law said as he stood up.

            “Yes, sir.” Neo got up and followed him.

            Law led her away from the beach until the sand faded away to dirt and small patches of grass. Looking around he picked a place near a tree so she could still see the crew and sat down in front of it. Setting his sword down on the ground, he patted the space in front of him, between his legs. “Sit here.”

            “Uh, yes, sir.” Neo hesitated before sitting down where he instructed her to.

            Leaning forward until his chest brushed against her back, he said, “Summon an earth crystal.”

            Neo’s heart pounded in her chest, her body stiff against his. “Y-yes, sir.” Seconds later a green crystal appeared in front of her. Her body started trembling at the sight of it. “N-now what?”

            Law slipped his hands up to hers. “Give me your hands.”

            Neo slid her hands into his larger ones. Her body tensed tighter at the contact of their skin.

            “All right, now just grow a small patch of grass,” Law said.

            “I’m…I’m scared,” Neo whispered.

            “I know,” Law said, curling his fingers around her hand. “But you don’t have to be. You’re safe with me. And you have been doing well on using your crystals. Just take it nice and easy.”

            Neo swallowed. “O-okay…I’ll t-try.”

            Looking over Neo’s shoulder, he watched as a soft warm light green glow surrounded the crystal. For several minutes, the crystals just hovered there. He could feel Neo’s trembling through his skin and his hoodie. Patiently, he waited for her to make the next move on her own. It took her twenty minutes to finally beam the glow down to the ground. Her shivers became more violent. Her breathing started coming in short sharp gasps. With a gentle squeeze of his hands, he said, “Easy, Neo. You’re fine. Nothing bad is going to happen. I’m right here with you. Take a deep breath and slowly let it out.”

            Neo did her best to do as he said. But her breaths still came in short, sharp gasps while hot tears leaked down her cheeks.

            “Do it again,” Law said. “Deep breath. And release it slowly.”

            Neo breathed in and let it out.

            “Again.”

            She repeated his instructions until her breath came back down to normal.

            “Good girl,” Law said. “Now grow some more grass.”

            Neo increased the glow of her crystal. Small blades of grass pushed through the ground and sprung up with new life.

            “That’s it,” Law said. “You did it. You can banish your crystal.”

            Neo nodded with a sniffle. The crystal faded away as she leaned back against his chest. Her body slumped with tiredness. “I’m tired.”

            “You just rest then,” Law said. He relaxed against the tree behind them when he felt her body completely go relaxed in his hold. With his hat brim over his eyes, he glanced over at his crew. None of them seem to be paying attention to them at the moment. So he just kept her in his hold and let her sleep.

…

            Over the next two weeks, Law watched over her training like a parent watching over their newborn child. He watched as she continued to grow more confident in her crystals, even her earth crystals, but she still got startled occasionally when something happened that she didn’t intent to happen. Currently he was standing a comfortable distance from the sea as Neo had several fire crystals hovering about fifteen feet in the air over the water. She had formed ten large fire rings then summoned a couple water crystals. While keeping the fire rings in place, she pulled up a string of water from the sea and weaved them through the fire rings.

            Law's eyebrows raised at the control she now had over them. The fire never wavered and the water never evaporated from the heat. He was very satisfied with the progress she was making. Of course he had a lot to do with that as he pushed her with the right amount of necessarily roughness when it was needed and would comfort her when that was needed. Despite that he knew now was time to advance her training once again.

            "She's so incredible."

            When Penguin spoke, Law glanced at the man from the corner of his eyes. Penguin was standing a few feet from him. Typically none of the crew came this close in watching Neo train but he had asked Penguin to join in on her training today. His plan was to soon include the entire crew in her training, but needed to start her off slow. And since she was most comfortable with Penguin, he was the obvious choice.

            "Neo?" Law called. He then waited for her to banish her elements and crystals. He tilted his head and inspected her. She was lightly winded. He figured her physical strength was connecting to using her crystals some how. And she had been working rather hard for three hours now. "You're going to start training with Penguin now. Are you ready for that?"

            Neo took a deep breath then nodded. "Yes, sir."

            "I'm ready when you are," Penguin said while walking towards her.

            "Penguin's going to give you orders. You're to follow his directions," Law explained.

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded again.

            "Hm." Penguin tapped his chin in thought. "How about you start with flying me around with your winds? We can start with that. And when you're comfortable with it, we'll move on."

            "O-okay." Neo summoned five wind crystals. She glanced at Law, earning a nod from him. She swallowed and nodded back. With a slow breath, she started creating wind. It flowed out of her crystals and she wrapped it around Penguin's body. Slowly, she lifted him off the ground.

            Both Law and Penguin remained quiet and patient, as she grew comfortable with moving Penguin around in her winds.

            She started off slow. She kept Penguin only a few inches off the ground in case she lost control and dropped him. As the second ticked by, she started to raise Penguin higher into the air. In less than an hour, she was comfortable to fly Penguin around ten yards off the ground and did it with ease.

            "This is great. I never knew flying could be so much fun," Penguin said as Neo lowered him back to the ground. "Are you okay?"

            "Yes, I'm fine," Neo replied.

            "Then lets keep going. I think now you should fly us both at the same time," Penguin said.

            "All right." Neo nodded. She stirred up the wind again and raised them off the ground a few inches.

            "If you're ready, I'm going to start shouting out commands for you to follow," Penguin said.

            "I'm ready," Neo replied.

            Penguin nodded then shifted into their next training session.

…

            Law tapped his finger on the sheath of his sword. He was watching his young female charge flying around and his subordinate shouting out her orders. Tired of standing after three hours of doing it, he sat down and continued to watch as his subordinate shouted out commands for Neo to follow.

…

            The second Penguin shout out his commands, Neo instantly followed them. When he said right, she went right. When he said left, she went left. Luckily, he was giving them slowly at first before calling them out faster. "I’m going to start going faster now. Are you ready?”

            “I am.” Neo nodded.

            “Here we go then! Right! Reverse! Left! Duck! Rise! Three fire rings and fly us through them!" Penguin said.

            Neo reacted instantly to his commands as she continued to follow his orders. She moved their bodies with ease but hesitated when she brought them up to the fire rings. With a slow breath, she guided the heat away from their bodies and flew them through it.

            “That was great! Take us back down to the ground! I’m going to throw something at you now!” Penguin pulled a rock out of his pocket as she lowered them down. He shouted about the projectile before throwing it at her. "Rock! Repel it back!"

            Neo whipped towards him and easily stopped the rock from hitting her by using her winds. She repelled it back to Penguin.

            He easily dodged it too. He then ran towards her. "Fling me into the air with your winds!"

            "Right." Neo summoned a couple more crystals and launched him into the air. She wasn't a hundred percent comfortable with doing this to him, but knew as long as she kept calm she could keep him safe. For his sake, she kept herself calm as he flew through the air. He was obviously enjoying the sensation of being able to fly like this. She watched him carefully as he began to slow down he pivoted his body around to start his descent back to the ground. She watched him carefully, ready to catch him, and listened for his command.

            "Create vines like a slide!" Penguin called out to her. He watched her nod in acceptance before pulling vines out of the ground. Angling his feet, he easily landed on the vines and slid down them until he was a couple feet off the ground. Then he jumped off the vines and smiled at her. He saw her body relax instantly when he looked at her. His grin widened at how much she cared about him. "Great job, Neo! That was incredible! Your reaction time has improved quite a bit!"

            "Thank you." Neo panted while hovering over to him. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her arm while lowering herself to her bare feet. "Are we continuing?" But before anyone could reply to her, Neo stomach rumbled hungrily. Instantly, heat rushed to her cheeks. Her eyes dropped down to the sand while she fiddled nervously with her fingers. “S-sorry. I g-guess I’m a bit hungry.”

            Penguin lightly chuckled. "Well, we have been working hard this morning. And it's getting close to lunch time."

            "I think you've both earned a break," Law said while casually walked up to them. "We'll continue after lunch. And since you're doing so well, I'm thinking we'll add another crewmate into training today."

            "Who were you thinking about, Captain?" Neo inquired. She tugged at the ribbon in her hair. It released at her silent command and her hair flowed down over her back. Raking her fingers through her hair, she released the tension in her scalp with a small massage.

            "Bepo," Law replied.

            Neo gave him a curious look while wrapping the ribbon around her finger. Once she was done wounding the fabric up, she tucked it into her pocket to keep it safe.

            "We're going to add martial arts with your crystals. And your comfortable doing that with Bepo, right?" Law said.

            "Yes, sir, I am." Neo nodded.

            "You'll need to wear your boots for this," Law said.

            "Yes, sir." Neo sighed as she lowered her eyes to her bare feet. Since she hadn’t had many times in wearing her shoes she really didn’t want to put them on. But since Law had told her to she would do it.

            "Feel like cooking with me today?" Penguin asked, wanting to cheer Neo back up while they walked back to camp.

            "I do. It's been a while since I've helped you cook." Neo nodded. She then looked at Law. "Is that okay, Captain?"

            "It's fine as long as you're not too tired. Resting is also an important part of training. Your body needs time to heal." Law looked at her with a stern expression. "I don't want you to over do it."

            "Yes, sir. I understand," Neo replied. She turned back to Penguin. "What would you like to make?"

            "Hm…I'm not sure. What sounds good to you?" Penguin asked.

            "Um, well." Neo looked down at the ground and pondered his question. While she was doing that, she was unaware that Penguin shot Law a smile. And Law smirked back in understanding. Penguin was giving her control over what they were going to be making. A minute later she spoke up again. "Well, we haven't had stew for a while. Would that be all right?"

            "Good choice." Penguin nodded. "We have some vegetables we need to get used up before they start rotting."

            When they got back to camp, the crewmates that were sparring near by waved to Neo. She waved back then followed Penguin over to the fire while Law resumed his position against the log. He watched from underneath his hat as Neo move around with Penguin. They were gathering up the vegetables they were planning on using for lunch.

            "Well, nuts," Penguin said, half hanging inside a crate. When he lifted himself out of it, he was holding the last of their potatoes in his hands. And every single one of them was half rotten. "It won't be the same without potatoes. I guess we've had these longer than I thought we had. Sorry about this, Neo."

            "Maybe I can help," Neo said. She then blinked in confusion at her willingness to do something and voicing it without hesitation. “Well, I, um…”

            "Thanks, Neo, but I don't see how your crystals can improve this." Penguin held up the rotten veggies with a sigh.

            Neo shifted as she looked at Law. He noticed her uncomfortable twitching and encouraged her to speak. "What did you have in mind, Neo?"

            "Oh, well." Neo fiddled with her fingers. "I can control plants with my earth crystals, so…I was thinking that…maybe I'd be able to create vegetables and fruits. I can make flowers and grass so…"

            "Do it," Law ordered.

            Neo nodded and summoned an earth crystal. The crystal beamed its glow down to the ground. The potato vines sprouted out of the dirt. She then used her crystals to raise the potatoes out of the ground. Her eyes widened. “I…I did it.”

            "Incredible," Penguin said as he took hold of the potatoes. He looked over at Law who was equally impressed and surprised. "You're just full of surprised, sweetie."

            "I guess we're going to have to explore your earth crystals some more," Law said.

            "Yes, sir," Neo replied with a light nod.

            "But first lunch," Penguin said, placing the potatoes down on the cutting board since he already had everything set out for them to make lunch. "Let's get started."

            Neo nodded again. She summoned a water crystal and washed their vegetables off. Then, without thinking, she reached for the knife that was laying on the small cutting table Penguin had moved out for them to use when they first arrived on the island. Her body froze. Her fingers were less than an inch from the handle of the sharp object. Her hand trembled as her eyes widened.

            "Neo, look at me," Law said. When she showed no signs of hearing him, he took on his captain tone. "Neo, I order you to look at me." She did. "Take a deep breath and slowly let it out."

            Her body automatically responded to his order. She relaxed and retracted her hand from the knife. Law watched her for a minute. She had let her eyes drift back on the knife before she looked back at him. She shifted on her feet and rubbed her right hand on her left arm. It was obvious to all of them she was waiting for her orders.

            Knowing she wasn't ready to make the decision on her own, Law gave her permission. "Neo, if you want to use the knife, you have permission. I believe you are not going to harm yourself anymore."

            Neo's eyebrows were turned up in worry making Law wondered if she was going to pick the knife up or not. He glanced at Penguin. Penguin was clearly just as worried, and curious, as he was. Several seconds later, they got their answer.

            Neo hesitantly reached for the knife. She paused before letting herself touched the handle. She picked it up and grabbed a potato. With another relaxing deep breath, she placed the blade on the potato and slid the blade through it. Tension finally left her body. She looked over at Law. He nodded and she proceeded to cut up the vegetables. Since she had seen Penguin do this many times, she knew pretty much what she was supposed to do.

            "Oh, shoot." Penguin snapped his fingers a few minutes later. "We need more salt. I'll be right back, Neo."

            "Okay," Neo replied. She didn't look up at him. She kept her eyes on the knife and the carrot she was now trying to cut. It was being a bit difficult. She hand her left hand flat on the carrot, trying to keep it from rolling away. But when she pressed the knife to it, it kept slipping away from her hand. She was so focused on the little orange pest that she didn't notice Law had gotten up and walked over to her unit he was right behind her. Her body stiffened at his closeness. She jumped when his hands came around her body and was placed over hers.

            "If you keep holding the carrot like that you're going to cut yourself. I won't be happy if you do that," Law said.

            "S-sorry, sir," Neo stuttered. Her heart pounded hard against her chest, making her light headed, but she didn't notice as Law guided her hands in the correct way of cutting a carrot.

            "You're holding the carrot wrong. Hold it down with your fingers, like this." Law lifted her left hand and pressed her fingers to the end of the carrot. Guiding her right hand, he pushed the knife through the opposite end of the carrot. The carrot crunched under the pressure until the knife banged against the cutting board. "See?"

            "Y-yes." Neo slowly tilted her eyes up to him at the same time he looked down at her. With their eyes locked onto each other’s she noticed a bit of surprise in her captain’s eyes but didn’t understand why it was there.

            Law had expected her to break the contact since they were this close, but she never did. Her confidence apparently had grown enough for her to stop breaking eye contact with him at all. It made him wonder if she was finally going to hold stronger eye contact with the rest of the crew too. Then, without thinking, he reached up and brushed a single strand of hair away from her cheek that had been blown there by the wind. He tucked it behind her ear then brushed his thumb on her soft cheek.

            "C-Captain?" Neo said softly.

            "Hm?" Law hummed, unable to break his touch from her skin.

            "M-my c-chest hurts," she said.

            Law pulled back his hand and swallowed. Studying her confused expression, he had a pretty good idea why her chest was _hurt_ ing, but it was clear she didn't and wouldn't know for a long while. She wasn’t ready to understand those types of emotions. "I know it does. It'll stop soon."

            "Oops. I think we came back at the wrong time," Archer said with Conner and four other crewmates snickering behind him.

            Law took a quick step away from Neo when the few crewmates had expressed their emotions to the little scene that happened between him and Neo. Mentally he cursed himself for getting so close to her like that. It was inappropriate.

            "Looks like you two are really cooking now!" Conner said, making his crewmates snickers turn into loud laughter.

            "What? We're not cooking yet. I don't have the vegetables cut up yet. And Penguin went to get more salt." Neo blinked innocently at them. It confused her more when all they did was laugh again. “I don’t understand.”

            "We didn't mean it like that, Neo. What we meant w-" Archer started to explain, but Law narrowed his eyebrows and glared at them. They jumped at the harsh look of their captain and took a couple steps back. "Never mind. It was nothing."

            "Get back to sparring!" Law ordered. "And do not stop until lunch is ready!"

            "Aye aye, Captain!" they shrieked then ran off.

            Law, eyes hidden behind his hat, looked back over at Neo.

            She was still looking at the crew with confusion in her eyes. She drew her eyes over to Law. "Are they okay, Captain? We weren't cooking anything, at least not yet. Why did they say we were?"

            "They didn't mean anything. Just ignore them and get back to cutting up those vegetables," Law said softly.

            Neo nodded and turned her attention back to her task of making lunch.

            "I got the salt!" Penguin announced. He was walking back over to the fire with Bepo. Both paused when they sensed the odd tension in the air.

            "Did something happen, Captain?" Bepo blinked multiple times. He ran his eyes over his fellow crewmates running away before looking back at Law.

            "Nothing," Law mumbled. He walked back over to the log and sat down. "Bepo?"

            "Aye?"

            "We're including you in this afternoon's training session," Law said.

            Bepo blinked at Law then looked over at her.

            Neo jumped when they made eye contact, but she nodded before turning back to her preparations for lunch.

            "Sure thing, Captain," Bepo then said.

            A little while later, the air was filled with a beefy smell accompanies with mixed spices and smoke from the fire. Penguin stepped away from the large pot boiling on the crackling fire and Neo. He cupped his hands over his mouth and called out to the crew. "Lunch is ready! Come and get it!"

            Cheers were heard, probably all over the island if anyone was there to actually hear them. Slowly, the crew made their way back to the fire and the meal waiting for them. They all got their bowls and filled them then sat around and chatted about whoever popped into their minds.

            Neo, after making sure everyone had their food, picked up her own bowl and walked over to Law. She sat down beside him, causing the certain crewmembers to chuckle. She looked up at them with confusion.

            Law glared at them. They jumped at his harsh glare and went back to their meals, their smiles remaining on their lips. "Eat your lunch, Neo."

            "Y-yes, Captain." Neo flinched slightly when he spoke to her. She stirred the contents of her bowl before taking a bite.

            Once they all were done eating, they sat around the fire for about an hour to let their stomach digest their food. Slowly the crew began to flake off and go about whatever they felt like. Most resumed training while others disappeared back into the sub, with the dishes in hand to be done later, and a couple pulled out their fishing poles to see if they could catch some fresh fish for dinner later.

            "Neo, go get your boots. We need to get back to your training," Law ordered.

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded then stood up.

            Law watched her as she ran over to the sub, climbed up the ladder, and disappeared inside. A couple minutes later she emerged from the ship and rejoined them. Once she had her boots pulled on, the three slated for afternoon training rose to their feet and followed after their captain.

            While walking along side Law, Neo pulled out her ribbon and tried to put her hair back up. She sighed when she couldn't get it back in.

            Law took a step closer to her. "Need help with that?"

            "If that would be all right with you, Captain," Neo said.

            Law nodded and held out his hand for the ribbon. When she gave it to him, he stepped behind her and took her hair in his hand. When he touched her hair, Neo's body stiffened up. She collapsed her hands in front of her and patiently waited for him to finish with her hair.

            Penguin and Bepo, who also paused, couldn't stop their smiles. Law shot them a warning glance before lowering his eyes back to Neo's hair. Bepo and Penguin then started to stretch out their limbs to prepare for their training session with Neo.

            "There you go," Law said. He stepped back to her side.

            "Thank you, Captain," Neo said.

            Law only nodded in response.

            Neo then moved over to Bepo and Penguin. She stretched with them. A few minutes later the three started sparring. Once they got into a good rhythm, Neo slipped her crystals into the sparring on Law's orders.

            "Here we go!" Penguin announced as he and Bepo charged at Neo.

            She breathed out and waited. She watched them carefully. At the right moment, she used her winds to propel herself into the air. She ended up going higher than she intended. When realized what she did, her control on her winds faltered. Her crystals disappeared and she dropped like a rock.

            "Neo!" Penguin and Bepo shouted.

            Neo summoned her crystals again and caught herself two inches above the ground. She placed her feet on the ground then dropped to her knees. Bepo and Penguin rushed over to her. Law also rushed over to her, but it was at a more controlled pace than the other two.

            Bepo kneeled down with a concerned look on his face. "Neo? Neo, are you all right?"

            "Sweetie, are you okay?" Penguin asked when she didn't reply.

            "Neo?" Law asked. He kneeled down right in front of her. He placed his hand on her shoulder. She reacted to his touch by flinching and grabbing onto the front of his hoodie. Tears pooled in her eyes, but they never fell.

            "I-I…I'm okay," Neo stuttered. She took a few deep breaths before looking at them. "I just startled myself by going so high. I was focused on fighting."

            Law gave her another minute before speaking. "Are you ready to continue?"

            "Yes, sir."

            "Then proceed." Law slowly stood up.

            Neo followed his motions. Once Bepo and Penguin were back on their feet the three walked a few feet away from Law and resumed their training. Neo flew all three of them in the air, she created fire and water hoops to fly them through, made fire and water balls to attack Penguin and Bepo with, used her earth crystals to create vines for them to bounce off of, whatever they could think of to increase her training.

            About an hour later Neo found herself feeling even more comfortable in controlling her wind crystals with Bepo and Penguin in tow. So much so that she took them up higher. A strange feeling settled into her core. Working with her crystals was starting to feel more natural to her now. She started feeling like she was becoming whole again. But she wasn’t sure if that was true or if she was imagining things. She didn’t know and wasn’t sure she would ever know which it was.

…

            Law calmly watched them. He noticed that Neo was suddenly going higher with her wind crystals now. And she was flying Bepo and Penguin higher too while obeying their commands they gave her. Her hesitation with using her crystals was fading right before his eyes. A smirk spread across his lips while a sense of pride spread through his chest. Despite going into this in the dark, he was making the right decisions for her. And he hoped he continued to do so for her sake.


	15. Growing

Growing

 

            Neo closed her eyes and slowly exhaled. Feeling out for the nature around her, she got a mental picture of the area she was supposed to be focusing on. When it was stable in her mind, she summoned thirty earth crystals and hovered them in a round circle. Beaming their green glow down to the ground, several trees, bushes, grass, and flowers sprouted out of the and reached for the sky above them while filling the air with their fresh scents.

            “Wow!” Archer said. “That’s amazing!”

            “What are you so impressed about?” Conner asked. “You’ve seen all of this before.”

            “Why must you be such a downer about everything?” Archer asked with a glare at his friend.

            “Why must you be so amazed at every little thing?” Conner crossed his arms over his chest.

            “This is amazing,” Archer said. “Neo’s abilities are amazing. Even you have to admit that.”

            “Of course they are,” Conner said. “I think we all can agree with that. But that doesn’t mean we have to get excited over every little thing she does.”

            “Sometimes you two fight like an old married couple,” Shachi said, cutting the fight off before it could go any farther.

            “Well, maybe they were husband and wife in another life.” Penguin snickered.

            “Husband and wife, huh?” Bepo said. “That makes me ill.”

            “Hey!” Archer and Conner snapped.

            “I’m sorry.” Bepo hung his head.

            Neo tilted her head as she stared at the mini forest that she had just created under Law’s order. She didn’t really see what was amazing about it either. But she did wonder how strong she could possibly be with them and felt a small amount of an unfamiliar feeling building in her stomach. The feeling made her feel great. So great that she wasn’t bothered at all by Archer and Conner’s small argument.

            Law was, like always, standing beside her. He ignored their argument, since it didn’t upset Neo. He then said, "All right, now, you five head into the thicket. Hide yourselves and hold really still. Neo?"

            "Yes!" Neo jumped and turned to the captain.

            "Turn away from the thicket and don't use your crystals for the moment," Law ordered. Once Neo nodded and did as she was told, he then nodded at the five crewmates he picked out for this training. They nodded back and headed for the thicket. He made sure to give the men enough time to hide before turning back to Neo. "Okay, now I want you to use your crystals to try and search for our crew hiding in the thicket."

            "I don't really understand the point of this, Captain," Neo said honestly.

            "It's just a test. You're obviously connected to nature. I'm just trying to figure out what all you can do and not do," Law explained. "It's just a theory, but you should be able to use nature to find the crewmates who just went into the thicket. If you can, then this will help you in the case of a sneak attack. Do you understand now?"

            "Yes, sir, I do." Neo nodded.

            "Then proceed," Law said. "Try and feel out where they are."

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded again and turned back to the thicket. She stared at the small jungle she had created before summoning her wind crystals to accompany her earth crystals. She then closed her eyes and tried to push away the tension that gathered in her body.

            Law watched patiently as her crystals began to glow.

            Neo engulfed herself in the glow. She felt her senses opening up and connecting to every plant life on the island as well as the wind and creatures. She finally released the tension she was holding in as she felt the plant life and wind guiding her mind around the thicket. The first one she found was Bepo. He was easy. She could feel his animal side easily. So wrapping a vine around him, she lifted him above the trees. Peaking through one eyelid, she saw Bepo waving to her. She waved back before closing her eye again.

            Ten minutes later on in this exercise, she finally found a second one of the crew that Law ordered into the thicket. She wrapped a vine around him and lifted him into the air. Neo peaked through one of her eyes again. He waved to them as he hung over the top of the trees just like Bepo did. It was Archer. She closed her eye again and searched out for the rest of them. Fifteen minutes later, she found them all. She opened her eyes and blinked at the five men hanging in the air from her vines. "I did it? I did it."

            "You did." Law smiled. When she looked at him, his eyes widened and his heart fluttered wildly in his chest. The corner of her lips had pulled into a light smile. He couldn’t believe it. She was actually _smiling_. And she didn't even realize she was doing it. He swallowed, trying to get his heart to stop beating so erratically from how cute he thought her smile was.

            "What is it, Captain?" Neo inquired.

            "Nothing." Law tried to force himself to look away from her, but he couldn't. This was her first smile, probably in her entire life, and he wanted to etch it into his memory so he could keep it forever.

            "Um, Neo?" Archer called out to her. His voice brought Neo and Law’s eyes back to the men suspended above the tree line. It also caused her smile to fade. "Could you, please, let us down from here?"

            "I am so sorry!" Neo covered her mouth with her hands and lowered the men down to the ground.

            They adjusted their wrinkled jumpsuits as they walked over to them.

            "Don't worry about it." Conner smiled. "No harm done. You were amazing. It didn’t take you long at all to find us."

            “Uh, thank you,” Neo said, shifting on her feet. “Bepo was the easiest to find.”

            “Because I’m an animal?” Bepo asked.

            “I think so.” Neo nodded. “I can feel you easier because you’re closer to nature than humans are.”

            Bepo nodded. “That makes sense.”

            "That was incredible though! I've never been up so high!" Shachi smiled brightly. "I think it's going to be fun to train with you!"

            "When do we get to do that, Captain?" Archer asked hopefully.

            "I think the time is about right," Law replied. He then looked at Neo. She looked back at him. A twinge of disappointment settled into his chest when he saw that her smile wasn’t coming back. "Are you fine with that, Neo? Think you can handle the entire crew now?"

            Neo thought about it before nodding. "Yes, sir, I believe I can handle it now."

            “Let’s head back for now,” Law said.

            With a group nod, the pirates turned and headed back to their camp. During their walk four of the five members chatted happily about Neo's successful training session and their upcoming training with her as one hung back to talk to Law.

            "Hey, Captain?" Conner said.

            "Yes?" Law inquired.

            "Just a suggestion, but I think it would be a good idea if Neo were to learn how to track without the use of her crystals. I mean it's good that she has this ability and can find people hiding in nature. She can easily find us if we ever get separated, but there might be times when she can't use her crystals. It would be good if she had the ability to track the regular way," Conner explained.

            "Hm. That's a good suggestion," Law replied. He eyed his subordinate and thought about how Conner was the best tracker on his crew. "I'll add it into her training schedule. Since you’re the best tracker we have, would you be willing to help her with that?”

            "Sure thing, Captain. I’ll be glad to help her out with this. I’ll go tell her about it." Conner smiled and picked up his pace.

            Law watched the man go. He paused to watch the crew chatting with Neo. Conner was already stomping footprints in the ground so he knew the man was already teaching her how to track the normal way. Bepo, Archer, and Shachi seemed excited to help Conner in teaching her how to track while Penguin was looking her over for signs of distress. His own eyes turned to Neo at that point. There were no signs of stress at all building up in her. It made him glad to see her enjoying being with the crew like this. But it also made him a bit jealous. A frustrated growl released from his throat. There was no reason for him to feel like this. So why did he? Why was he wanted to pull her away from his crew and keep her by his side at all times?

            Forcing his thoughts away from that, Law tilted his head and focused on how Neo has grown even more comfortable with the crew. She wasn’t shying away from their excited chatter at all. His mind then drifted over to what all Neo had done with her crystals today. Questions about her replayed over and over in his mind while he thought about the small forest she had created. How strong was she? What was she really capable of doing? Should he push her even farther than he was? Or should he give her a few years before attempting something bigger like a storm? Considering the images he saw from her in her memories she shared with him, surely she could recreate a storm like that. But there was no way she was ready for that. Still, he wanted her to try to form another storm, even a smaller one. Though the thought quickly left his mind. She might not be quite ready for that just yet, even with him helping her.

            Soon his mind, without his permission, wondered back to her smile. Her very first smile. And he had been the one to receive it. His heart fluttered again. His cheeks tinted a light pink when he sensed Bepo beside him. He cleared his throat before speaking. He found himself asking, "Bepo, what does Neo smell like to you?"

            "Huh?" Bepo blinked when he looked at Law. "Smell like? That's an odd question to ask. What do you mean, Captain?"

            "I know you’ve mentioned before that she smelled like nature. But does she smell _human_ to you?" Law asked, keeping his eyes on Neo.

            "I never really thought about it," Bepo replied. He pulled his eyes from Law and looked at Neo. He blinked several times. "I guess she doesn't really smell like everyone else. It might be because she smells like nature. Maybe that’s hiding her human side? Though, honestly speaking, I don’t think she is human."

            "I’ve had that thought several times before." Law finally looked at the bear.

            Bepo turned his eyes to Law and noticed the light pink hue on his captain's cheeks. He remained silent on the subject for the moment.

            "To try and explain it better it's like being in the sub for weeks then walking out onto the deck. The smell of the sea, the dirt, the sun, the wind, the trees, flowers…she just smells like it all. And she also has a sweet smell to her. Kind of like sugar." Bepo locked eyes with Law. He noticed the captain flinching at his words. He also noticed the jealousy settling into the man's steel colored eyes. "You really do have a crush on her, don't you, Captain?"

            "I do _not_ ," Law hissed through gritted teeth, his hat casted shadows over his eyes to avoid more eye contact with the bear. There was no possible way he was really developing a crush on this girl, this child. It wasn’t possible. He refused to believe it.

            "Uh huh," Bepo mumbled. "Then why are you avoiding eye contact with me now? And you were blushing a minute ago. What was that about? I know you were thinking of her."

            "I do _not_ have _feelings_ for her, Bepo," Law said, still avoiding eye contact. "She's just a child. For all we know, she literally is a child. We have no idea how old she is."

            "That's a lame excuse. You know she's not a child at all. Well, not technically anyway," Bepo said.

            Law huffed and fully turned away from Bepo, a signal that he didn’t want to hear anymore about this topic.

            Bepo, knowing he's pushed his captain far enough, walked off to join the crew in their chatter about Neo's training session. Bepo chuckled to himself he figured that his captain and friend wasn’t ready to talk about his developing feelings for the only girl on their sub.

            A few minutes later, Law's eyes drew back over to Neo. His steel orbs automatically went to her lips. Her smile jumped back into his memory, making his heart flutter yet again. He growled at himself and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ridiculous. I'm _not_ falling for her at all. She _is_ just a child. Even if she wasn't a child, she won't be ready for a relationship like…"

            Law sighed with a low growl. "I _don't_ have feelings for her. _End of story_."

…

            Neo flung herself to the right when a couple crewmates threw some rocks at her. She grabbed the rocks in her winds and propelled them back. The crew easily dodged them. She then tried to trap them in her vines, but they easily dodged her attempts. She switched to her water crystals and tried to tag them with water. Behind her, Penguin and Shachi slowly crept upon her. Penguin nodded to Shachi. Shachi nodded back then charged at Neo.

            Neo sensed him without the use of her crystals. She whipped around and trapped him in a gust of wind. While she was distracted with Shachi, Penguin lunged at her. He didn't tackle her. It was Law's orders that no one grab her right now. Even though she was ready to train with the entire crew, Law didn't want to push it. Instead he told the crew they were to just tap her shoulder.

            Neo flinched when Penguin touched her. She released an aggravated sigh. "I didn't sense you at all."

            "It's all right," Penguin said with encouragement in his voice. "This is why you're training with us all now. You'll get the hang of sense multiple targets sneaking upon you in no time."

            "Yeah," Neo mumbled while lowering Shachi back to his feet.

            "Let's keep going," Shachi said. "You'll get the hang of it soon."

            The group got back into training. Neo continued to try and trap or tag the group as they dodged her attempt. Occasionally, she would fling some crewmates into the air then let them slide down vines like she did with Penguin. She dodged objects that they would throw at her then propel them back at the crew. She created vine steps that allowed the crew to get high off the ground. They then would jump down to tackle unsuspecting crewmates.

            Law was sitting out of their training like always. He was leaning against a tree that Neo had grown yesterday. He watched them for a while, with a satisfied smirk on his face. His eyes then drifted to Neo. His smirk shifted into a genuine smile as he watched her.

            She was dodging the crew’s attacks with ease until a sudden gust of wind, that she didn't create or sense, knocked her off her guard. When the gust slammed into her, she engulfed it with her crystals. The added wind caused her to lose her control and she sent herself flying away from the crew.

            Penguin gasped and called out her name. "Neo!"

            Law jumped to his feet when Neo's body hurled towards him. When she got close enough, he held out his arms and easily caught her. She had her eyes tightly closed unaware she was now safe in his arms. He could help but chuckled. "You can open your eyes now."

            Neo slowly opened her eyes. She looked around before landing her eyes on his. Her body twitched then instantly stiffened at their closeness. "I'm sorry. I guess I have a lot more work to do on sensing when nature is going to throw something at me like that. I was too distracted by the crew I didn't even notice the gust coming. Then I accidentally combined the gust with my own winds and sent myself flying."

            "There's nothing for you to apologize for. You really haven't had practice with sensing the wind coming up like that. You've always just dealt with the winds you've created. We'll increase that part of your training one day when it's windy enough for it," Law replied.

            "Yes, sir." Neo dropped her eyes to his chest and thought about his words. She didn't notice Law staring at her or the fact that he was still holding her.

            Law was looking at her face before his eyes lifted up to her hair, to the dark blue ribbon that was still holding up her blue tresses. His lips dipped down into a light frown. He often wondered where and when Penguin had gotten the ribbon, but never questioned him about it. He knew it was good for her to receive gifts from the crew. Along with training with them, it would help her get more comfortable and increase her trust in them even more. The thought of his crew giving her presents made his frown fall deeper. He really didn't like it, but knew it was necessary.

            "Uh, C-Captain? Is something wrong?" Neo asked.

            "Hn?" Law pulled his eyes back to hers. He noticed her body was slightly less stiff as she stared at him. "No, nothing's wrong."

            "Neo!" the crew called.

            Law sat her back down on her feet when the crew came running over to them. His hand lingering a little too long on her side, letting the crew get a clear look and snickered. He shot them a glare while finally pulling his hand off her.

            "Are you all right, Neo?" Bepo asked. "You really went flying there."

            "Yes, Bepo, I'm fine." Neo nodded. "The captain caught me."

            "We noticed," Conner said, causing a round of snickers to pass through them.

            Neo tilted her head at them in confusion before she looked back at Law when he released a low growl.

            The crew jumped and scattered.

            Law sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think that's enough training for today, Neo. The sun's going to set soon."

            "Yes, sir. I didn't even notice it was getting so late." She looked out to the setting sun while reaching up to pulled at the ribbon. The sea and sky was painted with a beautiful array of yellows, oranges, and reds. The sun darkened the undersides of the clouds floating across the sky that added in some purples and blues. With a tug, the ribbon released her tresses. She shook out her hair before running a hand through it, unaware that Law was watching her every move.

            "Still bugs you having your hair up?" Penguin inquired.

            "Yeah." Neo wrapped the ribbon around her finger before tucking the folded piece it into her pocket. "I don't think I'll ever get use to it."

            "Hey, Neo!" a crewmate called out, earning her attention. "I was just thinking that, if you wanted to, maybe you could increase the plant life around the island. We could use it in our training sessions."

            "Yeah!" another crewmate cheered. "We could make a game out of it. Like, we could chase each other through the woods, trying to tag enough other or something, work on our ambushing tactics, stuff like that."

            "That sounds like fun!" a third crewmate said.

            "Slow down, guys. We don't want to over work Neo and her crystals," Penguin said. "We still have no idea what all she can do. If we push it too hard, we might end up hurting her. Her magic is connected to her stamina after all."

            "It was just a suggestion," the crewmate, who made the suggestion, said with a shrug. "I don't want her to over do it either."

            "Well, I could try," Neo softly spoke to them. She jumped and collapsed her hands in front of her when they all turned their attention to her. "I mean, if it's all right with the captain."

            "I don't see why not. You’ll need more space to track things in anyway. Just as long as you take it easy," Law replied. "Just do small patches of trees and plants at a time. And you must stop if anything starts to hurt you in any kind of way or if you get too tired."

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded. With her feet aching in her boots, she started wiggling her feet around trying to find some relief from the tightness of being confined. "I will."

            "We can work on that tomorrow morning then," Law then said. "We'll see how many plant life you can create without getting tired. Then I'll want you to take a break. After that, if nothing comes up with you or your crystals, you'll continue until lunch. We'll break for lunch then see how you're doing after that. If you're not too tried, you'll continue to train with the crew for the rest of the day." He noticed her twitching and wiggling her feet. “You can take off your boots now. You’re done training for the day.”

            “Thank you, Captain.” Neo nodded as she slipped her feet out of her boots with a relieved sigh to be out of the confining things. She was unaware of the crew holding back their snickers at how protective their captain was being over her and this new development while she wiggled her feet into the sand below her.

…

            "No way!" Shachi exclaimed.

            "How powerful can she possibly be?" a crewmate asked.

            "This is just incredible," another one added.

            "I…I don't understand," Neo said softly. "How is it possible that I can do all of _this_?"

            "That's good question," Law mumbled. He, Neo, and the crew were staring out at the island they have been on for the past several weeks. What was once an almost completely barren island was now lush with all kinds of trees, bushes, flowers, vegetables, and fruits thanks to Neo growing more plants on the island. The few animals they had seen were coming out more to forage for the fresh food that she had created for them.

            "I don't understand how I did this. I just sensed the seeds that were already in the ground and paired them with my crystals. I had to create some seeds with my crystals for some of this, but… shouldn't I have laminations?" Neo asked.

            "Limitations, Neo," Penguin gently corrected. "I was kinda wondering the same thing."

            "Do I even have limitations?" Neo asked.

            "We all have our weaknesses, Neo," Law spoke out. "Eventually, we'll learn what yours are. We've already learned that using your crystals for extended periods of times wears you down. So that's a weakness, but we all have that one. None of us have an endless supply of energy. Speaking of which,” He turned his eyes to her, “how are you feeling? Are you tired? Or dizzy? Lightheaded?"

            "Um." Neo thought about his questions before answering. There was a bit of a drain on her body from creating all of this but nothing major. "I'm a bit tired, but I don't feel like I'm going to faint or anything."

            "Any headaches?" Law asked.

            "No, sir, I'm fine. Really." Neo turned full body to him and collapsed her hands in front of her.

            Law eyed her body and her expression carefully. He slowly nodded, satisfied that she was fine and answering him truthfully.

            "I'm not sure how she can possibly have limitations when she can do all _this_ ," Conner exclaimed. His eyes, as well as his crewmates, were locked onto the full jungle before them. None of them even noticed the concern their captain had over Neo just now.

            "Do you think the fruit and vegetables are eatable?" Archer asked.

            "Why wouldn't they be? Her potatoes were eatable," Penguin said.

            "Only one way to find out for sure. How about a lift?" Shachi turned to Bepo then jerked his thumb towards an apple tree.

            Bepo nodded and stood below the tree.

            Shachi then ran towards the bear. Once close enough, he jumped and planted his feet into the bear's connected paws. Bepo then tossed Shachi into the air with ease. When high enough, Shachi grabbed an apple off the tree then landed gracefully on the ground.

            "I could have just used my winds to get one for you," Neo said.

            "Don't worry about it." Penguin nudged her. "He needs the exercise."

            "I heard that!" Shachi snapped.

            Penguin smirked with a shrugged. "You were _supposed_ to hear it."

            Shachi grumbled before taking a bite of his apple. His face lit up when his teeth sunk into the red flesh and the apple’s juice washed over his taste buds. "It's so juicy! Yummy!"

            "Really?" the crewmates exclaimed.

            Neo used her winds to pull down a variety of the fruit she had created. The crew gathered it up, sampling them while heading back to their campsite for lunch and to let Neo rest.

            "At least I'm good for something," Neo mumbled while the crew continued to complement her on how good her fruit was.

            "Aw, don't say that," Shachi and Penguin simultaneously said and, without thinking about it, grabbed onto her in a sandwich hug.

            She squeaked and stiffened at their unplanned closeness.

            They immediately released her in a heart pounding panic. "We are so sorry!"

            Law glared harshly at them when they peaked at him. They froze in place and wondered what their captain was going to do to them.

            "I-it's okay." Neo fidgeted. She twiddled her fingers, but raised a timid smile to them when they looked at her. "You just surprised me that's all."

            Law's glare disappeared as his eyebrows rose high on his forehead. He was shocked that she was okay with them hugging her. They all were.

            "Hey, you’re smiling." Penguin pointed out, breaking free of his shock.

            "I am?" Neo's fingers rose to her lips.

            "So cute!" Penguin and Shachi squealed. They grabbed onto her again and rubbed their cheeks against hers, tickling her skin.

            Law couldn't help but smirk, he mentally reminding himself that he got her first smile. And only he knew it. His smile dropped from his lips and his eyebrow rose again when what she did next surprised them all yet again. Her smile morphed into a soft laugh. And her laughter was filled with soft, chiming bells.

            "Uh, Neo?" Penguin paused in his cat like snuggle against her.

            "What?" Neo blinked in slight confusion at the strange looks the crew was now giving her.

            "You laughed," Shachi pointed out with a gentle smile of his own.

            "You have bells in your laughter," Bepo said. He tilted his head with a smile, looking like a cute teddy bear. "It sounded very sweet."

            "I did?" Neo's fingers dropped to her throat. "Bells?"

            "You've never laughed before, have you?" Penguin asked.

            Neo shook her head. “No. I don’t…I don’t think so.”

            "Well, you have a very pretty laugh and smile. I hope we get to hear and see more of them," Penguin said.

            Neo tilted her head. She watched the entire crew smiled and nod in agreement with Penguin. Her eyes then drifting over to Law. He was silently staring at her with his typical calm, unreadable expression. It made a strange feeling bubble up in her stomach and heat rushed to her cheeks.

            Law walked over to her and looked more directly into her eyes. Easily noticing her flinching at the intense way he was studying her. His eyes slightly widened when he noticed the color of her eyes. They were no longer dark and lifeless. They had become the same electric blue he saw in her nightmare and they held a small flicker of life. He wondered when that had happened. Was it because she laughed just now? Could that had changed her eye color? He knew they were still grey earlier this morning. It also made him wonder what kind of creature would have bells in their laughter. He’s heard some men talk about a woman’s laughter had bells, but they were just speaking metaphorically. No human being literally had bells in their laughter. It was physically impossible. But Neo _did_ have bells in her laughter. And he wasn’t just imagining it. His entire crew had heard it as well.

            Neo swallowed and shifted from foot to foot when Law continued to stare at her without saying anything. She asked, "I-is something wrong, Captain?"

            It took Law a few seconds before he could answer her. His hat dropped over his eyes. "No, nothings wrong. I was just thinking about how much you have improved and grown. I'm very pleased and proud. We all are."

            "T-thank you, C-Captain." Neo shifted uncomfortably, but held a small smile on her lips, making both their hearts pound again.

            "Let's get something to eat." Law quickly noted her getting uncomfortable and wanting to put an end to it and his thumping heart. "I'm sure you're hungry after all you've done today."

            Neo nodded.

            The rest of the crew had already made it to their campsite when Law, Neo, Shachi, Bepo, and Penguin started to follow after them. Suddenly, a bad feeling washed over Law. He whipped around and scanned his eyes around the surrounding area. When he could find nothing out of place, he started to turn back around. He paused when he noticed Neo was staring off in the same direction he was looking.

            "What is it, Neo?" Law asked when he noticed her eyes held confusion in them.

            She said, obvious unsure about something. "I thought I felt something."

            "Like what?" Law inquired. He turned his eyes in the direction she was looking. He carefully scanned the area again. His bad feeling was still present.

            "I'm not really sure," Neo replied. "It kind of felt like I was manipulating plants again."

            Law shot his eyes back to her. His heart thumped again his chest, but not in a good way. Something wasn't right. He just didn't know what it was.

            "I guess it was nothing. I don't feel anything anymore," Neo then said. She turned and walked over to the crew.

            Law remained where he stood. He kept his eyes glued onto her until she was within the safety of his crew before scanning the island once again with an intense frown.

 


	16. Taken

Taken

 

            Neo nodded as the crew once again went over what she was supposed to look for. They had spent a couple hours in the morning going through a mock tracking session with her. She pulled her eyes from them and looked over at Law. He was talking with Shachi, Bepo, and Penguin several feet from her. Those were the three she was going to be trying to find in her very first tracking session. And she wasn’t allowed to track Bepo from his animal side. She had to do with her eyes only. Her eyes then dropped down to the dwindling fire. It had gone down a bit from this morning. She also noticed that the burnt wood smell and the smoke were no longer noticeable to her. Apparently they’ve been here long enough for her to have gotten use to the smells.

            After a few minutes the three nodded at their captain then took off towards the forest. Law then walked back over to the rest of the crew and Neo. He sat down beside her. "They're going to hide now. We'll give them a few minutes to get well hidden then you're going to go find them. I'm also going to let you go in alone. If anything happens, just call for them and they'll reveal themselves. But, if you need me to come to you, I will. Just send me a signal with your crystals. Raise some vines in the air. Will you be all right with this?"

            Neo looked at Law then down at the ground.

            Law could tell immediately that she was unsure about going in by herself. He was a bit unsure about letting her leave his sight since he had become such a strong, reliable presence to her and that this was the first time they were going to be separated for so long outside of the comfort safety of the sub walls. But he wanted, and really needed, to see how she would do on her own.

            After a few minutes, she took a deep breath and released it. "I…I think I will be fine. Penguin, Bepo and Shachi will be close by…and you'll still be near me despite me not being able to see you, won’t you?" Neo raised her eyes back to his.

            Law slowly nodded while staring into her electric blue orbs. He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear making her stiffen again. "Of course I'll be here. I'm not going anywhere."

            Neo nodded as the crew tried their hardest to bite back their snickers. They failed miserably. She tilted her head at them in confusion and curiosity while Law shot them a warning glare then ordered them away from the fire.

            Law snapped, "Why don't you all go train or something?"

            "Aye aye, Captain!" the crew cheer simultaneously and scattered to find something to do.

            Neo glanced at Law, when he huffed and grumbled something under his breath while leaning back against the log, but didn't say anything. She hugged her knees and remained quiet until Law decided the trio had enough time to hide themselves.

            Law tapped her on her knee with his finger. "Get going now. You have until sunset to tag all three of them with your water crystals. When you tag one of them, they'll return to camp so you can continue to find the rest."

            "Yes, sir." Neo stood up. She had one foot over the log and paused when he spoke to her again.

            "And remember you're not to use your crystals to track them," Law said.

            "Yes, sir, I understand." Neo nodded before heading off to find her quarry.

…

            Neo stepped into the shade that the leaves casted down over the new forest floor. It instantly shaded her from the warm sun above. The lingering smell of the sand and sea faded from her nose as it was replaced with the smell of the forest leafs and flowers. All the smells she enjoyed and was starting to really love having around. Before she never noticed how wonderful nature smelled to her. A smile spread over her lips when a grey rabbit scurried out from underneath a bush. It looked at her curiously, wiggling its nose and tail before darting off.

            She wanted to go after it and play with it, but her training took priority over playing. So she turned her eyes down to the ground and started looking for footprints. After walking around the forest for a few minutes she managed to find where the three crewmates entered into the forest. She followed them about twenty yards into the forest before the footprints separated. Looking over them all she followed one right in front of her until they disappeared. Frowning, she remembered Conner telling her that some people will hide their tracks when they know they are being followed or would do it in case of being followed. Back tracking to the footprints she found that all three of them had erased their footprints. She was going to have to track them a different way. So she headed out on the trail she was currently looking at and started looking for other signs that someone had come this way.

…

            Neo panted slightly as she kneeled down to inspect a broken limb and some mashed down grass. She hummed before standing back up. It was two hours into her tracking and still hadn't found any of them. But she did find signs they were leaving behind them. She found flattened grass, broken limbs, some of Bepo's fur, and just about everything the crew had told and showed her that morning and before.

            She wasn't sure if they were leaving her signs on purpose or not. She didn't think they would do that, but she didn't know for sure. Law had spoken to them before they took off. She had no idea what their captain had told them to do or not do. There was the possibility that, while they weren’t making this easy for her, they were still purposefully leaving behind clues for her to follow since this was the first time she was doing this.

            She shook her head. It really didn't matter what the captain had told them. It was helping her learn how to track either way. She started making her way through the dense brush again when she heard something shuffle nearby. It startled her to the point she almost ran back to Law. But she was able to stop herself. She took several deep breaths and reminded herself that she was fine. And that the captain and the crew were still near if she needed them. With her heart pounding hard, she swallowed and quietly continued towards the sound. "It's okay. It's just one of the three the captain ordered into this forest. No one else is on this island. It’s either the crew or an animal."

            She rounded a tree and her anxiety quickly left her when she spotted Bepo’s white fur peaking through some leaves of a couple bushes. She summoned a water crystal and tagged him with a small ball of water.

            Bepo jumped in surprise at the coldness splashing on his back, but quickly composed himself when he saw Neo. He smiled and walked over to her. "Very good, Neo. I wasn't expecting you to find any of us so quickly."

            "It wasn't easy. It’s taken me a little over two hours to finally find one of you," Neo replied. "But I think I'm going to get the hang of tracking like this without much problems. I just need practice."

            "That's good to hear. Proceed then." Bepo smiled. "I'll be heading back to camp now on the captain's orders."

            "Okay." Neo waved to him as they separated. "I'll see you later."

            “Good luck, Neo,” Bepo said before disappearing around a tree.

            Neo turned away from him and continued to make her way through the forest. She ducked under a branch and rounded a bush when she spotted another sign that someone had come this way. She bend down and looked at the broken flower. A small speck of sadness settled into her chest at the sight of it. Though she wasn’t aware of the type of flower it was, she loved how it looked. It was bright orange with small flecks of white over the petals. She summoned one earth crystal and hesitated before beaming its glow down to the flower. It straightened up and the broken stem was healed. "Well, I'm not supposed to use my crystals to track his crew, but the captain didn't say anything about healing nature. I hope it's all right that I did this since it had nothing to do with finding the others."

            A low, cool breeze teased Neo's hair as she continued to stare at the flower. Suddenly the flower blurred and divided in two right in front of her. She rubbed her hand over her eyes, trying to make the blurriness go away, and stood up. She started to walk away from the flower when her vision became more and more blurry. After a few more steps, her head started to spin along with the world around her. "I don't feel so good."

            She stumbled and bumped against a tree. She pressed her hand against its rough bark to stabilize herself before leaning against it. She panted, her body suddenly feeling heavy. Looking up through her blurry vision, she saw someone walking towards her in the shadows of the forest. Squinting, she said, "P-Penguin? S-Shachi?"

            They didn't reply. Neo slid down the tree to the ground, knocking some loose bark off the tree. She trembled as the one person suddenly split into four people. All of them moved closer to her. She tried to summon her earth crystals to shoot some vines in the air like Law has said, but nothing happened. "You're not…them. S-stay away."

            "I thought they said it would knock her out," an unfamiliar voice said.

            "No, they said it would render her incapable of using her crystals," another unfamiliar voice said.

            Through the pounding of her head, stomach, and heart, Neo tried to get her earth crystals to create vines again. One formed in front of her. Small vines slithered out of the crystal’s glow but quickly disappeared. Her crystal faded away. In defeat, she slumped against the tree. Tears prickled the back of her eyes. “What’s…happening to me? Captain…I’m scared.”

            "See? She's not going to be able to fight us," the first one said.

            The second person that spoke reached out and grabbed her shoulders. Neo scared, flinched and tried to pull away from them. "No! Let…Let go…of me! C-Captain!"

            "Sorry, sweetheart." a third voice chuckled. "You're coming with us."

            "No! Penguin! Shachi! Captain!" Neo cried again. She summoned her wind crystals and tried to release a small gale. A small breeze gathered around her crystals. She tried to push the breeze outward against the strangers, but nothing happened. She could sense the wind there. It just wouldn't release. Her connection to her crystals kept breaking. Her pulse thundered. Her stomach lurched. Something was wrong with her. She couldn’t get connected to her crystals nor get connected to nature. And she was apparently too far away for anyone to hear her scream.

            "Give it up, girly. You're not going to get away from us no matter how hard you try."

            Neo closed her eyes and tried to force the wind to come. With a hard mental push, the wind whipped out of her crystals and knocked the men down. She used this opportunity to push herself back up to her feet and stumbled away from them. She only got a few feet when one of the men appeared in front of her. Before she could react a sharp pain shot through her head and her body slumped to the ground while grabbing her head. Warm, stickiness gathered on her fingers.

            "Now, now, don't run from us," the voice above her said. He knelt down and looked her over. "We really don't want to hurt such a pretty little thing like you."

            Her body tensed when he grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. Her mind was screaming at her to fight back, but her body wouldn’t listen to her. Tears leaked down her face as her consciousness started faded away from her. Her eyes locked down on the ground while he carried her away. Despite her fading vision, the blood was bright against the green grass. Her eyes slowly closed. Her lips whispering, "Captain…help me," before everything went black.

…

            Law stood up to watch Neo as she disappeared into the forest. Once she was out of his sight, he sat back down against the log so he could watch incase she signaled him. No matter what other sounds went on around him, his eyes never left the forest. Currently it had been a little over two hours since Neo left his sight. And every second it bugged him that he couldn't see her anymore. He had been on edge since she had left, but suddenly something really felt wrong to him as a sharp flash of pain shot through his head. His heart tightened so hard in his chest he thought he was going to pass out. Something happened to Neo. He had no idea how he knew this, but he did. He knew she was in trouble, enough trouble that she couldn’t send him a signal.

            He jumped to his feet and took off towards her forest. Behind him he could hear the calls of his confused subordinates, but he didn't bother answering them or even slow down.

            "Hey, Captain, where are you going?!"

            "Why did he take off like that?"

            "Something's not right if he's taking off like _that_. Should we follow?" The crew exchanged looks before following after their captain without a word.

…

            "Huh?" Bepo paused and turned back in the direction he just came from. Something suddenly felt so wrong to him. He was about to shrug it off and head back to camp when the wind started to blow and blood, Neo's blood, filtered into his nose. Panic settled into his stomach as his fur stood on their ends. He raced back towards her. "Oh no, Neo! Neo, where are you?! Answer me!"

            He paused when the smell of blood got stronger and mixed with unfamiliar scents of four men. He took a few more hurried steps then arrived at the exact place where she had tagged him. Sniffing the air, he locked onto her scent, her blood, and followed after her. He looked around before looking down to see drops of blood on the ground. He gasped then shouted her name as loud as he could. "Neo! Neo, where are you?!”

            "Bepo!" Shachi hissed while he emerged from some large leaves after hearing Bepo yelling so much. "You're not supposed to be yelling like that! Neo's suppose to b-"

            "Neo's been taken!" Bepo freaked, waving his arms wildly.

            "What?!" Shachi screeched. "Are you sure?!"

            "This is her blood!" Bepo pointed to the ground. "Her scent is mixed with strangers! What do we do?! What do we do?!"

            "Crap! Get the captain! Penguin and I will follow after her!" Shachi shouted, looking at the small pool of blood that was seeping into the ground. The then two split up. Bepo headed back to camp while Shachi ran through the thick forest while calling out for Penguin. "Penguin! We have a problem! Where are you?!"

            "What's going on?" Penguin finally answered, a painfully slow four minutes later.

            "Neo's been taken!" Shachi shouted.

            "What?!" Penguin's heart about jumped in his throat.

            "I'll explain on the way! Come on!" Shachi quickly led Penguin back to the spot where her blood was as he explained to him what Bepo had said.

            Penguin gritted his teeth and clenched his fists at the sight of her blood. His body shook furiously. Someone had their little girl.

            "Let's hurry! They went this way!" Shachi said.

            Penguin could only nod. He was too furious to speak. He just turned and followed after Shachi. Unable to focus, he allowed his friend to track Neo’s blood and the footsteps of the men who took her. Shachi had mumbled there were four people walking away, but he barely heard him. Both knew there would most likely be more than that. But he didn’t care at this point how many there were. He was going to wrap his hands around all of their necks for doing this to her. The forest became a blur of green and brown to him as they ran as fast as they could through the forest.

            Several heart pounding moments later, they exited Neo's forest on the direct opposite position of their camp. They jerked to a halt when they saw her blood led them to another beach where a ship was floating away from them. Her blood led right up to the water so they had zero doubts that she was on the ship. Both the two Heart Pirates cursed under their breaths. There was no way they could swim after that ship and actually catch it. But that wasn't going to stop Penguin from trying. "I'm going after her!"

            "Wait!" Shachi suddenly shouted, grabbing his friend before he could get into the water. "Neo has control over the elements! She can easily get back to this island by flying!"

            "Then _why_ hasn't she?!" Penguin demanded. He whipped around and growled at Shachi. "She may have been sneak attacked, but she should have been able to escape from them by now! She's hurt! That's why she's not back with us! _They_ did something to her!"

            Dread settled over Shachi at that point. He knew that his friend was correct. Neo might not be a master over her abilities yet, but she surely could have easily escaped these people unless she really was hurt. He really didn't want to believe she was hurt, but the proof had been there, right under their noses. He looked down to watch as her blood was washed away by the sea. Her blood Bepo had confirmed it for them. Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, they did the only thing they could do. They waited, feeling completely helpless, for Bepo to bring back the captain.

            A few seconds later a familiar, thin blue film appeared around the two men. Another second and their captain, their very angry looking captain, appeared with the rest of their crew with him. His steel eyes shot over to the ship sailing away from them. It was almost a quarter a mile out to sea. With a growl, he held out his hand, ready to form his Room before a sharp pain shot through his shoulder. His body bobbled, his mind wondering why his shoulder hurt so much now. Pushing it aside, forced himself to make the largest room he could possibly make. He was able to get the back end of the ship in his Room and warped them. “Room! Shambles!”

…

            Neo moaned as she started to wake up. Mold, blood, salt, wet wood and the smell of bad body odor hammered her nose. The combinations of the smells and her throbbing head made her stomach spin violently. Pushing herself up off the hard floor she was laying on, she rubbed her hand in her right eye as something wet trickled into it. Pulling her hand away she looked at it to find something was on her hand. Blinking she cleared her still blurry vision to find it was blood. She gasped and jerked when someone laughed.

            "Timid little thing, ain't cha?" a voice said.

            Neo backed up until her back hit a wall when she found she was surround by ten unfamiliar men. She couldn't tell who they were. They didn't wear any kind of distinct clothing that she could see through her distorted vision. One of them stepped towards her. She summoned her fire crystals and shot a blast out at them. She only managed a small candle size flame. "Stay…stay way from me!"

            She had aimed at the man walking towards her, but completely missed. The flame floated down to the floor.

            The man chuckled as he stomped on the small flame that danced on the deck. "Those gems of your must be worth a lot. Be a good girl and fork them over. We'll let you go after that."

            The rest of the men chuckled.

            Neo had a feeling the man wasn't telling her the truth. When he kneeled down in front of her, her vision became clear enough that she could see what he looked like. He had long, slicked back black hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in weeks. He had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth with a scruffy beard. He took a puff on it and blew the smoke in her face. She coughed at the foul smell of his breath and the smoke.

            "Come on now." He ran his hand over her leg.

            Neo jerked away from him. She could feel her anxiety rising. She could feel her crystals wanting to break loose for being touch by him, but nothing came.

            "Give us your crystals."

            "Leave me alone!" Neo screamed. Summoning a couple wind crystals, she tried to connect to them again. But they flickered and faded before she could even try. Her body jumped when the men snickered at her inability to do anything. Struggling to her feet, she stumbled then ran towards the stern of the ship. She didn't get very far when the black haired man jumped into her vision again.

            Since her vision was still slightly blurred she wasn't able to see the sword he was holding. All she saw was him jutting his arm out towards her. Sharp pain stung in her left shoulder. She screamed and stumbled backwards. Her back pressed against the mast of the ship and she slumped against it then slid to the floor. She grabbed her shoulder as blood and tears ran down her skin.

            She closed her eyes tightly as the man, who stabbed her, began to stalk up to her. The man held a look in his eyes that she didn't like. She couldn't tell what it was or the meaning behind it, but she did know that his plans for her weren’t going to be good.

            "Now, now, there'll be no more trying to escape. You are _mine_ now. You _will_ hand over those crystals of yours. I kind of like how pretty you are. I think I'll keep you after all. You look a little young so it's a safe bet that you don't have any _experience_ , but that's okay. I can teach you all you need to know." He placed his hand on her thigh and rubbed it.

            Neo tried to pull away from him, but he grabbed her thigh and squeezed so hard he almost pierced her jeans and her skin with his fingers. She yipped at the pain and curled into herself.

            The other men chucked again.

            Her entire body was trembling violently now. All she wanted was to go back to the sub, to the crew that she had come to know. She wanted the captain, Penguin, Bepo, anyone to come and take her back with them. “Captain…”

            "Hey, boss," a man's voice said. "What's with this blue bubble thingy?"

            "Huh?" The boss man looked up and inspected the blue film around him and his ship until a light pop sounded and several men were standing on his ship. "Who the heck are you?"

            Law didn't answer as his eyes immediately went to Neo's scared form. He clenched his teeth and fists when he saw her and the strange man touching her. " _Let! Her! Go!_ "

            Neo opened her frighten eyes when she heard his familiar voice. "C-Captain…"

            "And what are _you_ going to do about it if I don't?" The boss stood up and took a few steps towards the pirates.

            Law replied by pulling out his sword and immediately sinking the blade into the man's chest in a split second. He then leaned to the man's ear and whispered in a dangerously low voice. "You will _never_ touch her again."

            Neo wanted to look away from the man as his lifeless body slumped to the floor of the ship when Law pulled his sword back out of the man's body, but she couldn't. Her body wouldn't move at all. Her mind just went blank at what happened.

            Penguin pulled his eyes from their enemies and looked at Neo. He hurried over to her and kneeled down. He placed his hand on her uninjured shoulder. "Neo?"

            She didn't respond to his voice or his touch at all. She remained staring at Law and the man's dead body with her shocked expression.

            "How dare you kill our boss?!" one of the men shouted.

            "Wait a second," another one said. "That guy with the spotted hat looks kinda familiar."

            "Shambles!" Law hissed. Without another word, he sliced up the rest of the kidnappers into several pieces.

            "What happened to us?!" one of the men cried out.

            "You freak! What did you do?!" another demanded.

            "We're so screwed!" a third man cried. "I knew that guy looked familiar! That's Trafalgar Law! The Surgeon of Death!"

            "Then you should have known better than to mess with me and my crew!" Law glared ice daggers at them. His voice was still dangerously low when he spoke again. He hissed as he began to stalk up to them. He clenched a hold of his sword then raised it to them. "You're going to pay for taking her, touching her and making her _cry_!"

            "Captain, wait!" Penguin's voice broke into Law's fury.

            Law turned his dagger filled eyes to the one who dared order him around.

            Penguin flinched, knowing ordering this man around wasn't the smartest thing he could do, especially in this situation, but it was necessary. "It's Neo. Look at her."

            Law pulled his eyes from his subordinate. His body flinched and his eyes lightened up when he saw her. She was frozen against the mast of the ship. Her eyes were fill with tears and fear, of _him_. He had unintentionally scared her with his intense vengeance and his powers, which he had forgotten she had never seen either of them before now.

            "Let us handle them, Captain." Shachi cracked his knuckled. "They're obviously weak since they went after one little girl."

            "Neo needs her wounds taken care of, right?" Penguin asked, making sure to be careful with the words he chose to speak with. "I doubt that jerk has cleaned his sword at any point in time. She could get an infection."

            Law growled, but put up his sword. He put the men’s bodies back in their right positions for his crew to deal with them instead. "Fine. Take care of them. I'm taking Neo back to the ship."

            "Aye aye, Captain!" the crew shouted.

            Law walked over to Neo and knelt down before her. Guilt hit him hard when he reached for her and she jerked away from him. The move caused her to clench her eyes tight and shrink into herself. He paused before placing his hand on her head, feeling her hard flinch at his touch was like receiving an iron punch in the gut. Keeping his voice low so he wouldn't scare her anymore, he said, "It's okay, Neo, your safe now. No one's going to hurt you again."

            Neo slowly opened her eyes and looked at him for a second before quickly looking away.

            It took everything Law had to not kill the rest of the men who had taken her. He carefully slipped his arms around her. He gritted his teeth when he felt her tense then tremble in his hold. He took a couple deep breaths before picking her up bridal style. He formed another Room to warp himself and her back to the island. "We're going back now."

…

            "Let's get outta here," a man said quietly, but not quietly enough.

            The Heart Pirates turned their glowing red eyes to them. The men froze like statues just before the crew pounced on top of them. They punched, kicked, and Bepo even bit a couple, repeatedly for several minutes before stopping their assault.

            "And don't you ever, _ever_ think about coming after her again! If you do, we _will_ kill you!" Penguin hissed. He was holding one of the men by the front of his shirt and shaking him. "Do I make myself clear?!"

            "Y-yes, s-sir," the beaten and bloody man stuttered. "We're sorry. I knew we shouldn't have taken this job, but the boss insisted that it would be an easy one."

            "Taken this job? Easy one?" Penguin asked. "What do you mean?"

            "We're mercenaries. W-we were hired to go after that girl," the man said. Penguin shot his eyes up to the rest of his crewmates. "They…they said she would be weak enough for us to handle."

            "What for?!" Penguin demanded. "Who hired you to attack her?!"

            "T-they never gave us their names or the reason they wanted this done," he replied. "All they wanted us to do was intimidate her. They wanted us to act like we were going to take her away from you all. We weren't really going to take her anywhere, just a little out to sea then we were going to bring her right back. Honest! We didn't realize she was with pirates, especially with Trafalgar Law. We never would have taken her if we had known. It was suicide. We're sorry."

            Penguin dropped the man. He turned his eyes back to his fellow crewmates. They clearly had the same bad feeling and thought that he did. Someone purposefully targeted Neo.

…

            Neo was still shaking when Law warped her back to the deck of the sub. He didn't say anything to her as he carried her inside and right up to the infirmary. He sat her down on the exam table and propped his sword up next to it. He studied her expression. She was still avoiding looking at him. He sighed quietly to himself then started to inspect her shoulder. Reaching for her shirt, she winced at the same time pain shot through his shoulder. He pulled back and tapped his chin in thought then rubbed his throbbing limb. The thought of warping her shirt off was the first thing to come to his mind, but the blood had already stained it. And he figured she wouldn’t want it anyway now that it was connected to being taken away from them. So he settled on cutting it off instead. "I'm going to have to cut your shirt off. But first, I want to get some pain killers in your system so you're not hurting so much."

            He stepped away from her to gather up everything he was going to need and placed it on the medical trolley. Once he returned, she flinched again when he got closer to her. He forced down another hot growl at those men who took her as she hesitantly took the pain pills from his hand. Slowly, he reached for her and started to cut off her shirt. When it was removed, he paused to inspect the wound then decided to go ahead and cut off her blood stained bra as well. Once that item was removed, he grabbed a sheet and carefully wrapped it around her chest so she wouldn't be so exposed. He then went to work on her shoulder. Or he tried to. She was trembling so hard that he wasn't going to be able to fix it with her like this.

            He stepped away from her once again to get a sedative. He walked back over to her with a needle in his hand, pausing when he saw her flinch at the sight of it. "It's just to calm you down. You're trembling too hard. I can't fix your shoulder until you're relaxed. Do you understand?"

            She nodded, but didn't verbally respond.

            Law stuck the needle into her arm as gently as he could. Once her body had stopped trembling, he finally went to work on numbing, cleaning and stitching up her shoulder. When he was done with that, he stepped in front of her to check the wound on her head. Luckily this injury didn't need stitches. It just needed cleaned, and then put some antibiotics, and he planned to watch it closely for infection. Then he decided to try to see if she would talk to him while he dipped a cloth into a bowl of warm water to clean off the blood from her skin. "Will you tell me what happened?"

            A couple minutes passed before she finally started talking. Her voice was low and scared as she tried to tell him what happened. "I'm sorry. I don't…I found Bepo. Then I couldn't see clearly. My…crystals wouldn't work."

            "They wouldn't work?" Law asked while struggling to keep his voice low so he wouldn't scare her anymore than he already had.

            She nodded, wiping tears away. "I…they took me…I couldn't do anything. I'm sorry."

            "Don't apologize. It wasn't your…" Law's voice trail off when he noticed something out of place shimmering on the skin around her eyes. Leaning closer he found it was some kind of light green powder that was almost invisible to the eye. He only saw it when he moved the right way and the light hit it making it shimmer. He stepped away from her once again. When he walked back over to her, he was carrying a small clean towel and a sling hanging over his shoulder. He carefully wiped the powder off her skin and set it aside to study later.

            He grabbed his sword. He clenched his free hand so hard that his nails pierced through his skin when Neo scooted away from him as he grabbed it. "Let's get you dressed now before the crew gets back."

            Neo only responded with a light nod. Clenching the sheet to her body, she slid off the exam table, holding her arm against her body so it didn’t hurt as much, and followed Law out of the room. The two remained quiet as they descended down the stairs to the second level then to his room.

            Once inside, Law pulled out a clean pair of clothes for her. He had picked out one of her button up shirts. It was going to be easier for her to put on. He felt guilty again when she started to help her dress. She had flinched and ducked her head when he touched her. He sighed inwardly then put her arm in the sling. "I don't want you using this arm for a while."

            "Y-yes, s-sir," Neo stuttered.

            "Let's go back outside now," Law softly ordered. He reclaimed his sword, shoved his other hand in his pocket, and headed for the door.

            Neo nodded and obediently followed after him.

            While headed back for the deck, Law stole glances at her. He easily noticed she kept her eyes glued to the floor and wasn't walking as close to him as she usually did.

            Once on the deck, he watched as she started to walk over to the ladder to climb down, but stopped her by sweeping her up into his arms. The flinch he was expecting came once more. Anger swirled around in his stomach at what had happened. This island was supposed to be safe. No one was supposed to have come here. So why did they? Was it just a random accident? Did those men manage to see Neo’s crystals and think they had some value to them? He kept his eyes on her from underneath the shadows that cast over his eyes he studied how she was still avoiding eye contact with him. He wondered what was going on in her mind. Knowing he wouldn’t get an answer he warped them down to the beach without a word. When they reached the fire, he sat her down and took the spot beside her. They sat there in silence until the crew returned with only the crackling of the fire as the only noise around them.

…

            The crew was boiling hot when they had finished up with the men that had hurt and taken Neo away from them. They wanted to kill them so badly, but didn’t. They just beat them to a bloody pulp, steered the ship back to the island, and then let the men go.

            “I can’t believe someone’s after Neo,” Conner said.

            “This makes me so angry,” Archer said.

            “And you know it’s bad if you get angry,” Conner said.

            “Please, don’t,” Archer said. “I’m not in the mood to argue with you.”

            “What do we do? I know we have to tell the captain about this, but what about Neo?” Bepo asked.

            “We’ll tell the captain about it but let him decide if Neo should know or not,” Penguin said.

            “Okay, I think I’ll speak with the captain about this,” Shachi said. “Penguin, will you distract Neo?”

            “Sure.” Penguin nodded.

            “Why the distraction?” Bepo asked.

            “So she won’t get suspicious,” Shachi said. “Personally, I don’t think it will be a good thing for her to know that she was directly targeted.”

            “Oh,” Bepo said. “But why would someone target her?”

            “Well, maybe it’s someone from her past who saw her crystals and thought they might be worth something?” Archer offered. “Or maybe they wanted to use her for something?”

            “It’s a scary thought,” Conner said. “She could make one powerful weapon.”

            “But only if she’s with us,” Archer said. “I doubt she’ll get comfortable enough with someone else to be as confident as she is now.”

            “That’s true,” Conner said just as they exited the forest. They all paused and looked over to the fire to find their captain and Neo were already outside and waiting for them. “Well, might as well get this over with.”

            The crew nodded and mumbled in agreement before they continued to trek over the fire.

            "Captain," Shachi said once close enough. "Could I have a word with you…alone?"

            "Sure." Law stood up and followed Shachi away from the camp without question.

            Neo's eyes followed them until Penguin knelt down beside her, blocking her view.

            "How are you feeling, sweetie?" Penguin asked softly.

            Neo took in his tired expression. He was clearly worried about her. She then scanned the entire crew as they sat down around the warm fire, finding them too to be holding worried expressions on their faces. None of them spoke to her despite giving her small smiles before their eyes began to scan over the area. She figured they were checking for more people that might be around. Bringing her eyes back to Penguin, she rubbed her upper left arm gently. “I’m kind of sore and tired.”

            "That's to be expected." Penguin smiled lightly. When her eyes started to drift back over to Law and Shachi, he said, "Hey, you're probably hungry. What would you like? Anything you want, I'll make it for you."

            "I'm not hungry." Neo said, not taking her eyes off Law and Shachi. "What's Shachi talking to the captain about?"

            "He's just informing him that the men, who took you…" Penguin trailed off when Neo flinched at his words. He sighed before reaching his hand out for her. Gently lying his hand on her uninjured right shoulder, her said, "Neo, you're safe now. They're not going to hurt you again. And the captain didn't mean to scare you. He was just angry with those guys for hurting you. You do understand that, right?"

            Neo lightly nodded but didn't look at him.

            Penguin figured she really didn't understand anything at the moment. He decided it was best not to push it. "You really should eat something. Tell me what sounds good and I'll make it for you."

            She finally pulled her eyes to back him.

            He smiled. "Really. I'll make anything you want."

            “I’m not hungry,” Neo said again.

            Penguin sighed and nodded.

…

            Law gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. His fury had surfaced once again when Shachi told him what the mercenaries had told them. "That must be what that powder is then."

            "Powder?" Shachi questioned.

            Law sighed then told him about the powder he found on Neo's face.

            Shachi hummed. "Then they must have used that to keep Neo from using her crystals. But did _they_ have and know it would disorient her or was it the people who hired her who had the powder? Either way, they had something that would disable the use of her crystals. Ugh! I wish we knew about this before. We could have beaten the answer out of them. What are we going to do, Captain? Are we going to tell her about all this?"

            Law closed his eyes and breathed deeply. When he opened them, they went directly to Neo. "We're not going to tell her."

            "Are you sure about that?" Shachi asked, stunned.

            "It will be better if she doesn't know…at least not right now," Law summoned up. "She's neophobic. This could shock her too much. I don't want to lose the progress we have made on her so far."

            "Neophobic?" Shachi questioned.

            "She's scared of new things," Law explained. "You saw her reactions to new things when she first came to live with us and since then. Whenever she comes across something or someone new, she shies away from it. And just now, when I revealed my fury and powers to her, she…well, you saw. She's nervous around me again because of what I did. I should have been more careful. But it's understandable considering how she grew up. Anything new always meant more pain for her."

            "Right. But she'll be fine. She knows you would never hurt her." Shachi let his eyes drift over to Neo. Penguin was successfully succeeding in their plan to distract Neo while he talked to their captain.

            "Maybe," Law mumbled.

            Shortly after that, the two men walked back over to the fire. Shachi helped Penguin with supper while Law reclaimed his spot by Neo. He cursed himself under his breath as she flinched and stiffened up at his presence. His loss of self control earlier might have very well damaged the little trust she had in him. He was going to have to be more careful in the future. The last thing he wanted was her to be scared of him again. While they waited for their meal to be ready, he kept a close eye on her. He watched as her eyes became drowsy and she started slumping against the log more. “You can sleep if you need to.”

            Neo slowly nodded before closing her eyes.

            “She all right, Captain?” Archer asked.

            “Yeah.” Law nodded. “It’s just been a rough day.”

            “Dinner’s going to be ready soon,” Penguin said.

            “That’s fine,” Law said. “She can eat later when she wakes up.”


	17. His Feelings

His Feelings

 

            Pinching the bridge of his nose, Law sighed and leaned back in his chair. It had been six hours since he started studying the strange powder he found on Neo's face after she had been abducted. And he still had no clue what it was or where it came from. The only thing he could figure out about it was it had come from some kind of plant. But he couldn't tell what kind of plant it was. It wasn't familiar to him at all. Rubbing his hands over his face he glanced over at Neo. She was sound asleep in his bed despite the main lights still being on. He didn't want her sleeping on the hard ground tonight with her injured shoulder.

            He reached up and rubbed his own throbbing left shoulder. It had been bothering him ever since Neo had been taken. But luckily his head throbbing had soon stopped shortly after he returned to the sub with Neo to take care of her. His eyes were tired and stress from looking into his microscope for so long. A break was severally needed. Actually, he just needed to go to bed. It was very late into the night. The rest of the crew had long gone to bed with the exception of three of his men that was on guard duty tonight.

            With another sigh, Law forced himself out of his chair. He walked over to the light switches and turned the main one off. He shoved his hands in his pocket and walked over to the bed. Neo was laying on her right side, loosely cocooned in her blanket like she usually was. Only this time her left arm still snug in the sling. While he watched her shift in her sleep and wince, another light twinge shot through his left shoulder. He mindlessly rubbed it while continuing to watch her sleep for several minutes before walking back over to his desk. He sat down and crossed his arms and legs. He decided against sleeping in his bed tonight. He didn't want to crowd Neo after scaring her so much. He casted her one last concerned look before letting his hat fall over his eyes.

…

            "I'm putting your training on hold for a while, at least for today," Law said as he helped Neo into her shirt. "I want you to rest after…" His voice trailed off when Neo flinched. He buttoned up the last button on her shirt, put her arm back in the sling, and then walked towards the door. "Come on. I'm sure breakfast is ready by now."

            Neo followed after him without a word. Their walk through the sub was uncomfortably silent for them both. The silence was only broken when the chatter of the crew greeted them when they got close to the galley. The chatter stopped when they stepped into the room. The entire crew looked up at them. Some of them smiled and greeted the two with a hearty, "Good morning" while others remained quiet, but smiling.

            Law nodded in response as he and Neo walked over to the table and sat down without a word.

            Penguin watched Neo and his captain carefully while they all started eating breakfast. He then looked over at Bepo and Shachi. They both just shrugged and started to eat their own breakfast. Annoyed at not knowing what to do or say, he picked at his breakfast and mindlessly ate at it. Movement caused him to glance up. His captain had finished before anyone else and left the room without a word to anyone. He couldn’t help but noticed that despite Neo keeping her head down she watch the man leave the room.

            One by one the crew finished up their breakfast then disappeared from the room, plunging the area into more silence. Neo was the last one to finish up eating. She grabbed her plate and stood up. Conner walked over and took the plate from her. "I'll take that for you. You just sit and rest for now."

            Neo raised her eyes to him. Before she could say anything to him, Penguin spoke up and said, "Why don't we go to the rec. room for a while? I'm sure the captain has put our training on hold for now. You can work on your writing and reading if you want to."

            "Okay," Neo replied quietly with a nod. She moved around the table and headed out of the room.

            "I'll take care of the dishes," Conner whispered to Penguin once she was far enough down the hall. "It might be best if you stayed with her."

            "Yeah." Penguin nodded. "It might help, at least until she's comfortable with the captain again. Maybe I can talk to her about it."

            “That’s probably a good idea,” Conner said.

            Penguin nodded then left the room. A few feet down the hall he saw that Neo had decided to wait for him. The two them proceeded to walk in silence to the rec. room. He gnawed on his lip in thought on how to speak to her about this little problem. As Neo entered into the room upon reaching it, Penguin paused. He looked down the hall and wondered where his captain had disappeared to before joining Neo on the couch. She already had a book out when he joined her. He sat down and listened to her read out loud to him for a while before his mind wondered off onto the current problem of her being scared of the captain. There had to be something he could say to help her get over this. He knew, they all knew, that it really hurt and bothered their captain that he had frightened her. Mentally he whacked himself in the head and tried to figure out what to say.

            When Neo’s soft voice had stopped talking, he turned to see if she was stuck on a word. She didn’t. She had the book lying on her lap and was staring blankly down at the floor of the room. He might not have a clue what to say, but he knew he needed to say something. "Neo? Neo, will you look at me?" He smiled gently when she brought her eyes up to him before speaking again. "You don't have to be scared of the captain. He only freaked out like that because he cares about you. He will never ever hurt you. You do understand that, don't you?"

            Neo didn't respond for a while as she dropped her eyes back to the book in her lap. When she did respond, her voice was low, timid, and worried. "Penguin…he killed that man. He's going to get in trouble now. He's going to be taken away from…from me." Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. “I don’t…I don’t want him to go away.”

            Penguin mentally slapped himself upon finally realizing what the actual main problem was here. While she was scared of the power and anger Law had shown, since she's never seen it before, she was more scared of him being taken away from her. He placed his fingers under her chin, feeling her tense, and turned her eyes back to him. "Neo, the captain killed that man to _protect you_. He's not going to be taken away from you or any of us."

            "He…he's not?" Neo asked, her eyes pleading with him for the truth.

            "Of course not, sweetie." Penguin tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled sweetly at her. "And, I'm going to be honest with you, he also did it because he lost control of himself when he saw you crying and for how that man was touching you."

            "Why?" Neo asked. "You touch me and he doesn't do anything to you."

            Penguin bit back a chuckle. He knew the truth about how Law felt when he touched Neo, but she didn't. "Because the captain trusts me with you. He knows that I would never hurt you, never touch you inappropriately, and never intentionally make you cry. The way that guy was touching you was very wrong. He shouldn't have done it. No man should ever touch you like that without you saying it's okay, especially if you don't know him. Trust me, we all would have killed that man for touching you the way he was if the captain hadn't beaten us to it."

            "So…it's fine that the captain killed that man because he was protecting me? He's not going to get in trouble for doing it?" Neo asked. "He's not going to be taken away?"

            "Of course he's not." Penguin reassured her. He then leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. She stiffened against his touch, but didn't pull away. "The captain is going to remain right here, right by your side. Do you understand now?" He pulled back to look at her. He tilted his head at the confused expression she had.

            Neo nodded as she raised her fingers to touch her forehead. "What...what was that? What did you just do?"

            "That was a kiss," Penguin replied. "Sorry, I forgot you've never had one before. Did I scare you?"

            "A little bit," Neo replied honestly. "But, it's okay. It didn't hurt. And I…I'm fine with it."

            "That's good to hear." Penguin smiled. "Are you going to be all right now with the captain? It's really bothering him that you're distant from him. You should talk to him."

            Neo held his eye contact for a while before letting her eyes drop back down to the book. “I think I’ll be fine. I don’t know.”

            “That’s okay,” Penguin replied. “Just think about it. The captain still cares about you.”

            They remained in the rec. room for another hour before finally putting their books up and wondering out onto the deck. Not having run into any crewmates on their way out here, Penguin still wasn't sure where the captain was. Looking out at the beach he saw why they didn’t run into any of his crewmates. They had all left the sub and were around the fire or sparring near the fire. And Law still wasn’t among them.

            The two walked over to the ladder. Penguin grabbed the railing. "Let me go first. I want to be able to catch you if you fall."

            "Okay." Neo waited patiently as Penguin started to descend down the ladder before following him.

            "Careful now, Neo. Just take it one step at a time. I'm here if you need me," Penguin coached as they climbed down the ladder. Once on the ground, he led her over to the fire where they were meet by the soft strumming of Conner’s guitar playing. When they got over there Archer was placing more wood on the fire since it needed to be stoked from having been put out last night since they slept in the sub last night.

            "Hey, how are you feeling, Neo?" Archer asked.

            "I'm fine," she replied with a small smile as she sat down on the log. No one spoke for a few minutes after that. They just sat there listening to the fire snap and crackle to life and the soft song coming from Conner’s playing. Then Neo asked, "What is the captain's powers? What can he do with them?"

            Conner momentarily paused his song before continuing it.

            Archer opened his mouth to answer, but Penguin cut him off. "I think he'd like to tell you that himself. Why don't you ask him about them? Would you be comfortable doing that? He won't mind you asking him at all."

            Neo parted her lips to answer him but stopped when Law's Room appeared quickly followed by the obviously panicked captain. She gulped when his panicked eyes landed on her.

            Law sighed upon seeing her, his body relaxing.

            "Oh, sorry, Captain," Penguin said. He bonked himself on the head for being inconsiderate of how his captain would have felt when he didn't find Neo on the sub where she should have been. "I should have told you I was bring her out here."

            "No, it's fine." Law's hat dropped over his eyes. He shoved his sword free hand into his pocket in an attempt to recover his composure. "You all know she has permission to leave the sub as long as she's with someone."

            The crew refrained from speaking as they watched their captain walk away from Neo and sat down against a log. His hat remained over his eyes so no one knew where exactly he was looking but they were pretty sure he was keeping a close eye on Neo. The crew darted their eyes between Neo and Law several times before their eyes then when to Penguin. He smiled at them and mouthed his reply, _"_ Everything will be fine. Let her go to him at her own pace."

            They nodded in understanding and made themselves scarce. Once the fire was going good again, Archer also wondered off to give the two space by saying he was going to gather some more wood for the fire. Even Penguin wondered off at one point when he knew Neo would be fine being alone with their captain again, but stayed close so he could keep an eye on both of them.

            With only the fire now between them, Neo fiddled with her shirttail while her eyes flittered back and forth between it and Law. Penguin’s words spun around in her head. She wanted to speak to the captain, but had no idea how to do so. After sitting there for thirty minutes, rubbing her shoulder gently when it started hurting, she found herself standing up.

…

            Law was staring blankly into the fire between his glances over at Neo. His mind spinning with thoughts and ideas to how he could correct his current issue with Neo while his hand wondered up to his left shoulder. He rubbed it a couple times before pausing as he sensed Neo standing beside him.

            "C-Captain?" Neo's timid voice broke into his ears. He looked up at her, holding back his surprise that she was talking to him. She lowered her eyes to the ground, tugging on her shirttail. "W-would it be all right if I asked you something?"

            "Yes, that would be okay," Law said carefully.

            "I…" She paused and twisted her barefoot in the dirt. After swallowing she continued. "I was…wondering about…about your powers."

            "What about them?"

            "Will you show them to me?" Neo brought her eyes up to his at that point. She only held his gaze for a few seconds before dropping her eyes back down. "Y-you don't have to if you don't want to. I was…I was just...curious."

            "Sit."

            Neo looked at him before obeying his command. She knelt down then sat on her legs as she bent them under her. Placing her hand in her lap, she obediently waited for him to show her.

            Law looked at her before looking around. Using his abilities on the crew was out of the question. He knew it would scare her seeing them divided and he didn’t need her to be any more scared of him than she was right now. His eyes dropped to a rock nearby beside him. He picked it up between his fingers. "Room."

            Neo's eyes wondered around the small blue bubble that appeared around them.

            Law noticed a small amount of fear in her eyes, but there was also curiosity. "Shambles."

            Neo eyes widened when the rock disappeared and was replaced with an orange primrose flower she had created along with the majority of the flora that now resided on this island. She watched intently as Law, using his finger like a knife, divided up the flower, arranged it incorrectly then put it back in the right shape. She slowly reached out to it. The tip of her finger tapped against the flower, testing it to see if it would fall apart. It didn’t. "Is…is that all you can do? Take things apart and rearrange them then put them back?"

            "No…there is more I can do." Law twirled the stem between his fingers. "But I think that's enough for today. I'll show you the rest some other time, okay? When you're better prepared for it."

            "Yes, sir." Neo lightly nodded. "Thank you, for showing me."

            There was an intense pause between them while Law continued to twirl the flower before he finally spoke to her again. "Neo, I really didn't mean to scare you yesterday. I wasn't angry with _you_. I was angry at _them_ for taking you and hurting you."

            "I-it's okay," she squeaked, dropping her eyes to her lap. "I know you weren't going to hurt me. I was scared because you were so different. And…I was scared that you were going to be taken away…but Penguin explained to me that you only killed that man to protect me and no one can take you away because of that."

            Law's eyes widened at her confession. He never thought about her being scared of him being taken away. He looked over at Penguin and raised an eyebrow to the man. Penguin returned a huge grin to him as well as a peace sign. He then turned his eyes back to Neo as she raised her fingers to her forehead.

            She said, "He also kissed me here. He said you trust him with me and that's why he can touch me."

            "I see." Law muttered. He shot a harsh glare at Penguin for doing such an intimate gesture to her.

…

            Penguin was confused at the glare before noticing Neo touching her forehead. The color drained from his face when he realized she had told Law about the kiss. He chuckled nervously while waving at Law before dashing off in fear for his life.

…

            "You won't hurt him because he kiss me, right?" Neo asked, even though she didn't seem him glaring at Penguin. "He said you wouldn’t."

            Law sighed and turned his eyes back to her. Like so many times she was giving him a worried look. He reached out and stuck the stem of the flower in her hair. He then took a strained of her hair in between his fingers, noting again how soft it was. He also noted the uncertainty in her eyes, but didn't say anything about it. "I won't hurt him for kissing you. I do trust him with you. I trust the entire crew with you. And I promise I won't scare you like that again. Okay?"

            "Okay." Neo nodded. "I trust you too."

            Law's eyes widened as his heart took an excited and unexpected jolt in his chest. He wasn't expecting her to say that. He wasn't even sure if she realized she had said it, but he did see the sincerity in her eyes. She meant it. She really did trust him completely. He didn't say anything else as she shifted her position to sit beside him. Glad that she was close to him again he chose to just sit there quietly and steal glances at her.

            About forty minutes after that a couple crewmates began to migrate back over to the fire. Law continued to watch her closely while his crew chattered amongst themselves. Soon he saw that she was on the verge of falling asleep. Her eyelids kept fluttering closed and her head bobbed a couple of times. Eventually, her head drifted down to his shoulder. His heartbeat increased from being so intimately close to her like this. He could feel heat rising to his face and did his best to keep it at bay. Glancing at his crew he could see that they were desperately trying to hold back their snickers.

            Bepo wondered over at that point. He bent down, placing his elbows on his knees, he rested his chin in his paws with a smile. "Ah, she fell asleep. She’s so cute."

            "She must be tired after everything that’s happened," Penguin said, apparently feeling it was safe to rejoining them now. He kneeled down and inspected Neo. He smiled at how innocent she looked while sleeping. "I'm glad you two have finally made up."

            The crew couldn't hold their chuckles in anymore. They snickered as their captain's cheeks burned.

            "Hn." Law growled and gave them a disapproving frown. Lucky for them Neo was right there, keeping the captain's fury at bay.

            "Hey! What's going on?" Shachi asked as he and the rest of the crew rushed over to the fire.

            "Is Neo all right?"

            "Is she napping? She's never napped before."

            "She's not getting sick, is she?"

            "I think she's just worn out from yesterday's events. I think we all are a bit worn out," Penguin answered. He then smirked at Law, easily seeing that the man was tired himself. "I think some of us haven't gotten much sleep since then. Isn't that right, _Captain_?"

            The crew snickered again.

            "All of you shut up. I _won't_ be happy if you wake her up." Law glared at them.

            "Aye aye, Captain," they all whispered with grins.

            “Actually, she has taken naps before,” Law then said. “But it’s only been at certain points in time.”

            “Certain points in time?” Bepo asked.

            “I didn’t notice it before, but the only times she has taken a nap is when she’s been under a lot of stress,” Law said. “She fell asleep now because she’s been stressed out over me being taken away from her and from seeing my anger for the first time, she was stressed out when she had been taken by those mercenaries, she was stressed when she first used her earth crystal…”

            “I guess that would explain why she slept a lot when she first came to live with us,” Penguin said.

            “Now that you mention it, she did sleep a lot back then,” Archer said. “It only stopped when she got use to being around us. Well, it stopped until she got stressed again.”

            “So we all need to keep an eye on her stress level from now on,” Law said. “It’s still going to be a while before she’s integrated back into society, but when that happens I want you all to make sure she’s never left alone.”

            “You got it, Captain,” Archer said.

            “We already do that anyway,” Conner said while he sat down and started playing his guitar again.

…

            "How is your shoulder feeling?" Law asked.

            "It's still a little sore," Neo replied, rubbing her upper left arm gently.

            Law nodded. "Sorry I can't make the pain go away completely."

            "It's okay," Neo said, adjusting the sling strap. "I know pain is just a part of life."

            Law nodded again as he watched her. She was sitting beside him like always, but her attention was on the crew as they set up targets for her. It had been three days since she was taken away by those mercenaries. Even thought he really didn't want her to start training again and put stress on herself, he knew she needed to continue with her training now. He didn't want her to do anything physical yet, but decided it would be okay for her to work on her crystals again. So he ordered his engineers to build and to set up some targets for her to work on her sniper skills. He placed his hand on her head and stroked her hair, regaining her attention. "Are you all right with this?"

            "Yes." Neo nodded with a light smile. "I'm fine. I'm still with you after all."

            A smile spread across Law's lips when she said that. His eyes drifted to his hand on her hair, his heart skittered. These past few days he found that he wanted to touch her hair more. And found himself doing it on occasion without thinking about it. It was just so soft to the touch. Just like a flower's pedal. He never noticed it felt like that before. "Yes, you are still with me."

            "Hey, Neo!" Bepo's voice broke between the two. Law quickly pulled his hand away at that point and mumbled something under his breath while his hat casted shadows over his eyes.

            "Yes?" Neo inquired.

            "Oh, Captain, the targets are set up," Bepo reported while struggling to stop his smile. "So whenever she's ready to start, we can."

            Neo looked at their captain.

            Law nodded. "You can go. Just stay in my sight. Do you understand me?"

            "I do." Neo stood up and followed after Bepo leaving Law with his thoughts.

            Law didn't like that she was leaving his side, but she was still going to be in his sight and she was with the crew. He's barely left her side since she started talking to him again. When he did have to leave her, he made sure that at least one of his crew would remain strictly by her side until he could return to her. He watched her carefully from underneath his hat. Eventually his eyes dropped down to his hand. His mind wondering back to how her hair felt. When he felt the desire, once again, to touch her hair his heartbeat sped up. It was becoming increasingly hard for him to deny his feelings. He rubbed the back of his neck and scolded himself. "Stupid...it's _not_ possible."

            "What's not possible, Captain?" Penguin's voice said, making him jump.

            Law frowned at the intruding man.

            Penguin bit back a smile, already guess what his captain was talking about. "It's not often someone catches _you_ off guard. Is anything wrong?"

            "No, nothings wrong." Law just about hissed. "Was there something you wanted?"

            "I was just curious about the powder Neo had on her face," Penguin answered. "Did you ever figure out the type of plant it came from?"

            "No." Law frowned deeper at his lack of knowledge on the issue that caused Neo such problems. "I'm a bit glad that we now know that she can't use her crystals when disoriented. We know that is a weakness before she gets pulled into a fight with us. But I _don't_ like that I don't know what plant it came from. For all I know anyone can get their hands on this plant and use it against her."

            "So probably something exotic then?" Penguin asked.

            "Probably." Law sighed.

            "Do you think they'll come back for her? And what about those people who hired them?" Penguin hesitantly asked.

            "I don't believe those mercenaries will try to take her again considering I killed their boss." Law struggled to not get angry with them again. He failed. He clenched his fists and was glad Neo wasn’t near him at the moment. "As for the people who hired them…if they tried once to hurt her, surely they'll try it again."

            "But _who_ hired them? And why?" Penguin wondered. "Is it possible that one person, who survived on the island she destroyed, is the one coming after her for revenge? Or is it possible it's someone else she knows or someone who knows her? Maybe its someone who has seen her using her crystals before and think they can use her for whatever reason?"

            "We don't have enough information to attempt an answers for those questions." Law huffed. "All we can do is keep her close and keep a close eye on our surroundings. Whoever came after her most likely won't try it again any time soon, especially if they know or realize who I am. We'll just make sure she's with us at all times from now on. I won’t allow her to go off on her own again like that. Someone will always be by her side."

            "Good plan, Captain," Penguin said. The two went quiet for a while after that as their attention turned to Neo’s sniper training. He couldn’t help but also take a few glances at his captain to find the man was keeping a very close eye on the young woman. Unable to contain himself, he said, "She is rather cute, isn't she?"

            Law's hat fell over his eyes. A deep frown was settling upon his features accompanied by a light blush on his cheeks, but that didn't intimidate or stop his subordinate.

            "And she's very sweet too. I bet it won't be long before she finally warms up to the world around her," Penguin added.

           Law twitched.

            Penguin bit his lip before continuing. "Without doubt she'll have a lot of guys wanting to flirt with her, wanting to date her. And then one day she'll take an interest in one of those guys. Hm…I'm not so sure I'll like that. But still, she won't remain this shy, scared little girl forever."

            Law growled. "Penguin?"

            "Aye, Captain?" Penguin collapsed his hands behind his back while trying to look as innocent as he possible could.

            "Go do a perimeter sweep! And spread these orders throughout the crew!" Law hissed, causing the crew and Neo to look over at him. "Every half hour someone is to do a perimeter sweep around the island! I don't want anyone else landing while we're here!"

            "Aye aye, Captain!" Penguin jumped and ran towards the rest of the crew with a huge goofy smile on his face.

            "What was that about?" Neo asked when Penguin came closer to her. "Why was the captain yelling?"

            "Nothing, nothing." Penguin chuckled. He pecked Neo's cheek then sent Law a sneaky grin, causing the captain to fume in place.

            "You really shouldn't tease the captain like that," Bepo said while giving Penguin a disapproving stare.

            Penguin just laughed and shrugged. He knew the captain wouldn't hurt him, especially with Neo close by.

            "And _you're_ the one who said we shouldn't try and set them up," Conner said while shaking his head. “Hypocrite.”

            "Tease? Set up?" Neo asked. "Why would Penguin tease the captain? What would you tease him about? And set up what?" Upon the crewmates laughing, she frowned and asked, "What? What did I say?"

            "You are just soooo cute!" Shachi squealed with rosy cheeks.

            "Don't worry about it, sweetie. We’re just having a little fun with the captain." Penguin ruffled her hair then continued to carry out his orders.

            "Where are you going, Penguin?" Neo inquired.

            "Don't worry. I'm just going for a little walk around the island." Penguin smiled. "I'll be back soon. You continue working on those sniper skills of yours."

            "I don't understand," Neo said. She turned her eyes to the remaining crewmembers around her. They just exchanged grins with each other. She huffed at their lack of answering her.

            "Let's get back to work before the captain yells at us for slacking off," Bepo said.

            Neo turned her eyes to Law. The man shifted when she looked at him, but he didn't say anything.

            "Neo?" Bepo said.

            "Right." Neo pulled her eyes from Law. She turned and faced the wooden targets the crew had set out for her. A few had painted targets on them while others had bottles sitting on top of them. She formed one of each of her crystals and started to fire at them.

            After about forty-five minutes of stationary targets, the crew had her move on to moving ones. They had picked out different targets, such as bottles and rocks, for each element. She was to quickly determine which object they threw and hit it with the predetermined element.

            When Penguin had returned from his perimeter sweep, he whispered the captain's orders to a couple crewmates. They began to spread the orders as Penguin walked over to her. "Good job, Neo. Let's move on to more harder targets now."

            Neo nodded.

            The next training segment consisted of the crew running around, doing acrobatic movements to try and avoid getting hit by Neo. Conner said, “Okay, for now you should just shoot straight at us. Controlling the elements to curve and hit us will be too easy. We can do that later.”

            “Okay.” Neo nodded. Once the crew started running around doing their acrobatic movements, she tried not to get distracted from her awe of them. Some of the moves she recognized from watching them spar but a lot of them were unfamiliar to her. Shaking her head, she started firing her water and wind crystals at him, only tagging them a little if she managed to hit them at all. They proved to be a lot faster than she was. She huffed in annoyance.

            “Don’t get discouraged,” Conner said. “Trying this. Aim your ammo a little bit in front of your prey before firing.”

            “Okay.” Neo tilted her head. “I’ll try.”

…

            Law shifted his position against the log as he continued to watch his crew the entire day without joining them. He noticed at times she was getting frustrated for not being able to achieve the goals she was suppose to. But that would quickly fade when the crew gave her tips on how to fix what she was doing wrong. Watching her improve right before his eyes made him wonder if she would ever be able to face up to him. With her control over the elements, he knew she could easily over take him. But her gentleness wouldn’t allow it. He knew she would never raise her crystals or her hand to him or the crew. He didn't want to fight her anyway. He knew he wouldn't be able to even if he did want to. He never wanted to hurt her. Fighting against her was taboo. It would be impossible for him to touch her like that.

            The only way he wanted to touch her was gently. The thought caused the desire of touching her hair jumped back into his mind. His heart fluttered in his chest at the thought of touching her soft tresses yet again. Law growled at himself. "Not this again...there's no way I have fe-"

            "That was so much fun," Archer said.

            Law cut his own voice off when the crew wondered back over. He didn't even realize the sun was setting. It was already half way below the horizon.

            "Something wrong, Captain?" Bepo asked. "You looked a bit flustered."

            "Nothing's wrong," Law replied. He frowned when the crew chuckled. He shot them a glare to silence them.

            "You all are acting silly again," Neo noted. Her eyebrows were turned up as she looked at them individually.

            "Don't worry about it." Penguin grabbed her shoulders, careful to be mindful of her injured one, and guided her over to their captain. "We're just hungry and tired. I'm sure you are too. Why don't you sit here by the captain and rest?"

            "But I haven't done much today," Neo protested as Penguin practically shoved her down next to Law.

            Law had to use all of his strength not to react when their shoulders touched.

            "You all are the ones who got the work out," Neo said.

            "And we're grateful for it." Shachi nodded. "We have to train as well. You're helping us get stronger."

            "I am?" Neo tilted her head.

            "You are." Penguin nodded. "So just relax now. We'll have supper ready in no time."

            "All right," Neo blinked a few times, "if you insist."

            "Trust us! We insist!" the entire crew shouted then laughed.

            "Are they okay, Captain?" When Neo looked at Law, he flinched.

            "Just ignore them," Law grumbled. "They're just being _dangerously stupid_."

…

            Law carefully scanned his eyes over the moon and fire lit surrounding area. One of his subordinates took off a few minutes ago to do a perimeter sweep. The crunching sounds of his footsteps quickly faded away leaving only the ocean, the creaking of the ship bouncing on the waves, crickets, snoring crewmembers, and the crackling of their fire as the only sounds. His eyes then scanned over his crew. He noticed they were sleeping closer to Neo since she had been taken. They all had been physically closer to her since that event.

            His eyes dropped down to her.

            Her right arm was bent up where her hand was near her head while her left arm was draped over her stomach still in the sling. He also noticed she wasn't cocooning herself so tightly in her blanket either. He watched her sleep peacefully until her face twisted up like it always did when she had a nightmare. Not wanting her to be woke up by the nightmare Law placed his hand on her head and whispered softly to her. "You're all right, Neo. I'm right here. You're safe. Nothing's going to hurt you."

            When Neo settled back down Law dropped his hand to her shirt. He unbuttoned two of the buttons then carefully pulled the shirt aside. Her wound was already healing rapidly like the cut she did herself on her stomach. It was over half healed in just a couple of days. He buttoned her shirt back up just before she rolled onto her right side. The movement of rolling over caused some of her hair to fall over her face.

            He lightly dragged his fingertips over her soft skin before tucking her hair behind her ear. A light smile, accompanied by a soft sigh, graced her features as she whispered his name in her sleep. "Law…"

            An entire flock of hummingbirds suddenly appeared inside of his chest upon hearing his name on her lips. Mindlessly, he dropped his hand and started tracing her lips for several seconds until a sharp snore of someone’s snapped him back to reality. He pulled his hand back and rubbed his neck. Grumbling to himself, he said, “What the heck am I doing? There can be no possible way I'm falling for this girl. She's just a child.”

            Law's eyes widened when a very clear image of Corazon popped into his memory. It was the memory right before the man was killed. Corazon had placed Law in that trunk of treasure. When young Law looked at him, the man had a huge, goofy, stupid grin on his face and said three certain words with much affection and sincerity. "I love you!"

            Law pulled his hand from his neck. He rubbed his face with a heavy sigh. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, speaking to Corazon as if the man was right beside him, he said, "Dang it, Cora. I'm not _falling_ for her at all, am I? I've already _fallen_ for her."

            Law sighed again and opened his eyes to the stars above him. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say _you_ somehow planned this. Fine. You win. I admit it. My desire to protect her has _nothing_ to do with me currently being her captain. I _want_ to protect her because I have feelings for her and not brotherly or captain feelings. They are of a man. My feelings are romantic. I want her to be happy because she's had such a hard life. And I _will_ make her happy. I _will_ give her a happy life now. I _will_ make that happen. I _will_ protect her for the rest of my days. You gave me my life, I'll give her hers. I promise."

…

            "I knew it! She's officially part of our crew!" Shachi whispered to Penguin with a huge grin on his lips.

            "I think it's been that way for a while now. The captain just doesn't want to admit it to us." Penguin snickered quietly. "I bet it'll still be a while before the captain's ready to admit his feelings for her to us and that she's an official member of our crew. So don't push it."

            "You two will never know the answer to that if the captain catches you awake," Bepo mumbled with his eyes still closed.

            "You were ease dropping too!" Shachi and Penguin hissed quietly.

            "I'm sorry," Bepo muttered with a frown.

            Shachi and Penguin sighed then closed their eyes. They knew Law wouldn't hurt them with Neo around, but it was best for them not to push their luck.


	18. Family

Family

 

            Neo softly hummed to herself as her eyes continued to land curiously on the captain. Like always he was sitting beside her near the warm fire with his hat down over his eyes. And he was holding so still this time. She couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep. With as relaxed as his body was, she assumed that he was sleeping. Over the passed couple of days, she couldn’t help but noticed that he was sleeping a lot more during the day. Glancing around at the crew, she wondered if they noticed it as well.

            "Something wrong, Neo?" Shachi inquired.

            "No, nothing's wrong." Neo turned her eyes to him. She twitched when he gave her a smirk that told her he wasn't buying it. "Well, it's jus-" She cut her own voice off and looked at the sky.

            Shachi followed her gaze to the graying skies above. "What is it?"

            "There’s a storm coming." Neo pushed herself up to her feet. Before anything else could be said, the wind picked up in a hurry. It was strong enough to knock her off her balance. A startled squeak rushed out of her as she snapped her eyes shut, expecting to hit the ground instead of the soft yet strong, body tensing, hands that she landed into.

            "Looks like we're going to have to work more on your balance and sneak attacks." Law's voice was filled with humor when he spoke.

            "S-sorry." Neo peaked up at him. Her cheeks burned at the sight of his smirk and twinkling eyes. "I'm going to have to work on sensing the weather changes too."

            "True," Law said, keeping a hold on her. "But, I've already told you, there hasn't been much weather changing since we got to this island. There's plenty of time to work on that later when the weather is more favorable for such training."

            "Yes sir." Neo nodded. She expected him to release her. He didn't. He continued to hold her and inspect her with his eyes. While he held her, she noticed something different about him. But she couldn't figure out exactly what it was. She then felt her chest get tight. She opened her mouth to say something, but her voice seemed to have disappeared. She flinched when he noticed and smirked harder at her inability to speak.

            Another gust of wind blew Law's hat off. With striking speed, Neo's right hand automatically shot out and grabbed his hat.

            He tilted his head. "Hm, I never expected you to have such fast reflexes."

            "I-I just did it." She looked down at his hat. The soft fabric against her skin suggested that he took very good care of it. "I didn't think about it at all."

            "Your instincts and reflexes are developing," Law explained. "This is a very good sign."

            "Really?" Neo inquired, her eyes roaming over his face.

            Law lightly nodded, not breaking his eye contact on her. He remained quiet when he noticed Neo was looking him over for something. He figured out what she was looking for, the reason to why he had been napping a lot lately. He slipped his hat out of her fingers and placed it on her head. Teasing gently, he said, "And why are you staring at me like that, little girl?"

            "N-nothing." Neo swallowed. "You just…there's something different about you."

            Law tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

            "I'm not sure," Neo replied, continuing to run her concern eyes over his features. He remained patient and quiet as she raised her hand and lightly touched her fingertips to the corner of his eye. She softly dragged her fingers up to his hair. His eyelids closed halfway as she continued to lightly move her fingers through his wild mane. His eyes fell half closed like he was falling into a trance by her touch.

            "Are you two going to sit there and flirt all day with a storm coming?"

            Both Neo and Law flinched when the world around them came back into focus. It was Shachi who spoke. He, along with his crewmates, but for Penguin who had disappeared into the sub a while ago, was snickering at the couple getting lost in their own little world.

            "Flirt?" Neo asked softly. No one heard her over the howling wind and a boom of thunder in the distance.

            Law frowned as he helped Neo lift off of him. "Grab everything and get on the sub all ready. Neo, you come with me."

            "Aye aye, Captain!" The crew chuckled.

            Standing up, Law grumbled to himself as he took Neo's hand and led her back to the sub. Once close enough, he warped them onto the deck, and they walked in together. Just as they stepped inside of the door, he released her hand and disappeared up to the medical bay. Neo watched him go before turning and watching the crew rushed around to gather up their blankets and stuff before rushing onto the ship. They made it just before the skies opened and the rain poured down. From the open door she could feel the warm rain misting on her skin before Bepo pulled the door closed. Thunder boomed outside, muffled by the door. Though she couldn’t see it she could feel the lightning racing through the sky. The waves started rocking the ship, causing them to stumble a bit.

            "That was close. We almost got drenched," Conner said. "Good thing you sensed it, Neo."

            "So what kind of storm are we in for?" Archer questioned. All of their eyes looked to Neo for the answer.

            "Oh, um." Neo concentrated on the weather outside. "I don't think it's going to be a very bad one. It seems to have calmed down already. I think it's just one of those types of storms that quickly show up then disappear."

            "A pop up storm," Penguin informed her as he rejoined them from wherever he was.

            She nodded. "Hey, Penguin?"

            "What is it?"

            "What does flirt mean?" Neo slightly pouted when the entire crew snickered again. "What? What did I say?"

            "Nothing." Penguin cleared his throat. "Why do you asked?"

            "Well, Shachi said the captain and I were flirt before we came in here." Neo looked at Shachi, as did Penguin. Shachi was wearing a huge grin on his face.

            "Shachi!" Penguin tried to scold. He couldn't. His own bright smile wouldn't allow it. They just loved her innocence too much.

            "What's so funny?" Neo asked with her lips still pulled down in a pout. “I don’t understand.”

            "Oh!" Shachi squealed excitingly. He put his arms around her and rubbing his cheek on hers. His hair tickled her cheek, making her giggle. "Your innocence is just too cute!"

            "What do you mean?" Neo asked again. "What was so funny before?"

            "It's not important right now. And the correct wording would be, 'The captain and I were _flirting_ '," Penguin corrected her as he patted her head. She frowned at his lack of answering her question. "Don't worry about it."

            Law's throat clearing made them jump.

            Neo turned her eyes to the tall man beside her while the boys took a few steps away from them.

            "Neo, I want you to take a shower now," Law said.

            "Yes, sir." Neo tossed one last look at the crew before walking towards the stairs to carry out her order. She disappeared down the stairs, not hearing what Law had to say to his crew, if anything.

            Law shot his crew a disapproving glare before following after her. He met her halfway down the stairs. "Also, I believe your shoulder is healed enough," he said casually. "If you don't want to wear the sling, you don't have to. You really need to start working it a little bit now."

            "Oh, okay." Neo looked down at the sling. Her shoulder wasn’t hurt as much. Hopefully it would stop all together soon.

            When they finally reached the door to his room, Law opened it for her and allowed her to go inside first. He flipped on the lights. He watched her carefully while she rushed to grab her a clean pair of clothes before hurrying into the bathroom. He was about to sitting down at his desk when she walked back over to him. "Is something wrong?"

            "Uh, I forgot to give you your hat back." Neo held out his hat to him.

            "Right." Law took his hat back from her. He didn't immediately put it on though. He looked at it then looked at her. She was studying him again. He placed his hat on his head then placed his hand on her head with a light chuckle. "You better get your shower done. Do you need help removing your shirt?"

            "No, sir. I think I can take it off myself," Neo said. “It doesn’t hurt as much as it did before.”

            “All right then.” Law kept his eyes on her as she walked back over to his bathroom. She gave him another glance before closing the door. Once she had the door closed, he sat down at his desk, crossed his arms, lowered his chin, and closed his eyes with a relaxing sigh while ignoring the slight pain flickering through his shoulder.

…

            Neo winced lightly when she took her shirt off. While her injury was healing, it still hurt some when she moved her arm in certain directions. She thought about Law's words on having to not wear the sling if she didn't want to. It was limiting to her in what she could do. She wanted it to be gone. She finished disrobing then climbed in the shower. Letting her eyes drift closed, she enjoyed the hot water rushing over her body for a minute before reaching for the shampoo.

            Neo winced again when she reached up to ring the water out of her hair before stepping out of the shower. She grabbed her clothes, which consisted of a pair of jeans and a shirt where the body was white while the neck and shoulders were a dark blue, and slipped them on before stepping out of the bathroom. She tilted her head when her eyes landed on Law. He had his feet propped up on his desk, his arms crossed, and his hat down low over his eyes.

            She didn't say anything. She just walked over to his bed and sat down. She grabbed her brush from his nightstand and ran it through her damp hair. While stroking her blue locks with the bristles, her eyes kept going to the man in the room. He hadn't moved since she came out of the shower.

            Once she was done with her hair, she rolled the brush in her fingers before putting it down. She then stood up and walked over to him. "Captain?"

            She bent over to peak under his hat when he didn't answer or move. He was asleep. She pulled back from him completely clueless on what to do now.

            "Lami…stop that. You're going to get hurt."

            "Lami?" Neo tilted her head when the captain spoke in his sleep. The name was unfamiliar to her. No one by that name was on the sub. She looked over to his door, wondering if she should go get someone. But she didn’t. Instead she found herself turning back around and reached for him again. Just as her fingers were about to touch his shoulder, his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. She tensed and squeaked. "I'm sorry."

            "Neo?" Law questioned. She looked at him. He seemed dazed. He released her hand and rubbed his face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to grab you like that. You just startled me."

            "I'm sorry," Neo repeated, ducking her head. “I…I didn’t mean to.”

            "Don't be. It was my fault." Law stood up and shoved his hands in his pocket. He paused when he noticed Neo rubbing her hands on her arms. "Are you cold?"

            "A little bit," Neo replied honestly.

            Law walked over to his closet. He pulled out one of his dark blue hoodies then handed it to her. "Do you need help putting it on?"

            "No, sir. Um, thank you," Neo said, pressing the hoodie to her chest.

            "Don't mention it." Law waved his hand. He grabbed his sword and headed for the door. "I don't want you to get sick. Since it's raining right now, why don't you work on your reading and writing for a while?"

            "Yes, sir." Neo slipped the hoodie over her head. She paused when his scent engulfed her nose. Her chest tightened, her heart fluttering. She flinched when she noticed he was watching her from over his shoulder with a playful smirk. She pushed her arms into the sleeves and followed after him. "Would it be all right if I got a snack before starting?"

            "Of course it's fine." Law nodded. "I have some things I need to take care of. Remain in the sub until we all go back to the island."

            "Yes, sir, I will." Neo nodded.

            Law watched her enter into the galley before walking away from her.

…

            Neo grabbed herself what was becoming her favorite snack, some cheese, crackers, and a cup of lightly sweeten tea, before making her way to the rec. room. No one was there. She figured the crew was busy with orders so she pulled her supplies from the bookshelf and settled at the table to start writing.

            After a while, she got bored with doing that exercise. She finished off her tea then grabbed herself a book before curling up in the corner of the couch. A few minutes after that, Archer had wondered into the room. She glanced up momentary before looking back at her book. He sat down near her and placed his arms on the back of the couch. He tilted his head and noticed she was wearing Law's hoodie. "Wearing the captain's clothes again, huh?"

            "Is that a bad thing?" Neo pulled her eyes from her book with a slightly worried expression. "I was cold. He told me to wear it so I wouldn't get sick."

            "No, it's not a bad thing." He chuckled. "It's a good thing."

            "How so?" She tilted her head with curious eyes.

            "It's kinda hard to explain. But, trust me, it's a _very_ good thing," he said.

            When he didn't say anything else, Neo let her eyes dropped down to her book. She read for about thirty minutes more before noticing he had pulled out a letter and was reading it with a frown on his lips.

            "Is something wrong?" she inquired.

            "Sort of," Archer replied with a sigh. "I got this letter a while back from a friend of mine I happened to run into. My sister is planning on marrying this jerk. It's got my family all upset."

            "Oh," Neo said, not knowing what else she should say. "Are you going home?"

            "Naw." He folded up the letter and shoved it back into his pocket. "There's no point. My sister has always been head strong."

            "Head strong?" Neo asked.

            "Determined to have her way," Archer explained. "It won't matter who tells her that that guy she's wanting to marry is a jerk, she'll do it anyway."

            "I see. Would you tell me more about your family?" Neo asked.

            Archer gave her a curious look. He was slightly stunned she was talking so openly with him. He knew he shouldn't have been surprised. She had been more open with them since they started training with her.

            "Oh, well, I don't really know that much about everyone’s families. I'm just…curious. Is that all right?" Neo said.

            "Sure it's all right." Archer smiled then thought about his family. "Let's see…where would be a good place to start?"

            Neo closed her book and pulled her feet up on the couch. She waited patiently for him to start talking.

            "Well…I guess I could start with my parents,” Archer said. “They are very nice. They did everything they could to provide us with a good home. We didn’t have much, but we had what we needed to survive. They own a garden and sell their produce to the islanders. My dad was also interested in submarines. He learned how to fix them. He taught me how to fix them as well, but I prefer driving them. That’s why you find me often in the control room. The captain took an interest in my submarine skills and here I am.”

            “I see.” Neo thought back to the few times she had wondered into the control room. He was always in there. “So how many sisters do you have?”

            “Well, I have three sisters and two brothers,” Archer said. “My sisters are older than me and my brothers are younger than me.”

            “Did they want to be pirates too?” Neo asked.

            “No, they have normal jobs,” Archer said before chuckling. “I ended up the black sheep of the family.”

            “Black sheep?” Neo asked.

            “It means I’m the odd one out,” Archer said. “My other siblings got normal jobs like farming, sewing, one’s a dentist, and one of my sister teaches piano. I was the only one who was fascinated by pirates. When the captain offered me a place on his crew, I jumped on it fast.”

…

            "Hm?" Penguin blinked when he heard the some crewmates laughing from the rec. room. He walked over and stepped inside the room to find some fellow crewmates sitting around with Neo. One was sitting on the couch with her, while one was sitting in one of the chairs and two were sitting on the floor. They all were laughing at the mental picture their crewmate was supplying with his story. Even Neo had a soft bell chiming chuckle on her lips.

            Conner was the one who was speaking. He was sitting backwards in the chair and had his arms resting over the back of it. "We weren't suppose to be playing rough in the house. Man, our dad was so furious about us breaking our great aunt's priceless tea urn that he ordered me and my brother outside to pick out a stick for our whooping. So we spend the next two hours outside picking up sticks and whacking each other with it to see which one would hurt less."

            Penguin leaned against the frame of the door. He crossed his arms and listened with a smile. He's heard this story a couple times before. It always made him chuckle.

            "Eventually, we took our dad the smallest stick we could fine," Conner said.

            "So what happened?" Neo asked.

            "Nothing. We were so bruised up that our dad didn't carry through with his punishment," he replied. "He just threatened us to never play rough in the house again and let us go."

            "That's hilarious! I just love this story!" A crewmate laughed.

            “Yeah! It never gets old!”

            “You see to always have been the rough type,” Neo said.

            “I guess so,” Conner said. “My grandpa was a retired pirate. He never made a name for himself, but that didn’t stop him from doing anything that he wanted. And he was sure to pass hard lessons down to my brother and me. He was also the one who encouraged me to become an engineer. It kept me busy and out of trouble a lot of the time.”

            "Having fun, I see," Penguin said, making his presence known. He walked over and looked at Neo.

            "They're telling me about their families." Neo smiled.

            "I see." Penguin nodded. He eyed the hoodie she was wearing. His crewmates caught the stare and snickered.

            "Captain told her to wear it." One of them answered Penguin's silent question.

            "I was cold. He doesn't want me to get sick," Neo added.

            "Uh huh." Penguin nodded with a smile.

            "Why don't you join us, Pen?" Archer asked. He shifted over to give him more space to sit beside Neo.

            Penguin walked over and gladly sat down beside her.

            "What about the captain's family?" Neo suddenly asked. The crew froze before exchanging looks. "What? What's wrong? Doesn't the captain talk about his family?"

            "Not really," one of the crewmates on the floor replied. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Penguin.

            "The captain doesn't really like to talk about his family," Penguin said carefully.

            "Then you don't know anything about his family?" Neo asked.

            "Well, sort of," they all mumbled and shifted nervously.

            She looked at them, unsure of why the atmosphere in the room changed.

            "Neo, if you really want to know about the captain's family, it would be best if you asked him directly," Penguin said, regaining her attention. "We know about the captain's past, but he doesn’t want us spreading it around."

            “Oh. I see.” Neo let her eyes dropped to her book. She fingered the cover then the hoodie.

            Penguin spoke up again when he noticed worry etching on her expression. "What's wrong, Neo? You seem concerned about something."

            "It's about the captain." She brought her eyes back up to him and continued talking. "He seems different somehow. I'm not sure how. But after I got done with my shower he was sleeping and mumbled someone's name…Lami, I think it was. When I reached for him he woke up and grabbed my wrist. He doesn't seem like himself. Is he getting sick?"

            "Not at all." Penguin's smile became bright again. "He's just worried about you."

            "Why?" she asked.

            "He's worried those mercenaries will come back and try to take you away from him again," Penguin answered honestly. "He's just losing sleep over it by staying up at nights to watch over you."

            "He's staying up to watch me sleep? But why? They're gone, aren't they?" Her eyebrows turned up.

            "Of course they are, sweetie. We made sure to take care of that. They're never going to hurt you again." Penguin patted her knee as the crew nodded in agreement. They all knew what Penguin said was only half the truth. They couldn't tell her the full reason Law was losing sleep over her. Their captain would kill him if they did. "Look, just stay close to him for now. And don't wonder off at any time. He'll be fine after he gets a goodnights sleep."

            "Really?"

            "Yes." Penguin nodded. When he noticed she still wasn't sure about it, he tried something different. "How about this? After the rain passes, ask the captain to take you on a walk along the beach when we go back outside."

            "What will that do?" she asked.

            "The fresh air will clear his head. Then he'll get a goodnights sleep," a crewmate said. "It'll also help for you to spend some time alone with him."

            "If you all think it will help." Neo looked around at them.

            "It will definitely help him." Shachi's voice interjected as he appeared in the room. "Especially since _you're_ the one who's going to ask him to walk with you."

            Neo huffed when the men exchanged chuckles again. She felt so frustrated with herself and her lack of understanding why the crew kept chuckling like this. After a few minutes of laughing, the crew settled back down and started to tell Neo family stories again.

…

            Two and a half hours later the sub finally stopped rocking as the storm disappeared. It had apparently developed from more than just a pop up storm. With enough family stories haven been told, they got up and wondered out of the rec. room. Making it back to the main floor they found some other crewmates had already opened the door and were back outside. Soon after that Law had joined them on the deck and they too went back to the beach.

            “Great,” Conner said while he picked up a piece of wet wood. “This is going to take forever to dry.”

            “Always the pessimistic,” Archer said.

            “Shut up!” Conner snapped.

            “You’re forgetting we have a master at controlling the elements,” Archer said, placing his hand on Neo’s shoulder.

            Neo tensed at his touch and swallowed. Her eyes locked down on the piece of wood in Conner’s hand.

            "Let's see if you can dry out this area and our firewood," Law said.

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded as she summoned her water crystals. Hovering them close to the ground and the wood they started glowing. The glow spread down to her targets. Lifting the glow up all of the moisture from them had gathered into the glow. The crew cheered and clapped. She shifted with a small smile then summoned a fire crystal to relight their fire while dumping the collected moisture away from their campsite. The fire crackled to life, warming their skin from the cool air left by the rain.

            "Good job, Neo," Law praised her. He took a few steps away from her and looked around at the dry ground with a satisfied look in his eyes.

            Neo watched him quietly before her eyes drifted between Shachi and Penguin, who suddenly appeared at her sides.

            "Go on, Neo," Shachi and Penguin quietly cheered while elbowing her. "Ask him."

            "What are you two up to?" Bepo asked.

            "Shh!" Penguin and Shachi pressed their fingers to their lips.

            "I'm sorry." Bepo bowed his head.

            The two frowned at the bear. "Stop doing that!"

            "Sorry," Bepo repeated.

            Shachi and Penguin just sighed and turned back to Neo. "Just ask him already."

            "Um…okay," Neo mumbled softly. She was unsure about this, but walked over to Law anyway. "C-Captain?"

            "Yes?" Law asked.

            "Will you, please, take me on a walk along the beach?" She collapsed her hands behind her back and lowered her eyes, feeling self conscious.

            Law raised an eyebrow at her. When the crew snickered, Law shot them a suspicious glare.

            "You don't have too if you don't want to. I was just thinking th-"

            "Very well." Law turned away from the fire and took a couple steps. He paused to cast a glance back at her over his shoulder then started walking again. "Let's go."

            "Okay." Neo rushed to catch up to him, leaving the snickering crew behind. She slowed her pace when she was finally by his side again.

            The noise of the crew and fire had faded away from them as they made their way down the beach. The only sounds they could hear now were the swooshing of the waves and the crunching of Law's boots on the sand. Neo was looking out at the ocean as they walked along when Law looked over at her. "Neo?"

            "Yes, Captain?"

            "We're going to be leaving this island soon."

            Neo pulled her eyes back to him at that point.

            "We really need to get back onto the sea. I believe you've gained enough control over your crystals to move on from here and train in the sub. Are you going be all right with that?"

            "Yes, sir. I'm still with you and the crew so I'll be fine." Neo smiled, collapsing her hands behind her back again.

            Law returned the smile and was satisfied with her answer.

            Soon after that, Neo stopped walking and looked out at the rising moon hovering over the water. The sky was partly cloudy still but the moon was bright and stars were starting to peak out from behind the cloud cover.

            Law paused a few seconds after she did. He watched her quietly as she lifted her eyes to the star filled sky.

            "I never noticed before that there were so many stars up there. I guess I was too busy being scared to even bother looking up. They're very beautiful," Neo said.

            Law felt a twinge of satisfaction that she was opening up to them more now. She was making so much progress with them. As he stared at her, he couldn't stop his eyes from wondering over her body. She was still wearing his hoodie so it hid her figure well since his clothes were so big on her. His hoodie basically fit her as a dress. It caused his heart to flutter wildly still. The moon rose a little higher and reflected off her body, almost giving her a magical glow. He lightly flinched when he noticed she had turned around and was staring at him. "Is something wrong?"

            "No…I was just wondering...if it's all right, I'd like to ask you something." Neo's voice was almost a whisper.

            "What is it?" Law inquired.

            "Who's…" Neo paused and chewed on her bottom lip before speaking again. "Who's Lami? Is she family to you?"

            Law's eyes widened. He narrowed his eyebrows and frowned. "Who…how do you know that name?"

            Neo shifted uncomfortably under his intense gaze. "Y-you said it back on the sub. You were asleep when I got out of the shower."

            Law's hat fell over his eyes. He turned his back to her, his jaw clenching.

            Neo's shoulders slumped at the same time her eyes dropped to the ground. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you angry. You just said it…and the crew was talking about their families…I was just…I'm sorry, Captain."

            "Lami…" When Neo brought her eyes back up, Law had already turned back around. His eyes were soft and sad. "She was…my younger sister."

            "Was?" Neo asked carefully.

            Law nodded then proceeded to tell her the full story about his family and what happened in his hometown. “I was born and raised in a place called Flevance with my parents and sister. The people there were mining a substance called White Lead for the government that was poisonous. My sister had advanced stages of it and was dying slowly. My parents were doctors. They were doing everything they could to help but didn’t have the proper medication to really do anything. Neighboring countries falsely believed that the disease was contagious. It wasn’t. Eventually, the government had my home destroyed and killed everyone but for me. I managed to escape, but lost my family.”

            Sadness settled into her chest as she waited patient for him to finish speaking. "The crew said they knew about this. Do they know everything?"

            "They sort of know about it," Law replied. "They know I'm from the White Town of Flevance, but I've never talked to them much about my family. I've never really talked to anyone about them. It's not exactly an easy thing for me to discuss."

            Law lowered his eyes a bit and thought about his words. His mind buzzed with the shock about how open he felt towards her with his past. He wanted to tell her _everything_ but knew she wasn’t mentally ready to know everything that he has done in his life. He would hold on to that for a later time when she would be more ready for it.

            "Oh…I'm sorry. That must have been so hard for you to deal with." Neo dropped her eyes to the sand, poking her toes into it.

            Even though Neo lowered her eyes to the ground at that point, Law could easily tell she really wanted to say something else. Without her noticing, he walked closer to her. He lifted her chin up so her eyes would meet his. He suppressed a smirk when he felt her tense at his touch. "Speak to me, Neo. I know there's something else you want to say. I don't want you to keep quiet when there's something on your mind."

            "I'm sorry...it's just…"

            "You can tell me."

            "I just…I don't know. I guess it's just…you got a chance to know your family. You and the crew know your families. You…you know where you're from. I don't know anything about my family or myself. I probably will never know where I came from or anything about my family. Did my family even want me? Why did they leave me? Why do I have these crystals? Why did everyone I met always hate me for them? I don't understand why this happened." Neo's eyes started to tear up. Before long the tears poured over her eyelids. She rubbed her eyes, trying to stop them. She couldn't do it. "I don't understand why I don't have a family. I don't understand any of this. I don't understand…I don't…I don't…"

            "I know you don't understand. I'm sorry I don't have any answers for you." Law sighed. He placed his hand behind her head and brought her forehead into his chest. She tensed at being so close to him, but didn't stop crying or pull away. He went to speak again but stopped when he felt and sensed her move. Much to his surprised, she raised her arms and wrapped them around his waist without hesitating. She was actually hugging him. He gently curled his fingers in her tresses and tilted his chin down to where his nose met her hair. He breathed in the soft, sweet scent of her hair, unintentionally becoming intoxicated. _Hmm…Bepo was right. She does smell very sweet._

            Her soft sobs broke him of his trance. His face grew warm. _Stupid idiot! What are you doing?! You shouldn't be thinking of her like that even if you do have feelings for her! Now's not the time for this! Pull away from her!_ The only thing he managed to do was pull his face away from her hair. He wanted to completely pull away from her, but his body wouldn't listen to him. Instead, he stroked her hair and let her cry for a few minutes before speaking up again. "Hush now. It's all right. You might not know who your family _was_ , but you know who your family is now."

            "What?" Neo pulled away from his chest. She looked up at him.

            He smiled softly at her before reach up and brushing away her tears. "We're your family now." Law's voice was low and gentle. Even though he had brushed all her tears away, he continued to move his thumb over her soft skin.

            "Your my…"

            "Family." Law nodded. "The crew, Penguin, Shachi, Bepo, all of them…they think of you as their little sister. And they love you very much."

            "They do?"

            Law nodded again.

            "Even you?"

            Law's heart thumped rapidly against his chest. He tried hard to work his brain on figuring out what she was asking exactly instead of following what his body wanted to do. Did she want to know if he thought of her as a little sister? Or did she want to know if he loved her? Unfortunately, his brain wouldn't cooperate at the moment and his body won the battle. His brain shorted out as he rested his sword on his shoulder so he could cup her face with both hands and started to slowly lean in towards her.

            "W-what are you doing?" Neo stuttered, her cheeks flushing.

            He suddenly froze when she spoke. He regained his senses and found he was leaning in so close to her. He locked his eyes onto hers and studied her blue eyes. Her sweet...innocent…trusting…confused...scared eyes.

            "Nothing." Law brushed his thumbs over her cheeks one last time before finally pulling back from her. He shoved one hand into his pocket and reclaimed his sword with the other while turning sideways to her before walking off. "Let's continue our walk now."

            Neo lightly nodded and followed after him. A few seconds later, Neo reached up and pinched a hold of his sleeve.

            Law didn't say anything as he looked at her from the corner of his eyes. He could easily tell she was feeling vulnerable at the moment. He had unintentionally pushed her into feeling this way. So he patiently let her cling to him like always. He was expecting her to ask him again if she was like a little sister to him. But she didn't. He was very glad she didn't. He knew the answer to that question, but wouldn't have been able to answer it without having to explain to her why he didn't see her as a little sister. And he knew she wasn't ready to hear the truth. She wouldn't understand it right now. He could wait for the right moment. He could wait until she was ready to hear the truth about how he really felt about her.


	19. Destination: Sabaody

Destination: Sabaody

 

            Law brought his towel back up to his wet hair as he stepped out of the bathroom dressed in only his jeans. He paused when his eyes drifted to Neo. She was still sound asleep in his bed. He walked around the bed and sat down on it. A light smile formed on his lips as he watched her sleeping. He reached out and fingered her cover. She still had it wrapped around her, but it wasn't as tight as she used to have it.

            Law retracted his hand when Neo shifted as she started to wake up. She stretched out her arms before opening her eyes. She sat up and sleepily rubbed her left eye. He smiled again at how cute and childlike she looked right now. His smile remained as she looked at him.

            She gave him a sleepy smile while saying, "Good morning, Captain."

            "Morning, Neo," Law replied. "Did you sleep well?"

            "Uh huh." Neo rubbed her right eye. "I had a silly dream about Bepo being blown around on wind while flapping his arms like a bird."

            Law chuckled at the mental image that produced for him. His chuckle faded when he noticed a change in Neo's expression. "Is something wrong?"

            "No," Neo replied. She pulled her knees up and hugged them. "I can feel the wind. I think it's going to be really windy today. Is that why I dreamed about the wind like that?"

            "Possibly." Law nodded. "I think today would be a good day to work on your balance and sensing the wind. How about we start after breakfast?"

            Neo nodded. Her eyes then drifted down to Law's bare chest. He had to bite his lip when her cheeks turned red and she started to fidget. She raised her hand to her chest and rubbed it while keeping her eyes locked onto his own tattoo chest. "My chest feels really funny."

            "I know it does," Law said as he lifted off the bed. He walked over to his closet and grabbed his favorite yellow and black hoodie. "I'm sorry about that."

            "Why?" Neo asked. Her eyes followed his movements as he slipped the hoodie over his head. "Why are you sorry? It's my chest that hurts."

            "Because I'm the cause of your chest hurting."

            "How?"

            "It's kind of hard to explain." Law turned back to face her. His smile was still present. She tilted her head in confusion. "Don't worry about it."

            "The crew says that too." Neo hugged her knees again with a deep frown.

            Law's smile vanished when she sighed. He walked over to the bed and sat down. He reached out, placed his fingers under her chin, and brought her attention to him. "I'm sorry. I know we keep you in the dark about some stuff. It's just, well, you're not quite ready to understand certain things yet. But the reason your chest was hurting is because you saw me with my shirt off."

            "I don't understand."

            "I know you don't. Tell me, how does your chest feel now?"

            "A little better," Neo replied. She rubbed her fingers on her chest and looked down at her blanket. "So my chest hurts when I see you with your shirt off, but not when it’s on? It did that one time on the beach too. Why?"

            "Because you're becoming attracted to me." Law's smile returned at that point.

            "Attracted to you?" Neo asked and Law nodded. "I still don't understand. I'll never understand things like you and the crew do."

            "Of course you will." Law took his fingers from her chin and raked them in her hair, earning a tensing reaction from her. "You're still learning about life. You are growing up and a lot of things are going to confuse you. Even people who didn't have a traumatic past like you did have trouble understanding certain things in life. Just give yourself more time. We all learn things in stages. Until then, I'll talk to the crew about this and we'll try to do better for you. Okay?"

            "Okay." Neo smiled. She dropped her eyes and fiddled with her blanket. "Thank you, Captain."

            Law studied her for a moment and realized there was another question rattling around in her head. "Was there something else you wanted to ask me?"

            "Yeah…what does flirting mean?" She raised her eyes back to him.

            "It means to behave as though attracted to for amusement rather than with serious intentions or trying to attract someone." Law hummed when he saw she didn't understand. "To put it more simply, it just means being playfully friendly."

            "And that makes the crew laugh? Why?" She tilted her head.

            "Well…" Law rubbed his neck. "The truth is…the crew's just not use to seeing me act so soft with anyone. To be honest I'm not really use to acting this way either."

            "What do you mean?"

            "I'm a pirate. To a lot of people I'm known as being sadistic. I like to toy with my enemies. I enjoy hurting them and have killed some," Law said.

            "So the crew is use to seeing you hurt people?" Neo asked, earning another nod from him. "But you're not really like that."

            "Hm? What do you mean?" Law raised an eyebrow at her.

            "You're nice. You saved me. You help me when I have nightmares, when I'm scared. You're teaching me how to control my crystals. You're teaching me how to read and write. You're a good person. You've helped me a lot. Bad people don't do that, right? Those mercenaries are bad. They were going to hurt me. You won't. You're good! You are!" Neo insisted.

            Law studied how insistent and out of character she was being. He then smile and placed his hand on her head, ruffling her hair. "You're sweet. I think you might have a rose colored view on me, but I'm glad you see me that way."

            "Are you…flirting with me again?" Neo asked innocently.

            "Hm…maybe a little bit." Law smiled. He raked his fingers through her hair again then tapped her nose making her tense. "And it's fine for me and the crew to flirt with you, but it's not okay for anyone else to."

            "Why?"

            "Some men have innocent intentions when flirting with a girl, but others do not. It could lead to inappropriate situations that you're not ready for. Remember when that mercenary grabbed your leg? It didn't feel good when he did that, right?" He continued when Neo nodded. "That was your instincts telling you he had meant to hurt you. Always listen to your instincts when they're telling you something isn't right. It can save your life. Now, I don't plan on let you be alone when in public, but if any guy ever touches you and it makes you feel uncomfortable come tell me immediately and I'll take care of it. Or you can tell the crew. Understand?"

            "I do." Neo nodded again. "Thanks for explaining everything to me."

            "Anytime. Hurry up and get dress now," Law ordered softly.

            Neo nodded then climbed off his bed. She grabbed herself a pair of clothes that consisted of her polar bear shirt and jeans, and then disappeared into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she emerged to find Law patiently waiting for her. He smiled when she joined his side. He opened the door and the two exited his room together.

            While walking through the halls, Law glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Her cheeks were still a light pink from his shirtless moments. He only smiled again as they walked into the galley together. That's when they parted. Law sat down at the table while Neo walked over to the stove to help Penguin finish up breakfast. A little while later, they had breakfast on the table and the entire crew had gathered.

            Law looked directly at Archer. "After breakfast, I want the sub to surface."

            "Aye aye, Captain," Archer replied. "Um, what for?"

            "Neo's going to work on her balance and sensing the wind," Law replied. "She senses it's going to be very windy today."

            "All right." Archer nodded. They all fell back into small talk while finishing up their meal.

            "Neo, go get your ribbon for your hair. You'll need it since we'll be dealing with the wind today," Law said once she was finished with her breakfast.

            "Okay." Neo nodded. She stood up and ran out of the room.

            Once he was sure Neo was far enough down the hall, Law turned to his subordinates. "All right you guys, the crew really needs to back off teasing Neo so much." The crew looked up at him. "I know you all find her innocence very cute and she is a lot of fun to have around since she's the only girl on the sub, but you're starting to make her feel bad that she's not as social understanding as we are."

            The crew exchanged guilty glances.

            Shachi sighed and spoke up. "I guess we have been going a bit too far. We're sorry, Captain."

            "Yeah. We're sorry," everyone else said.

            "We didn't mean any harm. I guess we're not quiet use to having a girl around yet and who's less intelligent, especially one who's, um, as, er, _delicate_ as she is. It's a pretty big adjustment for us all," Archer said.

            Everyone else nodded in agreement.

            "Especially since she makes you act so differently," Penguin added. Law gave him a warning glance. He chuckled nervously and waved his hands. "Just speaking honestly, Captain. I intend no disrespect."

            "It's fine." Law sighed. He brought his cup of tea to his lips and took a swig. "I'm very well aware I act differently around her. Just slow down a bit on the teasing, explain things more to her and everything will be fine. I know you all love her. She loves you too. For her sake…I don't want to have to hurt you all if you make her cry."

            Law raised his eyes back to them and glared. They froze in place, contemplating how anyone making their favorite girl cry was becoming a serious taboo.

            A few minutes later, Neo walked back in the room with her hair pulled back in the ribbon. She blinked at the frozen crew. "What's going on?"

            "Nothing," Shachi said. "Well, that's not exactly true."

            "What do you mean?" Neo questioned.

            "We need to apologize," Penguin said while walking over to her. "We've been teasing you a bit too much lately."

            "Teasing?" Neo blinked.

            "We were making fun of you in a playful manner. Or it was supposed to be playful. We've unintentionally gone a bit to far in our teasing. We'll back off," Conner replied.

            "So that's what you all have been doing. It's okay. I know I don't understand a lot and it'll be a while before I do, but I do know you all won't intentionally hurt me," Neo replied with a friendly smile.

            "Ah, you're so forgiving! We don't deserve it!" the crew shrieked with streams of tears running down their cheeks. They then gathered her up in a group hug. "We love you, Neo!"

            Neo giggled at the attention as her body stiffened up at their closeness. "I love you all too."

            "All right," Law grumbled, annoyed at them hugging her, as he stood up. "That's enough of that. Release her right now. She has training she needs to do."

            "Aye aye, Captain!" The crew chuckled at their captain's jealous tone.

            "I'll raise the sub immediately!" Archer gulped down the remaining bit of his breakfast then ran out of the room to relieve the crewmate that was guiding the sub so he could and while he lifted the sub to the surface.

            "Let's go, Neo," Law ordered.

            Neo nodded and followed after him. “Captain?" Neo asked a minute later.

            "Hm?"

            "Love means you care about someone, right?"

            "There's actually different versions of love, but you've got the basic definition understood." Law nodded, but didn't look at her.

            "Then…would it be all right if I said that I love you too?"

            Law's legs jerked to a stop as his heart slammed against his chest. His eyes snapped to hers. His mind and body swayed, though he wasn’t sure if it was because of what she said or if it was because of the sub now being rocked by the waves.

            She had her hands collapsed behind her back when he turned his eyes to her. "If I understand how I'm feeling, the crew does mean a lot to me. I meant what I said in the galley. And you're part of the crew."

            "Yeah. It's all right for you to say that to me." Law nodded with a smile. He placed his hand on her head and pulled her to his side. "I care about you too."

            "I'm glad." Neo smiled up at him.

            Law kept his arm around her as they stepped out onto the deck. A fairly strong gust of wind greeted them when they opened the door.

            Neo’s hair flew wildly behind her as she walked out farther onto the deck. She closed her eyes and let herself tuned her senses into the wind around her.

            Law watched her patiently as her wind crystals appeared.

            She opened her eyes and looked at him. "I'm connected to the wind."

            "That's good." Law nodded. "We'll work on that right now. Sense when the wind is coming then direct it away from the sub. Once you get the hang of that, I'll start you on your balance."

            "Right." Neo closed her eyes again. She made her wind crystals glow. A strong gust of wind pushed against her body, pushing her back a little. Guiding it away from her, she waited for the next wind gust to come. She felt it when it was about fifty yards out from the sub. Guiding that one away, she moved on to the next. This time she felt it when it was sixty yards out.

            Law watched her carefully. He noticed she easily got the hang of sensing when the wind was going to hit within thirty minutes.

            "Not bad." Law smirked. "Let's move on."

            "Okay." Neo nodded.

            "I want you to walk along the railing of the sub while keeping the wind at bay," Law said.

            Neo nodded again. She used her winds to lift herself into the air and placed her feet on the railing. She wobbled while trying to find her center of gravity with the sub once again rocking at the waves.

            He walked closer to the railing. "Just relax. If you fall, you can use your wind crystals to catch yourself. Hold out your arms to help balance yourself."

            "Right," Neo said. She lifted her arms out. After that she finally got her balance, but was too focused on that to notice the gust of wind coming. It knocked her off the rail and into Law's arms. He chuckled at her automatically tensing at his touch. "S-sorry…I wasn't focusing on the wind at all."

            "It's fine. You've just started. Try it again," Law said.

            She nodded and flew out of his arms. She landed on the railing and continued with her training.

…

            Neo stretched out as she walked down the halls towards the main control room of the sub to see how far they were from the current island they were about to stop at. Upon passing the navigation room she backpedaled when she sensed the transponder snails. Peaking into the room, she found it empty of the navigator while papers and maps were scattered all over the place. Stepping on into the empty room she walked over to the transponder snails that were gathered on a shelf. They all had their eyes opened and looked at her. Smiling, she held out her hands towards them and they crawled up her arms. Now with all eight of the transponder snails stuck to her clothes and body, she laid down on the floor. Kicking her feet in the air she said, “You all are so cute. Are you happy here? That’s good. Sorry, I don’t know why I’m different from the men. Bepo has said I smell like nature too.” She giggled. “Maybe I am part of nature. Are you all hungry? What would you like to eat? Oh? Plants, algae, and fungi it is then.” She summoned her earth crystals and created the food for them, filling the room with a damp smell from the plants. “You’re lucking Penguin taught me about different types of plants. Other wise I would have known what you were asking for.”

            Neo continued to smile and kick her feet as she watched the snail eat the food she had provided. After a few seconds she’s noticed that they all had the same logo on their chest that the captain had on his yellow and black hoodie. She also noticed that they transponder snails looked similar to the crew. One wore an identical hat to the captain’s, two others were wearing hats just like Shachi and Penguin, while the rest were also wearing hats or tattoos corresponding to the crew. “You all are so cute. You kind of look like mini versions of the crew.” She stroked the one that looked like Law with her finger. “I think you might be my favorite since you look like the captain. But I really like you all.”

            The young blue haired girl had no idea how long she had been in that room with the transponder snails. She was enjoying her time with them until a chuckle caused her to look up at the door. Conner was standing there with his arms crossed. His shoulder was pressed against the doorframe and he wore a smile on his face.

            “Have fun with the transponder snails?” he asked.

            “Um, yes,” she replied with a guilty grin. Sitting up, she crossed her legs, tucking her feet up underneath her, and placed her hands in her lap. The snails moved closer to her, crawling up her body as she continued to speak to the man. “What’s going on?”

            “Well, I was coming in here to get the transponder snails since we’re about to land on an island,” Conner said.

            “We’re already landing?” Neo asked, her excitement draining from her.

            “We are.” Conner nodded. “I was coming for the transponder snails so we can keep contact with each other while on this island.”

            “Because of the captain’s plans?” Neo stood up and frowned.

            “That’s right,” Conner said. “Are you okay?”

            “Yeah,” Neo said. “I’m just worried. I don’t like it when you all go onto islands to do…pirate stuff.”

            “I know,” Conner said. He pushed off the doorframe and walked over to her. Lifting up his hand, he went to reach for her shoulder but missed when she bolted around him. “Neo?”

            “You can’t have the snails!” Neo said as she ran out of the room. Her bare feet thumped against the floor as she ran down the hall and up the stairs.

            “Neo!” Conner called after her.

            The thundering sound of his boots on the sub floor pushed her to run faster up the stairs. Turning the corner she dashed down to the rec. room where she startled some crewmates when she busted into the room.

            “Whoa! What’s going on?”

            “Neo!” Conner whipped into the room. “Give me those!”

            “No!” Neo said, running to the opposite side of the table. “If you don’t have these then you can go get into fights or whatever it is you’re going to be doing on the island!”

            “Is she actually trying to prevent us from going onto the island?” a crewmate asked.

            “Looks like it,” another one said.

            “Neo, come on,” Conner said moving around the table. “Give me those.”

            “No,” Neo said, moving along with him. Once they had switched placed around the table, she headed for the door. Upon rounding the doorframe she smacked into a solid force. Stumbling backwards, she managed to catch herself from falling then looked up to see she had ran into the captain.

            “Neo!” Conner said. “Oh, Captain.”

            “What’s going on?” Law asked when Neo tucked herself behind him.

            “Neo took off with the transponder snails,” Conner said. “She doesn’t want us to go onto the island.”

            “I see. You can go. I’ll take care of this,” Law said.

            “Sure thing,” Conner said. Adjusting his boiler suit, he walked away without another word.

            Law turned and found himself face to face with a puppy dog look from Neo. His entire body flinched. Despite how much he loved that look on her, he also hated it. It always made him want to cave to her. If she knew how to use it to her advantage, he knew he wouldn’t stand a chance. Luckily, she was still too childlike to know how to use that look properly. “All right. Tell me what’s going on.”

            “You’re going to the island to fight,” Neo said. “Even though you haven’t told me what you’re going to be doing exactly I know you’re going to fight.”

            “We’re not exactly going there to fight,” Law said.

            “Then what are you going to do?” Neo asked.

            “We’re going to… _acquire_ some money,” Law said.

            “You mean you’re going to steal,” Neo said.

            “Okay, you’re correct,” Law said, getting the feeling he wasn’t going to be able to keep much secret from her for much longer. He easily noticed she was a bright girl. And the more she learned the more she was staring to recognize things. “The Navy has some treasure hiding on this island that they’re transporting back to their headquarters. We’re going to steal it.”

            “You’re pirates and you’re going directly towards the Navy,” Neo said, dropping her eyes to the floor. “I don’t like it.”

            “I know. This life is still new to you and we’re just starting to get back into our pirate lives after your training,” Law said. He placed his finger under her chin, smiling at her stiffening reaction, and tilted her to look up at him. “We’ll be fine. I have no intension of directly fighting the Navy this time. We won’t be staying long on the island. Just long enough to scout out the ship and get the treasure back to the sub. Trust me. We’ll be fine.”

            “Promise?” Neo asked.

            “I promise.” Law nodded. “Can I have the transponder snails back now?”

            “Yes, sir.” Neo handed the transponder snails over to him.

            “Good girl,” Law said. “Remember, Penguin will be staying with you. He’ll keep you distracted and we’ll be back before you know it.”

…

            Neo sighed as she continued to roll out the cookie dough on the counter. The sugary smell of the cookies they were making faded from her nose long ago. The crew has been on the island for over four hours now. And in the time Penguin had distracted her with some physical exercise, a couple of games, and now baking cookies. “How much longer?”

            “I’m sure they’ll be back in a couple more hours,” Penguin said.

            Neo turned to him. The man was speckled with flour from their baking. It made her wonder if she looked like him. “Do you think anything went wrong?”

            “No, Neo,” Penguin said. “Nothing’s gone wrong. You’re just worried about them. They’ll be back soon. And they’ll be glad to come back to fresh cookies. So we better get them done before they get back.”

            “Okay.” Neo nodded.

            “Hey, how about I teach you a song while we wait?” Penguin asked.

            “A song?” Neo asked.

            “It’s a favorite among pirates,” Penguin said. “It’s called Bink’s Brew.”

            “Bink’s Brew?” Neo tilted her head. “Hasn’t the crew sung that before?”

            “I’m sure they have,” Penguin said.

            “Okay, teach it to me,” Neo said.

            “Yo hoho ho! Yo hoho ho! Yo hoho ho! Yo hoho ho! Gather up all of the crew! It’s time to ship out Bink’s Brew,” Penguin started singing.

            Neo listened to Penguin sing the song a couple of times before she tried to join in with him. Self conscious about singing she kept her voice low and her eyes down on the cookie dough at her hands. While she sang the song the best she could, she continued rolling out the dough and dividing it up into pieces before rolling it into little balls. Once a cookie pan was filled, Penguin took it from her and placed it in the oven. After a while of getting the lyrics wrong, she stopped singing with a frustrated huff.

            “Don’t worry,” Penguin said. “You’ll get it. It’ll just take time. I’ll write the lyrics down later so you can practice.”

            Thanks,” Neo said. “Hey, Penguin?”

            “Yes?”

            “Do you think I can cook these cookies with my crystals?” Neo asked.

            “I don’t see why not. Do you want to try?”

            Neo nodded. Once they had filled another cookie sheet with the cookies, she lifted the sheet into the air with a wind crystal. Steadying it, she summoned a fire crystal and lit it under the sheet then one over the top of the cookies.

            “Remember to keep the flame steady and heat the top and bottom evenly,” Penguin said.

            “Okay.” Neo nodded. Focusing carefully, she radiated the heat from the flames over the cookies. Both she and Penguin watched until the edges of the cookies started turning a golden brown. She placed the sheet back down on the counter.

            Picking up a cookie, once it had cooled, Penguin tried it. Humming in thought as he chewed. “Well, the middle’s not done.”

            “I’m sorry,” Neo said.

            Penguin chuckled. “There’s no reason to apologize for it. This was just your first try. Go ahead and cook them a little bit more. Then you can try again on another.”

            Neo nodded. Lifting the sheet back into the air she cooked them a bit longer. Once again placing them back on the counter, Penguin found they had been a bit over cooked this time but encouraged her to keep trying. Four cookie sheets later, she was starting to get the right temperature with her fire to thoroughly cook the cookies but still ended up with crispy edges. “That was fun. I would like to keep trying to cook with my crystals.”

            “I think that’s an excellent idea,” Penguin said.

            “What’s an excellent idea?”

            Both Neo and Penguin jumped when their captain’s voice suddenly filled the room.

            “Whoa! Captain! You startled us!” Penguin said, hand over his pounding heart. “When did you get here?”

            “Just now,” Law said, unable to hide his smirk for scaring them.

            “Captain.” Neo rushed around the counter and dove into his chest. Wrapping her arms around him, she buried her face into his shirt before looking up at him. “How’s the crew? Are you hurt?”

            “The crew’s just fine,” Law said. “Our mission was a success.”

            “That’s good,” Neo said, sighing. “I was so worried about you.”

            “We’re back now.” Law stroked her hair. “I see you’ve been busy making cookies. The crew will love that.”

            Neo nodded. “I even tried cooking the cookies with my crystals. It didn’t work out all that well but I’m going to keep trying.”

            “I see,” Law said, feeling proud that Neo was speaking so freely and sounding optimistic on using her crystals in such a way.

            Just then the happy chatter of the crew floated into the room before they did.

            “I can’t believe we pulled that off!”

            “Did you see the looks on the Navy’s faces when the captain divided them up?!”

            “It was priceless! No doubt the captain’s bounty will go up from this!”

            “Hey! Neo and Penguin made cookies!”

            “They smell so good!”

            “They taste good too!”

…

            Law repetitively tapped his finger on his arm. He was staring down at the map that Bepo had laid out on the table in his navigation room.

            Bepo was the only other one in the room with him. He looked up at Law, blinked several times, dropped his eyes back to the map, and then looked back up at his captain. The captain never seemed to notice the looks he was giving him.

            "Um, Captain?" Bepo slowly began to speak. "We'll be docking tomorrow. Are you going to have Neo get off the sub at this island?"

            Law didn't reply. He just continued to tap his finger on his arm.

            Bepo continued. "We've already have stopped at three islands since we've left that island she trained on and she's always remained on the sub. You've said she needs to start getting around people again. When is that going to happen? The rest of the crew has been wondering too."

            Law turned from Bepo and headed for the door. "I'll take her off the sub when she's ready."

            "When _she's_ ready or when _you’re_ ready?" Bepo gave Law's back a skeptical look.

            Law paused and looked back over his shoulder at the bear. "What are you talking about?"

            "Come on, Captain! We all know you're very protective of her," Bepo said, causing Law's eyebrow to twitched. "Especially after those mercenaries took her."

            Law frowned. "Is there a point to this?"

            "Sorry, Captain, but are you really keeping her on the sub for her sake or because you don't want anyone outside of the crew to see her?" Bepo asked.

            "Of course not." Law huffed. "She's not a prisoner here. She's just not ready yet to face people."

            "I suppose so. But our ultimate destination here is the Sabaody Archipelago, right? Don't you want her to be ready for that? I know it's still going to be a while before we get there, but shouldn't she be working on getting comfortable with strangers right now?" Bepo asked carefully. Since he's known Law the longest, he did have more room to speak freely about certain topics. But he also knew he should be careful when pushing his captain's buttons, especially when it came to a certain blue haired female among them.

            Law didn't reply. He just shoved his hands into his pocket and left the room.

            Bepo sighed and returned his eyes to his maps. "That guy is always in such denial when it comes to her. Surely by now he knows that his entire crew knows how he feels about her."

…

            Law huffed as he walked down the halls of the sub and up the stairs with Bepo's words spinning in his head. _"Sorry, Captain, but are you really keeping her on the ship for her sake or because you don't want anyone outside of the crew to see her?"_

            "What am I doing here?" Law asked himself. "She's not ready. It's not me who's…"

            One of his crew popped his head out of the galley, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Oh, Captain, are you going to check on Neo?"

            Law nodded.

            "Great timing then. Supper is going to be ready in about fifteen minutes. Could you tell her for me?"

            "All right." Law waved his hand and proceeded walking. A short time later, he got to the door he was aiming for. He pressed his palm to it and opened it a bit. Shachi's voice greeted him when the door cracked open. "You're doing great, Neo."

            Law pushed the door open and stepped outside. Shachi was sitting on the deck with Penguin standing beside him. He pulled his eyes from them and looked at Neo. A light smile formed on his lips when he saw her. She was standing on the railing of the sub. She was facing out towards the sea with her eyes closed. She had two wind and two water crystals out. When a strong gust of wind flew towards them, she used her crystals to drive the wind and the waves away from them.

            He walked over to Penguin and Shachi. "You two go on back inside. I want to speak with her alone."

            "Sure thing, Captain," Shachi said. He stood up and immediately went inside.

            Penguin lingered behind.

            "Don't worry," Law assured him. "I'm only going to speak with her about the next island."

            "All right, Captain." Penguin nodded then disappeared inside.

            Law waited until he was sure his subordinates were gone before walking over to Neo. She looked over her shoulder at him when she sensed him. She turned back around just as another gust of wind came towards them. "Neo, we're docking at an island tomorrow. And I want you to go ashore with us."

            Neo's eyes widened. She forgot what she was doing and the wind knocked her off the rail. She fell back into Law's already waiting arms. Her hands automatically clenching the front of his shirt while her body trembled uncontrollably in his hold.

            Law felt he was right about her. She wasn’t ready to be around people. This had nothing to do with him not wanting her to be seen.

            "Calm down. You're fine," Law said as he held her. She didn't hear him. "Neo, look at me." She didn't. He took on his captain tone then. "Neo, I order you to look at me."

            She slowly raised her eyes to his.

            He sighed at how scared she looked. He tightened his hold on her. "Neo, you're not going to go ashore tomorrow."

            "I…I'm not?"

            "You're not. I just wanted to gage your reaction. I'm sorry. I guess that was mean of me to do that to you. I knew you weren't ready to face people yet. And I would never give you such short noticed when it comes to this." Law lowered her feet to the floor of the deck. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Neo, while you don't have to leave the sub tomorrow, I do want you to start getting use to the idea of leaving the sub soon. You won't be able to stay inside forever."

            "I know, Captain." Neo lowered her eyes. "I'm just…"

            "Scared. I know you are. It's okay." He gave her shoulders a squeeze, regaining her attention. "You don't have to be. You are in my care. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you again. The crew won't let anyone hurt you. At least one of us will always be with you when you leave the sub. Remember that."

            She slowly nodded. Law studied her for a few more seconds before leading her back inside. "Let's go back inside now. Supper is almost ready."

…

            Neo restlessly wondered down the halls of the sub. She had been restless all day. And it was because of what Law told her yesterday. While she wasn't going to get off the sub at the island they were going to soon be docking at, it still bugged her that she was going to have to be around strangers soon. Law had been keeping a close eye on her all day. This was the first time they had separated. She felt like she just needed to move.

            She had came to Bepo's navigation room and peered inside. Bepo was the only one inside at the moment. He was looking down at a map he had on the table. The bear smiled when he noticed her. "Hey, Neo."

            "Hey, Bepo," Neo echo as she stepped inside. She walked over to the table and looked down at the map. "What are you doing?"

            "Making sure we're staying on course to the Sabaody Archipelago," Bepo replied.

            "Arch-i-pel-ago?" Neo tilted her head. "What's that?"

            "It's a cluster of islands," Bepo explained. "It's also the place where we'll eventually enter into the New World."

            "New World?" Neo asked. "I think I've heard some of the crew talk about it before. But what is it exactly?"

            "It's the second half of the Grand Line. They say that the pirate king Gol D. Roger and his crew are the only ones in the entire world who's explored it complete. It's also says that it's where Gol D. Roger hid his treasure the One Piece. Now it's where the Four Emperors rule over the seas," Bepo explained.

            "Emperors?" Neo tilted her head again.

            "Yeah, I think we have their wanted posters around here somewhere." Bepo wondered from the table and started digging in a drawer for the wanted posters.

            Law walked in at that point. He stood beside Neo and said, "The Four Emperors are very strong pirate captains. They have very strong crews and possess many territories over the New World seas. Eventually, we're going to take them down."

            "What?" Neo gave Law a confused and worried look.

            "You don't have to worry." Law stroked her hair. "That won't be for a very long time. We're not strong enough yet to go up against an Emperor. I don't want you worrying over it. So put it out of your mind right now."

            "Yes, sir."

            Law twitched at her words. Her calling him 'sir' was starting to bug him.

            Bepo then walked back over and laid the posters down on the table. "Here they are."

            Neo looked down at the posters while Bepo pointed out which Emperor was which.

            "This is Charlotte Linlin, better known as Big Mom, Kaido is The King of Beasts, White Beard and Red Haired Shanks," Bepo said.

            "Hm." Neo hummed. Her eyes locked onto Shanks' wanted poster. She tilted her head and kneaded her eyebrows.

            "Neo?" Law called.

            "Hm?" Neo gave him a signal that she heard him, but never pulled her eyes from Shanks' poster. She reached out and ran her fingers over Shanks face before picking up the paper. Suddenly her body was surrounded in a familiar white glow. "This guy…"

            "Neo, what's wrong?" Law asked, getting concerned about how strange she was acting and for the strange white glow that engulfed him before.

            Bepo remained frozen in place and blinked rapidly at the glow.

            "Nothing," Neo replied softly. Her eyes lingered on the poster. While she slowly laid it back down on the table, the glow faded. Law and Bepo exchanged confused glances that she didn’t notice. "He just seems…familiar."

            "Well, he's rather famous," Bepo said. "You probably just heard someone talking about him at some point."

            "I guess so." Neo moved her hands behind her back and laced her fingers together.

            "Hey, Neo!" Penguin's voice broke through the stiff air. He poked his head into the room and smiled. "There you are."

            "What's up, Penguin?" Neo asked.

            "I was thinking we could make some more cookies while everyone else goes inland," Penguin chirped.

            "All right." Neo nodded. She started to walk over to him, but paused to look at Law.

            "Go ahead. We won't be gone long. Just stay inside with Penguin," Law replied. Neo nodded then followed after her friend.

            "That was strange," Bepo said once Neo was out of earshot. "Why would his poster grab her attention like that? And why was she glowing?"

            "I don't know." Law let his eyes drift back to Shanks' poster. "I would like to believe that she did just heard about him, but with how out of tuned she was with the world around her, I don't believe that's possible."

            "Are you assuming she has some kind of connection to Red Hair? The crew probably just spoke about the Emperors before," Bepo said.

            "Maybe," Law said thoughtfully while rubbing his chin. "I hope that's it. It could cause problems if she does have some kind of association with an Emperor."

            "That's scary. I hope she's not an enemy of Red Hair." Bepo blinked several times.

            "No point in worrying about it. Chances are we won't ever run into Red Hair." Law shoved his hands into his pockets. "Let's get going. We need to get supplies."

            "Aye aye, Captain." Bepo abandon the papers and follow after his captain.

…

            "Penguin?" Neo asked. She nibbled on another cookie while waiting for him to answer.

            "Yes?" Penguin pulled out their fourth batch of cookies out of the oven.

            "I don't feel very good," Neo replied.

            "I'm not surprised." Penguin chuckled lightly. "That's your third cookie you've eaten."

            "Hm?" Neo blinked and looked at the chocolate chip cookie in her hand. It was her third cookie.

            "You're not use to eating sweets," Penguin said, already assuming what her next question was going to be. "Too many can upset your stomach, especially since the captain's kept you on a strict diet. You can save the rest for later."

            "Right." Neo grabbed her a small plate and placed the remaining half of her cookie on it.

            "While the sweets are upsetting your stomach, I sense there's something else on your mind," Penguin said. He tossed her a smile while scooping the cookies off the sheet and onto the cooling rack.

            "Yeah." Neo nodded. "The captain wants me to leave the sub at the next island we dock at. And I'm…"

            "Scared." Penguin finished for her. She nodded lightly. "It's understandable that you're afraid. But you are in the capable hands of our captain and all of us."

            Neo smiled lightly. "I know. I'm still scared."

            "That's nothing more than a normal human reaction," Penguin said. He then felt really weird about calling her human.

            "Human…" Neo thought about the word before continuing to speak. "I know there are people in the world like the captain, but have you ever met anyone who has abilities like mine?"

            "Can't say that I have," Penguin replied honestly. "But then I haven't met everyone on the planet. I'm sure there are a lot of people with unique abilities out there. And since we're traveling all the time, we'll probably meet some eventually."

            "Maybe." Neo pressed her hands on the counter and pushed herself upon it. She lightly kicked her feet while staring down at the floor. Penguin watched her for a while before walking over to her. He place one of his hand on her head and kissed her cheek. "What was that for?"

            "I just felt like you could use a little extra affection right now," Penguin replied with a smile. His smile then morphed into a mischievous one. Before she could question the look, he placed a hand on each side of her ribs and tickled her.

            "Eek!" Neo squealed and almost slid off the counter. Her bell filled laughter rang out over the galley. "P-Penguin! Ahahaha! S-stop that!"

            "Never knew you were so ticklish." Penguin chuckled.

            "S-stop! Hahahaha! P-please!" Neo tried to wiggled away from him. She didn't succeed.

            "Mmmm…nope," Penguin replied. "You need to laugh right now. And I'm more than happy to supply the means for you to do that."

            "Ahahaha! Ha haha ha!"

            "Neo! I'm back! Me and the crew bought you some new books!" Shachi sang as he twirled into the kitchen. He paused at the sight before him. "What's going on?"

            "Nothing much," Penguin replied while continuing his tickle assault on Neo.

            "H-he won't stop!" Neo choked out through her bell chiming laughter.

            "She deserves it. She's been worrying far to much late," Penguin reported. "This is her punishment."

            "I see." Shachi nodded. "Maybe I should help with that."

            "Eek! No!" Neo squeaked.

            Shachi placed the bag he was holding on the floor. He wiggled his fingers while playfully stalking up to her. He dove his hands to her side and tickled. She squealed again then summoned her wind crystals and slipped from their assault using the wind.

            "Get back here!" Penguin and Shachi laughed.

            "No way!" Neo giggled as she flew out of the galley. "Stay away from me!"

            "We're gonna get you!" the two crowed. They quickly followed after her.

            As they chased her around the halls, the rest of the crew showed up. Law blinked at the sight before him. "What's going on?"

            "Captain!" Neo flew right to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. In confusion, Law's sword free arm automatically wrapped around her. She squealed again when Shachi and Penguin appeared. "Eek! Captain! Their being mean! They won't stop tickling me!"

            "Is that so?" Law raised an eyebrow at Shachi and Penguin. They froze. "Hm…I should have thought of it before."

            "Thought of what, Captain?" Bepo asked.

            "Neo." She raised her eyes to him. "If the crew teases or tickles you far too much you have permission to turn your crystals on them."

            "Captain! That's not fair!" the entire crew shrieked.

            "Then be sure to treat her well." Law smirked.

            "Ugh! The captain's going to be a bad influence on her after all!" Conner cried.

            "I guess our little girl's gonna get special privileges," Archer added.

            "You bet she is." Law smirked.

            The entire crew paused at their captain's honesty.

            "We're totally going to have to walk on egg shells from now on," Shachi said.

            The rest of the crew nodded rapidly in agreement.


	20. People

People

 

            Neo sighed softly to herself. She was trying to sleep, but it just wouldn't come. She sat up in the lightly lit room and hugged her knees. In just a few short hours she was going to be around strange people for the first time since being with the Heart Pirates. Both her head and her stomach was spinning with anxiety at the mere thought.

            She was so distracted she didn't even notice Law had sat up too. Nor that he had scooted closer to her. She barely registered him placing his hand on her head and pulling her tensing body to his chest. Her hand automatically grabbed a hold of his shirt as he held her close.

            "You should be asleep, little girl. It's almost two in the morning," Law said.

            "I know. I just can't sleep. I know you all have told me not to worry, but I just can't stop," Neo said honestly. "With everything that's happened when I get around people…"

            "I know. I'm right here. I'm going to be right by your side the entire time just like I always am. It's a very small island. Bepo picked it out specifically for you. It's going to have a lot of nature. And no other pirates or mercenaries should be there since it is such a small island." Law paused to watch her before speaking again. "Would you like me to rub your back? It'll help you fall asleep."

            "If you say it'll help." Neo lightly nodded. Law lowered his hand to her back. She tensed at his touch, but slowly relaxed as he kneaded his palm and fingers against her.

            "It will. And if you ever need me to do this at any time, just ask and I'll do it for you," Law said, continuing to move his hand over her back.

            "Thanks, Captain." After a few minutes, he felt her go limp against chest. He brushed her hair from her face. When he was certain she was asleep, he gently laid her down and pulled her covers back up over her shoulders.

            He went to lay back down himself, but paused. His eyes wondered back to her sleeping form. Concerns about her having a nightmare filled his mind. Not wanting her to loose anymore sleep than she already had, he shifted closer to her. He pulled his own blanket over her before laying down close to her so she could feel his presence more. He knew it was the right move when her fingers once again curled around his shirt. He smiled lightly as he tucked her soft blue hair behind her ear. "Don't worry, Neo. I've got you. I always will."

…

            "Captain, I can't eat anymore," Neo said while picking at her remaining oatmeal.

            Law glanced over into her bowl. She had eaten about half of it. "That's fine. I don't want you getting sick by eating too much if your stomach just can't accept it."

            "Thanks." Neo shoved the bowl away from her. She crossed her arms over the table and laid her chin on them with a sigh.

            "Oh, you poor baby," Penguin cooed gently. He placed his hand on her back and rubbed it tenderly. She gave him a light smile. "It'll be okay."

            "We're cheering for you," the crew cheered quietly with goofy grins and their thumbs up high. "You can do it! You can do it!"

            "You guys are so silly." Neo giggled.

            "Captain, we've docked!" a crewmate said while poking his head into the room.

            "Time to go, Neo," Law called after finishing up his own breakfast.

            Neo nodded and stood up with him. She waved to the crew before disappearing around the door. “See you all in a little while.”

            Penguin took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "She's fine. She'll be fine."

            "She's totally going to freak out, isn't she?" Bepo asked.

            "Don't say things like that!" Penguin and Shachi shouted.

            "I'm sorry." Bepo bowed his head.

            "But he's right," Conner said. He had his hands behind his head as he leaned back and stared up at the ceiling.

            "Not you, too!" Penguin and Shachi shouted at him. “Must you always be so pessimistic?!”

            "Come on, you two. We all know her well enough," Conner said. "This first time is going to be very hard for her. First time things often are the hardest even for people like us who don't have a traumatic past. But for this? It's going to be a lot harder for her than when she began to reuse her crystals. People hurt her, a lot. She might get better at dealing with people, but she'll always be nervous around strangers until she can adjust to them and see they're not going to hurt her."

            "And that's why the captain ordered us to stay here," Archer added. "While we all love her, and she loves us, she doesn't need the added distraction of so many of us around."

            "Yeah." Shachi nodded. He plopped back down in his chair, feeling defeated and helpless that there was nothing they could do to make her feel better about this.

            "This is just the first step in getting her use to being around people again," Penguin said. "It _is_ going to be hard. But it'll get better for her after she faces this step. She knows we’re all here for her. That’s all she needs to know."

            A nod of agreement passed through the crew.

…

            After stepping out onto the deck, Neo's eyes locked right onto the village before her. She scanned her eyes slowly over it. It was a small island like Law had said. She could see from one point of the town to the other, it was congregated on the south side of the island. The island itself was less than a mile long. Behind the village was a forest and a tall hill, bare of trees, like it was hugging or protecting the tiny town. "Bepo chose this place for me."

            "He did." Law nodded. "Are you ready?"

            "No," Neo said with a sigh.

            Law looked down at the girl by his side. He slid his sword free hand into hers and gave her a light squeeze.

            She curled her fingers against his skin, looking up at him. "But I know I have to do this. And you're going to be with me the whole time. So whatever happens, I'll be fine."

            "Let's go then." Law tugged on her hand when he started to walk towards the edge of the sub. Spreading out his Room, he warped them onto the island instead of climbing down the ladder. Neo grabbed onto his arm with her free hand when she suddenly was off the sub, making him chuckle.

            "I don't think I'll ever get use to that." Neo blinked a couple times.

            "Hm…maybe I should do it more often then," Law said with a slight mischievous intent in his tone that he knew she wouldn’t pick up on.

            Neo gave him a questioning look. He chuckled again before he started walking down the docks. Their walk was a quiet one but for the distance noise of the townspeople and town. The chopping of wood mixed together with kids laughing and adults shouting. She swallowed hard and tightened her hold on his arm. There was about forty yards of grass between the docks and the village, but the distance appeared way shorter than it actually was to her.

            Law could easily feel her anxiety growing the closer they got to the village. Her hand trembled in his hold causing his to squeeze her gently. She stepped closer to him when they were about fifteen yards from entering into the village. She tightened her hold on his sleeve with her hand once again when a couple kids ran past them, her breathing increased. He said, "Just breath slowly."

            "Just breath slowly," Neo repeated his words. She then took a couple shaky breaths and they stepped inside the village boarders. Kids were running around laughing and playing. Adults were talking, sweeping out their stores, laugh, cooking, and a couple old men were playing chess with no real attention given to the two who had just entered their town. Chatter of the townspeople filled her ears. Her eyes darted all over the scene in a panic.

            "I win again."

            "I'm so gonna stop playing with you."

            "I got ink on my favorite shirt. How can I get it out?"

            "Let's go to the creek! It's kind warm today!"

            "Yeah! Let's ask the others if they wanna go with us too!"

            "Ha ha! Ha! I love that story!"

            Neo lightly shook her head and tightened her hold on Law. She mumbled under her breath. "I can't do this. I can’t…do this…"

            Law carefully scanned his eyes over the people. He wondered if any of them would recognize him from his bounty poster and cause trouble. He was starting to have second thoughts about this. If anyone did recognize him, it could possibly cause a panic and scare not only the entire town, but Neo as well. He was about to check on her when she suddenly released her hold on him. "Neo?"

            "I…I can't." Neo wheezed. She stumbled backwards a few steps. Her eyes darted everywhere. The sounds of the people whipped around her. The town appeared to close in on her. The people’s laughter and talking magnified in her ears. Her heart was pounding as hard as her head, her body was shaking, and her breathing increased to almost the point of hyperventilation. The sounds and the people began to morph in her vision. Her mind slipped back to the island she destroyed and to the group of people who cornered her. She started to hyperventilate then, her breaths short and sharp. She grabbed her head and stumble back more as voices from the past hammered her ears. "Stop it…go away…get out of my head!"

            _"Monster!"_

_"Freak! What did you do?!"_

_"I warned you to never use those freaky powers of yours!"_

_"You're a horrible monster!"_

_"Get away from me, freak!"_

_"Go away! No one wants you! Ha ha!"_

_"Freak! Freak! Freak!"_

            "Neo?" Law reached for her.

            "No! Don't hurt me!" Neo dropped to her knees. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "I can't do this! Captain! Help me! Where are you?!"

            "Neo, I'm right here." Law placed his hand on her head. He flinched when he saw her eyes had glazed over and was filled with fear looking up at him. She wasn't seeing him at all. She was back on that island, back when she killed all those people. "It's okay. Focus. I'm here."

            "I didn't do it! I didn't do anything wrong! I…I…" Neo wobbled before slumping against Law's chest.

            "Hey, is she okay?" a dark blonde haired man, wearing a simple green shirt and jeans, asked.

            Law glanced over his shoulder at the man then pulled Neo into his arms.

            "She's fine." He stood up and rushed her out of the town before they gathered more attention. He started to head back to the sub, but paused. He turned and headed to the edge of the forest instead. He sat down against a tree, placed her in his lap and held her firmly to his chest and waited for her to wake up.

            While waiting for her to awaken, Law noticed several animals, squirrels, birds, a dog, a couple cats and a few others, appeared and kept creeping cautiously closer to them. He also noticed that they kept their eyes on Neo and hardly paid him attention but for the occasional cautious glance. The longer he watched them the more he got the feeling they were concerned about her. "I forgot. Neo did say she could talk to animals. They must be able to sense that she can control nature and are worried about her for some reason."

            As if answering an unasked question, the animals got close enough to snuggled up to her. The dog and cats curled up beside her while a few birds landed on the ground with soft songs on their beaks, and a squirrel curled up on her lap. He watched them, wondering what kind of person or creature could cause animals, wild ones at that, come so close to them like this.

            Twelve minutes later, Neo slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was a bit blurry. She blinked the blurriness away before looking up at Law who was studying her softly. "I feel dizzy. I panicked again, didn't I?"

            Law nodded.

            She sighed. "I'm so-"

            "No, don't apologize." Law cut her off. "It was my fault."

            "What do you mean?"

            He stroked his fingers through her hair before answering. "I didn't think the plan through enough. I shouldn't have taken you right into the village. I should have done it step by step instead. I'm sorry."

            "It's okay. Are we…going to try it again?" Neo asked.

            Law studied her quietly for a while. He then said, "I would like to walk you through the entire village before we leave. We won't stop at any store or talk to anyone. We'll just walk right through then go back to the sub. Do you think you can handle that?"

            "I don't feel like I can handle anything at the moment. Can we just sit here for a while? Please? I just need to adjust to this a bit longer." Her eyes pleaded with him.

            "Of course." Law tightened his hold on her. "We can sit here as long as you like."

            "Thank you, Captain." Neo's body relaxed with a sigh. She rested her head on his shoulder then noticed all the animals around them. They were quietly and intently watching her. She didn't say anything about them. The dog walked over and laid his head on her leg with a low whimper. She slid her hand to the dog's head and lightly stroked her fingers over his fur.

            They sat there for almost an hour before Neo turned her eyes back to him. "I…I think I'm ready to try it again."

            "Okay. We're getting up now." Law allowed her to move away from him before standing up. He once again claimed her hand in his then started walking her back to the village. "Here's what we're going to do this time. We're going to walk back to the village, when you get scared we'll stop, you can settled down and when you're ready we’ll continue to move closer. We'll repeat that process until we make it through. Understand?"

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded.

            Law cringed lightly at the word 'sir'. Neither one of them said anything after that until Neo tugged on his arm nervously. They were about twenty yards from the town at that point. A few people tossed them curious glances but didn’t say anything as they went on about their business.

            "All right. We'll stop here for a while." Law kept her hand in his. He turned to her and carefully watched her. Her eyes kept flittering to the town then quickly away from the noise. "Just keep breathing. We're in no hurry here. When you're ready, just tell me."

            Neo nodded.

            Law watched her quiet for a while before speaking to her again. "You know, Neo, you don't have to call me 'sir' so much."

            "Hm?" Neo tilted her head. "I didn't realize I was saying it that much. I guess I do it because you're the one in charge."

            "True. But it's starting to sound a bit to formal," Law said.

            "Formal?"

            "Stiff."

            "Why?"

            "Well, because our relationship has changed. We're closer now than when you first came to live with us," Law explained. He made her tense when he tucked her hair behind her ear.

            "I see." Neo nodded. "Is it still fine to call you captain?"

            "Yes, that's fine." Law nodded with a light smile. His mind drifted back to the time she said his name in her sleep. His smile grew as his heart thumped against his chest. He knew someday he'd give her permission to use his name. Now just wasn't the right time.

            Fifteen minutes after stopping, she tugged on his arm. "I've calmed down. We can move closer now."

            Law nodded and started to slowly move towards the town again. They were just outside the boarder, maybe eight yards, of the town when Neo tugged on his arm. "Stop. Please."

            "Okay." Law immediately stopped walk. He squeezed her trembling hand. "You're doing great, Neo."

            "Am I?" Neo turned her eyes up to him. "I don't feel like it."

            "You are." Law nodded. "I should have thought of this before. Then I wouldn't have caused you to pass out. I'm sorry about that."

            "It's okay. You just made a mistake. We all do th-" Neo jumped when something smacked her leg. She grabbed onto Law tighter and trembled.

            "It's just a ball." Law gave her a gentle squeeze. "Nothing to be afraid of."

            Neo raised her eyes from him and looked at the ball that had rolled a few feet away. A small group of four kids were playing with it when a burly boy smacked the ball away from them.

            "Hey! That wasn't very nice!" a pigtailed girl shouted.

            "Go cry to your mommy about it!" The burly boy laughed. He flipped the back of the girl's dress up, causing her to scream.

            Neo grabbed tighter onto Law and turned her face into his arm. He patted her hand comfortingly, relaxing her a bit. "They're just kids messing around. They don't even notice we standing here."

            "Ha ha!" The burly boy ran over and grabbed the ball. His brown hair was a mess, sticking up in all directions, and his clothes were covered in dirt. He held the ball over his head, taunting the other kids. "My ball now!"

            "Jerk!" another girl shouted. "Give that back!"

            "Come and get it!" the boy teased. The kids chased after him when he ran off through the town.

            Law shifted his sword on his shoulder then stroked her hair while speaking softly to her. "See? They did bother us at all."

            Neo looked in the direction the kids ran. She then looked up at him. "We…we can move farther in."

            Law nodded and started walking again. When he sensed her anxiety rising, he spoke to her. "All right, we're getting closer to more people now. Just keep your attention on me."

            Neo looked back up at him. "O-okay."

            "So how do you like your new books that the crew go for you on the last island we stopped at?" Law asked.

            "I-I really like them. I'm glad they got them for me," Neo said softly. She kept her eyes locked onto him as they walked along and talked.

            "That's good. They weren't sure what genre to get for you. I'm surprised they didn't get you one of each. Do you have a favorite book?" Law asked. He smiled when he noticed his distraction was working. They were about half way through the town and she didn't even notice.

            "Yeah." She lightly nodded. "I really like this one book. It's a, um, I think Shachi called it a fantasy."

            "Oh? What's it about?"

            "It's about this fairy who has to go on this journey to gain her wings and learn what her gift is. Along the way, she hurts her ankle and meets up with a prince. He helps her with her ankle and ends up explain to her that his mother is very sick. He's needs a special flower that will heal her. His only problem is only fairies can use the flower's magic properly. She agrees to help him and they continue on their journey."

            "What happens to them?"

            "They get into a lot of trouble with goblins, a giant and some bad fairies. The fairy gets her wings and learns that her gift is controlling plants when the prince gets knocked off a cliff. She saves him with vines. It turns out that she can create the flower that the prince needs. They rush back to his castle and she heals his mother without any trouble. She has to go back to her world to train with her magic and wings, but they promise to meet again someday."

            "Sounds like you really enjoy it."

            "I do." Neo nodded. "I think I like it because the prince reminds me of you."

            "Really?"

            "Yeah." Neo nodded again. "He helped the fairy and you helped me."

            "I guess there are a few similarities." The two stopped walking. Law studied her before speaking again. "Neo? Do you realize we've made it to the other side of the town?"

            "Wha…" Neo looked back towards the town. They were standing several feet from it. She shook her head in confusion then looked back up at Law. "But how?"

            "I distracted you when you started to get upset again." Law smiled lightly.

            "But I…I don't understand. I thought I was supposed to be getting use to people."

            "You will in time. But for now, you needed to keep your focus on me. So don't get use to me doing this all the time though. I'm only going to do it when you really need it. Next time I won't distract you as much. One step at a time, just like we did with your crystals."

            "Oh…okay." Neo blinked then threw her arms around Law's waist. "Thank you, Captain!"

            Law chuckled. He patted her back. "Come on. Let's head back to the sub now. This time, I'd like you to look out at the town twice while we walk through it. Think you can do that for me?"

            "Uh." Neo's eyebrows turned up in worry and thought. "I can try."

            "Good girl." Law took her hand again. "Let's go now."

            Walking back through the town, Law proceeded to distract her once again by getting her to talk about her books. Just like he ordered, when she felt like she could do it, Neo pulled her eyes from him and looked around her surroundings. It was only for about two seconds before she returned her gaze to the only person she trusted here. He nodded. "That was fine. You're doing well. Just continue to focus on me."

            "I'm trying. I'm a bit more aware of where I am this time. Did you have to tell me what you were doing?" Neo pouted.

            "Yes, I did." Law chuckled. Neo took a relaxing breath and continue telling Law about her books. They were about three fourths of the way through the town when a sudden loud boom wracked the air and rattled nearby windows.

_BOOOOOM!!!!!_

            "Ah!" Neo screamed. She pulled her hand from Law and grabbed her head, tears streaking down her cheeks. Another boom made her jump into Law's arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest with a whimper.

            Law wrapped his left arm around her while holding his, still sheathed sword, at an angle behind her. He quickly scanned his eyes over their surrounds to try and figure out if they were under attack. He relaxed a bit when he noticed the townspeople weren't panicking at all. They all just stopped what they were doing and turned in the same direction. Law looked and saw they were staring at a thick cloud of smoke rising out of the town on the west side. When one of the townspeople stepped up beside him, he spoke up. "What was that?"

            "Oh that's just Maurice. He's a local inventor around here. His experiments often explode like that," the man replied. He then noticed Neo. "Is she all right?"

            "She'll be fine. The blast just startled her," Law replied. He looked down at the trembling girl in his hold. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "It's okay, Neo. I'm taking you back to the sub now. Loosen your hold on me, okay?"

            Law, for a second, didn't think she was going to. But she loosened her hold enough to allow him to pick her up. Without another glance or word to the man, Law headed back to the sub with Neo clinging to his shirt.

…

            "What was that?" a crewmate asked, looking up from his handful of cards. The crew stopped what they were doing when they heard a muffled, but loud, boom outside of the sub.

            "It sounded like it came from town," Bepo said.

            "Are we under attack?!" Penguin asked while bolting for the door of the rec. room. The rest of the crew followed down the hall and up the stairs to the main floor. They all ran out on the deck and gasped at the black smoke rising into the sky. "Neo! Let's go!"

            "Wait!" a crewmate shouted before Penguin could descend down the ladder. Penguin turned back to see his crewmate pointing to the island. "The captain and Neo are fine. They're coming back."

            Penguin released his tension with a sigh. They all waited anxiously for their captain to warp himself and Neo onto the deck. He stepped forward to check on Neo when they finally arrived. "What happened, Captain? Is she all right?"

            "What was with the blast?" Bepo asked.

            "It was just an explosion from an inventor's project or something. The blast just scared her," Law said looking at the girl in his arms. She had pulled her face from his chest, but wasn't looking at anyone yet.

            "Poor thing." Penguin placed his hand on her head. She turned her eyes to him. He gave her a tender smile and lightly ruffled her hair. "Hey, you."

            “Hey,” Neo squeaked.

            "Let's get her inside," Law said. The crew parted for their captain to take her inside. "And shove off now. We’re done here."

            "Aye aye, Captain!" Archer said with salute before running off for the control room.

            Law ignored his scrambling crew as he carried her downstairs to his room. Once there, he closed the door with his foot then sat down on the bed with her on his lap. "Neo?"

            "Captain," she whispered, "I really don't want to do that again."

            "We're done with this island. You'll have plenty of time to relax and get use to the idea of going around people again by the next island," Law said. "You actually did very well. A lot better than I thought you would. I'm impressed. I think you could use a hot bath now."

            Neo tilted her eyes to him.

            He reached up and brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek, making her tense. "It'll help you relax. Would you like that?"

            "O-okay." Neo nodded. "I would like that."

            Neo slid off his lap. Not feeling like putting jeans back on, Neo grabbed her a clean pair of pajamas to lounge about in.

            Law watched her closely. He stood up when she started to walk back in his direction. Without a word, he leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead.

            Clenching the clothes to her pounding chest, her body tensed up tightly. "W-what was that f-for?"

            "I just felt like it." Law pulled back from her so he could see her surprised expression and red cheeks. "Is that all right?"

            She nodded. "Yes."

            "Good. Get into the bath now. And take your time. I'll be right out here if you need me." Law smiled. He watched her as she nodded, touched her fingers to her forehead, and disappear into the bathroom with a light smile on her lips.

            Just as Law sat down at his desk there was a knock at the door. "Come in."

            The door cracked open and Penguin popped his head in.

            Law smirked. "Worried about her?"

            Penguin nodded. "Where is she?"

            "She's taking a bath."

            That's when Penguin heard the water running.

            "How did she do, Captain?" Penguin asked, stepping farther into the room.

            "Well, at first, due to an error I made, she did freak out and pass out. But after I adjusted how we entered the town and walked through it, she did a lot better than I thought she would." Law leaned back in his head. He placed his hands behind his head, lacing his fingers together. "The keys to making this work is distracting her and letting her adjust to new things and people while reinforcing the fact that she knows we're there to protect her. We're going to continue this process with each island we stop at from now on. Eventually, I want you to join us and a few others later on."

            "Is she going to be ready for Sabaody?" Penguin asked.

            Law smiled. "She's going to be just fine."

            “All right then,” Penguin said. “I’ll leave for now. She’ll probably want to sleep if she’s too stressed out after this.”

            “Probably,” Law said. “I wouldn’t count on her helping you cook tonight.”

            “That’s fine.” Penguin smiled. He headed for the door without another word.

            Once the door clicked in place, Law looked over at the bathroom door before dropping his eyes down to some papers on his desk. He started thumbing through them. Thinking about how they haven’t done all that much pirating since Neo has been on the sub. That was going to have to change. And it would change. He just hoped Neo continued to adjust as well as she has been doing so far.

…

            Neo shifted in the hot bath. Tiredness was starting to wash over her despite how good the hot water felt on her tense muscles. She shoved the desire to stay in longer away and pulled herself out of the water. She knew the captain wouldn’t be happy if she fell asleep in the tub and accidently try to drown herself. Grabbing her towel, she wrapped it around herself before reaching back into the water and unplugged the drain. The water gurgled as it made its way to the holding tank where it would stay until someone on the crew drained it.

            She then ran the towel over her body before summoning a wind and fire crystal. Careful with the fire crystal, she used her wind crystal to use the heat of the fire and dried herself off. When her hair was completely dry, she placed the towel back on the rack and pulled her clothes on. She then grabbed her hairbrush and mindlessly left the room, brushing out her hair as she went. She yawned upon entering the captain’s bedroom.

            “Getting sleepy?” Law asked from his desk.

            “Uh huh,” Neo replied walking over to the nightstand. “I’m going to take a nap. Is that all right?”

            “Of course it is,” Law said. “Don’t worry about cooking either. Penguin was here a little while ago and said he’d take care of it if you’re too tired.”

            “Okay.” Neo ran her brush through her hair one last time before placing it down on the nightstand. She then crawled onto the bed, pulled her cover over her, and fell asleep in seconds.

            Law couldn’t help but chuckle at little bit. He also chastised himself for having her take a bath. He should have known she would have been stressed out and wanted to sleep. But at least she was sleeping now. And he would allow her to sleep until she woke up on her own.


	21. Lawless Stroll

Lawless Stroll

 

            Thoughts wondered in and out of Law’s mind as he worked his shaving cream in his cup with even strokes. Once it was lathered up, he applied it to his face while thinking over how Neo has been doing when they stopped on islands. So far they had been luck to stop at six different smaller islands for her to get off at. Of course little by little the size of the islands increased and they have gotten lucky enough to not get into any major fights with the Navy or pirate crews. A few minor skirmishes have popped up here and there but it was over quickly. Neo didn’t have to participate in those at all. He was able to get her away from the fighting before it got too serious, either by himself or having a crewmember take her back to the sub.

            Now lathered up, he set the cup and brush down to pick up the razor he often used. But he didn’t get the blade to his skin before an innocent bell filled giggle appeared in the room with him, making his heart strum wildly in his chest. Turning his eyes to the door, he found Neo standing there with a grin on her cute face. “And why are you laughing at me?”

            “You kind of look like Bepo,” Neo said.

            Law cocked an eyebrow at her then looked at himself in the mirror. He didn’t think he looked anything like Bepo. But he wasn’t going to burst her bubble so he didn’t say anything about it. “I thought you were with Archer in the control room.”

            “I was,” Neo said. “But I got bored.”

            Law pressed the razor to his cheek and pulled down.

            “What are you doing?”

            “Shaving,” Law replied.

            “Shaving? Why?”

            “Because I like my sideburns and goatee just so,” Law said, continuing to rake his razor over his skin.

            “Will I ever have to shave my face?” Neo asked.

            Law smiled. “No, Neo. Women don’t shave their faces. They shave different parts of their bodies from men.”

            “Women shave their bodies?” Neo tilted her head.

            Law glanced over to her, thinking how he’s not explained to her, yet, certain things women do that men don’t, as well as stuff they do together. He knew he probably should have spoke about this before to her, but getting her use to people and using her crystals took priority over self-grooming. “Let me finish up here and I’ll explain it and show you what I mean. Okay?”

            “Okay.” Neo nodded.

            Law turned back to the mirror. He continued shaving while sensing Neo inching closer and closer to him. Then a small breeze filled the room, teasing his hair. He chuckled and looked over at her. She was hovering beside him, her eyes curiously locked onto his face before dropping down to his shirtless chest. Her cheeks flared up. Her wind and wind crystals disappeared causing her to drop down to her feet. He bit back a chuckle and quickly finished up. After washing off the remaining shaving cream, he pulled his shirt back one then tapped Neo on her head with his knuckles. “Snap out of it now and hop up on the sink.”

            “O-okay,” Neo said with gulp. Placing her hands on the counter, she lifted herself upon it and waited for his instructions.

            “Go ahead and take off your shirt so we don’t get it wet,” Law said.

            “Yes, sir.” Neo pulled her shirt off with no hesitation and placed it beside her. “Now what?”

            Law, unwittingly, let his gaze skim over her chest before reaching for the remaining shaving cream in his cup. “Lift up your right arm.”

            “Okay.” Neo lifted her arm up.

            Law took his shaving brush and applied a little cream to her armpit. He then placed it back on the counter and picked up his razor. “Now, I don’t want you to do this without me if you want to do this on your own later. If you’re not careful you can easily cut yourself. Understand?”  
            “I do.” Neo nodded.

            Law nodded back then proceeded to carefully shave under her armpit. When he got it hair free he wetted the corner of his towel, washed then dried her armpit. “Feel that.”

            “It’s so smooth.” Neo ran her fingers over her armpit.

            “Some women shave their arms and legs for the smoothness,” Law said. “But they also do it for style when they wear short sleeves, swimming suits, shorts, or mini skirts.”

            “Shorts? Mini skirts?” Neo blinked.

            “You’ll see them when you start shopping for yourself,” Law said. “Would you like to try and shave your other armpit?”

            “Uh, I guess so,” Neo said.

            “Then spread a little of this cream over it,” Law ordered. “Just like I did.”

            Neo nodded. Picking up the brush she did as she was told.

            “Good. Now take the razor,” Law said. When she did he placed his fingers over hers and carefully guided the blade over her skin. “Just like that. Try on your own now.”

            Neo nodded again. Slowly she raked his razor over her armpit until it was finished. “I did it!”

            “You did.” Law nodded. “Would you like to try your legs now?”

            “Yes, please!” Neo nodded enthusiastically.

            Law chuckled and started mixing together some more shaving cream since there wasn’t enough for both her legs. “Put your shirt back on and removed your pants now.”

            “Okay!” Neo slid her shirt back on before hopping off the sink to slid her pants off. When she got back on the sink, he was ready.

            “Straddle your right leg over the sink here,” Law said. After she positioned her leg, he started applying the cream to her leg and trying really hard not to get lost in the curve of it. Her weight gain was evident more now than ever. Which reminded him, it was coming close to the crew’s health check ups. And it’s been a while since he’s checked Neo’s weight, too. “Neo, before long I’m going to be giving you a health check up.”

            “Why?” Neo asked.

            “Just to make sure you’re remaining healthy,” Law said. “I know you’ve put on some weight since you’ve been here. That’s a very good thing. I just occasionally give the entire crew health check ups to make sure they don’t have any medical issues pop up.”

            “Oh,” Neo said. “I understand.”

            “Very good. Let’s move on to your legs now,” Law said, slowly raking the razor over her leg. “You have to be careful just like your armpits. Take slow easy stroke.”

            Neo nodded then took the razor when he handed it to her. Together they worked until both legs were smooth and free of hair. She sighed, tiredly. “That was quite a bit of work. And how often do women do this?”

            “Most do it when their hair starts growing out again,” Law said. “But some will go a few days as their hair grows. It just depends on what you feel like doing.”

            “Seems like a lot of work,” Neo said, rubbing her hands up and down her now smooth legs. “I don’t know if I’ll want to do this often.”

            “That’s fine,” Law said. “We should still pick you up some of your own razors and shaving cream.”

            “Why?” Neo looked up at him.

            “It’ll be better for your skin to use what’s appropriate for women,” Law said.

            “Oh.” Neo tilted her head then smiled. “Can I go tell the crew I shaved?!”

            “If you want,” Law said. “But put your jeans back on and don’t take them off. The crew doesn’t need to see you in your underwear.”

            “Okay.” Neo slid off the sink and pulled her jeans back on. Once they were zipped and buttoned, she dashed out of the room. “See you later, Captain!”

            Law chuckled before cleaning up the bathroom.

…

            Neo careened out of Law’s room and down the stairs. Voices from the rec. room greeted her as she got closer to it.

            “I can’t wait,” a crewmate said. “It’s going to be amazing going to the New World.”

            “I think it’s going to be scary,” another said. “That’s where the Four Emperors are.”

            “We’ll be fine,” a third said. “The captain won’t let us go until we’re ready. And he’s becoming quite infamous. We’re going to be the best crew on the seas!”

            “Guys!” Neo busted into the room. “I shaved!”

            “Huh?” All three of them turned to her confused at what she was talking about.

            “The captain taught me how to shave my legs!” Neo pulled up the legs of her jeans as much as she could to show them her smooth legs. “He also taught me how to shave my armpits!”

            “Well, what do you know,” a crewmate said, leaning closer to her legs. “She’s right. They’re smooth.”

            “So the captain taught you how to shave,” the second crewmate said. “That’s amazing!”

            “He’s going to get me my own shaving razors and creams when we dock again!” Neo said before spinning around and dashing for the door again before they could say anything else. “I have to tell the others!”

            Turning back down the hall, she headed right to the crew’s quarters. Upon seeing Penguin and Shachi’s door halfway open, she went right for it, excited to tell them. She knocked on the door before poking her head inside. She found Penguin had his head in a closet while Shachi was lying on is bed, thumbing through a newspaper.

            “Hey, Neo,” Shachi said with a smile.

            “Ah, finally come to see our dirty room, huh?” Penguin pulled out of the closet. Smiling he placed his hands on his hips. “You can come in.”

            “Thank you.” Sheepishly, Neo stepped into the room and looked around. Having this being the first time she entered into their room, she wasn’t sure what she was expecting. There were four beds in all, built into the walls on the left and right side of the room, like bunk beds. Each bed had two shelves built into the bottom of them and two closets were at the ends of the bed as well as two desks and chairs on the back wall. The room has a strange musty smell to it. It didn’t smell as clean as the captain’s room, but it was still nice.

            “Did you need something?” Shachi said while folding the newspaper and placing it down on his bed.

            “The captain taught me how to shave my armpits and legs,” Neo announced, pulling her jeans legs up again. “They’re really smooth now.”

            Penguin walked up to her and squatted down in front of her. “Wow! So they are! That must be exciting!”

            “It is!” Neo admitted. “I didn’t know people shaved like this. The captain’s even going to get me my own razor and shaving cream.”

            “That’s great.” Penguin stood up.

            “So what are you two doing in here?” Neo asked, letting her jeans fall back in place.

            “I was just putting up some laundry,” Penguin said. “Shachi’s being lazy.”

            “Hey! I’m am not!” Shachi said.

            “You are too,” Penguin said. “You’re about out of clean boiler suits.”

            “I’ll wash them later,” Shachi said. “I still have one clean.”

            “And then you’ll get it dirty then complain about not having any clean clothes,” Penguin said, crossing his arms.

            “Shachi’s being a naughty boy,” Neo said.

            “Hey!” Shachi protested. He slid off his top bunk and quickly grabbed her in a playful headlock. “I’m not being naughty!”

            “Yes! You are!” Neo giggled.

            “Naughty and lazy,” Penguin said.

            “Oh! Come on now!” Shachi said. “I don’t need you both ganging up on me!”

            “Anyway,” Penguin said. “How are you feeling? We’re about to stop at another island. Are you ready for this one?”

            “Not really,” Neo said. She stood up straight when Shachi released her, but kept his arm around her shoulders. “But I’m trying not to think about it. I know it’ll only upset me more if I do.”

            “It’s understandable,” Shachi said. “This is the first time you’re going to walk around an island with us instead of the captain.”

            Neo whimpered and leaned into Shachi.

            “You poor baby.” Shachi hugged her.

            “Oh, in that case,” Penguin said, stepping back over to the closet. He pulled out one of his boiler suits. “Let’s have a little fun.”

            “What kind of fun?” Neo asked.

            “We’re going to dress you up in one of my suits,” Penguin said.

            “That sounds like fun,” Neo said.

            “Just pull it on over your clothes,” Penguin said, handing her the suit.

            Neo did as she was told. She pulled it on over her clothes, finding it was way too big for her. The sleeves hung off her hands about eight inches. She couldn’t help but laugh at how the suit swallowed her. “I don’t think I’ll fit this.”

            “But you’re so cute!” Penguin squealed.

            “Too bad we don’t have a camera,” Shachi said. “Maybe we should get her a suit of her own.”

            “Now that would be insanely cute,” Penguin said.

            “And incredibly dangerous.”

            “Huh?” The three looked up to find Law standing in the door with a light frown on his face.

            “I’m sorry, Captain,” Neo said, ducking her head.

            “Don’t be.” Law walked over to her and placed his hand on her head. “It’s just, wearing our Jolly Roger would put you in a lot of danger not only from the Navy but also from other pirates. You’re not ready to deal with a big battle. It’s already dangerous enough for you to just be with us.”

            “But I’m staying with you,” Neo said. She looked up at him. “Right? You’re my family.”

            “Of course we are,” Law said. “Nothing will ever change that. I just want to keep you as safe as possible. Do you understand?”

            “I do.” Neo nodded.

            “Good girl.” Law stroked her hair before allowing his hand to drop back to his side. “You can wear the Jolly Roger while on the sub.”

            Neo smiled. “Thank you, Captain.”

            “She’s so easy to please,” Shachi said.

            “When are we landing, Captain?” Penguin asked.

            “In a couple hours,” Law replied. “Neo, when we get closer I want you to meet me at the main door. We’re not going directly onto the island. But I do want to look at it before we do.”

            Neo nodded.

            “So how exactly is this going to work this time?” Shachi asked. “I know Neo is going to walk around with us for a while.”

            “We’re all going to stay together until Neo is comfortable enough to leave my side,” Law explained, figuring while he’s already been over this with Neo it still would help her to go over it again. “I figure we’ll get something to eat first then see how she’s doing after that.”

            Neo pulled her arms up to her chest, trying to keep herself from shaking.

            “Sounds good to me,” Shachi said.

            “Neo doesn’t think so,” Penguin said, wrapping his arm around her shaking shoulders.

            “Neo, deep breath,” Law ordered.

            Neo breathed in and slowly let it out. “I’m fine. Um, do I have to wear my shoes?”

            Law thought about her question for a moment. “I don’t think it’ll be necessary this time. You’ll be under enough stress as it is. But if a fight does break out I want Penguin to bring you immediately back to the sub. Use your wind crystals to fly yourselves.”      

            “Yes, sir,” Neo said.

            “You got it, Captain.” Penguin saluted.

…

            Two and a half hours later, Neo-no longer in Penguin’s boiler suit-wonder up to the main deck where she was suppose to meet the captain. When she rounded the edge of the stairs, she saw him standing there with the door open. He was leaning against the doorframe, peering outside. Just beyond him, she could see the sky and part of the island. She fiddled with her shirttail while she walked up to him. Once she was behind him, she clung to the back of his hoodie and peaked around his arm. The sub was skirting along side the rather large island. She gulped hard and pressed into Law’s back.

            “It’s all right, Neo,” Law said. “Remember, we’re not going onto the island until you’re ready to.”

            “I know,” Neo said. “It’s still scary.”

            “You’ve done well,” Law said. “There’s no need to be afraid. We’ll be right beside you the entire time.”

            “But you won’t,” Neo said. “You’re going to leave me.”

            “I’ll never leave you, Neo,” Law said. “While you won’t be able to see me, I will be there. And I’ll have a transponder snail. So Penguin can contact me if you really need me to come to you.”

            “Can I have Penguin do that the second you walk away?” Neo asked.

            Law chuckled. He should have expected that. “No, you cannot. I want you to at least spend five minutes away from me.”

            “Yes, sir.” Neo sighed, reluctant but obedient to his orders. She settled into watching the docks of the island come closer and closer until the sub slowed down and the anchor had been released. The docks weren’t all that busy but about twenty people were roaming around them, some on the island others on ships. As far as she could see into the town it appeared that not a lot was going on. Like the docks, a few people were out but not many.

            The crew’s voices and footsteps came up the stairs to greet them before their bodies appeared. They, like always, was happy to land as they made their way out onto the deck.

            “It feels so good out here!”

            “I know! Such a nice day to spend on an island.”

            “I wonder how many pretty girls are here.”

            “I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.”

            “Still nervous about going out,” Penguin said.

            “Yeah.” Neo nodded to him. “But I’m about ready to leave. I think. Do you think they are other pirates here?”

            Law stepped out farther onto the deck and scanned the ships. From his viewpoint he noticed a couple ships did have black flags. But since the wind wasn’t blowing he couldn’t check to see if he knew their Jolly Rogers. “There are a few here. I’ll send a couple crewmates ahead of us to check things out. We’ll avoid them as much as possible.”

            Neo watched as Law pointed to two of his subordinates and ordered them to go ashore and check things out. They were two of the crew’s scouters. They nodded then headed off to fulfill their orders. “Will they be all right?”

            “Of course,” Penguin said. “They’re just going to see where the other pirate crews are.”

            “They won’t get into fights unless it’s absolutely necessary,” Law concluded.

            Neo scanned her eyes over the docks once more before taking two small, timid steps out onto the deck. The desire to run back inside the safety of the sub when some men on the ship next to the laughed filled her body. It was cut short when Law walked back over to her and stood by her side to block the men from seeing her with his body.

            “They’re not going to hurt you,” Law said. “They don’t even notice we’re here.”

            “Okay.” Neo nodded and took a half step closer to him. Her eyes continued to search over the island. The town looked a whole lot bigger than the ones she’s been in before. And the forest was farther back. She wouldn’t have that to comfort her if she needed it. But she did sense a lot of cats and dogs in the town.

            An hour later the two crewmates had finally returned. Law walked over to the edge of the sub and looked down at them. “Well?”

            “Everything’s good,” one called up.

            “There are only four pirate crews here. And they’re scattered about the many taverns in town,” the second one said. “Each crew only equals about a hundred million.”

            “That’s below the captain’s bounty,” Shachi said.

            “We shouldn’t have any problems with them then,” Penguin said.

            “Are we going inland now, Captain?” Bepo asked.

            “Neo?” Law looked back at Neo who was now standing in the middle of the deck with three other crewmates near.

            “I guess so,” Neo said.

            “Then let’s go,” Law said before disappearing down the ladder.

            Neo rushed over to him, not wanting him to stay out of her sight for long. She waited for him to be about halfway down before climbing down after him. The deck was warm under her bare feet when she had reached it. It was also smooth from the wear it received from both travelers and nature. She moved closer to Law while the rest of the crew descended down the ladder. Her eyes darted from the end of the deck where the new people were and down to the deck at her feet. Reaching up, she grasped a hold of Law’s sleeve and tugged gently. “I…I think I’m ready.”

            “Then let’s proceed,” Law said. At a steady pace, he led Neo and his crew down the deck. He took casual glances at her to see how she was doing. Her hand was clenching tightly to his sleeve. He didn’t dare pull away. He had become her lifeline, her security. If she felt comfortable enough to release him then she would. If not, then fine. He figured most people would just assume she was his or one of his subordinates’ little sister. That would be a good cover for her if anyone asked. He was going to do his best to not let her get label a pirate or a bounty placed on her head.

            “I smell something,” Neo said just as they reached the end of the docks.

            “I smell something, too,” Bepo said, sniffing the air. “Smells like grilled fish.”

            “Captain, when are we going to eat?” Neo looked up at him.

            “You hungry?” Law asked.

            “A bit.” Neo nodded. “Mostly because that fish smells really good.”

            “We ran across that earlier, too, when we were scouting out the town,” the first scouter said. “We can show it to you if Neo really wants to eat there.”

            “Can we? Please, Captain?” Neo asked.

            “Very well,” Law said. “Lead the way.”

            The scouter nodded and headed into the town. He kept his gate slow so he could stop if Neo wanted to. But it didn’t happen. Neo remained quietly clinging to their captain’s sleeve while taking timid glances around the town, avoiding eye contact with anyone outside of the crew. “There it is.”

            Neo looked up to see him pointing at a simple wood building with a sign over the door that read Ol’ Captain. The smell of the grilled fish was stronger here. It made her stomach rumbled and her mouth water. They entered to find it half full of people scattered around the room. Without a word, Law led them over to a corner table. With his hand, he directed Neo to sit down with her back against the wall so she could see anyone coming. He sat down on her right side while Penguin took the seat to her left. Luckily, no one else was sitting near them so she had a straight shot to the door if she felt like she needed to escape. But since it was a little after the lunch rush, he figured the need wouldn’t arise. Still, he wanted her to know she had an escape route.

            “I can also warp you out of here,” Law told her. “So just relax and try to enjoy yourself.”

            Neo nodded stiffly. Her heart raced in her chest. It thumped harder when a woman walked over to them.

            “It’s just the waitress,” Law said.

            The woman walked right up to Law’s other side and smiled while flipping her long black hair over her shoulder before passing out the menus. “This is my lucky day to serve such handsome men.” Her eyes sparkled when she looked at Law. She handed a menu a lot slower to him. “Pirates, am I correct?”

            “You are,” Shachi said. “We’re the Heart Pirates.”

            “And you must be the captain,” she said, still looking at Law.

            Law glanced up at her but didn’t answer.

            “I can always tell who the captain is,” she said. “Even if they’re wearing everyday clothes. My name is Leta. What can I get you all to drink?”

            “You have any sake?” Conner asked.

            “Sorry,” Leta said. “We don’t serve alcoholic beverages here. The boss is against drinking.”

            “Such a shame.” Conner smiled. “I’ll just have water then.”

            “Water it is.” Leta wrote that down before writing the other’s drinks down. She then turned to Neo, who hadn’t spoken yet. “Oh, she’s such a cutie. But what’s a cutie like you doing with a bunch of pirates? I didn’t think kids joined pirate crews.”

            Neo ducked her head, unable to look at anyone with the woman paying attention to her.

            “She’s my sister,” Penguin said before anyone else could speak. “She’s just traveling with us for a while.”

            “I see,” Leta said. “No wonder she’s not wearing your Jolly Roger. Anyway, what would you like to drink?”

            Neo slid down her chair, her breathing threatening to increase from the presence of the stranger.

            Leta chuckled. “Shy, isn’t she?”

            “She is,” Penguin said. “She’ll just have sweet tea.”

            “Sweet tea it is,” Leta said as she walked away. “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

            “Does she have to come back?” Neo asked, peaking up at Law.

            “Yes,” Law said. “She won’t be around much. All she’s going to do is give us our drinks then our meals and check occasionally if we need anything.”

            Neo exhaled, staring at her menu. “What is this?”

            “It’s a menu,” Penguin said. “It shows us what meals they have here.”

            “Why don’t you check it out?” Shachi asked.

            Neo pressed her lips together before reaching for the black menu sitting in front of her on the table. She opened it and scanned her eyes over the words. “They have a lot of food here.”

            “And it all looks so good,” Archer said. “I wonder if their BBQ sauce is any good.”

            “Must you always be obsessed with barbecue sauce?” Conner asked.

            “I can’t help it,” Archer said. “I love the stuff.”

            “Barbecue?” Neo asked. “BBQ?

            “Oh, that’s right,” Archer said. “We haven’t had one since you’ve been with us. It’s done on a grill. You can cook any type of meat and vegetables on it and brush yummy BBQ sauce on it.”

            “BBQ sauce?” Neo asked.

            “BBQ is just a short way of saying barbecue sauce. It’s a seasoning of sorts,” Archer said. “There are many types of BBQ sauces in the world. So far I haven’t tasted a single one that I didn’t like. I’ll let you try a bite of my food.”

            “Okay.” Neo nodded. “Thank you.” Her eyes dropped back to the menu. “Could I try the mess…messute…um…”

            “Mesquite,” Penguin said when he understood the word she was trying to say.

            “Mesquite??” Neo stared at the word. “It sounds funnier than it looks.”

            “I guess it does,” Penguin said.

            “If that’s what you would like,” Law said.

            “It is,” Neo said.

            “All right,” Leta said when she appeared back over to their table carrying two trays on her hands full of the crew’s drinks. She placed one tray down on a near by table then started handing out the drinks. “Have you had enough time deciding what you would like to eat? Or would you like a few more minutes?”

            “We’re good,” Penguin said just before they put in their orders one by one.

            Neo sat quietly as the crew spoke amongst themselves while they waited for their food. She continued taking cautious glances around the room as they waited. Occasionally, she would bring her eyes to Law to find he was watching her. She’d smiled at him and he would smile back. Then slightly familiar plinking sounds pulled her eyes to another table. There she saw five guys tossing small colorful coins into a pile. Tugging on Law’s sleeve, she asked, “What are they doing?”

            “Playing poker,” Law said.

            “Poker?” Neo blinked.

            “It’s a card game where the players bet with money,” Law said. “You’ve seen the crew play it before.”

            “Oh,” Neo said watching the game.

            “Perhaps we should teach her how to play,” Conner said.

            “Absolutely not,” Law said. “She’s too naïve for a game like that. And that’s an order.”

            “Aye, Captain,” the crew said.

            “Is it a bad game?” Neo asked.

            “I can be,” Law said. “And it can cause a lot of problems. I don’t want you playing. Understand?”

            “Yes, sir.” Fifteen minutes later, Leta brought them their food. She waited until the waitress was long gone before picking up her fork and taking a small bite of her fish. The odd smoky flavor danced over her tongue, leaving a slight bitter taste. “It’s different.”

            “Do you like it?” Archer asked.

            “I’m not sure,” Neo said.

            “Try this.” Archer placed a piece of his barbecue fish on her plate.

            “It kind of tastes like honey,” Neo said after swallowing the sweet flavor fish. She ended up tasting a little bit of everyone’s meal and had to share hers since she had eaten too much. “I’m sorry, Captain. I didn’t mean to not eat what I got.”

            “Don’t worry about it,” Law said. “The crew helped you eat it. So no food was wasted.” He finished off his own tea then added, “If you’re ready to go, we should proceed with today’s plan.”

            “I am.” Neo nodded. She then finished off the last swallow of her tea and stood up with the crew. Stepping back outside side she looked up at Law and asked, “Will you walk with me for a little bit?”

            “Of course.” Law nodded. “We’ll stroll around the town a little bit. If we find the correct shop, we’ll stop in and get your shaving supplies.”

            “Thank you, Captain,” Neo said. Pinching a hold of his sleeve, she followed him. The crew gathered around her, all keeping their senses open for possible fights and other pirate crews that might cause trouble. Strolling along down the street a dog came scrambling over to them. He barked happily before licking at Neo’s feet. She giggled, her bells jingled through the air.

            “Ahem!” Shachi cleared his throat while Penguin stepped closer to Neo.

            “Careful, Neo,” Penguin said. “We don’t want anyone noticing your have bells in your laughter. They’ll ask too many questions.”

            “I’m sorry.” Neo clamped her hand over her both, fear filling her eyes.

            “No one noticed.” Law scanned his eyes over the people. No one even looked in their direction. “It’s fine.”

            “Yes, sir.” Neo lowered her hand back down and scratched the dog behind his ear. “Sorry, boy. I can’t play with you right now. Go on home.”

            The dog barked and ran off.

            “Amazing,” Conner said. “I don’t think I’ll ever get use to how easily animals listen to her.”

            “She has a gift,” Archer said.

            Conner hummed in thought as they continued on. All were wondering exactly what kind of gift their girl was blessed with.

            “Let’s stop in here,” Law said, pausing at a building with women’s clothes in the window. “Surely they’ll have what we’re looking for in here.”

            “So nice,” Penguin said, drooling over the mini dress on the mannequin in the window display.”

            “You all stay out here,” Law order. “Bepo and I will escort Neo inside.”

            “Aw, Captain!” the crew whined.

            Neo tilted her head at the crew, unsure of why they were disappointed but still to naïve to ask why.

            “Come on, Neo,” Law said.

            “Okay!” Neo turned and followed him into the building while Bepo trailed behind her. The building smells nice and clean compared to the sub. She looked around the colorful clothes and the few women who were also in the store. She inched closer to Law. “Are we shopping for clothes?”

            “No, just shaving cream and razors.” Law glanced at her clothes. Her jeans had a few worn spots in them but they should last for a while longer. They could get her new clothes some other time. So he lead her through the store until they came upon what he was looking for. Lined up on the wall were several colored bottles of women’s shaving cream.

            “They’re different?” Neo leaned in closer to the colorful bottles. “They smell different?”

            “Women have different taste in smells,” Law said. He grabbed a light green bottle and popped the top of it. Mint swirled out of it. “You’ll have to decide which smell you like best. There should be some that doesn’t have a scent, or not as strong.”

            “That is strong,” Neo said, still smelling the mint. “I don’t like it.”

            Law nodded, capped it, and put it back. For the next few minutes they opened others and sniffed the contents from strawberry to chocolate mint. Some of the smells were soft and pleasant while others were so strong they almost sent Bepo running for the door.

            “Why do women have to have this smelling stuff like this?” Bepo said, his arm over his muzzle. “Honeydew Lavender? Disgusting!”

            “I think I like this one,” Neo said, holding a honey yellow bottle. “It’s called honey…honey-suck-le…honeysuckle?”

            “That’s correct,” Law said, grabbing a bag of razors off the shelf.

            “At least the smell is soft and pleasant,” Bepo said. “Thank you, Neo, for picking that one.”

            “Does it bother your nose that much?” Neo asked.

            “My smell is stronger than a humans,” Bepo said. “So some smells can bother me a bit.”

            “I’m sorry,” Neo said.

            “Don’t worry about it.” Bepo placed his hand on her head. “You’ve picked well. Let’s go.”

            Neo nodded. She followed Law and patiently waited for him to pay for her shaving cream and razors before heading back out to the crew.

            “How did it go?” Penguin asked. “You look calm enough.”

            “It was fine,” Neo said. “Women have a lot of smelly stuff to chose from.”

            “Yeah,” Shachi said, drooling.

            "Are you ready to go? Or do you want to spend some more time with the captain?" Penguin asked.

            Neo chewed her bottom lip and looked up at Law.

            “I think it’s time,” he said.

            “Okay,” Neo replied. Slowly releasing her hold on him, she pinched a hold of Penguin’s sleeve.

            “It’ll be fine,” Shachi said.

            “I have the transponder snail right here.” Law pulled the creature out of his pocket and showed her it. “I’ll be there in a second if you need me.”

            Neo nodded. Her eyes stayed on him while Penguin and crew started leading her away from their captain.

            “It’s just five minute,” Law reminded her.

            She nodded again but continued to watch him until the crew had led her out of his sight.

            Law watched her go. He had to force himself not to run after her as the incident with the mercenaries popped back into his head. Over and over he told himself that she would be safe with the crew and they were still connected through the transponder snail. But that didn’t stop him from following. He wanted to be close in case something happened. As long as he stayed back far enough, Neo wouldn’t see him and try to run to him.

            “Have you heard what the Navy’s doing here?” a man said.

            “Not a clue,” another one replied.

            “They’re testing an ice machine on the northern side of the island.”

            “What? Why?”

            “It’s supposed to be a way for them to capture pirates easier.”

            Law paused.

            “You can’t be serious.”

            “It’s the truth. They’ve been here for several months putting the last touches on the machine. They’re going to use it to freeze pirate ships and pirates. If it’s successful then all the Navy ships will be equipped with them.”

            “Freeze pirates and their ships would make it easier to apprehend them.”    

            “Yeah. But they only have this one made at the moment. Supposedly, it’s taken ten years to perfect this one.”

            Law didn’t linger any longer. He continued after Neo and his crew. His mind buzzed with how much of a pain that was going to be for them. Sure they could dive underwater, but only if they see the attack coming. Lifting his sword free hand, he created a small Room in his palm. If he was frozen solid there was no way he could save himself or his crew. The machine was going to have to be destroyed before they left the island.

…

            Sighing, Neo turned forward only taking casual peaks up when she felt secure enough to do so. Then joyous music entered into her ears. They rounded a corner and found several townspeople dancing on the town square. She tugged on Penguin’s sleeve. “Penguin, what are they doing?”

            “Dancing,” Penguin replied.

            “Dancing?” Neo blinked.

            “It’s an activity done for fun or to entertain,” Penguin said.

            “We haven’t introduced yourself to this because no one on the ship can dance worth beans,” Shachi said, causing the crew to laugh.

            “Good thing for us then,” Archer said.

            “I’ve always seen dancing as a waste of time,” Conner said.

            “So you’ve never danced before?” Archer asked.

            “Nope,” Conner said. “And I don’t plan on it either.”

            “Such a lovely lady had graced us with her presence today,” a man said as he twirled over to them. He held out his hand to Neo and smiled. “Would you like to dance?”

            Neo squeaked and jumped behind Penguin.

            “So shy.” The man chuckled.

            “Get lost,” Penguin hissed.

            “Oh? Is she yours?” the man asked.

            “She’s my sister,” Penguin said. “And she’s not interested in you or anyone else here. So beat it!”

            The crew tightened their ranks around Neo. The man took a nervous step back before dashing off. “Sorry.”

            “Let’s proceed,” Penguin said before leading Neo away from the square.

            “So how you doing?” Shachi ask a minute later.

            “I’m okay,” Neo said. “This isn’t that bad. Though I do miss the captain.”

            “I’m sure he misses you too,” Shachi said. He turned to Bepo when he noticed the bear sniffing the air. “What are you sniffing at?”

            “The captain,” Bepo said. “I can smell him from here.”

            “The wind must have shifted,” Archer said. The crew agreed and they walked on.

            Penguin smiled to himself. He figured that wasn’t completely true. He had a feeling that the captain wasn’t going to let Neo completely out of his sight since this was the first time she was walking around a town without him. Surely the captain was staying close by. He wanted to look around for the man but didn’t want to let Neo notice what he was doing. So he continued to walk on like nothing was going on.

            “Uh oh,” Bepo then said. “We’ve got trouble.”

            The crew looked up to see another pirate crew, of sixteen members, walking towards them with malicious smiles on their faces.

            "Just great," Penguin grumbled. The man in the middle looked to be eyeing Neo directly. He knew the look. He’s seen it before on other men. The man had targeted Neo to basically be his sex slave.

            “Should we call the captain?” Archer asked.

            “Just remain calm,” Penguin said. “We can handle this.”

            “Penguin?” Neo asked, feeling the crew tense up. Her fingers dug tighter into his sleeve.

            “It’s all right.” Penguin patted her hand. “Tighten formation on Neo.”

            The crew moved in closer just as the other pirate crew stopped a few feet in front of them. The captain of the rival pirate crew ran his eyes up and down Neo’s form. He smirked. "Such a pretty little wench. I think I’ll be taking her from this point on."

            "Over our dead bodies," Shachi said, the crew standing ready for a fight.

            “Penguin,” Neo said, her voice shaky and full of fear.

            “Oh, Penguin!” the captain mocked, causing his crew to laugh. “Penguin!

Apparently, you all don't even know who I am."

            Penguin placed his hand on Neo’s hip and pushed her behind him. “Stay behind me.”

            "We don't care who you are," Shachi scoffed. "You're not laying a hand on our girl."

            "Our captain has a bounty of eighty million," a pirate said. "He can do whatever he wants."

            "He's taken an interest in that wench," another pirate said. "So hand her over."

            "So she belongs you all of you?" The captain chuckled again. The Heart Pirates frown at the actual meaning behind his words. He ran his eyes over her again or what he could see of her. "Oh? I miss understood then? Well, if you're not using her properly, I'll take her off your hands. She's obviously a very submission woman. She'll be a wonderful addition to my crew. How much ya want for her?"

            “She’s my sister,” Penguin said. “And you’re not laying a single finger on her. Attack!” The Heart Pirates launched forward as Penguin pulled Neo away from the fight before she could see it happen. “Wind crystals!”

            “R-right!” Neo summoned a wind crystal. Wrapping a breeze around them, she lifted them into the air. Suddenly the captain of the other crew appeared in front of them.

            “Crap! He’s fast!” Penguin cursed.

            “I told you she was mine!” the captain said. He reached for his sword. A blue film spread out around them. Before the man could touch the hilt, his hand went flying off. “What the heck?!”

            “Captain!” Penguin shout.

            Neo lowered them to the ground and dove into Law’s chest, clenching his hoodie hard. “Captain.”

            Law stroked her hair once. “Take her back to the sub.”

            “Aye, Captain.” Penguin nodded.

            “No! I want to stay with you!” Neo said, her voice muffled by Law’s hoodie.

            “Go with Penguin, Neo,” Law said. “I’ll be there soon.” He felt her reluctance as she slowly released him. He locked eyes with her. “I won’t be long.”

            “O-okay.” Neo nodded, tears gathering at the corner of her eyes.

            “Let’s go,” Penguin said. He slipped his arm around her waist and rushed her from the scene.

            “Who the heck are you?” the other captain asked. “Do you even-Ah!”

            Penguin winced at the familiar sound of bones breaking. He knew without a down his captain bone something of the other captain. Looking at Neo, he found she didn’t hear anything. Which was really good. “Summon your wind crystal again and fly us like the plan said.”

            Neo obeyed. Summoning a wind crystal, she lifted them into the air and had them on the deck of the sub in just a few seconds. Penguin opened the door and rushed her into the familiarity of the sub and all the way down to the captain’s room. He figured it would be best for her to be where Law’s scent could surround her. He guided her to the bed. “Here, just sit down.”

            Neo instantly crawled onto the bed and over to her side. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she hid her wet face in them and trembled.

            “You did really good today,” Penguin said. “I’m proud of you.”

            “Will they…will they be all right?” Neo lifted up and looked at him.

            “Of course,” Penguin said, smiling. “They’ll beat those guys in no time at all. Then they’ll be back here in seconds.”

            Neo nodded then waited in silence for the crew to return.

            And like Penguin said, a few minutes later Law’s familiar blue Room appeared. Law quickly followed. He nodded at Penguin. The subordinate nodded back and rushed out of the room. He propped his sword up on the wall and sat down on the bed, his arm slipping around Neo’s waist as she leaned into him and clenched his hoodie again. “It’s all right. You’re safe now. The crew’s safe as well.”

            Neo nodded against him. Her soft voice asking, “Did you…did you k…”

            “No,” Law said. “I didn’t kill him. You don’t have to worry about that. He won’t bother you ever again.”

            Neo relaxed with a sigh. “Thank you, Captain.”


	22. Ice Machine

Ice Machine

 

            Law stayed several minutes after Neo fell asleep before finally pulling himself away from her. With his hands in his pockets he left his room to find where his crew was. Figuring they were probably out on the deck keeping a look out in case the pirates they just defeated would come back he headed upstairs. Halfway there, Penguin appeared on the stairs. “The crew up there?”

            “They are.” Penguin nodded. “I was just coming to check on Neo.”

            “She’s sleeping,” Law said.

            “She got stressed,” Penguin said.

            Law nodded despite the man’s words not being a question. The two headed back up to the deck together. When he had everyone’s attention he told them what he over heard on the island.

            “You can’t be serious! An ice machine?!” Archer all but shrieked.

            “That’s going to be a serious pain,” Conner said. “It’s bad enough that Aokiji has the Ice Ice Devil Fruit.”

            “Captain, are you sure those weren’t just rumors?” Bepo asked.

            “It’s possible that they are,” Law said. “But I don’t want to leave the island not knowing. So I’m sending out the scouters to find more information on this.” He looked at his five scouters. “The machine might be on the northern side of the island. Go there and see what you can find. If you fine it or any Navy, do _not_ engage them. Come back here and report to me what you find. You have four hours. If anything happens, call on the transponder snail.”

            “You got it, Captain.” Five men saluted before leaving the sub.

            “What do we do until they get back?” Shachi asked.

            “Whatever you want,” Law said. “We’re going to be staying here a few days at least. I don’t want to pull Neo out of here too soon. We’ll be sleeping on the sub unless you feel like paying for a room on the island.”

            “It might be nice to seek out some companionship,” a crewmate said with several agreeing with them.

            “Do you think Neo will be all right with us not being on the sub tonight?”

            “She’ll be fine,” Law said. “Most likely she won’t even know or understand why you’re gone. She didn’t even pick up on the waitress flirting with me.”

            “She’s still a child.” Penguin smiled, earning a round of agreements from the crew.

            “If you want to go seek companionship, then that’s fine,” Law said. “But before you all run off its time for mandatory check ups. Bepo, Penguin, I’ll check you two out right now. By the time we’re done Neo should be awake. You two can keep her busy while I take care of the rest of the crew.”

            “Aye aye, Captain!” the crew cheered.

            “How long do you think she’ll sleep?” Archer asked.

            “Probably just an hour,” Law replied. “That seems to be about how long she sleeps when she’s stressed. Archer, in about an hour go to my quarters and see if she’s awake. Once she is escort her up to the medical bay.”

            “Sure thing, Captain,” Archer said.

Law nodded at his first two patients then turned and headed back inside the sub. “Let’s get started.”

            “Aye, Captain.” Bepo and Penguin followed after their captain up to the medical bay.

…

            Neo shifted in the soft bed before opening her eyes. Remembering what happened she sat up with a startled gasp. “Captain?! Captain!”

            “Neo.”

            Neo glanced up when Archer called her name and stepped into the room. “Where…?”

            “You’re a bit disoriented. Just relax. You’re on the sub,” Archer said, walking over to the bed. He held out his hand for her. When she took it, he guided her off the bed and pulled her to his chest. “The captain’s up in the medical bay. He wants you to come up there. I’ll escort you.”

            “O-okay.” Holding on to his hand, she followed him out of the room and up the stairs until they reached the medical bay. Just as they reached the floor, Law and Penguin wondered out of one of the exam rooms. She broke away from Archer and ran to Law, clinging to his hoodie. “Captain…”

            “Is something wrong?” Law asked, placing his hand on her head.

            “She was disoriented when she woke up,” Archer explained.

            “I see. Neo, did you have a nightmare?” Law asked.

            “No.” Neo shook her head before looking up at him. “I got scared. I forgot what happened then I woke up and you weren’t there.”

            “I’m sorry,” Law said, rubbing her back. “I was giving Penguin and Bepo a check up.”

            “It’s okay,” Neo said. “I’m with you now.”

            “Let’s get your check up done,” Law said, guiding her into the exam room. He closed the door behind them before guiding her over to the exam table where a gown was already waiting for her. “Go ahead and change into this gown. Remove your bra as well.”

            “Yes, sir.” Neo pulled off her clothes, placing them neatly on the end of the exam table before slipping the gown on her body.

            “Hop up here.” Law patted the exam table.

            Hopping up on the table, she placed her hands in her lap and patiently waited for Law to do his check up.

            “Let’s check your temperature first.” Law slipped the thermometer into her mouth then tried to check her pulse. He chuckled when she tensed at his touch, her pulse thumped wildly. “I think I’ll check your pulse and heart beat when you’ve settled down a bit.” He took the thermometer out of her mouth, looked at it, and then wrote the results down in her chart. “Ninety seven. Good.”

            Placing the chart down, he pressed his fingers just under her jaw, causing her to tense again and giggle at his fingers dancing across her skin. Her cheeks flushed when he smiled. “Sorry, Captain.”

            “Nothing to apologize for,” Law said. “You’re just a bit ticklish there.”

            Neo continued to sit patiently as Law continued with his exam, obeying his commands without questions when he told her to do something. But suddenly, she started to fidget nervously. She swirled her index and middle fingers around her thumbs before picking at her skin.

            “Something wrong?” Law asked while he pressed her abdomen.

            “I don’t know,” Neo said. “I don’t feel right.”

            “You feeling sick?” Law asked.

            “No, it’s not a sick feeling,” Neo said.

            “Can you explain it to me?” Law asked.

            “I’m more worried than anything,” Neo said.

            “About what?”

            “I’m not sure.” Neo glanced around the room, noting it felt cool and smelled of antiseptics. “The crew’s still here, right?”

            “All but for the scouters. I sent them to check something out,” Law said. When he noticed the worry in her eyes, he quickly added, “They’ll be fine. It’s just a quick look to check out a rumor. They’re only to check it out and come right back here. They also have a transponder snail with them so they’ll call if anything happens. Try to relax.”

            “Yes, sir,” Neo said.

            “Let’s get your weight and height,” Law said.

            Neo sat up and slid off the exam table. She followed Law over to the scales.

            “Step up on it,” Law said.

            Neo obeyed. Her eyes locked onto the little square devices that he moved around until the bar balanced evenly.

            “Hm.” Law hummed.

            “What is it?” Neo asked. “Something wrong?”

            “No, nothing’s wrong,” Law said. “You’ve put on quite a lot of weight since you’ve been here. And you are definitely healthier than you were. Still, you only weight a hundred pounds. I guess you’re just natural small.” He took her height next. “And you’re still only five foot two. I suppose you could just be passed the growing age despite looking so young.”

            “How old do you think I am?” Neo asked.

            “I don’t have a clue,” Law said. “I think I’m going to go ahead and take some blood to be safe.”

            “Okay,” Neo said, frowning.

            “I promise it’ll be as painless as possible.” Law led her back over to the exam table. He signaled for her to sit back down on it while he gathered up the necessary items for taking her blood. He then sat the tray down on the table and sat down beside her. “Just relax.”

            Neo exhaled.

            Law grimaced when she flinched at the needle inserting in her skin. He hated himself for hurting her. But reminded himself that it was necessary. He drew the blood as quickly as he possible could. Setting it aside he held a cotton ball to the pinprick to stop the bleeding before placing a bandage on it. Then, out of nowhere, he lifted her arm and placed a kiss over the bandage.

            Neo squeaked. Her cheeks flushed as her body tightened up like a coiled spring.

            Law chuckled, loving how he was the only one who could make her have that reaction. “Get dressed now.”

            Neo managed a slight nodded before mindlessly sliding off the exam table. She fumbled with her clothes but managed to put them back on. “Um, n-now what?”

            “I’d like you to go spend some time out on the deck,” Law said.

            “Near people.” Neo pouted. “And without you.”

            “I have the rest of the crew to preform checkups on. I’ll be right up here if you need me,” Law said. “Besides, Penguin and Bepo are waiting for you. They won’t let anything happen to you. You need to spend some more time without me. And now would be a good time for that.”

            “Okay,” Neo said. “I’ll go.”

            “Good girl,” Law said. “I’ll see you later.”

            Neo nodded before heading for the door. While walking down the stairs, she fingered the bandage on her arm mindlessly. Stepping back out on the deck she found Penguin leaning against the rail and Bepo laying on the deck. “What’s Bepo doing?”

            “He’s attempting to take a nap,” Penguin said.

            “But it’s not working,” Bepo said. “Too much noise.”

            Neo paused to listen to the world around them. People were talking from the town, seagulls were crying above as they circled masts of ships or dove into the water for lunch, and the waves swooshed against the ships and beach. “I guess it is a bit noisy out here.”

            “I guess your done with your exam,” Penguin said.

            “I am.” Neo nodded, still fiddling with the bandage. “The captain took blood.”

            “Same here.” Penguin showed her his own bandage. “I don’t know anyone who likes getting poked with needles.”

            “I sure don’t,” Neo said. “I’m glad it doesn’t happen very often now.”

            “You don’t have to worry about that,” Bepo said. “The captain only takes blood when necessary. And he’s going to take precautions with you.”

            Neo tilted her head at Bepo sprawled out on the deck.

            “What is it?” Bepo asked.

            “I’m sorry.” Heat rushed to her cheeks. “I, um, just think you look like a fluffy pillow.”

            Penguin laughed. “He might as well be! The captain leans against him all the time!”

            “He does?” Neo asked.

            “You haven’t seen him since you’ve spent more time in the sub,” Penguin said. “But, yeah, the captain often reclines against Bepo when they’re both out here.”

            “Do you get to do that?” Neo asked.

            “Nope,” Penguin said. “Bepo only lets the captain. He’s selfish.”

            “Hey! I am not!” Bepo protested.

            “You never let us lean on you,” Penguin said.

            “I’ll let Neo,” Bepo said.

            “Really?” Neo’s eyes widened.

            “Of course,” Bepo said. “You’re cute, unlike these other morons on the sub.”

            “Hey!” Penguin protested.

            “Come here.” Bepo padded the deck beside him.

            Neo timidly walked over to him and sat down, her right side to his. She leaned against his side finding it very warm. “You’re so soft.”

            “I’m a bear,” Bepo said.

            Neo smiled and relaxed against him. “I like having an animal around.”

            “Oh yeah?” Bepo asked.

            “I love animals,” Neo said just as a seagull landed beside her. She stroked its soft feathers before it rubbed its head against her thigh.

            “We noticed,” Penguin said.

            “They were your only friends until we came along,” Bepo said.

            Neo nodded somberly. “I remember some of them took care of me. They brought me berries and other stuff. But I didn’t eat it. I couldn’t. I was too sad.”

            “You poor baby,” Penguin said. He crossed the deck before squatting and wrapping his arms around her. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore. You’re with us and no one is going to take you away.”

            “I’m glad,” Neo said. “You’re my family.”

            “We sure are,” Bepo and Penguin said.

            Neo, feeling secure and safe, placed her arms over Bepo’s stomach. “You’re so fluffy.”

            “You can lay on me if you want,” Bepo said. “You’ve probably slept with animals before.”

            “I have.” Neo nodded. Biting her bottom lip in uncertainty, she climbed upon Bepo’s stomach and laid down on her own. She smiled. “You make a nice pillow. Every big, cute, fuzzy one.”

            Penguin chuckled.

            Bepo blushed.

            Blushing herself, Neo reached for Bepo’s ears. Upon brushing her fingers against his fur she paused, hesitating and contemplating if she should do it.

            “It’s fine,” Bepo said. “I don’t mind.”

            Neo licked her lips, placed her fingers behind his ears, and gently scratched him. She started to giggle but caught herself in time when a couple men shouted to each other. Instead her smile grew. Soon she had her feet kicking in the air while playing with Bepo’s fur.

            “Looks like the captain has lost his favorite reclining spot,” Conner said, having stepped out onto the deck. The seagull took of to the sky at his unexpected appearance, squawking in annoyance at being disturbed. “Same to you, birdbrain!”

            “I think you might be right.” Penguin, now sitting on the deck propped back on one hand, smiled at Neo and Bepo. The two seemed oblivious to their presence now, even when more of the crew came out on the deck.

…

            Law sighed, satisfied the exams were finally over and that his crew seemed to be healthy. Tapping the small pile of his patient files on the counter, he placed them back in the filing cabinet and closed it with a firm push. After being away from Neo for a little over two hours, he grabbed his sword and headed out to find her. Making it down to the main floor he heard voices coming from the deck so decided to go there first. He squinted upon having the bright sunshine in his eyes. First he saw Conner and Penguin sitting on the deck playing a card game. Then lifted his eyebrows when he saw Neo was lying on Bepo’s stomach beside them. “Well, you seem to be having fun.”

            “Captain!” Neo smiled at him. “Bepo’s so cute! He’s letting me lay on him! But he fell asleep over an hour ago!”

            “I see,” Law said.

            “I think Bepo favors her over you, Captain,” Conner said with a smirk. “You’ve never laid on Bepo before.”

            “I think we all favor her over anyone else on the crew,” Law said, surprising his subordinates with his honesty. He ignored their shocked faces and took his normal spot beside Bepo. Glancing over his shoulder he smiled as he watched Neo brush her fingertip over Bepo’s nose.

            “His nose is wet,” Neo said.

            “Do you know why?” Law asked.

            “Um…” Neo hummed and kneaded her eyebrows, trying to recall her lessons on animals. “It’s because…rhinarium. It’s the naked skin surface surrounding the external openings in most mammals.”

            “That’s correct,” Law said.

            “Looks like your tutoring lessons worked,” Conner said, picking up another card.

            “She’s a bright girl,” Penguin said.

            “You’re biased,” Conner said.

            “I am not!” Penguin snapped. “Neo is a bright young woman! She’s just had a hard life!”

            “I know, I know,” Conner said, rearranging his cards. “We’re all biased when it comes to her.”

            “At least she’s more relaxed now,” Penguin said. “For a moment there I didn’t think she’d stay out here with us.”

            Law nodded in agreement. It was a bit surprising that Neo didn’t come running back into the sub to find him.

            “Captain! Captain!”

            “Hey! One of the scouters has come back!” Archer announced.

            “Only one of them?” Shachi asked.

            “He doesn’t sound very happy,” Archer said as he and Shachi watched their crewmate scramble up the ladder. “What’s going on? Where are the others?”

            The scouter opened his mouth to reply but quickly shut it when he saw Neo looking at him.

            “Neo, go to the rec. room,” Law ordered. “Now.”

            “Yes, sir,” Neo said. She stood from Bepo’s stomach and entered into the sub, giving them all a curious and worried glance.

            “What happened?” Law asked when Neo was out of their sight.

            “The rumor is true,” he said. “But the details were all wrong. It’s not just one machine. It’s a whole bunch, at least ten. The Navy soldiers are wearing them on their hands with a hose leading back to the actual machine on their backs. They were waiting for us since they knew we were here.”

            “They knew?” Shachi asked. “But how? There are no Navy ships around here.”

            “The scientists that are working on the machine saw us and other pirate crews. They were hoping one of us would come looking for the device,” he said. “A Navy ship was on the other side of the island where the research has been going on. I have no idea how long they have been there. But I know the ship is full of Navy soldiers and a couple captains.”

            “It was a trap,” Penguin said.

            “And I sent them right into it.” Law gritted his teeth.

            “We were ambushed. I barely got away but they frozen my transponder snail so I couldn’t call you,” the scouter said, showing them the frozen creature.

            “Let’s go get them!” Conner said, heading for the ladder.

            “Wait,” Law said.

            “What for?!” Conner asked.

            “I’ve already put five of my men in danger from a stupid mistake,” Law said. “I’m not going to let that happen again. And there’s going to be at least a thousand soldiers on that Navy ship. We need a plan before barging in there.”

            “So what do we do?” Bepo asked.

            “I’m not sure yet,” Law said. “I’m confident that we can handle the soldiers easily enough as long as they don’t all come at us at once. It’s the ice machines that I’m the most concerned about.”

            “Too bad we don’t have the Flame Flame Devil Fruit,” Shachi said. “That would easily be able to handle the ice.”

            “We have our own fire wielder,” Law said.

            “Captain! You can be serious!” Penguin said. “She’s just a child! You can’t subject her to one of our battles!”

            “I know that,” Law said. “But what choice do we have? My powers can’t unfreeze the ice. And I could cause more harm than good trying to warp them out of the ice. They’re going to have to be thawed out gradually.”

            “We can bring them back to the sub for that,” Penguin said.

            “I have to agree,” Conner added. “She’s not ready to fight anyone yet. She’s not even use to _just being around_ people yet.”

            “She’s not going to fight anyone,” Law said. He took the frozen transponder snail from his scouter and examined it. “I won’t let her. All she’s going to do is keep us from getting frozen.”

            “But, Captain…” Penguin dropped his eyes to the floor.

            “I understand your concerns,” Law said. “And I know this is going to freak her out quite a bit. _But_ if we lose any member of the crew at this point it’ll only be worse for her.”

            “That makes sense,” Penguin said. “But putting her in the middle of a fight?”

            “I’m not going to put her in the middle if I can help it,” Law said. “We’re going to keep her out of the sight of the Navy as much as possible.”

            “So she’ll hold a distant position,” Shachi said.

            “As long as the fight remains outside,” Law said, “that will be best place for her. Bepo and Penguin will stay with her while the rest of us try and destroy the ice machines and get our crewmates back.”

            “They’ll most likely have our crewmates on the ship already,” Bepo said. “If I remember correctly the brig is on the fifth floor. It’s the entire floor as well.”

            “Or have them sitting out for another ambush,” Shachi said.

            “Both are a high possibility,” Law said. “But we have to do it. I’ll go talk to Neo. We’re going to have to buy a little time. The Navy most likely expects up to come rushing over to them right now. I believe a night strike will be best. While we’re waiting for nightfall, mentally prepare yourselves. We’ll search the area outside of the Navy ship before I warp some of the crew onto the Navy ship. Once the others are located, contact me with a transponder snail with the location and I’ll warp you all back out. Then Neo can lift us up to the sky and back to the sub. Archer?”

            “Sir?” Archer straightened up.

            “I want you to stay with the sub,” Law said. “Have it ready and waiting to depart once we’re back.”

            “You got it, Captain!” Archer said.

            “Will this work though?” Penguin asked.

            “The area has a lot of cover,” the scout said. “She’ll easily be able to hide in the trees and position her crystals where the soldiers can see them.”

            “All right,” Law said. “Prepare yourselves.”

            “Aye, Captain!” the crew said.

            Law nodded to them before heading into the sub. With each step he took he mentally kicked himself for using Neo like this. He knew she wasn’t ready to fight. But he just couldn’t think of another way to get their crewmates back. And he was right. If Neo lost anyone at this point it would do more harm than good having her get involved in the fight. He hated it. He hated himself. How was he going to pull this off and not have Neo go into a mental break down?

            Far too soon he had reached the rec. room. He stood in the hall, not wanting her to see him yet. But it was impossible to delay this for long. He forced his feet to move and stepped into the room. There Neo was sitting on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest. His stomach dropped. Her sad, worried eyes revealed that she knew something bad had happened. Sticking the transponder snail into his pocket, he walked over and sat down beside her.

            “They’ve been captured,” she said. “Haven’t they?”

            “They have,” Law said.

            Neo tightened her arms around her legs. “Are they going to…?”

            “No, Neo,” Law said. “They’re not going to die. I won’t let that happen. The Navy is only holding them for the time being. We’re going to get them back.” He paused, hoping a better plan would come. It didn’t. “We’re going to need your help.”

            “Me?” Neo looked up at him.

            “They’ve created these ice machines,” Law said, pulling out the transponder snail. Neo gasped and gathered the frozen creature into her hands. “The scouters have been frozen. And the rest of the crew could be as well. Use your fire crystals to heat it back up. Just summon two and place it on each side of the snail. Light it and gradually raise the heat.”

            Neo summoned two fire crystals. She hovered them close to the snail and gradually warmed the snail up as she was instructed. The ice slowly melted away from the snail until it was all gone. The snail sneezed. “You poor baby.” She summoned an earth crystal and created the snail some algae to eat while still warming it with her fire crystals. “Here, have a snack.”

            “We’re going to keep you away from the Navy as much as possible,” Law said. “But if we do get frozen like this transponder snail we’ll need you to heat us back up or destroy the machines.”

            “I don’t know if I can,” Neo said. “I’m scared. I don’t want you all to get hurt.”

            “I know.” Law put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. “I promise that everyone is going to be fine. But we can’t pull this off with out you. You’re going to be in a tree with Penguin and Bepo. Once we get the scouters back you’re going to fly us back to the ship. All you have to do is keep us from getting frozen while we free the crew. And you’ll need to keep your crystals out of their sights.”

            “Can’t you just warp the scouters away from the Navy?” Neo asked.

            “I’m not sure where they are,” Law said. “Remember I have to know or see where I’m or who I’m warping are. I could accidently warp soldiers instead of our crew.”

            “So how are we going to get them?” Neo said.

“The rest of us will fight the Navy,” Law said. “I’ll warp a few crewmembers on the Navy ship. Once they contact me after finding the scouters I’ll warp them outside. Then you’ll fly us back to the ship where Archer will be waiting to depart. Just be careful to not let the Navy see you.”

“You think I can do this?” Neo tilted her eyes up to him.

“I know you can,” Law said. “Just look at it as another training session, or a game, with the crew. Only there are more players in this game.”

“A game?” Neo asked.

“Yeah.” Law nodded. “Think of it like tag. Only thing time you’re tagging the ice machines with your fire. You don’t even have to attack or tag the Navy soldiers. Most likely they’ll be more confused at your fire to do any sort of damage to use. As far as they know our crew doesn’t have any fire wielders on crew. So we’ll have the advantage here.”

“Okay,” Neo said. “I think I can do it.”

“That’s my girl.” Law gave her a gentle squeeze. “You’ll have a few hours to get use to the idea. We’re not going after the scouters until the sun sets.”

A knock came on the door. It was followed by, “Excuse me.”

“What is it?” Law looked up to see his scouter standing there.

“If it would help,” he said, “I have a drawing here of what I remember of the area where the Navy ship is. Neo could be a bit more familiar with the area before we go there. Bepo drew it a few minutes ago from what I told him about the area.”

“Come in,” Law said.

            The scouter nodded. He walked over and handed the paper to Neo.

            Neo took the paper and held it where they all could see it. Running her eyes over it, she found a thick forest surrounded a square near the edge of the island with a seagull flag she figured represented the Navy ship. Beside the square the words _Research Base_ was scribbled beside it.

            “This square here is where the research base is located,” the scouter said. “And this seagull flag is where the ship is anchored. The sea is deep enough that they were able to pull right up to the island.” He pointed to the trees to the west of the ship and building. “I think it would be best for Neo to wait here. She’ll have a clear view of the ship and the research building and us.”

            “You understand that, Neo?” Law asked.

            “Yes, sir.” Neo nodded.

            Law glanced up at his scouter with a silent signal to leave them alone for now. He watched his subordinate nod in understanding before leaving the room. His attention dropped back to Neo when she laid her head on his shoulder. His heart skipped a beat. Her sweet smell floated up to his nose; relaxing him into a light trance.

            “Will you stay with me?” Neo whispered.

            “Of course I will,” Law replied. He laid his cheek onto her hair, breathing her scent in more. “We can stay here until we get ready to leave. The crew’s getting ready. We’ll meet them up on the deck about fifteen minutes before leaving. I’ll make sure you’re secure in your hiding spot before we begin our attack.”

            “Okay,” Neo said.

            The two went quiet after that. The only sounds were from the crew who passed the door or headed down to the next floor. When he sensed Neo getting a bit stressed out and shivering against his side, he gave her a comforting squeeze to relax her. Then their time was up. He took her hand in his and led her out of the room. Back up on the deck the crew was already waiting for them. The lights of the town shimmer behind them, as they stood ready to get their friends back.

            Penguin was the only one who looked nervous. He stepped over to Neo and smiled. “How you doing?”

            “I’m scared,” Neo said. “But I want my family back.”

            “And we’ll get them back.” Penguin nodded.

            “All right,” Law said a minute later. “We’re heading out.”

            The crew cheered, making Neo jump.

            “It’s all right.” Law brushed his thumb over her skin. Her hand trembled in his then tightened. “Let’s go, Neo.”

            Neo nodded. With a slow exhale, she summoned a couple wind crystals and lifted them all into the air. Heading north, she carried them to the spot the scouter showed her on the map Bepo drew for them.

            “There.” The scouter pointed to the thick trees lining the edge of the island.

            Neo guided them into the trees. Keeping below the leaves, she carried them until Law told her other wise.

            “Keep us, Penguin, and Bepo in the air while sitting the rest of the crew down,” Law said. Once she did, he added, “Now lift us into the branches.”

            Neo did. She waited patiently as Law scanned the area and guided her around with hand signals until he found a place he believed would suit their purpose. She looked out through the leaves. As the scouter had said, she had a clear view of the area while remaining hidden behind the leaves and branches. Several Navy soldiers were standing out in the clearing; all ready with their guns and swords. Knowing he was going to leave her side, she tightened her hand on his and looked up at him with wet eyes.

            Law smiled. Leaning over he press a kiss to her forehead then whispered, “This won’t take long at all.”

            Neo nodded. Wrapping her winds around him, she reluctantly lowered him back to the ground. Her heart took a sharp beat in her chest. Tears burned her eyes before leaking over her eyelids. Remembering her training, she took in slow deep breaths to keep herself from crying. Heat from both Penguin and Bepo’s bodies surrounded her. Then, without warning, Law’s Room extended out from the forest and the crew was warped into the middle of the Navy soldiers. The air was instantly filled with clashing of swords, gunfire, and shouts. Her body trembled. A soft whimper escaped her lips as her eyes locked onto the battle before her. Her stomach spun violently as she watched her family disarm as many soldiers as they could. Then a cold shiver floated over her senses. Her eyes zeroed in on a medium size Navy soldier sneaking up behind Shachi. The man was wearing some sort of device on his back with hoses leading to the gloves on his hands. Summoning a fire crystal, she placed it right behind the soldier’s device and melted it just enough so it wouldn’t work.

            “Whoa,” Penguin said. “I didn’t even see him use the thing.”

            “I can sensed the ice before he could use it,” Neo said.

            “That’s right,” Penguin said. “I forgot you could sense nature like that.”

            “Can you destroy the others before they’re used against the crew?” Bepo asked.

            “I think so,” Neo said. Narrowing her eyebrows, she forced herself to block out the sounds of the battle focus only on finding the ice. She found them. Nine other ice machines were scattered throughout the battlefield. Placing her fire crystals behind the devices, she melted them just like the first one.

            Penguin and Bepo chuckled at the confused looks on the soldier’s faces as they struggled to get their machines to work.

            “You did beautiful, Neo,” Penguin said.

            “Thank you,” Neo replied, her eyes locked onto Law. His Room spread out around him. Several guns disappeared from the soldiers hands before some of their crewmates disappeared. “They’re in? Did they make it in?”

            “They did,” Penguin said. “The captain never misses.”

            “This’ll be over soon,” Bepo said. “You’re doing really well, Neo.”

            “I can’t stop shaking.” Neo wrapped her arms around her body. “I want to go back to the sub.”

            “We will.” Penguin slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to his side. “Just a few more minutes. As soon as the crew comes back out, we’re out of here.”

            Neo leaned into Penguin’s side. Her eyes remained on Law as she waited for him to warp their crew back outside. Time slowed so much that her body physically hurt. She cringed each time she saw one of her family get hit with a punch, kick, or nicked with a sword and tucked herself farther into Penguin’s side.

            “Come on,” Penguin said. “Where are they?”

            “Maybe the Navy had more soldiers inside incase this happened?” Bepo suggested.

            Suddenly they all gasped when a large Navy soldier punched their captain and ice covers his chest and hands and set his body flying towards the edge of the island.

            “What happened?! I thought the ice machines were destroyed!” Bepo shouted.

            “They must have been hiding one!” Penguin said.

The soldier moved with striking speed and hit their captain again, sending him flying off the island and into the deadly sea.

Neo screamed and jerked away from Penguin’s side. “No! Captain!”

            “Neo, stop!” Penguin grabbed her wrist before she could fly away from them. He pulled her back to his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and praying that she wouldn’t become conscious enough to use her crystals to escape him.

            “You have to stay here!” Bepo put his hands on her shoulders to help keep her pinned. His nose twitched at the smell of Neo’s blood. “You’ve cut your feet on the branch. Calm down.”

            “No! The captain! The sea will hurt him!” Neo screamed. Hot tears streaked down her cheeks. Her breaths came in short, sharp gulps. The bark bit into her feet as she struggled to get away from them. “I have…save…him!”

            “Do it from here!” Penguin said. “You know the captain doesn’t want you to be seen by the Navy!”

            “I don’t care! I need to help him!” Neo struggled violently against them.

            “What do we do?!” Bepo shrieked.

            “Neo! Use your crystals and lift the captain back to the island!” Penguin said. “Please! Listen to me! You can save him from here!”

            Neo stopped struggling. She hiccupped before summoning her water crystals. Closing her eyes, she tried to feel out for their captain. Her pulse hammered against her skin. She couldn’t find him. Another whimper slipped passed her lips before she said, “Please, help me. I need to find my captain.” Sending her feelings out to the creatures of the sea, she locked into the emotions of a passing whale. In her soul and mind she hear the whale responding to her pleas. “Please, my captain is in trouble. He fell into the sea. He’s hurt. Lift him to the air. Please, help him.”

            The whale sang at her, telling her he found her captain. It then lifted the unconscious man to the surface.

            “Thank you,” Neo whispered. She opened her eyes and saw the whale and Law. Using her wind crystal, she lifted Law onto the island and dried him off and melted the ice from his body. “Thank you so much.”

            The whale sang at her again before diving back under the water.

            Neo glared at the large Navy man when he started walking towards her captain. Moving her fire crystals to the man’s back, she melted the machine just before Law spread his Room out and sliced the man into multiple pieces.

 


	23. Sick

Sick

 

            Neo barely registered Penguin’s body relaxing against hers. Her mind and body was buzzing so hard he sounded like he was miles away from her when he said, “That was way too close for comfort.”

            “You did it, Neo!” Bepo said. “You saved the captain!”

            Neo nodded, brushing her tears away as she watched Law’s Room appear again. Then in a blink the missing crewmembers were back outside.

            “That’s it!” Penguin said. “Let’s get out of here!”

            “O-okay.” Neo wrapped her winds around the two with her. Lifting them up, she made sure to keep herself hidden behind the leaves and trees as they made their way to the edge of the island to meet up with the rest of the crew. Once out of the tree line, she couldn’t stop herself from looking back at the soldiers. They, plus their ship and the research building was completely destroyed and scattered about the island and sea. She figured the captain must have used his powers again when she couldn’t see him. It made sense. This way the Navy wouldn’t be able to follow them so easily. Her eyes shot to Law. She flew over to him and grabbed a hold of his damp hoodie. Pressing her face into his chest she noticed he smelled of sweat and seawater. “Captain! Are you okay?! You fell into the sea!”

            “I’m just fine. You got me out of the water in time. You did really well tonight, but I need you to focus on getting us back to the sub. I took care of their ship but another one could be close by,” Law said. “We need to get out of here before they try and stop us.”

            Neo obeyed but with her body still shaking from the events her eyes kept drifting over to the crew. She scanned their injuries, cringing at how the scouters were all froze from their chests down. “Are they going to be all right?”

            “They’ll be fine once we get back to the sub,” Law said.

            “Yeah, Neo, we’re fine,” a scouter said.

            “We j-just c-cold,” another one said.

            “I’ll warm you up in the sub,” Neo said. Picking up her wind speed, she had them on the deck of the sub within a few seconds. She kept the pirates in her winds as she flew them up to the medical bay and into an exam room. All now on their feet she stepped closer to the frozen pirates, the cold from the ice radiated off their bodies. She brushed her hands on her arm and stepped back.

            “I guess we’re getting another check up,” Shachi said.

            “You’re hurt,” Neo said, eyeing the cut on his cheek. She reached out and turned his face a bit so she could see it better. A drop of blood was trailing down his face.

            “We’re fine,” Shachi said. Taking her hand from his face he placed a kiss on her palm. “These are just minor. Only a little disinfectant and a bandage are needed. You focus on the scouters.”

            Neo frown but accepted his words.

            “Let’s warm the men up,” Law said. He rushed over to the voice pipe in the room. “Archer, take off now!”

            “You got it, Captain!” Archer replied just before the engines hummed and the sub started pulling away from the dock.

            Neo’s shoulders relaxed as the mast of the ship beside them began to disappear in the porthole.

            “Neo, summon six fire crystals for each scouter,” Law said. “Warm them up just like you did with the transponder snail.”

            “Yes, sir.” Neo, pulling her attention from the porthole, summoned her crystals. Hovering them near the scouters, she watched carefully as the ice began to melt off their bodies and onto the floor.

            “Let’s get some mops and towels in here to soak up the water,” Law ordered.

            A couple pirates nodded then left the room.

            “I can just use my water crystals,” Neo said.

            “You focus on warming them up,” Law said. “I’m going to check the others to make sure no one gets an infection.”

            Neo kept her eyes on Law for several seconds. She watched him wander around the room to gather up disinfectant and bandages before checking his men out one by one. Any that didn’t have any injuries were dismissed, giving them more room to move around. She then turned her eyes back to the scouters. Increasing her fire crystals, she continued to warm them up without cooking them. The ice snapped at the treatment of her fire and began to fall off in small pieces. Before long all of the ice was off them. Summoning a couple wind crystals she dried them off while scanning her eyes over their bodies. “How are you feeling?”

            “A lot better,” one said, flexing his muscles.

            “I just hope we don’t get sick from that,” another one said bending his knees to make sure they worked properly.

            “Thanks a lot, Neo,” a third one said while hugging her. “You’re the best.”

            “I’m so glad you’re all alright,” Neo said, hugging him back before giving the rest of the scouters a hug. She then walked over to Law and stood beside him; watching him as he dabbed some disinfectant on Shachi’s cheek with a cotton ball. She waited patiently for Law to finish up with checking the crew. Her head bobbed as her eyelids grew heavy from the stress of the day.

            “You should go lie down,” Penguin said. “You’re about to fall asleep on your feet.”

            “I’m fine,” Neo said. “I don’t want to leave the captain.”

            “Well, all right,” Penguin said. “Will you be feeling up to cooking with me later?”

            “Yeah.” Neo nodded.

            “All right then.” Penguin headed for the door. “I’ll see you later.”

            Neo yawned.

            Bepo walked over to them. Leaning towards the captain he whispered into Law’s ear. Law’s eyebrow rose before he nodded. The bear nodded back and left the room.

            “I’ll be finished in a minute,” Law told her.

            “I’m fine,” she said, her body swayed.

            Law chuckled. “You’re not fine. You’re stressed and about to fall asleep because of it.”

            “It was hard, Captain,” Neo said.

            “I know it was,” Law said. “But you’re safe now. We all are.” He placed a bandage over the cut he was tending. “There. Keep an eye on it for infections. If something pops up, come tell me immediately.”

            “Sure thing, Captain.” The pirate rolled down his sleeves and left the room.

            Neo tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes as she watched Law turn and then step over to her. “Now what?”

            “You hop up here on the exam table,” Law said. “Bepo told me you cut your feet on the tree branch.”

            “Oh…yeah.” Neo scanned the small trail of blood she left on the floor before climbing upon the exam table. “I’m sorry. I’ll clean that up.”

            “Don’t worry about it,” Conner said pushing the mop over the floor. “I’ve got it.”

            “I’m sorry,” Neo said again.

            “It’s fine,” Law said. Pulling a chair over, he sat down, placed his medical tray on the exam table, and picked up her foot. Examining the slightly ripped skin he added, “Bepo told me that you got upset. I’m just glad you didn’t do too much damage here.”

            “I didn’t even realize I hurt my feet,” Neo said.

            “When we’re scared we often can’t feel pain until the fear is gone. It’s the rush of adrenaline,” Law said. “You’ll probably feel it in a little while. I’ll give you some pain medication for it.”

            “Adrenaline...” Neo said. “That’s a hormone secreted by adrenal glands, especially in times of stress. It increases the rate of blood circulation, breathing, and carbo…carbo…” She huffed.

            “Carbohydrate,” Law said.

            “Carbo-hy-drate,” Neo pronounced.

            “Continue.” Law nodded.

            “Carbohydrate metabolism and preparing the muscles for exertion,” Neo concluded. “Is that correct?”

            “It is.” Law nodded while moving on to her other foot. “Good job.”

Neo nodded, wiggling her right foot to make sure the bandage wasn’t too tight. She watched as he cleaned her left foot, put some antiseptic on the broken skin, and then wrap white bandages around her foot.

“There all done,” Law announced. Standing up he took the tray and put the remaining supplies back in the cabinet. He grabbed the painkillers and a cup of water before walking back over to her. “You’re fine to walk on them. They’ll be healed in a few days if you take it easy and don’t stand on branches again. Here’s your medication.”

            “I won’t do that again,” Neo said taking the two white pills he was holding out for her and swallowed them. Handing the cup back to him she yawned and glanced down at the feet. She didn’t see Law moving back over to her until he was right beside her. She looked up just in time to see his arms go around her.

            “You,” Law swept her in his arms, sword skillfully in hand, “are going to take a nap. You are far beyond tired.”

            Neo squeaked and tensed at his closeness. A minute later, she curled her fingers on his now dry hoodie and relaxed against him. Timidly, she peeked up at him “Stay with me?”

            “Of course I will,” Law said. Stepping out into the hall, he carried her down to his room and placed her in his bed. As she moved over to her side, he sat down, propped his sword against the wall, and removed his boots and socks, that were still soggy, before laying down himself. He couldn’t help but chuckle when he looked at Neo. She was already fast asleep beside him. Rolling onto his side, he propped up on his elbow to watch her sleep. A swell of pride gathered in his chest. She had done a lot better with their recue mission tonight than he expected. And he was over joyed that they were all back and safe in the sub.

A soft whimper from her prompted him to move closer to her. When he did her fingers curled around his hoodie once more. He tucked her hair behind her ear, hoping being this close will prevent her from having a nightmare as she slept. Reaching back to his chest, he pressed his fingers to the pulse in her wrist. Counting the beats he found her blood pressure was over 140 over 90. He frowned. He didn’t like that but reminded himself she was stressed and it would go down once she woke up from her nap.

            Law had no intention of falling asleep himself but as he laid there watching his youngest charge sleeping peacefully, he couldn’t help but nod off himself. The next thing he knew he felt Neo stirring beside him. He opened his eyes to see her stretching out. Rolling over onto his back he stretched out his body as well then looked back at her.

            “Hey, Captain,” Neo said, rubbing her eye sleepily.

            “How you feeling?” Law asked. He reached out and pressed his figures against the pulse in her wrist. A smile crept across his lips as she tensed at his touch. Despite the movement her pulse didn’t speed up.

            “A lot better,” Neo said.

            “Your blood pressure is back down,” Law said. “That’s good. You still feeling up to cooking with Penguin?”

            “Uh huh.” Neo yawned. Still rubbed her eye, she reached out and curled her fingers around his hoodie and tugged. “Will you come with me? Just for a little while?”

            “If you need me to,” Law said.

            “Just for a few minute,” Neo said. “I have to use the bathroom.”

            “All right,” Law said. She didn’t move. Her fingers were still curled around his hoodie. “I’ll stay with you for a while. You ready to get up?”

            “Yeah.” Neo nodded and released his hoodie.

            Law pushed himself to edge of the bed while Neo crawled passed him and headed for the bathroom. He stood up to get dry boots and socked then waited for her to come back out. Once she did, he headed for the door and left the room with her. With his hands in his pockets he walked beside her all the way to the galley. He separated from her there. Sitting down at his typical spot, he crossed his legs and watched her and Penguin move about the room. He ended up staying with her the whole night until they went to bed later.

…

            Neo curled more into herself before she opened her eyes. Her eyebrows shot up in confusion upon seeing her captain still lying in bed beside her. Pushing herself up, she took a closer look at him. His cheeks appeared a bit red to her in the dimly lit room. And his breathing was raspy. “Captain?”

            Law didn’t move.

            Neo tilted her head before crawling to the end of the bed. She climbed off the mattress, grabbed her a change of clothes, and then headed to the bathroom. Stepping back out into the room she found Law was still sleeping on the bed. Unsure of what to do she walked over to the edge of the bed, knelt down, and crossed her arms on the mattress. She rested her chin on her arms when Law rolled over to face her. She expected him to wake up but he didn’t. So she reached out and poked his cheek. “Captain?” She poked him again. “Captain.” Law stirred. She poked him once more and he finally opened his eyes. “Captain, are you going to wake up? You’re always awake before I am.”

            “Sorry,” Law whispered hoarsely. “Did I over sleep?”

            “I guess so,” Neo said. “Your cheeks are red.”

            “Yeah.” Law’s eyelids fell closed. “My body aches.”

            “Captain?” Neo blinked when Law started snoring lightly. Her heart strummed in her chest. This wasn’t like him at all. Jumping to her feet, she ran out of the room and down to the third floor. Busting into the galley she said, “Penguin! Something’s wrong with the captain!”

            “Huh?” Penguin glanced over at her from the stove. “What’s wrong?”

            “He’s not awake! He’s always awake before I get up!” Her eyebrows drew together in worry. “He woke up for a minute, but fell back asleep! Is he hurt?! He said his body aches! His cheeks are red! And…and he’s breathing funny!”

            “Calm down.” Penguin placed his spatula down and walked over to her. Slipping his arm around her waist, he led her back towards the captain’s room. “Let’s go see.”

            Stepping into the room, they walked over to the sleeping man and Penguin placed his hand on his forehead. Law coughed into his blanket then shivered.

            “What’s wrong? Is he okay? Is he hurt?” Neo asked, tugging on Penguin’s boiler suit.

            “He’ll be fine,” Penguin said. “That dip in the sea with ice around him just gave him a little bug.”

            “A bug?” Neo tilted her head. “A bug is making him act different?”  
            “I mean he’s sick,” Penguin said. “It’s possible he’s caught the flu with that little unexpected dip. He has a fever, a cough, the chills, and is sweating a bit. Those are all flu symptoms.”

            “You sure that’s all it is?” Neo asked.

            “Of course,” Penguin said. “Being one of the first few who joined the crew, the captain gave both Shachi, Bepo, and myself lessons in basic health care. All he needs is a little rest and plenty of fluids.”

            “How long is he going to be sick?” Neo asked.

            “It’s hard to say,” Penguin said. “We’ll keep an eye on him. He’s always been rather healthy so it should only be a few days at the most.”

            “That’s good,” Neo said. Relieve washed over her body allowing her to smile.

            “I’d hold that thought if I were you.” Penguin turned to her.

            “Why?”

            Penguin rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, you’re not going to be able to sleep in here while the captain’s sick.”

            “What?!” Neo gasped. “Why?!”

            “The flu is contagious,” Penguin explained. “And you know the captain wants you to remain healthy. Your immune system is most likely weakened from how unhealthy you were when you came to live with us.”

            “But I…I don’t want to be away from the captain,” Neo said, picking at her shirttail. “I’m…I want to stay here.”

            “Neo…”

            Neo and Penguin turned their eyes to their captain when he spoke.

            “You listen to Penguin,” Law said pushing himself up into a sitting position. “He’s right. I’ve caught the flu. I don’t want you to catch it. That’s an order.”

            “Yes, sir,” Neo said, dropping her eyes to the floor.

“Penguin, you know the drill.” Law laid back down.

            “Aye, Captain.” Penguin nodded. “I’ll inform the crew and we’ll minimize visits to your quarters.”

            “Gather up some clothes and Neo’s supplies,” Law said. “She’s to sleep with Bepo. And no one is to use the bathroom when she’s in there.”

            “Sure thing, Captain,” Penguin said. “Come on, Neo. Let’s get your things and get out of here.”

            “Okay.” Neo turned from the bed and led the man over to the closet. “How many clothes should I take with me?”

            “Take a week’s worth,” Penguin said. “The captain should be better long before then so it should be plenty in either case.”

            Neo nodded. After getting her clothes she went into the bathroom to get her stuff from there then reluctantly left the room. Pausing at the door, she gave Law one last look before stepping into the hall. “I don’t like this.”

            “I know.” Penguin closed the door. “But it’s only temporary. Plus, you’ll get to sleep with Bepo. You’ll like that.”

            Neo nodded lightly.

            “Come on,” Penguin said, taking the lead. “Let’s get you some new bedding for Bepo’s room. We’ll have to wash the ones you use in the captain’s room later.”

            Neo followed him without a word. They stopped at a supply room first. She remained in the doorway while Penguin pulled out everything she needed. They then headed back down to the third floor. Stepping into Bepo’s room, she looked around. Maps were scattered all over the room, on the beds, the walls, the floor, and the small desk he had in the room. It smelled like him and ink.

            “I can’t believe he lives like this,” Penguin said, shoving some papers off one of the spare beds. “Do you mind the bottom or would you like a top bunk?”

            “Bottom’s fine,” Neo said.

            “You can put your stuff in the closet if you want,” Penguin said, tucking the sheet into place. “Or would you prefer the drawers here?”

            “I guess I’ll just shove them in the drawers,” Neo said. “I shouldn’t be here long. I hope. I don’t want to have a nightmare without the captain.”

            “It’ll be fine.” Penguin moved from the bed and hugged her. “Bepo will be right here beside you. And if you need me and Shachi and the rest of the crew we’ll move in here, too, until the captain gets better.”

            Neo giggled. Her bells brought a smile to Penguin’s face. “I might do that. But I doubt you’ll all fit in here. There’re only four beds.”

            “I’m sure some of the men won’t mind sleeping on top of each other,” Penguin said.

            “I know a few that wouldn’t,” Neo said.

            “At least you laughed.” He gestured to the bed. “Let’s finish up here and go tell Bepo he’s got a new roomie for a while.”

            Neo nodded. While Penguin spread the blanket over the bed, she put her clothes and other items in the drawers. They then headed out to find the navigator. Passing through the halls, Penguin informed the crewmates they came across of their captain’s illness. Heading on through the sub the quite hall was soon filled with the beeping controls inside of the control room. Stepping inside the two found the pirate they were looking for along with Archer.

            “Hey, Bepo,” Penguin said. “We’ve been looking for you.”          

            “What for?” Bepo asked.

            “The captain’s caught the flu,” Penguin said.

            “He all right?” Archer asked.

            “He’s fine,” Penguin said. “Or he will be. I’m just telling everyone about it and initiating protocol. And we’re here to let Bepo know that Neo will be sleeping in his room until the captain’s feeling better.”

            “Oh,” Bepo said, eyeing Neo.

            “Aw, nuts.” Archer snapped his fingers and frowned but with a spark in his eyes. “I was hoping she could sleep in my room with me.”

            “I’m sorry,” Neo said. “The captain wants me to stay with Bepo.”

            “He’s kidding, Neo,” Penguin said.

            “Oh,” Neo drawled.

            “I hope the captain doesn’t stay sick for too long,” Bepo said. “How are you doing with all this?”

            “I think I’ll be fine,” Neo said. “As long as I don’t have a nightmare.”

            “Right.” Archer leaned back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head. “I almost forgot about those.”

            “We’ll be there to comfort her if she needs it,” Penguin said. “And if they become too bad I’m sure the captain will allow her to see him long enough to calm her down.” He looked at Neo. “We should get back to breakfast.”

            “Right. I forgot,” Neo said.

            “We’ll see you later then,” Archer said.

            Neo waved to the two while following Penguin out of the room. The beeps faded away from them with each step they took. A minute later they were back in the galley. A few crewmates were already there, looking a bit annoyed.

            “What’s going on?” one asked. “Why isn’t breakfast ready yet?”

            “Sorry,” Penguin said, stepping into the kitchen. “The captain’s sick. I helped move Neo into Bepo’s room.”

            “He’s sick?”

            “He caught the flu from the ice and dip he took into the sea apparently,” Penguin said. “Be sure to wash your hands really good, Neo.”

            “I will.” Neo stepped over to the sink. After lathering up her hands, she washed them off with warm water then grabbed an apron.

            “How about you scramble the eggs?” Penguin asked when she stepped over to the stove.

            “Okay.” Neo nodded. Summoning her wind crystals, she opened the egg cartons that were already set out on the counter. She broke them into the pans while turning on the stove. The fire lit up. As the pans warmed the eggs started sizzling. She grabbed a couple spatulas and started stirring them around. Using her winds she picked up the salt and pepper; lightly seasoning the eggs. “Will the captain be able to eat?”

            “Maybe later,” Penguin said. Bacon sizzled in the grease, filling the air with its mouth-watering aroma. “Right now he’s too sleepy to eat.”

            “All right,” Neo said.

            “The newspaper’s here,” Shachi said as he walked into the room. “And guess what? The captain’s bounty is now up to 200,000,000.”

            “That’s great!” a crewmate cheered.

            “The Navy must be seeing red for what we did to their precious ice machines,” another said.

            “Too bad the captain’s not well enough to enjoy this,” Shachi said.

            “You know the numbers don’t matter to him,” Penguin said, flipping the bacon. “I’m more concerned about Neo. Do they mention anything about her?”

            Neo scooped another pile of eggs onto the tray before looking at Penguin. She had almost forgotten about her part in that incident. Her eyes drew over to Shachi.

            “They’re questioning the strange melting of their machines,” Shachi said. “But there’s no mention of her in any kind of way. They don’t even mention her crystals.”

            “That’s good,” a crewmate said. “Then they know nothing about her still.”

            “The captain will love that,” Shachi said. He smiled at Neo. “We get to keep our girl safe for a while longer.”

            “That’s true,” Penguin said. “But it probably won’t happen for much longer. We’re going to be arriving at the archipelago before long.”

            After setting their meal out on the table, Neo took her normal seat. Her eyes went to Law’s empty chair. A sigh passed over her lips as her shoulders dropped.

            “So, uh, what’s on the agenda today?” Shachi asked, trying to lighten the mood.

            “Laundry,” Penguin said, causing some groans from the crew.

            “I can help,” Neo said. “I did mine the other day.”

            The crew cheered but was quickly cut off by Penguin’s glare. “You all are just so lazy. You know the captain doesn’t want us to use her like that.”

            “Relax, Pen,” Conner said. “The captain won’t know. And what the captain doesn’t know won’t hurt us. Plus, she offered.”

            “She offered to help,” Penguin said. “She didn’t offer her crystals.”

            “I don’t mind,” Neo said.

            “See?” Conner said, pointing his fork at her. “She doesn’t mind.”

            “Neo, you spoil the crew too much,” Penguin said.

            “Um, sorry?” Neo offered.

            “All right,” Penguin said. “I’ll allow it this time. But only this time.”

            “You’re the best.” Conner smirked.

            “Shut up,” Penguin snapped.

            Neo stabbed her fork into her eggs. Shoveling the bit into her mouth, she mindlessly chewed on it while thinking about the captain.

            “You going to finish that?”

            “Huh?” Neo looked up, unresponsive to the fact she was staring at Penguin.

            “The rest of the crew finished eating ten minutes ago,” Penguin said.

            Neo blinked. Scanning her eyes around the galley, she indeed found they were the only ones left in the room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realized.”

            “It’s all right,” Penguin said, sitting back down beside her.

            “Why do I feel like this?” Neo asked. “My chest feels like there’s a hole in it somehow.”

“You’re just lost without the captain around.” Penguin placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin in his hand.

“Is that why?” Neo looked at him.

“It sure is,” Penguin said. “You’re just use to having the captain around. It feels a bit weird to the rest of us as well, but it’s going to make you feel a lot worse because you’re bonded with him in a different way than we are.” He placed his hand on her head. “Finish up your breakfast then go help the others with the laundry. Keeping busy will help you not think about the missing captain.”

Neo poked her eggs again. She winkled her nose at how cold they were now before lifting the plate up into the air with a wind crystal. Heating the bottom she placed it back down and finished her meal.

“I’ll do the dishes,” Penguin said, grabbing her plate.

“I can help,” Neo said.

“You go help the others with their clothes,” Penguin said. “I’m sure they’re waiting for you now.”

“Well, okay. See you later,” Neo said. Jumping up she ran towards the door and up the stairs. The musty smell of unwashed clothes greeted her upon reaching the main floor of the sub where seven of the crewmembers were waiting for her.

“Why did you bring those up here?!” Bepo demanded. “They stink!”

“We brought them here because we’re going to wash then,” Conner said. “We’re moving them outside. Neo’s here now.”

“You could have moved them out to begin with,” Bepo said.

“You could have just stayed downstairs if you’re that sensitive!” Conner snapped.

Neo whimpered and shrunk back from their argument.

“Hey, now,” Shachi said, placing his hand on her back. “Settle down, you two. Neo’s feeling vulnerable without the captain around.”

“Sorry, Neo,” Bepo and Conner said.

“It’s fine,” Neo said. “Are we going to wash them now?”

“Sure,” Conner said. Grabbing his pile of clothes, he led everyone outside. A gust of salty air quickly replaced the smell of dirty clothes.

Neo waited patiently as the crew set down their clothes. Summoning her wind and water crystals she picked up the detergent and began to mix them together. She then picked up the clothes and spun then around and around, pushing them every which way. “Um, how do I know when they’re done?”

“Just a bit more then wash out the soap,” Shachi said.

Neo did as she was told. She washed the clothes a couple times with clean water before spinning them around in the air to dry them. She then lowered them so the crew could pick out their clothes.

“This is great,” Conner said. “You’re the best, Neo.”

The crew mumbled their agreements while folding their laundry.

“You’re welcome.” Neo twitched nervously. “And thank you.”

“How about we go to the rec. room and play a few card games?” Conner suggested. “Want to, Neo?”

“I guess so.” Neo rubbed her hand on her arm.

“Then let’s go,” Conner said, heading back into the sub. “We’ll go put up our stuff and meet you in the rec. room.”

Neo nodded. She followed the crew back into the sub then cut off from them. Meeting Penguin in the hall, she linked her arm with his and walked to the rec. room with him. They settled in at the table and waited for the others to come back up. Bepo, Shachi, and Conner came wandering in a few minutes later. After shuffling the cards, Penguin passed them out and they started a game of Gold Fish.

“One of these days we’re going to have to teach you how to play poker,” Conner said arranging his cards.

“You know the captain won’t approve of that,” Bepo said.

“Well, he’s sick now.” Conner smirked. “He’ll never know.”

“Don’t you dare,” Penguin warned. “You’ve used her enough for today. I won’t have you teaching her a game the captain doesn’t want her to play. Besides, she’ll tell that captain anyway. And if she doesn’t he’ll eventually figure it out. You know how smart he is.”

“You’re just being a stick in the mud,” Conner said. “Who dubbed you her big brother anyway? Do you have any sixes?”

“Go Fish,” Shachi said.

Conner picked up a card and tucked it with the others.

“It just happened,” Penguin said. “Someone has to keep her safe from you morons when the captain’s not around.”

“I’m still going to teach her poker one day,” Conner said. “Then we can really have some fun.”

Penguin glared at him. “You better not be thinking of strip poker.”

“Strip poker?” Neo asked. “What’s strip poker?”

Conner opened his mouth to answer.

“It’s an adult game,” Penguin said, cutting him off.

“I can read if you want to play poker,” Neo said.

“That’s all right,” Conner said. “We’ll play that later. For now I’m having fun with you playing Go Fish.”

For two hours the group played Go Fish before switching to playing Spoons for another hour. It was at the time Neo got a little bored with playing cards and decided to read. Pulling herself away from the table, she left the men to play poker while she plucked a book off the shelf and curled upon the couch to read. Another hour later movement in the room caused her to look up.

“I’m going to go check on the captain,” Penguin said as he stood up.

“Could…could I come with you?” Neo asked. “I’ll stay out in the hall.”

“Of course.” Penguin smile.

Neo placed her book down on the couch and rushed to his side. She followed him up to the captain’s quarters. Her eyes locked onto Penguin as he entered into the room. Waiting she leaned against the wall, tracing her toes over the smooth floor. She straightened up when the door opened. “How is he? Is he all right?”

“His fever is still up,” Penguin said. “But he’s resting comfortably. He’s also a bit hungry. So why don’t we go make some chicken soup for him?”

            “Will chicken noodle soup make the captain better?” Neo asked.

            “Well, probably not. But it helps,” Penguin said leading her to the galley. “Plus, chicken noodle soup is easy to digest when one is sick.”

            “Oh,” Neo said. “I guess I still have a lot to learn about cooking.”

            “You’re doing fine,” Penguin said.

            “Thank you, Penguin,” Neo said. “If it would be all right, I’d like to possibly get more books on cooking when we dock again. Think the captain will allow that?”

            “I’m sure he will,” Penguin said. Stepping over to the cabinets he pulled out the big pot and sat it on the stove. “Since we’re making some for the captain who about we make some for the whole crew?”

            “Okay.” Neo nodded.

            “The chicken breasts are in the freezer,” Penguin said. “Think you can cut them up for me?”

            “Yes, I can,” Neo said. Stepping over to the fridge, she opened it up and pulled out the frozen chicken breast. Their frozen bodies stung her hands. Summoning a wind crystal she placed them down in the sink while pulling out the cutting board and a knife. Carefully angling the knife away from her and Penguin, she stepped over to the counter and laid it down. Summoning two fire crystals she thawed out the chicken over the sink then placed them down on the cutting board. Picking up the knife she pressed it to the meat and cut through it. “How should I cut up the chicken?”

            “Shred it,” Penguin said.

            Soon the galley was filled with the warm smell of chicken broth, bringing some of the crew into the room. Conner walked over to the stove where Neo was stirring the soup. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and twirled a fork in the noodles before eating them. “So yummy.”

            “Hey! Stop sampling the food!” Penguin snapped and slapped his crewmate’s hand with a wooden spoon. “It’s not ready yet!”

            “So? You sampled it,” Conner said.

            “Of course we did,” Penguin said. “We have to make sure it’s seasoned correctly.”

            “Lame excuse,” Conner said.

            “Perfect _reason_ ,” Penguin said. “If you don’t think so, then you can take over cooking.”

            The crewmates turned pale. “No!”

            “Hey! I wasn’t that bad!” Conner said.

            “Yes! You! Were!” they replied.

            “You about set the galley on fire,” Penguin said. “If it wasn’t for the captain warping water into the galley the whole sub could have gone up in flames.”

            “The sub would have?” Neo asked.

            “Yeah,” Conner admitted. “I’m terrible as a cook.”

            “Lucky for us we have Neo,” Shachi said, entering into the room.

            “Hey! I’ve been cooking here a lot longer than she has,” Penguin said.

            “She’s cuter than you,” Shachi said.

            “Well, I can’t argue with that.” Penguin tapped the spoon on his shoulder.

            “Is it about done?” Shachi asked. “It smells great.”

            “Um, I think so,” Neo said.

            “Yes, it’s about done,” Penguin said. “Then you impatient morons can eat.”

            A few minutes later, Neo filled a bowl full of the hot noodles and placed it on the tray Penguin had set out. She then rushed over to the pantry and pulled out a few crackers and placed them on the tray. “Uh, is it all right I gave the captain some crackers?”

            “It’s fine,” Penguin said placing a cup of water on the tray. “I’ll take this to him.”

            “May I come with you?” Neo asked.

            “All right,” Penguin said.

            “Thank you.” Neo followed him out of the room. Again she waited outside as Penguin took the tray inside. A minute later he came back out.

            “Let’s go back to the galley,” Penguin said. “The captain will eat what he can. I’ll pick up the tray later.”

            “How’s the captain?” Neo asked, heading back to the galley.

            “He’s fine,” Penguin said. “Like always, he’s more concerned about you eating.”

            “I’ll eat,” Neo said.

…

“Neo, are you ready to go to bed?” Bepo asked later that night.

Neo looked up from her book. “I guess so.”

“Shall we go then?” Bepo asked.

Neo nodded. Standing up she placed her book back on the shelf and headed out of the rec. room with the navigator.

“Good night, Neo,” some crewmates said.

“Good night, guys,” Neo replied.

“No one’s in the bathroom right now,” Shachi said when they met with him near the crews’ quarters. “So get your toothbrush.”

            Neo nodded. Stepping into Bepo’s room, she grabbed her toothbrush, toothpaste, and clothes then headed for the bathroom. Stepping into the bathroom she was greeted with the harsh smell of cleaning chemicals. Rubbing her nose she looked around to find several stalls and a line of showerheads on the far wall. She placed her items down on the sink before stepping into one of the stalls. She then brushed her teeth, changed her clothes, and headed back to the hall. There Penguin and Shachi were standing on each side of the door. “Did I take too long?”

            “Not at all,” Shachi said. “We were just guarding the door so no one would walk in on you.”

            “Oh,” Neo said. “Well, I guess I’ll go to bed now. Good night, guys.”

            “Good night, Neo,” Shachi said.

            “Remember,” Penguin said, “if you need any of us you can come wake us up.”

            “I know.” Neo nodded. She gave them a small smile before heading back to Bepo’s room. Stepping inside she found Bepo wearing a pair of striped pajama bottoms. Taking her dirty clothes she placed them neatly on the floor by her bed and sat down.

            “You need anything?” Bepo asked.

            Neo shook her head.

            “I’m going to go brush my teeth,” Bepo said. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

            Neo scanned her eyes around the room. The hole in her chest grew. She started to stand up to run back to the captain’s quarters, but stopped herself. Law’s order echoed in her mind. She had to stay here. So she pushed her blanket down and curled up under it. The bed was a lot harder on her body than Law’s. She shifted multiple times before finally finding a comfortable position. A few minutes later Bepo walked into the room. He flipped off the light and laid down in his bed.

            “Good night, Neo,” Bepo said.

            “Good night, Bepo,” Neo replied. She glanced over at him when he instantly started snoring. With a sigh she settled into her pillow and watched Bepo sleep. A chill rushed over her arms. She pulled the blanket over her arms and curled into a ball. Closing her eyes she tried to sleep. When none came she rolled over onto her left side. The dark wall stared at her. For hours she stared at the wall until her eyelids fell closed.

…

            “I’m sorry for having to come wake you up,” Bepo said.

            “Don’t worry about it,” Penguin said. Kneeling down beside Neo’s temporary bed, he placed his hand on her shoulder. Her restlessness persisted. She whimpered and fidgeted in her restless sleep. “How long has she been like this?”  
            “I only know for about an hour,” Bepo said. “I woke up to her like this. I don’t think she’s slept at all since we went to bed.”

            Penguin hummed. “I guess we should have guessed she’d have trouble sleeping without the captain. She’s become so use to having him around her.”

            “Too bad we couldn’t bring a part of him to her,” Bepo said. “That would surely calm her down. Then she could rest.”

            “That’s it!” Penguin said a little too loud. Neo whimpered in her sleep and curled tighter into herself. “Sorry, little sister.”

            “What’s it?” Bepo asked.

            “We can bring a piece of the captain to her,” Penguin said. He stood up and headed for the door.

            Bepo watched him go, unsure of his crewmate’s meaning or if he should stay with Neo or follow the man. With Neo’s restless flip-flopping in bed, he decided to stay. A few minutes later Penguin came running back into the room with a dark blue hoodie in his hands. “What’s that?”

            “One of the captain’s hoodies,” Penguin said. Lifting up Neo’s blanket, he tucked the hoodie close to her, making sure to put the hood right beside her nose. Instantly, Neo’s body relaxed. Her arms wrapped around the hoodie and she fell into a peaceful sleep.

            “Wish I thought of that,” Bepo said.

            “She should be fine now,” Penguin said. “But I think I’ll stay in here anyway.”

            “I’m going back to bed then,” Bepo said.

            Penguin nodded. While the bear crawled back into his bed, he sat down beside Neo’s. Crossing his arms over his chest, he let his hat fall over his face and fell asleep.


	24. Rest

Rest

            Neo dipped her mop into the water bucket. Mindlessly, she pushed the wet mop over the main deck of the sub. Her mind was full of clouds, thinking of how it’s been an entire week since the captain got sick. Her body was heavy from the lack of sleep she had been getting this past week. It told her to go laid down and get some rest but she wouldn’t, or couldn’t, listen to it.

            “You know,” Conner said, “you don’t have to clean the deck. Its my duty for this week.”

            “I don’t mind,” Neo said. “It helps keep my mind off the captain.”

            “He’s getting better,” Conner said. “I’m sure he’ll be back to normal any day now.”

            “I hope so,” Neo said. “I miss sleeping with him.”

            “Yeah,” Conner said. “I’ve noticed that you’re not really yourself since he’s been sick. Your reaction time to stuff is a lot slower than it should be.”

            “I’m sorry,” Neo said. “I don’t mean to be like that.”

            “It’s not your fault,” Conner said. “You’ve just become very attached to the captain. I believe this is just a normal reaction for you.”

            “Normal reaction?” Neo glanced over at him. He had both hands on top of the mop he was holding while resting his chin on his hands. “I guess so.”

            “You’re just use to having the captain around,” Conner said.

            “Yeah.” Neo nodded.

            “Other than that, you are feeling okay, aren’t you?” Conner asked. “You’re not feeling sick?”

            “No, I’m feeling all right,” Neo said. “Penguin’s been keeping a close eye on that as well.”

            “He’s a good man, especially when it comes to you,” Conner said. “I think he’ll be more upset if you get sick than the captain would be.”

            Neo smiled. “You might be right.”

            “There you are,” Shachi’s voice said.

            Neo turned just in time to see the man stepping out onto the deck.

            “I’ve been looking all over for you,” Shachi said.

            “I’m sorry. I’ve been out here for a while,” Neo said. “I’m helping Conner mop the deck.”

            “I can see that,” Shachi said.

            “Am I in trouble?” Neo asked.

            “Of course not,” Shachi said. “I was just looking for you because Penguin wants to see you.”

            “Oh?” Neo tilted her head.

            “He’s waiting for you at the captain’s quarters,” Shachi said jerking his thumb towards the door. “You should get going. Conner can finish up here.”

            “Oh, okay.” Neo handed her mop to Conner when he held out his hand for it. She then headed inside and down the stairs. Like Shachi said, Penguin was leaning up against the wall waiting for her to come. “Shachi said you wanted to see me.”

            “I did.” Penguin nodded. “Well, actually, the captain wants to see you.”

            “The captain?” Neo asked. Her heart hammered against her chest. “Is he all right? Did something happen to him?”

            “He’s fine,” Penguin said. “Why don’t you go in and see for yourself?”

            “I can go inside now?” Neo looked over at the door noticing it was open about an inch or two.

            “The captain has actually asked for you to come see him.” He gave her a gently shove. “Go on inside. I’m going to head to the galley and get lunch started.”

            “Um, okay.” Neo stepped closer to the door. Placing her hand on it, she pushed it open. A strong whiff of disinfectant filled her nose as the door opened more. Her eyes landed on the empty bed. She blinked in confusion before catching movement from the corner of her eye. Looking over to the closet she found Law pulling a hoodie over his bare chest and smiling face. Her face lit up. “Captain!” She ran over to him, pausing just short of his body. Her fingers curled around the tail of his hoodie when he released it. “You’re okay! You are okay, aren’t you? You’re up. And smiling. Penguin told me to come in here. It’s okay that I’m in here, right?”

            Law chuckled. “Yes, Neo. It’s fine for you to be in here now. I’m completely feeling better. Well, a little tired still. But all I need is a little more rest and I’ll be back to a hundred percent.”

            “I’m so glad.” Neo rubbed the tears from her eyes then took a hold of his shirt again. “I was worried about you.”

            “I know,” Law said with a stroke of his hand to her hair. “Penguin has told me that you haven’t been sleeping all that well.”

            “I haven’t,” Neo said. “But you’re fine now. I’ll be fine.” She tensed when he placed his finger under her chin and took a deep look into her eyes. “What…what are you doing?”

            “You’re tired,” Law said before looking over at the bed.

            “I guess a little bit,” Neo said. “But as long as I can sleep with you tonight I’ll be okay.”

            “You need to take a nap,” Law said bringing his eyes back to her. “But I’m tired of being in here. So let’s go out on the deck.”

            “Um, okay,” Neo said.

            Law grabbed his sword from the wall between his bed and nightstand then headed for the door. “Let’s go.”

            Neo rushed after him. Out in the hall she summoned a wind crystal and flew in front of him.

            “What are you doing?” Law asked.

            “Just making sure doing all right. Are you sure you’re okay?” Neo asked as she flew backwards in front of him. Her eyes darted all over his face and body. “You don’t look red. You don’t look exhausted.”

            “I’m fine, Neo,” Law said. He placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her feet back to the floor. “Now walk normal with me.”

            “Okay,” Neo said. She banished her wind crystals and walked beside him while continuing to watch his face.

            Law smiled at her when he caught her eye. He then looked up when Bepo appeared on the main floor with them.

            “Oh, Captain,” Bepo said. “You’re looking better.”

            “Feeling better too,” Law said. “We’re just heading out onto the deck. You want to come with us?”

            “Sure thing,” Bepo said. “It’s a nice day so I was going to take a nap until lunch.”

            “Neo’s going to take a nap as well,” Law said.

            “I am?” Neo asked, her eyes never leaving Law.

            “You are,” Law said before continuing on outside.

            “Well, that’s finally done for the day,” Conner said while tossing the water from his bucket overboard. He then picked up the two mops on the deck and headed inside. “See you later. I’m going to grab myself a beer. Good to see you’re feeling better, Captain.”

            Law nodded his thanks then sat down once Bepo was lying on the deck. He patted the space on his left side while laying his sword down. “Sit.”

            “Yes, sir.” Neo sat down beside him. “But I don’t really think I’ll be able to sleep.”

            “Oh, yes you will.” Law slipped his arm around her and pulled her to his chest. He smiled when her body became stiff against his. Forcing back his desire to tease her, he rubbed his hand over her back. “Just relax.”

            “O-okay,” Neo squeaked. She exhaled but it still took her several minutes before her body would unwind and relax against him. The rhythm of his hand over her back caused her eyelids to become heavy. “I’m sleepy.”

            “I know you are,” Law said. “You go ahead and sleep. I’m sure I stressed you out enough this past week.”

            Neo yawned and nodded. Closing her eyes she fell asleep.

            Bepo lifted up his head. “She’s been a real trooper this past week. Despite wanting to sleep with you she remained in my room.”

            “I’m glad,” Law said. “She didn’t need to get sick.”

            “Do you think she’s really going to be all right living this kind of life with us?” Bepo asked.

            “I believe she will,” Law said. “She’ll just adjust at her own pace and eventually learn who she is.” He flinched at his own words. There was no way for them to know if she’d actually learn who, or what, she really is. “I meant she’d figure out who she’ll want to be.”

            “I understood what you meant,” Bepo said. “I’m just sad that we might never find anything out about her past and where she came from.”

            “Yeah.” Law nodded. “But there’s still the chance that we might learn that one day. I’m sure there are others somewhere out there. And with how much we sail around we’re sure to bump into them at some point in time.”

            “I hope so,” Bepo said. “But I also don’t.”

            “What do you mean?” Law looked at his friend.

            “She might have family that wants her back,” Bepo said. “I really don’t want to have to say goodbye to her.”

            Coldness settled into Law’s chest. His eyes drifted down to the girl in his arms. He never really let himself think about that. Bepo was right. Neo could have family out searching for her or maybe someone who knew her family and would take her in. But did that really mean they would lose her? She was so dependent on him now. She could barely sleep while he was sick. No, she would never leave. He exhaled, releasing the coldness and the tension that was growing inside of him. He wouldn’t let her go anyway. She belonged with them now. She belonged to him. No one was going to take her away from him.

            Neo shifted against him.

            “Don’t worry, Neo,” Law whispered into her hair. “I won’t let anyone take you away from us.”

            Law watched her sleep for a while before her and Bepo’s steady breath lulled him to sleep as well. He had no idea how long he slept but they all were woken up by a scream. “What the heck?”

            “Captain!” Neo grabbed onto his hoodie, startled at being suddenly awake.

            “Ah! What happened?! What’s going on?!” Bepo asked. He jumped up and looked around. “Are we under attack?! Is it the Navy?! Have they come back for revenge on us for destroying the ice machines?!”

            “It’s all right, Neo,” Law said rubbing her back. “Its just Conner.”

            “Conner.” Neo looked to the man and found him struggling against an octopus that had wrapped around his face. “It’s an octopus.”

            Conner mumbled something from behind the octopus.

            “What did he say?” Neo asked.

            “Uh, Neo,” Law said catching every word of the man’s curse. “Will you help him out? He’s having a bit of trouble breathing.”

            “Sure,” Neo said. She stood up and walked over to the man and octopus. Reaching out, she placed her hand on one of its tentacles. She couldn’t help but run her hand over its wet and bumpy skin. “There, there. It’s all right. Will you let go of him? He needs to breath. Why don’t you come to me instead?” The octopus looked at her before releasing him and going to her. “That’s better.”

            Conner took a deep breath. “Stupid tentacle freak! I could have died!”

            “What’s going on out here?” Archer asked as he and Shachi rushed out on the deck. “We heard a scream.”

            “Conner just got hugged by an octopus,” Law said with a smile.

            “I thought we were under attack,” Bepo said as he sat back down.

            “And the thing didn’t die from his bad body odor?” Archer asked.

            “Shut up!” Conner snapped. “I almost suffocated!”

            “Being a bit dramatic, aren’t you?” Shachi asked.

            “Let me wrap it around your face and see if you still think dramatic,” Conner grumbled.

            “It probably just wanted to play with you,” Archer said. He walked over to get a better look at it. “Look at it. It’s so cute.”

“I’m going to chop it up for lunch!” Conner growled.

            “No!” Neo hugged the creature to her chest. “You can’t do that! He only came onboard because he wanted to know what I was! Please don’t kill him!”

            “Don’t worry,” Law said. “He’s not going to kill it. He’s just blowing off steam. Conner’s not too fond of animals or sea creatures.”

            “I wouldn’t count on it,” Conner grumbled.

            “Captain, can we keep it?” Neo turned to Law with a smile. “He wants to stay with me.”

            Law flinched at the pure innocence in her eyes. He should have known this would happen one day. Guilt filled his chest upon having to tell her no, but he knew they couldn’t have any kind of pets on the sub. It wouldn’t be fair to the animal at all. “I’m sorry, Neo. But we can’t keep pets on the sub.”

            “Oh.” Neo lowered her eyes to the deck.

            “However,” Law said being her eyes back to his, “you can keep it for a little while. But you have to let him go back to the sea when it gets dark.”

            “I can?” Neo asked.

            Law nodded.

            “Thank you, Captain!” Neo smiled then looked over at Conner.

            “Don’t you dare ask me to play with that thing!” Conner said. “I want absolutely nothing to do with it!”

            “He won’t bother you again,” Neo said.

            “No thank you.” Conner walked passed her and headed back into the sub.

            “He’s just a gloomy cuss,” Archer said.

            “We’ll stay out here and play with you,” Shachi said.

            “Thank you, guys,” Neo said sitting down on the deck.

            “So does he have a name?” Archer asked as he and Shachi followed her.

            “He likes being called Prawn,” Neo said.

            “Prawn, huh?” Shachi said. “Not bad. Not what I’d pick for an octopus.”

            “He said it’s his favorite food,” Neo said.

            “Oh,” Shachi drawled.

            “I didn’t even know sea animals would know what to call other sea animals,” Archer said. “I guess they’re smarter than I gave them credit for.”

            “He says he’s spent a lot of time around ships that throw nets into the water to catch fish,” Neo said. “That’s how he learned the name.”

            “Makes sense.” Archer leaned back on his hands.

            The octopus looked at the two men before snapping out a tentacle.

            “Hey!” Shachi protested when the creature pulled his hat off his head. “Give that back!”

            Archer laughed when the octopus placed the hat on its own head. “Looks like you two have the same taste in hats!”

            “Very funny,” Shachi said. He tried to pull the hat away from the octopus but it refused to release it.

            “Please, give Shachi his hat back,” Neo said. The octopus passed the hat back over to Shachi. “Thank you.”

            “Keep that up and I’ll side with Conner on eating you,” Shachi said placing his hat back where it belonged.

            “No you won’t!” Neo hugged the octopus. “The captain already said no!”

            “I’m just teasing, Neo.” Shachi ruffled her hair. “I won’t do that to you. And I certainly won’t go against the captain’s orders. I don’t care for the taste of octopus anyway.”

“Well, all right then,” Neo said. She looked down at the creature in her lap. “You behave yourself now.”

The octopus stroked her cheek with a tentacle.

Neo giggled and stroked her hand down the tentacle. “His skin feels so weird. It’s kind of slimy and there are bumps all over it. I like it. His suction cups tickle, too.”

            “He really likes you,” Archer said when the octopus crawled upon her shoulder and pressed its suction cups to her cheeks. “I think he just gave you a kiss.”

            “What animal doesn’t love or even like her?” Shachi crossed his legs. “I’m surprised we don’t get more visits from animals since she’s been onboard.”

            “Perhaps they know we’ll eat them if they did,” Archer said. “Or maybe they know we’re pirates and just chose to stay away.”

            Shachi hummed. “Maybe.”

            “I can call up more animals if you want me to,” Neo said.

            “Don’t worry about it,” Shachi said. “We’re just talking.”

            “That actually might be fun,” Archer said.

            “How so?” Shachi inquired.

            “Conner hates animals.” Archer smiled.

            “Oh, I see,” Shachi said.

            “See what?” Neo asked. “What’s going on?”

            “We’re just thinking about messing with Conner,” Archer asked.

            “Messing with him?” Neo blinked.

            “Playing jokes on him,” Shachi said. “He hates animals so it would be fun, for us, to put some in his bed and quarters.”

            “Oh, I think I understand,” Neo said. “And this won’t harm him or the animals?”

            “Of course not,” Archer said. “Well, no one should get hurt. Accidents do happen after all.”

            “I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Neo said.

            “Yeah, we know,” Shachi said. “But it would be good for you to start joking around with the crew.”

            “Um, if you say so,” Neo said. She glanced over at Law. “Is that all right, Captain?”

            “I suppose it would be fine,” Law said before giving his two men a stern look. “As long as you two take it easy with her around.”          

            “We will,” they chorused.

            “Would you like a little water?” Neo asked before summoning a water crystal. She then pulled a stream of the seawater up to them and ran it over the octopus’s skin. “That better? Good.”

            “She’s so cute,” Shachi said.

            “Mhmm.” Archer nodded.

…

            “Maybe it’s not such a good idea to let her keep the octopus for a while,” Bepo said.

            “She’ll be fine,” Law replied. “She has to understand that we can’t have pets on the sub. But I also want her to understand that she’s not completely banned from them either.”

            “I understand.” Bepo laid back down and closed his eyes.

            Law watched Neo as she continued to play with her new friend. He was disappointed that her nap had gotten interrupted but she appeared to be refreshed from the sleep she did get. And she’d get more sleep tonight, better sleep, since she’d be sleeping with him again. He could live with that as long as she wasn’t drowsy. He turned from her when he saw someone step out on the deck from the corner of his eyes.

            “She’s having fun,” Penguin said while Neo continued to fly the octopus around in the air with her crystals. “I’m going to hate to interrupted her, but lunch is ready.”

            “Thanks, Penguin,” Law said. He stood up, reclaimed his sword, and walked over to Neo. “Time to eat, Neo. Put him down and let’s go.”

            “Oh,” Neo said taking the octopus back into her arms after wetting his skin. “Can’t he come with us?”

            Law opened his mouth to say no, but quickly shut it when she gave him big puppy eyes. And he did say she could play with the creature until it got dark. “All right. But you keep him in line. He’s not to roam around the sub. And he’s not to attack any of the crew.”

            “Yes, sir!” Neo nodded. “He’ll behave!”

            Law nodded then led everyone down to the galley. He watched as Neo sat down at her usual place beside him, unaware of the odd looks she and her new friend were getting. He addressed them, “I said she could bring it in the sub.”

            The crew nodded the started eating.

            Neo pulled a couple fishes to her plate then looked at Law. “Would it be all right if I give him one of mine? He’s hungry too.”

            “All right,” Law said. “But just one.”

            “Thank you, Captain,” Neo said. She handed one of the grilled fish to the octopus. “You can have this one. You’re welcome.” She then turned to Penguin beside her. “I’m sorry I didn’t come help you cook.”

            “Don’t worry about it,” Penguin said. “You were busy having fun. We can cook dinner together later.”

            “Okay.” Neo nodded and turned back to her food. After they all finished, she helped Penguin clean up the dishes before leaving the galley. Just as she reached the stairs, Law came walking down them. “Hey, Captain?”

            “What is it?” Law turned to her.

            “I was just wondering if you would show me more of your powers now?” Neo asked.

            “You want to see more of my powers?” Law asked. His eyes went to the octopus. It was now riding on her back with its tentacles wrapped around her shoulders and arms. “Where did this come from?”

            “I’m not sure,” Neo said. “I just remembered the things you did when you and the crew destroyed those ice machines. Plus, you said you would show me more one day.”

            Law chewed on the idea for a moment. He wasn’t sure if she was ready to see the rest of his powers, but maybe he was being over protective of her. She asked him to see them after all. And they were drawing closer to Sabaody. It would be better for her to see them in a calm, controlled manner rather than in the heat of battle, which they might face once they arrived at their destination. “You sure you’re feeling up to it?”

            “I am.” Neo nodded. “I mean, if you are. I know you just got done being sick. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

            “It’s all right. I can handle some small demonstrations right now. So let’s go back out on the deck,” Law said heading back up the stairs.

            Neo followed him.

            Once out on the deck, Law looked around to find it empty of his crew. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. He sat down on the deck and signaled for Neo to do the same. “Now, some of my attacks might be scary to you, but remember they won’t hurt either of us.”

            “I understand.” Neo settled the octopus in her lap.

            “Let’s start with my Room.” Law held out his hand. The smoke circled around his palm before spreading out over the deck.

            Neo looked around the blue film before settling her eyes back on Law.

            “As you know already, all of my attacks can only be preformed in this circle,” Law said.

            Neo nodded.

            “Do you remember the move I showed you before?” Law asked.

            “The one where you cut up the flower?” Neo asked.

            Law nodded. “That was Amputate. I can do that to anyone and anything. I’ll show you by using myself.”

            “Are you sure?” Neo asked.

            “I’m sure. It won’t hurt a bit,” Law said. He waited for Neo to nod before removing his left index finger.

            Neo gasped again. Her eyes filled with fear as she watched Law’s finger floating above his hand. “There’s…there’s no blood.”

            “That’s correct.”

            “And it doesn’t hurt at all.”

            “Not at all. I can also attach my finger to any surface.” Law stuck his finger onto the deck.

            “Does it still work?”

            “Why don’t you touch it and see?”

            Neo swallowed. Hesitating, she reached out and touched Law’s finger. She jumped when it appeared to move on it’s own. “Oh! It moved!”

            “I’m still attached to it,” Law said.

            “That’s odd,” Neo said. “You’re clearly not attached to it but you are because you can still move it.”

            “I suppose it is a bit weird.” Law put his finger back on his hand. “Next is an advanced edition of Amputate. It’s called Radio Knife.” He unsheathed his sword to demonstrate. The sword crackled with electricity. “I can also use this move to sever people but in addition it also gives them an electric shock. But unlike Amputate this move the person I cut up can’t reassemble themselves for a while.”

            “Wow. What else can you do?” Neo asked.

            Law smiled at how interested she was in his power now. It was proof that she had more confidence in herself and he was just being over protective of her. “Personality Transplant Surgery allows me to switch people’s minds.”

            “What does that mean? I don’t understand,” Neo said.

            “Well, say I were to have Bepo and Penguin come out here,” Law said. “And I used this on them. I can put Penguin’s mind into Bepo and Bepo’s mind into Penguin’s body. That way Bepo would be in control of Penguin’s body while Penguin would be in control of Bepo’s body.”

            “That sounds scary,” Neo said hugging the octopus.

            “Takt is a move that I use to lift things up,” Law said. He placed his sword on the deck and did a demonstration for her. “Takt. See?”

            “Wow!” Neo eyed the floating sword.

            Law then picked his sword back up and moved it in front of him from left to right. “Scan.”

            “What’s that?” Neo asked.

            “It’s like taking an x-ray. By using this I can see if anyone is carrying something on them like a transponder snail or a weapon. I can also use this to find weak points on a person’s body.”

            “Are you looking for weak points on me?”

            “No, not really,” Law said. “I was just checking your health at bit and making sure you have no injuries.”

            “Oh,” Neo said. “So what else can you do?”

            “I can remove a person’s heart using Scalpel,” Law said.

            “I don’t understand,” Neo said. “Our hearts are inside of our bodies. Do you cut them out?”

            “Not really,” Law said.

            “Will you show me?” Neo asked.

            “It might scare you,” Law said.

            “I still want to see it,” Neo said.

            “Well, all right.” Law placed his finger to his chest. “Scalpel.”

            Neo gasped when his heart popped out of his chest inside of a blue square leaving an identical square in Law’s chest. “That’s your…” Her face turned green when the heart pulsed. “I don’t feel so good.”

            “I’m sorry.” Law put his heart back. “I didn’t think it would make you feel sick. Take a few slow, deep breaths.” He touched her forehead as she did what she was told. “Feeling better?”

            “Yeah.” Neo nodded. “I don’t want to see that again.”

            “You won’t have to,” Law said. “I’ll try avoiding using it around you.”

            “Thank you.”

            “Next is my Counter Shock.” Law held up his thumbs just before they started crackling. It releases a strong electrical surge that can restore the normal rhythm of a person’s heart. It can also kill them by stopping their heart. Injection Shot is kind of like a gun. I place my sword tip on someone and fire.” He held up his hand again forming a blade of energy, pale green in color. “This is my Gamma Knife. This attack destroys my victim’s internal organs without leaving external wounds. Then there’s Sterben. I can use that to spin my sword or whatever weapon I choose.”

            “Is that it?” Neo asked.

            “There is another move I have, but I’m not sure I should tell you about it,” Law said.

            “Why not?” Neo asked. “Is it something bad?”

            “It can be,” Law said. “I think I’ll hold off for a while before telling you about that one.”

            “Oh, okay,” Neo said. “You know what’s best. But there was something familiar about your attacks.”

            “What do you mean?” Law asked.

            “They sounded like some of the medical words I’ve heard you use before,” Neo said.

            “That’s because the Op Op Devil Fruit is a medical fruit,” Law said. “It takes someone with great medical knowledge to actually use it to its full potential.”

            “And you’re a doctor,” Neo said.

            “That’s right,” Law said. “So I can make better use of this Devil Fruit than the majority of everyone else.”

            “Can you use it on yourself? Other than the heart-removing thing?”

            “I can. And I have,” Law said. “Do you remember when I told you that I was sick with White Lead Syndrome?”

            “Um, I think so,” Neo said. “We were on your bed. That’s when I told you about myself and my necklace.”

            “I was able to remove that illness from my body,” Law said.

            “Then why didn’t you remove the flu from your body?” Neo asked.

            “It’s not a perfect Devil Fruit, Neo,” Law said. “Even with this Devil Fruit I’m still susceptible to colds and the flu.”

            “Susceptible?”

            “It means I can still get sick,” Law said.

            “Have you used your powers on the crew?” Neo asked.

            “In friendly ways,” Law said choosing his words carefully so he wouldn’t upset or scare her. “I can preform surgeries on them when they’re hurt and not leave scars like normal surgery would have.”

            “Will I see all of this someday?” Neo asked.

            “You probably will,” Law said. “We’re going to be getting into more fights soon. Sabaody is going to have a lot of pirates and bounty hunters on it. We could get into a lot of fights there.”

            “Oh.” Neo frowned.

            “Try not to worry about it,” Law said. “With you around I’ll avoid as many fights as possible. But you’re going to have to get use to them. As pirates they can’t always be avoided.”

            “I understand,” Neo said. “I think. I just don’t want any of you to get hurt.”

            “I know you don’t,” Law said. “But getting hurt is just a part of life.”

            Neo nodded. “I’ve been hurt a lot.”

            “I know. But it’s not going to happen again,” Law said. “I won’t let anyone hurt you like that ever again.”

            “Thanks, Captain.” Neo smiled.

            Law nodded.

            “Do you think we’ll have anymore Devil Fruit users on the crew?” Neo asked.

            “Possibly,” Law said. “It all just depends on the situation and on you.”

            “On me?” Neo asked.

            “I know you’re still afraid of strangers,” Law said. “So when we have the possibility of adding a new crewmate, I’ll let you get to know them before they come onboard the sub.”

            “Think that will work?” Neo asked. “We don’t always spend a lot of time on islands.”

            “I think it’ll be just fine,” Law said.

            Neo gnawed on her bottom lip.

            “Don’t worry about it right now,” Law said. “I’m not really looking for anyone. If someone of interest shows up we’ll discuss it then.”

            “Okay.” Neo nodded. “Are you still feeling okay?”

            “Yes, Neo,” Law said.

            “So will it be all right if we just rested here for a while?” Neo dropped her eyes to the deck before flickering them back up to Law.

            “Of course it’s fine,” Law said.

            “That’s good.” Neo continued to flicker her eyes from the deck to him.

            Law studied her for a minute before realizing what it was she was wanted but too shy to ask for. He shifted his position and leaned against a pole of the railing then held up his arm. “Come here.”

            Neo smiled. She shifted closer to him and leaned against him, her body stiffened up like always even though she wanted to lean against him.

            Law smiled himself as she busied herself with the octopus again.


	25. Sabaody Arrival

Sabaody Arrival

            Law sat back against Bepo, the latter snoozing peacefully to the gentle rocking of the sub while the former’s eyes were locked onto Neo. His smile grew as he watched Neo walk along the railing of the sub. The waves continued to rock the sub but if she noticed it wasn’t apparent. He continued to watch her.

            She bent forward, placed her palms on the rail then lifted her legs until her toes pointed straight to the sky, flipped over her head and continued on until she was standing right side up again, she paused then did it again. She repeated this slow front handspring a couple more times before pausing. He then asked, "Think you could speed up the front handspring?"

            "I think so." Neo nodded without looking over at him.

            "Then give it a try." He watched her face contort into strong concentrating. He guessed she was feeling out the waves before proceeding with her faster front handsprings. Then she did it four times without pausing before the next wave hit the sub. "Very good, Neo. Just keep going faster, as long as you’re comfortable with it. I want you to get up to the crews’ level soon."

            "Thanks, Captain. I-" A sudden rock of the sub threw both Neo and Law off balance. He barely got his eye back on her before she fell towards the seaside and disappeared below the sub.

            "Neo!" Law jumped up, his sword abandoned on the floor and his heart threatening to break free of his chest. He grabbed the railing in an attempted to jump over the side. Before he could the wind picked up and Neo lifted back to his height.

            "I'm okay." Her wind crystals shimmered around her.

            "What happened? Did you not sense the wave?" Law asked while his eye darted all over her body for injuries.

            "It wasn't a wave," Neo replied, hovering in the air.

            "What?" Law lifted his eyes to hers.

            "That's why I didn't sense it. It's a whale. I wasn't checking for sea creatures," Neo said looking back down to the water.

            Law looked down just as a large blue whale emerged from below.

            The whale cried out before dipping below the surface.

            "What is it, Neo?" Law asked, when he noticed her concentrating glance locked onto the whale.

            "She's hurt," Neo replied.

            Looking back down, Law noticed a broken spear sticking out of the whale's back a few feet from its dorsal fin. The whale thrashed again, its large tail causing more waves that rocked the sub.

            “What?! What’s going on?!” Bepo screamed. “Are we under attack?!”

            “No, it’s just an injured whale,” Law said.

            “An injured whale?” Bepo walked over to his captain and looked down. His eyes locked onto the spear. “Oh, the poor thing.”

            Neo lowered down closer to the whale.

            “What’s she doing?” Bepo asked.

            "Careful, Neo. She might attack you," Law warned.

            "I'll be careful," Neo said. She looked back up at Law then turned her attention back to the whale. "Easy, girl. It's all right. What happened to you?"

            Law relaxed, his hands loosening on the railing, when it was obvious the whale was listening to Neo. His hands ached. He shook them out to release the pain in them. When they were better he placed them back on the railing. He watched as she placed her hands on the whale's side. She was looking the spear intensely before flying back up to him.

            "Captain, can you take the spear out?" Neo asked.

            Law raised an eyebrow at her. She flew over to him. He forced back a flinch when she placed her small, gentle hands on his chest. His cheeks threatened to flare up, but he managed to keep them under control. However, his composure melted and he flinched when Neo's bottom lip pooched out a bit and her eyes became very puppy like. From the corner of his eye he could see Bepo biting back a grin.

            "Please, Captain? She got caught in the middle of two ships fighting. The spear's really hurting her," Neo said inching closer to him.

            Law moaned slightly when her eyes misted up with tears. He sighed, knowing there was no way he was going to be able to say no to her. “Fine. I’ll help her.”

            "Thank you, Captain!" Neo squealed and threw her arms around his neck.

            Law chuckled and stroked her hair.

            "She’s just so cute," Bepo said with a smile. "She's got you whooped, Captain."

            "What did you say?" Neo asked, looking over at the bear. “Whooped?”

            "It’s nothing important." Law cheeks flushed, his hat dropping over his eyes. "Can you fly us both down to her?"

            "Yes, I can do that." Neo, forgetting about what Bepo had said, raised both herself and Law in the air. "Flying multiple people has gotten so easy now."

            "Glad to hear it,” Law said as Neo lowered both of them to the whale. The whale whapped her tail on the water and bobbed, splashing water onto his skin. "Just make sure to tell her that I'm helping her. I don’t need to end up in the sea."

            "It's okay, girl. This is my captain. He's also a doctor. He's going to take the spear out of your back so you'll feel better. And please don’t knock him into the sea. I can save him if you do, but he’ll be paralyzed if he falls in," Neo spoke calmly, her hand stroking over the whale’s side.

            Law couldn't help but smile at how tender Neo was being. She was just naturally gentle. That was obvious. Though he wasn’t sure if it was because of how she was treated or if it was her normal nature. She sat him down on the whale's back. Her winds stayed securely around him just in case. He could tell that even though she could easily save him with her crystals if he did fall in the ocean, she didn't want to risk his safety.

            Law leaned down and inspected the spear. The spearhead was embedded about halfway into the whale’s skin. A small amount of blood had trickled out and was dripping down into the water. "Doesn't look like it's in too deep at all. I should be able to pull it out without any problems. Tell her this is going to hurt, but it'll only hurt for a minute."

            "Okay." Neo nodded. She rubbed her hands on the whale's body and spoke softly to her. "It's okay. He’s going to pull it out now. It'll only hurt for a minute. You'll feel so much better after it's out. She says it's fine, Captain. As long as it comes out."

            "Here goes then." Law wrapped his hands on the broken handle. The whale rose a little when he wiggled it.

            "It's okay. Easy now," Neo cooed to the whale.

            Law wiggled the spear a bit more before jerking it out.

            "There. It's out. How does it feel? That's good. I'm glad," Neo said.

            "Let's go back up to the sub now," Law said.

            "All right." Neo raised them back to the deck. She lowered Law to the floor before turned back to look over the rail. She waved to the whale. "Take care of yourself now! And stay clear of ships from now on!"

            The whale sang out her thanks before disappearing below the surface.

            “Bepo, dispose of this properly.” Law handed the broken spear over to his navigator.

            “Aye, Captain.” Bepo took the spear.

            Law just turned back to Neo to get her arms wrapped around his neck once more.

            “Thank you, Captain!” Neo squeezed him.

            "It was no big deal." Law wrapped his arms around her waist without thinking about it before hand.

            "Yes, it was. She was hurting and you helped her." Neo lifted up from him and kissed his cheek.

            Law's cheeks flushed. "Fine, but only because _you_ asked me to do it. I wouldn't have done it for anyone else."

            "You can be kinda odd at times," Neo said. She tilted her head and smiled at him.

            "I think you've trained enough for today," Law said, trying to stop his blushing. "Let's go back inside."

            "Okay." Neo finally released him and floated her feet back to the floor.

            The two turned to find Shachi and Penguin was staring right at them. Shachi had his right arm resting on Penguin's shoulder and his left hand on his hip. Penguin, beneath his hat, was studying what they both had saw like a protective big brother would.

            "When…when did you two get here?" Law asked.

            "At the right time." Shachi grinned.

            Law's cheeks darkened a deeper shade of red. They both had seen Neo kissed their captain's cheek and hug him.

            "You know…I do believe that's the first time Neo's kissed anyone," Shachi said.

            "Yeah, I believe so." Penguin crossed his left arm over his chest and pressed his right hand to his cheek.

            Law wracked his brain for an answer or something to say or do when Penguin suddenly couldn't stop himself from grinning. This wasn’t his normal behavior. Of course he was gentler with Neo than anyone else, but still, it was really odd to have his subordinates to catch him in such an intimate position with Neo, especially when she didn’t know the meaning a kiss could have.

            "Kissed?" Neo put her hands behind her back and thought about the word. She looked up at Law. "Should I have not done that?"

            "It's fine, Neo," Law said. Refusing to look directly at Neo or his men, he kept his hat brim low over his eyes. Still, he couldn’t help but look at Neo. Her eyes were filled with curiosity and a small amount of concern that she had done something wrong. It made her all the cuter to him. "You did nothing wrong."

            "That's good. I was worried there for a second." Neo sighed with a smile.

            "So what happen out here?" Penguin asked, saving Law from farther discomfort and themselves from getting Shambled and their body parts thrown all around the sub. "We thought something was wrong when a huge wave rocked the sub."

            "It was a whale," Neo told them. "She had a spear in her back. The captain took it out."

            "I see," Penguin said with a nod. "Well, it's a good thing the captain was out here with you."

            Neo nodded in agreement then looked up at the sky.

            “What is it, Neo?” Law asked.

            “There’s a rain shower coming,” Neo said. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped a few degrees, bring a coolness over them all.

            “Yeah.” Bepo sniffed the air. “I can smell it.”

            “We better head inside then,” Shachi said.

            “Is it going to be bad?” Penguin asked.

            “No.” Neo shook her head. “Just rain, possibly a bit heavy.”

            “We were done out here anyway,” Law said. “Let’s get inside before it rains.”

            Neo nodded.

            “So how much longer before we get to Sabaody?” Shachi asked as they entered into the sub.

            “Two more days,” Bepo said.

            Penguin pulled the door closed. He spun the large circular knob, causing several clicks and clangs to be heard before the gears settled into place. He whispered to himself, “Two more days.”

            “If I have no orders, I’d like to go read for a while,” Neo said.

            “That’ll be fine,” Law said. “I’ll be checking the supplies to see what we need. Then I’ll be in the control room for a while after that. Stay inside now.”

            “I will.” Neo waved to him and the others before heading down the stairs.

…

            Penguin watched Neo disappear down the stairs before the others followed suit. For a while he just stood there in thought about how they were going to be arriving at Sabaody in two days before finally getting himself to move from the spot. He headed down stairs, but wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. It was still a couple hours before he and Neo started their next meal. He found himself aimlessly wandering around the sub for a while. Stepping into the galley, he glanced through the drawers, wondering if there was something else they should pick up from Sabaody when they were there. He opened the fridge. The cool air brushed over his face, he couldn’t think of anything they might want. So he closed the door and left the room.

            Walking down the hall, he could hear some of his crewmates muffled voices inside of one of the storage rooms. He didn’t pause to listen in on what they were saying. He legs told him to move. So he did. His fingers twitched in annoyance. He was concerned about arriving on Sabaody. It was one of the roughest islands this side of the sea. Not only that they were in spitting distance of a Navy base, they were also going to be near Mariejois, home of the Celestial Dragons. His fingers curled into tight fits. His mind ran off, thinking about how many ways Neo could be hurt or taken away from them.

            He peered into the rec. room with a deep frown on his lips. That frown formed into a small smile when he saw Neo had herself tucked into the corner of the couch. She had her knees bent up and a book pressed against them. Her eyes were tinted with a childlike glee while she savored the words she was reading. The girl was blissfully unaware of the danger they were heading into.

            With a heavy sigh, Penguin pulled himself away from the room. Usually he would be reading with her. And on any other day he would have gone right inside of there and sat down with his own book. But he was far too restless to sit right now. He had a mini mission he needed to take care of before he could even think about relaxing or reading. Heading down the stairs to the fifth floor and into the control room. He was greeted by the familiar beeps and flashing lights of the controls. The man he was looking for was sitting with his boots upon the control panel and his hat low over his eyes. “Captain, may I have a word with you?”

            "What is it?" Law peaked out from underneath his hat.

            "I'm very concerned about Neo being on Sabaody," Penguin flat out said. There was no way he was going to beat around the brush with this. Not with her.

            "How so?" Law inquired.

            "Well, for starters it's an island filled with bounty hunters and other pirates looking to kill their rivals or make some easy money off of us. And there’s the fact that they could take an interest in her crystals. But most of all, I'm concerned about the Celestial Dragons. We all are. They've been on that island several times. They could show up while we're there," Penguin explained.

            "Okay?" Law raised an eyebrow at the man.

            "Come on, Captain! I know you refuse to admit your feelings for her to us, but you _can't_ deny that Neo is a very beautiful young woman!" Penguin saw his captain flinch at his words before his hat fell back over his eyes. But that didn’t keep the man from shutting up. This had to be done. Precautions had to be taken on this island. "The Celestial Dragons could take her on a simple whim just because of her looks! And there would be nothing we could do about it! We could lose her forever! It would be completely devastating for her if that were to happen! She'll probably try to kill herself again!"

            Law's lips dipped down into a low, dangerous frown.

            Penguin cringed. He knew that he had hit a nerve, a very sensitive nerve, with his captain. He was expecting to get reprimanded in some way, in a serious way. But it never happened.

            Law just replied to him in a calm manner, but there was a hidden danger brewing under his calm facade. "That _won't_ happen. I _won't_ let anyone take her away. _Ever_."

            Penguin blinked his hidden eyes several times. His mind frozen, in fear or shock he wasn’t sure. He just stood there while his captain stood up and left the room.

            Several seconds passed before Penguin came back to his senses and went after him. He quietly followed his captain up to the rec. room.

            Law walked right over to Neo. She didn't notice either of them until Law spoke to her. "Neo? Put down the book. There's something I need to talk to you about."

            "What is it, Captain?" Neo sat up straighter. She bent her knees, tucking her feet under her and laid the book in her lap.

            Law grabbed a chair from the table and sat down across from her. Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees and laced his fingers together. He said, "It's about your orders for the next island we're going to be docking at."

            Neo sat obediently as she waited for him to continue.

            "First order, you are _forbidden_ from use your crystals while on Sabaody," Law continued.

            "Huh?" Neo blinked.

            "Captain! Are you insane?!" Penguin shrieked. His heart took a sharp beat in his chest, and almost broke through. "That'll leave her practically defenseless! There's no way only a few months of training in martial arts can get her out of sticky situations with professional pirates and bounty hunters!"

            Law raised his hand to silence the man. "Neo, we are going to be around a lot of greedy pirates and bounty hunters who won't hesitate to take interest in your crystals. I _do not_ want another incident like when those mercenaries took you. Also, there’s a possibility that we’ll run into some Celestial Dragons. You do remember what we told you about them, right?”

            “Yes, sir,” Neo said. “I remember.”

            “Good. Your second order is to consider this a much-needed lesson in self-control. There will be times your crystals aren't going to be able to help you. I want you to be able to handle yourself if a situation like that arises. Third order, while we're on Sabaody, you are _not_ to leave my sight _ever_. You are to remain by my side at all times. The only way your aloud out of my sight is if I order for you to do it. If that happens, I'll assign a crewmember to escort you. Do you understand me?"

            "Yes, sir." Neo nodded even though she was a bit stunned at being forbidden to use her crystals. She looked at Penguin. The man seemed to be in shock at his captain's orders for the girl he has come to view as a little sister.

            "Hmm." Law's humming pulled her eyes back to him. The captain was looking at the torn jeans she was wearing. "Your clothes are quiet torn up from your training. While we're there we should pick you up some new ones."

            "I'm getting new clothes?" Neo questioned.

            Law nodded. "This time you're going to pick them out."

            "Really?" Neo’s eyes widened.

            Law chuckled at the tiny sparkle of uncertainty lighting up in her eyes. He nodded again. "Oh, there's one last thing, while on Sabaody, you'll need to wear your boots. If we do getting into a fight, your feet need to be protected."

            "Yes, Captain." Neo sighed.

            Law smirked lightly at the tiny forlorn look that appeared on her face. She really didn't like wearing shoes and only worn them when she had too. But he knew she would obey his orders and didn't press it. With nothing else left to discuss, Law stood up and left the room.

            Penguin remained in his shock state as Law left the room. Eventually, he came back to his sense. Neo was lightly tapping her fingers on the book cover in thought. He sat down beside her and asked, "Are you all right with all this?"

            "Yeah, I'll be fine. I guess I'm just a bit shock at my orders." Neo raised a smile to him. "But it's okay. I'll still be with the captain and you all. And I have gotten better at being around people. I’ll be fine as long as no one touches me."

            "That's good to hear. And don’t worry. We won’t let anyone touch you." Penguin smiled. He thought back to the previous islands they've stopped at and her 'dealing with people' training. Neo didn't hide against Law as much anymore. She wasn't to the point of looking strangers in the eyes yet and still freaked out if anyone she didn't know touched her or made eye contact, but they all were happy and proud of her progress. "If it bothers you, and you need to talk, we're all here for you."

            "I know." Neo nodded. "That's how I'll get through this island. Just like all the others."

            "Yeah." Penguin ruffled her hair. "You've done great on getting use to people again."

            "I still have a long ways to go. I still get scared and startle easily, but it's getting better."

            "I'm glad to hear that." Penguin put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. He then tickled her ribs. She squealed and giggled. He didn't continue his assault for long. Law's orders on teasing and tickling her were still fresh in all of their minds. "Wanna continue reading?"

            "Yeah." Neo settled into his embrace and opened the book she was still holding.

…

            Neo hummed to herself as she pushed the broom across the floor. The main floor was quiet at the moment. She wasn’t sure wherever one was at the moment. All she knew was they were scattered around the sub and getting ready to land on the Sabaody Archipelago. An image of tall trees flashed through her mind. Looking up from her sweeping, she looked over to the open door. Curious, she walked over to the door and peaked outside. She gasped. The sub was moving towards several large trees that appeared to be able to touch the clouds above it. Without thinking, she stepped outside to get a better look at the trees. “Wow.”

            The sub moved closer, revealing the color of the trees being extremely light green with darker green stripes running vertically up the bark and their roots appeared to be jumping out of and threading back through the water. Her eyes grew wide when they were about thirty yards from the island several bubbles were floating around the trees and buildings. From the corner of her eye she noticed a familiar yellow appear beside her. "What kind of forest is this? What are those trees called?"

            "It's a mangrove forest. Those are mangrove trees,” Law said.

            “Their roots are out of the water,” Neo said. “And…are those buildings on them?”

            “They are,” Law replied. “The roots serve as the place where people live on this island. While it’s called an island it’s actually not. It doesn’t have a magnetic pull so log poses don’t work on this place.”

            “Then how do people find it if they can’t use the log pose?” Neo looked up at him.

            “Because the Sabaody Archipelago is called the final island on this side of the Grand Line,” Law said. “This is where everyone goes when they want to enter into the New World.”

            “The New World?” Neo said. “I think I’ve heard the crew talking about that before.”

            “It’s the next place we’ll be headed, at some point in time,” Law said. “This place is the only way to get there.”

            “This place is amazing!”

            “Those trees are so huge!”

            Neo looked around to find that some of the crew had came outside. Their eyes were also scanning over the island in awe. A startled gasp of realization hit her. Her hands gripped the broom handle, turning her knuckles white. “I’m sorry, Captain! I came out here on my own! I didn’t mean to!”

            “It’s all right, Neo,” Law said. “You can come out here if you want. You didn’t leave the sub after all.”

            “Oh.” Neo’s heartbeat slowed down. “I forgot.”

            Law chuckled. “Why don’t you go put that broom up? We’re about to land.”

            “Yes, sir.” Neo turned and rushed into the sub. Coming to the closet, she placed the broom back inside and rushed back out to the deck. Standing with Law, she watched as the sub glided along the edges of the trees until Archer pulled next to a large root that looked easy enough for them to climb.

            “We’re finally here!” Shachi said. “This is so exciting!”

            “Yeah.” Penguin nodded as the crew started climbing down the ladder. “I wonder how many other pirate crews are here and how many of them are rookie crews like us.”

            “Who cares?” Conner cracked his knuckles. “I’m so ready for this. I hope we have some fun while we’re here.”

            Neo hummed, wondering what exactly was going to happen here. The rest of the crew had come out onto the deck, but for one who had been ordered to stay behind and keep an eye on the sub, and left the water vessel for the island. She climbed down and joined the pirates. Walking up the root she said, “This place, the trees feel weird.”

            “Is it bothering you?” Law asked as they came to a pause at the top of the root.

            "No, it's not," Neo said, unaware of a bubble forming under her feet. "I've just never seen trees like these bef-ore!"

            The bubble lifted her a few inches off the ground, tossing her backwards. As the world flipped upside down she attempted to summon a wind crystal to catch herself, but caught herself before doing so. Closing her eyes she waited for the impact of the hard ground to hit her. She peaked through one eye when she stopped falling due to an arm around her back. She tensed when Law chuckled.

            "I sense more balancing training sessions in someone's future. You should have been able to handle that," Law said.

            "I know. Sorry," Neo apologized while looking up at him. "I was distracted by the trees."

            "But you did very well in not summoning your crystals." Law smiled at her. "Good job."

            "Uh, t-thank you." Neo stiffened even more when she noticed his arm still around her. The crew's chuckling earned them a glare from their captain. Law lifted her back into the correct position before releasing her. "What are we going to do first?"

            "First we need to get a couple maps of this island. Neo, I want you hold onto one of the maps," Law said.

            "Huh? What for?" Neo looked at him with rising panic in her eyes. "You said you weren't leaving me!"

            "Don't worry." Law placed his hand on her head and stroked her hair. "I'm not. I just want you to have one just in case we do get separated by accident."

            "Oh, I see." Neo relaxed a bit with a nod.

            "After that, we'll get something to eat before we take you shopping." Law then started to lead his group farther into the island.

            "Great! I'm starving!" Shachi exclaimed.

            Neo cautiously watched as their quiet surroundings soon gave way to people talking. Buildings started popping up more and more the farther they walked into the odd forest. Soon the rest of the crew started breaking off from them and going in different directions to do preplanned things. She waved to each one of them and watched them until they disappeared. “Are they going to be all right? Shouldn’t they stay with us?”

            “They’ll be fine,” Law said.

            With Law and the crew kept a close eye on her, she turned her attention back to their surroundings. More and more people and buildings stared to appear around them. Her pulse began to beat faster under her skin. She jumped when a man punched another man and several more jumped into a fight. She stepped closer to Law and pinched a hold of his sleeve at his elbow.

            Law glanced down at her from the corner of his eye, but didn't say anything. He wanted to test to see how she would handle not being distracted by him at all on such a rough island, but he also didn’t want to give strangers the impression that something else was going on between them. He half smiled when she didn't anything more than pinch a hold of his shirt. She was keeping herself as calm as she could.

            "There's a map stand," Bepo said, pointing at a small wooden hut.

            Neo watched him walk over and grabbed a couple maps then returned to the others.

            Law took one and turned to her. He pointed at the map and spoke to her. "Let’s see, this is where we are now, Grove 21. It’s a dangerous area so if we get separated, come back here immediately and wait for us on the sub. You can use the numbers on the trees to guide you. I don’t want you wondering around this place alone if it can be avoided. Understand?"

            "Yes, Captain." When Law handed her the map, she folded it up and tucked it into her pocket then returned her hand to Law's sleeve. They continued on through the island, just taking in the sights, and she was starting to relax until a couple of men walked by half drunk. One stumbled around his own feet and bumped Neo’s arm.

            Law saw it happened in slow motion. Unable to react fast enough he watched the man bump into her. She screamed and dug her fingers dug into his sleeve. She clamped her eyes shut and hung to him trembling, her crystals threatening to flicker into reality. Physical contact with people was something they never worked on. Part of the reason for never touching on this was she wasn't anywhere near being ready for that. Another part of it was he wasn’t sure how to go about getting her over her issue with being touched by strangers. He wasn’t sure if it was possible. A third reason was he didn’t like the idea of others touching her. He only wanted himself and his crew to be able to touch her. But despite all of that he had the feeling that she would never be comfortable with people touching her that she didn't know.

            “Watch it, brat!” the half drunk man hissed while wiping his mouth with the back of his arm.

            Law narrowed his eyebrows. Heat flared up in his chest.

            "You should know better than to get in our way." The second man chuckled. "We're pretty famous bounty hunters. Someone you shouldn't mess with."

            Neo only clenched her eyes tighter and clung harder onto Law's arm.

            The first man huffed and started talking again. "Don't you have something to say? Like an apology? You little coward, say something. Stop hiding like a baby."

            Law watched the men carefully. They apparently didn’t noticed who he and his crew were. Though he didn’t know if it was because they were drunk or they were just to stupid to notice, but none of the mattered when the man reached out for Neo when she didn’t reply to him. His heart skipped three beats. The last thing they needed was a stranger touching her directly. They got lucky she didn’t summon her crystals when this guy bumped into her; she was fighting to obey his order still. He swung his sheathed sword. A snapped vibrated through the air, signaling he had broken the bone.

            The man cried out, dropped his sake bottle, while grabbing his wrist. He recovered from the hit and started to go on the attack with his uninjured hand. He paused when he lifted his gaze to Law's intense glare.

            " _Don't you ever touch her_!" Law hissed. "Get lost! _Now_!"

            The man stumbled back. That's when he noticed the other crewmembers glaring just as harshly at him. The two men the scurried off without another word.

            Law tapped Neo's hand with his finger. "Your safe, Neo."

            Neo nodded, but didn't release him.

            “You did well in not summoning your crystals,” Law said in a quiet tone.

            Neo nodded again.

            “We’re going to continue on now,” Law said. “You ready?”

            “I think so.” Neo pulled back from Law bit and looked up at him.

            “Take a couple deep breaths,” Law said.

            Neo obey and settled down.

            “Sorry about that,” Penguin said as he stepped up beside her. “We won’t let it happen again.”

            “Yeah,” Shachi agreed.

            “We should have moved closer when the others left,” Bepo said.

            “I’m all right. I’m still with you all,” Neo said.

            “Then let’s continue,” Law said as he lead the small group forward. He let her cling to him as they made their way through the island. He kept stealing glances at her in the first few minutes. She wasn’t hiding in his arm anymore but she was keeping her eyes down on the ground. He decided to let her and turned his attention to finding a place to eat.

            He eyed the buildings, looking for a place that didn’t look to be very busy. When he found one, they entered and he purposefully led her over to a corner table and guided her to sit down in the corner seat. He then moved his own chair closer to her and sat down. Penguin followed his lead and moved his chair closer to her. Though they knew she wouldn't run, they both made sure to leave enough room between them and her so she'd still feel like she had an escape route.

            She ducked her head when the waiter walked over with menus. Law noted the man's eyes gleamed when he looked at the blue haired girl and would have stood beside Neo if he and Penguin hadn't moved their chairs closer to her. The waiter took the men’s drink orders first then turned a flirtatious smile to Neo who gave him a quick glance, but no eye contact. "And what would the lovely young lady like to drink?"

            Law growled and glared causing the waiter to jump and chuckle nervously. "Just doing my job, sir."

            "Does your job description include flirting with costumers?" Law hissed.

            "N-no, sir. I'm sorry, sir." The waiter started sweating profusely. "B-but I do need the young lady's choice of drink."

            "She'll have sweet tea." Penguin stepped in before things got out of hand.

            "Very good, sir." The waiter scribbled down the drinks then rushed off to fulfill that part of their order.

            Neo let her eyes wonder around the room and over all the happily chattering people scattered throughout the room, but quickly dropped them back to her lap and shrunk down in her chair.

            Law reached over and gave her hand a squeeze.

            She returned the gesture with a small smile. "I'm okay, Captain. It's just…a bit more crowded and noisy than I expected."

            Law nodded. "Just move at your own pace. We're in no hurry here."

            Neo took his hand in both of hers.

            Law didn't object or pull away. The men opened their menus and looked through them.

            Shortly after that, Shachi spoke up. "Hm…the spaghetti sounds good."

            "Spa-ghet-ti?" Neo asked.

            "It's a pasta. Long noodles with meatballs, cheese and tomato sauce," Penguin explained. "Does that sound like something you'd like to try?"

            "Yeah." She nodded. A few minutes later, the waiter had returned. He passed out their drinks, letting Law give Neo hers, took their orders, and rushed off again. While they were waiting for their meals to arrive, Neo began to grow more comfortable in her surrounding. She sat up straighter in her seat, but didn't release Law's hand.

            "You're doing great, Neo." Law said encouragingly. The crew nodded in agreement. It wasn't long after that their food arrived.

            Neo kept a hold of Law's hand with her left hand and picked up her fork with her right.

            "Uh." Neo scooped up some of the spaghetti on her fork. It slid off the utensil. She blinked in confusion and tried it again only to get the same results.

            "Try it like this," Shachi said. He poked his fork in his spaghetti, twirled it, and then held up the fork. "See?"

            Neo nodded then proceeded to follow Shachi's example. She poked her fork into the edge of the spaghetti. She slowly twisted the fork. The crew and Law smiled when she took her first bit and her eyes lit up. "Mmm. It's good. This sauce is incredible."

            "You should try to make it some time for the crew," Bepo said. "It's a fairly easy dish to make."

            "Yeah, I'd like to try it some time," Neo said.

            "Then we'll pick up the ingredients before leaving Sabaody," Penguin said. "There's some recipes for it in the cookbooks we have. There's also some for breadsticks if you wanna try them too."

            "But no _bread_ sticks for the captain." Shachi chuckled while snapping a breadstick in two.

            "Right." Neo bit back a giggle. "I remember."

            Law huffed at them while chewing his fish. The group then settled down into eating their meals without any more disruptions. The men had ended up ordering different dishes and allowed Neo to pick off their plates so she could try different dishes.

            When they were about done, Law notice Neo had slowed down on eating her spaghetti. He squeezed her hand to get her attention. "You know you don't have to eat it all if it's too much for you. That was a rather big plate of spaghetti and you have been picking off everyone’s plate."

            "Yeah, it is too much for me." Neo nodded. "I just don't want it to go to waste after ordering it."

            "I'll finish it for ya," Shachi said. "That way it won't go to waste at all."

            "If that's okay with you, I don't mind," Neo said just before Shachi grabbed her plate.

            "Yeah, it'll just go to _waist_ instead. You know, Shachi, if you ever stop training all that food you eat is going to turn into flab." Penguin snickered.

            "I don't eat that much!" Shachi insisted placing Neo’s plate over his.

            "Uh huh." Penguin put his hands behind his head and smiled.

            "If you nuts are done joking around," Law said, gaining their attention. "We need to get going soon."

            Shachi started gobbling down the left over spaghetti.

            "We're shopping for Neo some new clothes next, right?" Bepo said. "That could take a while. Then we'll have to return them to the sub so we don't have to carry the bags around everywhere."

            "We should rent some bubble bikes," Shachi said once they were out of the restaurant. “I’ve seen them around the town. They look fun.”

            Law raised an eyebrow at his subordinate.

            Shachi just grin and replied back. "Its experience for Neo. How could you deny her this?"

            "Yeah, that is a good idea. She needs to learn about all the islands we stop at. And no better way to do that than experiencing things first hand. Besides, the real shopping district is over on Groves 40-49 from what the maps said," Penguin said, effectively ganging up on Law with Shachi by using their captain's one obvious blue haired weakness against him. "You want her to be well rounded, right, Captain?"

            "Fine." Law sighed. "But you two are paying for them."

            "Aye aye, Captain!" Shachi and Penguin cheered.

            Bepo just stood there and blinked.

            "Bubble bikes?" Neo asked.

            "They're bikes used only on this island by combining them with the bubbles here. I heard someone talking about them a while ago," Bepo replied pointing to one that way passing by the window. "They also use the bubbles to carry bags. And Celestial Dragons use them around their heads so they don't have to breath the same air as commoners."

            "That sounds like an odd thing for someone to do," Neo said. "Why would they do that?"

            "I guess it does seem odd." Bepo smiled at her. "They just don't want to breath the same air as commoners because they think they're better than all of us."

            Neo tilted her head and contemplated the bear's words. "I'm not sure I understand. They're really just like everyone else, right? They're still humans."

            "If you get technical, they're really not that much different from the rest of us. They just think they are because of who they're related to," Shachi said.

            "Because they're related to the creators of the World Government," Neo said and Shachi nodded. "I'm still not sure I understand."

            "That's okay," Penguin said with a soft smile. "No one understands everything in the world. Just be sure to not to mess with the Celestial Dragons if we see them. Don't look at them, don't talk to them, nothing. Just get down on the ground and bow to them."

            "Right." Neo nodded.

            "You ready to go now?" Law asked Neo. She nodded and stood up to leave the restaurant. When they crossed ways with their waiter again, Law was the one to grabbed Neo's hand. He closed his hand around hers with a comforting squeeze and a glare at the waiter. The waiter darted his eyes between Neo and Law. Realization of Law and Neo's budding relationship rose in the waiter's face. He twitched at the harsh stares the surgeon gave him as he scurried off to hide until they were gone. Stepping back outside, he reluctantly released her hand. A small smile formed on his lips when she pinched his sleeve again.

            “Let’s find where the bubble bike rental places are here,” Shachi said.

            “They’ll probably be farther in to the town,” Penguin said.

            “Let’s go then,” Shachi said as he and the others gathered back around Neo. They headed away from the restaurant and farther into the town, looking for the correct place.


	26. Shopping

Shopping

 

            "Huh?" Neo blinked at the bubble bikes before her when they came to a stand still at a small, light green hut. She tilted her head, trying to figure out how these bikes were called bubble bikes when they were made of wood.

            “How can I help you all today?” the man at the hut asked.

            “We’d like to rent two of those bubble bikes,” Penguin said.

            “Very well. That will be four thousand berries a piece, or if you’d like, you could buy the pair for ten thousand,” he said.

            “No, thanks,” Penguin said while he and Shachi handed over their money to the man. “We’ll have no need for them on the sub.”

            “I see.” The man took their money, pocket it and turned to the bikes. “I’m assuming you’re going to the shopping district?”

            “We are,” Shachi said.

            “Then I’ll give you a big one so you can carry all of your purchases.”

            Neo watched curiously as the man grabbed three bubbles and pushed them together until they became one big one. He then grabbed a bike off the wall and pushed it into the bubbles. “That’s so weird. The bubbles didn’t pop.”

            “The bubbles here are really dense,” the man said. “You can even stand on them and put your entire body into one.”

            Neo ducked her head and pinched Law’s sleeve.

            “She’s shy, huh?” the man asked.

            “She is,” Penguin said.

            “Seriously? You can actually do that?” Shachi grabbed a bubble and pulled it over his head. “Wow! This is so cool! I wondered how the Celestial Dragons did this!”

            “Well, we have our bikes. Shall we get going?” Penguin pulled their two bikes a few feet away from the hut.

            Neo began her inspection of the bikes again. She poked the side of the bubble until her finger went through it. "And we're actually supposed to ride these?"

            "We are," Law said just before he pulled his arm from her hold.

            “How exactly?” Neo turned to Law.

            Law passed his sword to Bepo. He then stepped closer to Neo; placing his hands on her hips he easily lifted her up. Her body stiffed under his touch but it didn’t stop her startle gasp. Law chuckled as she placed her hands on his shoulders to stabilize herself in his hold. He sat her down on the bubble and, before she could say anything else, he reclaimed his sword and joined her with an easy jump.

            Penguin climbed upon the wooden seat while Shachi and Bepo got on the smaller bubble bike.

            "Let's get going then," Shachi said grabbing the handles of his bike.

            Neo, unsure about the ride, reclaimed her hold on to Law's arm when Penguin started pedaling. She watched the ground pass by for a few minutes before finally getting comfortable with the strange bike and relaxed a bit, but she kept her hold firmly on Law.

            Law was divided on keeping his eyes on her or on the possible competition that was around them. He wanted to make sure that she wasn’t getting too stressed out from all of this and he wanted to make sure no one was taking an interest in his blue haired girl, especially with her clinging to his shirt. Luckily, no one really seemed to care that they were even there. So he relaxed and enjoyed the ride while watching Neo.

            It wasn't until they got to the Groves 30-39 that she took an interest in their surroundings. Her eyes timidly darted everywhere and all over the strange structures that people were riding. She tugged on Law's arm. "Captain, what is this place?"

            "It's an amusement park," he replied.

            "Amusement park?" Neo blinked.

            Law nodded and explained, "It's a place to have fun. There are rides to ride, games to play and win prizes, lots of food to eat."

            "We should stop here for a while," Shachi suggested.

            "No," Law replied flatly.

            "Why not?" Penguin asked with a grin his captain couldn't see. "This would be a great experience for Neo. And it might be our only chance to show her a place like this."

            "He does have a point, Captain," Bepo said.

            Law's eyes dropped back to the girl beside him. He couldn't help but study her interest in the place. Her eyes were still darting all over the place with peaked curiosity. She looked over the rides, the booths, the balloons, all the colors, the costumes people were wearing for the kids to enjoy. She was so distracted to the point she didn't even hear what they were talking about. He sighed knowing that Penguin was right. Neo did need to experience life as much as possible. "Fine. We can spend about an hour here, but no longer."

            The pirates pulled their bikes over and climbed off.

            "What's going on?" Neo asked when she realized they had stopped moving. She looked down from the bike to see that Bepo had a hold of Law's sword once again. And Law was reached up for her. His hands reclaimed her hips, making her tense. She placed her hands on his shoulder when he lifted her off the bike. Her voice then took on a concerned tone when she realized what they were doing. "Captain?"

            "We're stopping here for a while," Law answered. “The crew wants to show you around the amusement park.”

            Neo blinked at him then looked around again. The rides nearby caught her attention. Her eyes drifted up to the largest roller coaster there was. She watched the cars, lined with bubbles, pull all the way to the top then plummet straight down. She tightly wrapped her arms around Law's waist with a startled gasp when the cars plummeted. Pressing firmly into his chest she said, "People find _that_ enjoyable?"

            "Some do, some don't," Law said. "It's really not that different from flying with your wind crystals."

            "But I control the wind when I do that." Neo pulled her worried eyes from the ride and turned them up to Law. "That's not controlled by the wind or me."

            He rubbed her back soothingly while she subordinates shifted their position to hide him comforting her. "Don't worry. You don't have to go on any of the rides. We don't have time for that anyway. We're just going to look around for a while so you can get a basic feel for the place." Law chuckled at the still concerned look in her eyes. He tucked her hair behind her ear. "Are you calming down enough to move on?"

            "Uh." Neo looked around at all the laughing people, so many strangers laughing and running around. Her eyebrows turned up as she tucked back into Law's chest. "Not really. There're so many people. And they're so noisy."

            "It's okay," Penguin said, stepping closer to her. "We just wanna show you around this place. We'll keep you protect from others bumping into you."

            "All right." Neo nodded. The crew circled around her then headed off. She took several quick glances around at their surrounds, but would always tuck back into Law's arm when people got too close or things got too noisy. They all paused when Neo's eyes locked onto a game. Her eyes lifted off the man trying to knock down bottles with a ball to a rather large white bear hanging on the booth wall. She tilted her head. "It looks like Bepo."

            "It does look like Bepo." Penguin nodded.

            "Uh." Bepo blinked at his little mini self. He huffed. "I don't think it looks that much like me."

            "It totally looks like you." Shachi snickered. He then turned his attention to his captain. "Seems Neo has taken an interest in the little bear. The captain should win it for her."

            "Win it?" Neo asked.

            "This is a game," Penguin explained. He jerked his thumb at the man tossing the balls. There was a tall blonde haired woman beside the man with a stick of cotton candy in her hand. She didn't looked like she was enjoying herself at all as she smacked her gum. "You toss the ball and try to knock down those bottles at the other side of the booth."

            "Oh," Neo drawled.

            The woman 'tsked' and started to walk away when her male companion missed again. "If you can even hit the bottles."

            "Hey! It's not my fault!" The man stomped after the woman. "People need more than good luck to win any of these games! They're totally rigged!"

            "You just suck at pitching," the woman huffed back.

            "My pitching is just fine!" the man growled.

            "Rigged?" Neo asked. “What does rigged mean?”

            "It means to fix a game where it's hard to win any prizes. That way you have to try more times, therefore spending more money," Law explained. "It benefits the owner of the game. Do you understand?"

            "Not really." Neo blinked. "They want people to play their game to win prizes but then make it harder for people to win their prizes?"

            "That's a weird question to ask. What's wrong with you? Haven't 'cha ever been to a theme park before?" the man at the booth asked. Neo jumped when she realized had unintentionally gained the stranger's attention. He blinked in confusion when Neo hid in Law's arm. "Is there something wrong with you?"

            "Leave her alone," Law hissed.

            "This _is_ her first time at an amusement park," Penguin added with a deep frown.

            "Be _nice_ to her," Bepo growled, literally.

            The man rolled his eyes, undeterred by the bear or the men. "Whatever. If you wanna play, then play."

            "Oh, he deserves a beating." Shachi frowned.

            "In more ways than one," Law mumbled, stepping forward. Neo protested with a low whimper and tightened her hold on his arm. He patted her hand comfortingly. "It's all right, Neo. I'm not leaving you. I'm just going to each his man a lesson for talking to you like that. I need my arm though. Just hold onto Penguin for a moment."

            She tightened her hold even more. Timidly, she peaked up at him and whispered. "Y-you're not going to k-kill him, are you?"

            "No, Neo." Law brushed his thumb over her cheek. "I'm not. I promise."

            After a moment of solid eye contact, she reluctantly released Law's arm and took a hold of Penguin's. Shachi and Bepo stepped closer to enclose their circle around their girl more. This didn't go unnoticed why the booth man. He asked, "Seriously, what's wrong with her?"

            Law slammed some money down on the booth. The sudden move startled the man so he didn't see Law's Room spreading around the immediate area.

            Neo noticed it. She looked at the film then at Penguin. He placed his finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet. She nodded slightly.

            Law then grabbed a ball. He threw three of them, one right after the other. Just before the balls hit the bottles, he sliced them in half so it looked like he threw the balls so hard it broke them.

            "Huh?!" The booth man blinked multiple times in disbelief. "B-b-but how?!"

            Law smirked. "I win. Now give me the bear."

            The man scratched his head. He grabbed the large white bear and when to hand it to Law. When he got close enough, Law reached for the bear with one hand and grabbed the man's shirt with the other. Law lowered his voice enough so Neo wouldn't hear him. "Her presence here as spared your life, _but_ if you _ever_ speak to her like that again, I will order her away from you and I _will kill you_. Do I make myself clear?"

            Unable to find his voice, the man nodded rapidly. Law slowly nodded once before letting the man go. He took the bear and turned back to his crew. He stepped back over to Neo and held out the bear to her. He smiled at the light in her eyes. She reached out and stroked its white fur "Thank you, Captain."

            "Let's continue," Law said. Penguin relinquished his duty as Neo's support. He took the bear from Law as his captain reclaimed his spot by Neo. The small group then proceeded to show Neo around the amusement park. The three crewmates played a few more games for fun and to show her how they worked. They bought some snacks to let Neo try them. Since they just finished up lunch, none of them were actually hungry so they shared with her.

            "What is it?" Neo blinked at the pink fluff on a stick that Shachi was holding. “It kind of looks like a cloud. But clouds are white not pink. That woman before was holding one.”

            "It's cotton candy," Shachi replied.

            "Cotton? You eat cotton?" Neo tilted her head.

            "It's candy not actual cotton," Law said. He plucked a piece off and held it to her lips. "Just try a small piece. It's very sweet."

            Neo parted her lips for him to place it inside her mouth. Her eyes widened when the piece quickly melted on her tongue into a sugary sweet puddle. "It disappeared."

            "It does that." Shachi chuckled.

            While the group shared the pink treat, Neo twisted and wiggled both her feet. Law quickly took notice. "Are your boots starting to hurt your feet?"

            "Yeah." She nodded.

            "All right. You've all had enough fun. Time to move on and get Neo's shopping done," Law ordered. He turned back to Neo. "You can take your boots off and rest your feet while we're riding over to the shops."

            The group nodded and headed back to where they parked their bikes. Once they got back to them, Law once again lifted Neo onto the apparatus. She pulled off her shoes, her hot skin cooling off, and sighed with a smile. "That's so much better."

            "I guess you're just always going to prefer going shoeless," Bepo said, climbing onto his bike.

            "I guess so." Neo shrugged with a small smile. She wiggled her feet and toes, stretching them out from being confined for so long.

            "Hold on a second!" Penguin suddenly called out. The group paused at his words. They watched him quickly shuffle over to an ice cream vendor. After paying for his choice, he walked back over to the group and held it up to Neo. "Here, you'll wanna try this."

            "What is it?" Neo asked, taking the object from him.

            "It's called ice cream cone. The cone it's on is eatable too," Penguin replied. "It's another sweet treat. Go ahead and try it. You lick it. And I got you vanilla flavor. If you like it, we can try other flavors later. Although, it might be a bit too much for you since you've already tried so many other treats. If it's too much, the captain can finish it for ya."

            Law raised an eyebrow at Penguin, but didn't say anything. He only nodded in agreement when Neo gave him a questioning look.

            Neo then looked at the rest of the crew before looking back at the treat in her hand. She blinked a few times, carefully inspecting the item, before finally taken a small lick of the cool creamy swirl. Her eyes lit up in amazement. "It's so cold and sweet. Almost as sweet as the cotton candy."

            The group, including Law, couldn't help but smile. Penguin mounted the bike and the group once again set off. Neo got a couple licks of the ice cream when a dull ache settled into her stomach, letting her know she’s had too many sweets. “It’s making my stomach hurt.”

            Law took it from her. "Let me eat some of the ice cream. Then you can try a couple bites of the cone."

            She nodded and waited for him to eat down to the cone. He then handed it back to her. She took two bites then lowered the cone from her face. “It’s good. Not as sweet as the creamy part. My stomach is still hurting a bit.”

            Law reclaimed the cone. "I think you've had enough. If you eat anymore you're going to get sick. I don’t want that to happen."

            "Yeah." Neo nodded. "Thanks, everyone, for doing this for me. It was really nice and an interesting experience even if it was a bit scary at times."

            "No problem." Bepo smiled.

            "We'd do anything for you," Shachi said. "Right, Captain?"

            Law let out a low growl as his cheeks tinted pink while his hat fell over his eyes. He shoved the last bit of the cone in his mouth so he didn't have to answer. Neo looked at him, but remained silent too. He smiled at her to let her know he was fine before she turned her eyes back to the sights before her.

            The remaining trip to the shops was a fairly quiet one as they floated along on their bubble bikes. At one point, Neo tiredly leaned against Law's side while occasionally question something she saw that she didn't know about or understand. And when anything startled her she would tuck herself against Law's side until she calmed down again. Eventually, they made it to the shopping district.

            "There a lot of stores around here. Which one are we going to?" Bepo asked as they floated along looking at all the shops that lined the pathways.

            "That one looks nice enough," Penguin said, jerking his thumb at a small boutique with pastel yellow walls and a light blue roof that had a hand painted sign that said, 'The Little Yellow Boutique' hanging from it.

            "We'll start there." Law nodded.

            Shachi and Penguin parked their bikes and disembarked from them.

            Neo slipped her shoes back on and once again let their captain lift her off the bike. Law then led them all inside. They all looked around the building. It was nice and cool inside. And there was only a few people shopping in this store at the moment. It was the perfect place for Neo to start shopping for herself.

            "Welcome to The Little Yellow Boutique." A lady in her forties wearing a red bandana, capris and a yellow button up shirt, greeted them with a warm smile. "Is there anything I can help you all with?"

            "No, we're only here to get her some new clothes." Law dipped his chin at the girl holding onto him.

            "My goodness," the lady exclaimed, pressing a hand to her cheek. "You are a very lovely girl! Such beautiful electric blue eyes!"

            Neo was still looking around the room and accidentally made eye contact with the woman. She flinched and turned her face into Law's arm.

            The woman chuckled. "Oh, she's so shy. Well, you are a very lucky man. I hope you two are very happy together."

            Law's eyes widened slightly, his cheeks tinted and his body twitched while Shachi, Bepo, and Penguin snickered and shoved down their desirer to agree out loud with the woman. He growled a warning at them.

            Bepo dropped his head and apologized. "I'm sorry."

            Shachi turned away and started to whistle while scanning his eyes around the store.

            Penguin cleared his throat, but remained smiling. All three highly noting their captain didn't correct the woman's words.

            Law turned his eyes back to the woman. "We're just gonna grab a few things and leave."

            "Very well." The woman nodded. "If you need any assistance, don't hesitate to ask."

            Law then led Neo over to a nearby rack of clothes. "You can come out now. No one here's going to hurt you."

            "Okay," she timidly squeaked. She slowly pulled her face away from his arm and looked around. She looked at the crew, noted their patient expressions, before reached out her left hand for the clothes and started looking through them. After a few minutes she relaxed a bit and had all ready picked out two shirts. One was blue tank top with a white cloud on it and the other one was short sleeve sea foam green with three white glittering flowers decorating the front of it.

            "Here, I'll take those," Penguin said.

            "Thanks, Penguin." She handed them to Penguin, who had grabbed a basket to carry her stuff. She moved on to the next rack. A pair of jean shorts caught her eye. She picked them up and held them out for the pirates to see. "What are these? They looked like my jeans but they’re not long enough."

            "They're called shorts," Penguin answered. "Kinda like jeans, but shorter."

            "They're not good for training, but if want to get a pair to wear around the sub, you can," Law said.

            "They'd be good for when we're passing by hot islands." Shachi added. "You know how hot the sub can get."

            "I suppose I could get one and see if I like them," Neo said, her eyes locked onto the shorts. She turned them around a couple times before handing them to Penguin.

            "Hey! This shirt would go very nice with the shorts." The group turned to Shachi. He was holding up a black, one shoulder, form-hugging shirt with a yellow heart on it. He held up the shirt to Neo's body. "Don't you think she'll just look incredibly cute in this, _Captain_?"

            "Yeah." Penguin and Bepo nodded rapidly.

            "No," Law said flatly, forcing down his blushing.

            "Why not, Captain?" Bepo questioned. "She would look really cute in it."

            "It's not suitable for training," Law grumbled.

            "Oh, come on, Captain." Shachi grinned. "She doesn't train every second of everyday. It'll be good for her to have some variety in her apparel. Here, Neo, try it on."

            Shachi handed her the shirt. She didn't move. She was unsure of what she should do. Like always, she looked up to Law for guidance. Law was about to pull her along when Penguin placed his hands on her shoulders. He gently pulled her away from the captain and over to the nearby changing room and said, "Just step inside here and try it on. It won’t hurt anything to see how it looks on you."

            "Um..." Neo looked back Law.

            “Go ahead,” Law said with a defeated sigh.

            Penguin pulled the curtain closed.

            Neo blinked at the curtain now separating herself from the people she knew. Panic settled into her chest, gripping her hard until she saw a shadow move on the floor just under the curtain. Then Law’s familiar boots and spotted pants appeared. Her pounding heart settled down. She pulled off her shirt and put the black one on. Adjusting the tail of the shirt, she pushed the curtain opened. She twitched when the three crewmembers whistled and cheered at how she looked in the shirt.

            "Very nice." Penguin nodded appraisingly at his favorite girl.

            "Really?" Neo looked down at the top she was wearing.

            "I agree," a man suddenly said.

            Neo jumped and ducked her head at the stranger as she scooted closer to Law.

            "But you're going to want to get a strapless bra to wear under that shirt," the man continued unaware of the trouble he caused.

            Law stepped between Neo and the man. He glared down at the intruder since he was four inches shorter than himself. His eyes hissed 'Get lost'. The man swallowed hard and dashed off. The captain grumbled, "And that's why she doesn't need to wear fancy clothes."

            "You're just too protective of her," Bepo mumbled, earning a disapproving frown from his captain. He ducked his head. "I'm sorry."

            "Uh, I don't have to have the shirt." Neo looked at the shirt then at Law. "I don't want to upset you. You're the captain. I'll do what you say."

            Law sighed inwardly. It was obvious to him that Neo was interested in the shirt since she hadn’t expressed a dislike in wearing it. He caved. "All right. You can get the shirt. But you're _only_ permitted to wear it on the sub."

            "Yes, Captain, I will." Neo nodded with a light smile in her eyes and on her lips. She stepped back into the changing room and pulled the curtain closed.

            "Change back into your shirt now. We're going to have to get you the proper b-" Law quickly cut his own voice off. He gave his two perverted minded subordinates a hard warning glare when they formed cheesy grins on their faces. " _You two_ are staying _right here_."

            "Aw, Captain!" Penguin and Shachi whined.

            Neo then stepped out with her shirt back on. She placed the black shirt in the basket then noticed her friends’ disappointed looks. "What's wrong with you two?"

            They both opened their mouths to answer her, but quickly shut them at the harsh warning glance Law was giving them. Law tapped her on the arm with his sword. "They just volunteered to stay right here while we pick up a few personal items that you need."

            "Okay." Neo blinked.

            “Come on, Neo.” Law snatched the basket from Penguin and walked off with Neo. Moving away from the clothes section, they stepped into the lingerie area of the store. Several women looked up at the man. A lot of them gave him flirtatious looks, one even blew him a kiss, that caused him to groan inwardly. This wasn’t something he was looking forward to. Glancing down at the blue haired girl beside him, he found her eyeing the lingerie instead of the people. He was glad that Neo didn't notice the looks he was getting. He wasn't sure he'd be able to explain their meaning to her at this point in time if she had noticed. He wasn't even sure how she would feel or react to strangers trying to flirt with him.

            "Uh, what exactly am I getting here?" Neo asked.

            "A strapless bra," Law replied with a little hesitation.

            "Why?" Neo looked at him.

            "It's for the one strap shirt you're getting." Law studied her. It only took him a second to know she didn't understand. "It's about modesty and style. The shirt will look better on you if your bra strap isn't showing. You saw how your bra strap was showing before, right?"

            "I did. Oh, I get it now." Neo nodded. She turned to the bras laying out on display. After a few seconds of looking them over, she pointed to one multi-vertical blue and yellow striped one. "Will this one be fine?"

            "If that's the one you like," Law replied. "You should probably get a couple more."

            "All right." Neo picked up the striped one along with an orange one and a black one. “I like these.”

            Law nodded then lead her back to where their waiting crewmembers were left.

            When they got back to them, Shachi had a mini pink and green striped tube top dress held up to his body and a ridiculously large straw hat with a pink bow tied around it on his head. He spoke out in a high-pitched voice. He said, "Don't I just look darling in this outfit?! I think it really highlights my eyes!"

            "You should totally buy that for yourself!" Penguin laughed.

            "You're so silly," Neo said, suppressing a giggle.

            "Actually…you know who would look really good in this dress?" Shachi sent Law a suggestive look.

            "Don't you dare," Law warned him. He glanced over at Neo. Luckily, she didn't take interest in the dress. What did catch her eyes was a pair of blue jeans identical to the pair Law was wearing, minus the spots. "We still need to pick you up some jeans."

            "This store doesn't really have many jeans," Bepo said, looking around. "We should probably move on to a different store for those."

            Law nodded in agreement. "Would you like those jeans?"

            "Yes, please." Neo nodded.

            Law nodded back and she picked them up. They then checked out with the clothes she picked out. After putting their bags in the bubbles on their bikes, the group moved on to the next store. The next one had more people in it.

            “Great,” Neo said. Her muscles tensed and twisted up.

            “Just breath,” Law said. “This is nothing but another training session for you.”

            “Okay.” Neo nodded. “I know I’m safe with you all. I’m not trapped inside of anything. I can easily go back out the door just like we came inside.”

            “That’s right,” Law said. “You ready to walk around?”

            “I am,” Neo said. Pinching his sleeve again, she walked behind him while cautiously looking around. She eyed the people. When they appeared to show no interest in her, she relaxed with an exhale, her muscles loosened up. “This isn’t so bad.”

            “There’re some jeans over there.” Shachi pointed to the display.

            Neo followed them all over to the display. Running her eyes over the jeans she was then able to pick out ten pairs of jeans and a couple more shirts. While checking out, Law studied her exhausted expression, how she kept twisting and tapping her feet on the floor, and decided she's had enough shopping for now. They exited the store and pushed her purchases into the bubbles.

            “I don’t believe this,” a man was saying as he and another man passed by them.

            Law perched up and listened to their conversation.

            “They’re holding another human auction today,” the man continued.

            “It’s sickening,” the other man said. “But what are we going to do about it? Nothing. The Celestial Dragons won’t let anyone stop it. Besides you know they’re paying off the Navy to look the other way.”

            Law tapped his finger on his sheath in thought before turning back to his crew.

            "What are we doing now, Captain?" Neo asked once they were back on their bikes. She removed her boots and wiggled her feet and toes.

            "We're going to take all this stuff back to the sub. No point in carrying all of it around." As Law spoke, he pulled her legs over his. She tensed when he started kneading her feet with his fingers. "Your feet feeling better now?"

            "Uh huh." Neo hummed. She closed her eyes, clearly enjoying the treatment Law was bestowing upon her. “Thank you, Captain.”

            The world faded around them. Law no longer cared a bit about anyone possibly seeing them and jumping to the wrong conclusion. He just didn’t want her feet to be in pain. That could cause problems if they ended up in a fight. They got lost in their own little world and didn't even notice how quickly they had arrived back at the grove their sub was anchored at.

            "Um, Captain?" Bepo's voice and the other twos snickers, broke through the invisible barrier that had formed around Neo and Law. The two flinched when reality came back into view for them. "We're here."

            Law cleared his throat. "You three take Neo's bags and bear inside to my room. Just leave them inside the door. We'll put them away later."

            "Aye aye, Captain!" the three crowed. They gathered up the bags and headed for the sub to fulfill the order.

            Neo and Law remained in their current positions. He continued to rub her feet. She continued to enjoy her feet being rubbed. Neither of them spoke a word.

            A few minutes later, the three crewmates returned. Law nodded at them. They climbed back onto the bikes and headed back into the groves. Neo spoke up while they were returning their bikes to the shop. "What are we going to do now, Captain?"

            "Scope out the competition," Law replied.

            "Scope out?" Neo questioned.

            "We're going to find a place to sit and see who all shows up here," Law explained.

            "Who are you expecting?" Neo asked.

            "Other pirates like us," Law said.

            “But first we need to return the bubble bikes,” Shachi said.

            “Hey, Captain, you said before that this place is the way we go to get to the New World. But I haven’t see anything yet that’ll lead us away from here. Is there a passage somewhere?” Neo said.

            “There are two ways to get to the New World from here,” Law said. “The first one is cross through Mariejois. But in doing that we’d have to abandon the sub and pick up another one on the other side.”  

            “We have to abandon the sub?!” Neo all but shrieked. A cold sensation picked and poked at her chest at the thought of abandoning the sub. “No! We can’t do that!”

            “Calm down, Neo,” Law said placing his hand on her head. “We’re not going to abandon the sub at all. There’s a second way to get there. And that’s by going underwater.”

            “Underwater?” Neo asked, the coldness in her chest faded.

            “Look at the log pose,” Bepo said as he held out his log pose for her.

            Law grabbed it and passed it over to her.

            Neo took the item in her hand and looked at the needle. It was pointing downward. “It’s pointing down?”

            “Fishman Island is located under the sea,” Bepo said. “That’ll be the route we take.”

            “I see,” Neo said handing the log pose back to Law who gave it back to Bepo. “I’m sorry I screamed like that.”

            “Don’t worry about it,” Law said. “It’s kind of my fault. I didn’t tell you about it. I didn’t think it mattered since we’re going to go under the water.”

            “I understand,” Neo said.

            “We’re finally back at the hut,” Penguin said.

            “Welcome back,” the man at the hut said. “Did you enjoy the ride?”

            “We sure did,” Penguin said as they handed the bikes back over.

            “Thank you. Have a good day,” the man said as they walked away.

            Law began to lead them all back into the direction of the restaurant they ate at a few hours earlier. The ruckus from pirates began to fill their ears, causing Neo to tense up. Law sat down on a crate and tapped the space behind him. "We're gonna sit for a while."

            "Um, okay." Neo followed his order and sat down behind him on the crate, feeling secure as the others stepped behind them.

            "Things are going to get a bit reckless from here on out," Law said. He looked over his shoulder at her. "We're right here. We're not going to let anything happen to you. Just stay there and you'll be fine."

            "Yes, Captain, I know. I'm with you and the crew. I'll be fine." Neo went quiet after that.

            Behind the two, Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin exchanged grins. They crossed their arms and settled into their protective stances over Neo as they ran their eyes over the pirates in the area.

            Neo sat quietly behind her captain. She took careful glances at people, careful to avoid eye contact. Eventually, her eyes dropped down the ground and stayed there.

            It wasn't long after that that a fight to break out amongst some pirates. The sound of clashing weapons startled her. She flinched and clung to the back of Law's shirt. She didn't like the fighting and wanted away from it. She wanted to go back to the sub. But, knowing she was protected, she obeyed Law's orders and remained sitting with him. She managed to pull her eyes from Law's back when he spoke to someone. She peaked over his shoulder to see he was talking to a man dressed in blue with an X on his chin and chest. "Tell me, Drake…how many people have you killed?"

            The scarred man huffed at the Heart Pirate. He scanned his eyes over Law and the crew. "Trafalgar Law…I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you here. You're making quite a name for yourself, Surgeon of Death."

            Law smirked. His smirk vanished when he noticed Drake looking behind him. He then felt Neo duck back behind him. Bepo remained behind Neo and Law while Penguin and Shachi stepped to their sides. They all had their arms crossed and deep frowns on their lips.

            Drake studied the situation for a few seconds before speaking. "Well, this is a surprise. I never expected you, of all pirates, to have a woman on your crew. She must be quiet special for you to allow her onboard. And she is a rather interesting subject. She doesn’t appear to be all that strong but if she’s on _your_ crew I’m positive that’s not the case at all. She so young, too. Isn’t that dangerous?"

            "Just move along," Law warned when he noticed Drake getting an intense expression on his face while trying to look at Neo more closely. "She's none of your concern."

            Drake didn't move for a while. He just remained staring for about three minutes before scoffing and walking of without another word. Shachi leaned down to whisper to his captain. "Captain, do you think he sensed Neo's crystals?"

            "I don't think so," Law replied. He kept his eyes on Drake's back as the pirate walked off. "But it might be possible for people to sense them and that she's different since I was able to sense that. We are around a lot stronger pirates who have sharper senses than the ones we've met before now. We'll just have to keep a closer eye on her. Don't let your guard down at all."

            The crew nodded in agreement.

            Neo didn't say anything as she listened to Law speak to the crew. She just continued to lean against the safety of Law's back and breathed while her eyes locked onto Drake’s back. She hummed in thought.


	27. Auction House

Auction House

            Neo continued to watch Drake’s back as the man walked away from them. She could feel that something was inside of him. It was familiar but she couldn’t place exactly what it was.

            Penguin looked down at her, noticing her kneading her eyebrows. "What is it, Neo? Is something wrong?"

            Law quickly turned around in alarm. He found Neo was staring off in Drake's direction with a confused look in her eyes. He stroked her hair. "Neo? Neo, talk to me. Are you all right?"

            "Hm?" She signaled him with a hum that she did hear him. Slowly, she pulled her attention away from the stranger and back to Law. "There's something strange about that guy.”

            "What do you mean?" Law asked.

            "He felt different," Neo said. "Like an animal or something. He's human, but he's somehow not human. It felt like there was a lizard inside of him somehow."

            Law relaxed with a relieved sigh that nothing was wrong. He rubbed his neck before answering her. "That's Diez Drake. He's a Zoan Devil Fruit user. That’s probably what you sensed."

            "Zoan Devil Fruit?" Neo blinked. "Kind of like you? I think you've mentioned the different Devil Fruits before."

            "That's right. He's like me, sorta," Law replied. "This type of Devil Fruit allows the user to transform into another species and inter-species hybrid. They have three different forms. Human, Human-Beast and Beast form. I forgot that you've never been around this kind of Devil Fruit user before. I'm sorry. I should have better prepared you for it."

            Neo shook her head. "No, it's okay, Captain. I was just confused. It just felt very strange to me. I've adjusted to it. I'll be fine now."

            Law studied her eyes intensely. Slowly, he nodded. The group settled back down into watching the crowds around them. While they sat there, Law would occasionally look back at her to check on how she was doing. She was slightly more relaxed now. She still was avoiding eye contact with people, but was looking around her surroundings more than ever before. Every time she met his eyes with her own, she smiled, making his heart skitter wildly.

            “So what other types of Devil Fruits are there?” Neo asked.

            “There are a lot,” Penguin said. “As you know, there are Paramecia, Logia, and Zoan types.”

            “Come to think of it, you’ll probably have some issues with Devil Fruit users that are element or animal based,” Shachi said.

            “What do you mean by that?” Bepo asked.

            “Well, you just saw what happened between her and Drake,” Shachi said. “Neo can sense animals. So she’ll be able to sense if someone has a Zoan type Devil Fruit.”

            “I never thought of that,” Bepo said.

            “That’ll mean she’ll also be able to sense Logia types,” Penguin said. “I wonder how many Logia types deal with nature. Maybe all of them?”

            “Does that mean she’ll be able to control them?” Bepo asked.

            “It’s possible,” Law said. “But we’ll discuss this more in detail back on the sub. I don’t want anyone overhearing what Neo can do.”

            “Right,” Shachi said. “Sorry about that, Captain.”

            “How much longer are we going to stay here?” Neo asked.

            “Do you need something?” Law asked.

            “I need to use the bathroom,” Neo said.

            “We’ll head back to the sub then.” Law stood up. He led the crew back to the sub. They all went inside since they were here. While waiting for Neo to get done using the facilities, he leaned against the wall just outside of his room.

            “You all right, Captain?” Bepo asked.

            “Fine,” Law said. “Why do you ask?”

            “You just looked like you had something on your mind,” Bepo said just as Shachi and Penguin appeared.

            “I do but I’m not sure about going through with it,” Law said.

            “What?” Shachi asked.

            “I over heard a couple men talking about the action house,” Law said.

            “Don’t tell me you’re thinking about taking Neo there,” Penguin said.

            “I am.” Law nodded.

            “But why?!” Penguin demanded. “We’re trying to avoid getting detected by Celestial Dragons! Going there with Neo isn’t a good idea! Not to mention what a place like that might do to her!”

            “There’s a possibility that they won’t show up,” Law said. “Besides, this is a much needed lesson for her. She needs to know about this side of humanity.”

            “Yeah, but…” Penguin trailed off. There was no argument he could make to change his captain’s mind. “Are you sure?”

            “Yes.” Law nodded.

…

            "Where are we going now?" Neo inquired as they walked along more unfamiliar groves.

            No one answered her right off. They all just shifted uncomfortably and exchanged looks, all but for Law. Neo looked up at him when she noticed a change in the atmosphere around them. Shadows were casted over his eyes by his hat. She tightened her hold and tugged on his sleeve. "Captain? What’s going on? I don’t like this."

            He took a deep breath then he finally looked at her. "We're going to a human auctioning house."

            "A what?" Neo raised an eyebrow at him.

            "It's a place where slaves are sold," Penguin answered hesitantly.

            "Slaves?" Neo tilted her head. "What are slaves?"

            "They are, um…" Penguin hesitated. He really didn't want to tell her because of her innocence. But she really needed to know of its existence as their captain had pointed out back on the sub. "A slave is a person who is legal property of another person and is forced to obey the one who bought them."

            "So…the person who buys another person is like a captain?" Neo asked.

            "No, sweetie." Penguin shook his head. "Our captain doesn't _own_ us. He doesn’t make our decisions for us. And he certainly doesn't beat us. Slaves typically have no hope of obtaining their freedom ever again. The person who bought them also often beats them in several cases. And, sometimes, they are killed."

            "Oh." Neo lowered her head with her eyebrows turned up in sadness. She snuggled into Law's arm, wanting his protective strength to engulf her from this new information. "That's so sad. I don't like it."

            "Yeah." Penguin placed his fingertips on her back and moved them like he was scratching her shirt. "We don't like it either."

            "Captain, are you sure about taking her there?" Bepo asked, his voice dripping with concern.

            "Yes. This is an important lesson that she needs to learn about." Law nodded. What he didn't say was, he too was having his doubts of taking her to such a dark place. In a way, she had been a slave too. It could remind her of her past. He didn't want that. "It'll be fine."

            "At least we haven't run into any Celestial Dragons yet," Shachi said, looking around carefully as if the Celestial Dragons would just materialize out of thin air right in front of them.

            "For now," Penguin grumbled. "Its well known that their favorite place is the auction house. We're really going to have to keep on our toes while there. You know they're going to show up at some point. We can’t let them get a good look at Neo."

            Shachi and Bepo nodded in agreement.

            Neo looked at the crew, but didn't say anything. She followed along with them and thought about the new information that plagued her mind. She raised her eyes up when she noticed they were closing in on a building. She tilted her head and inspected it silently. The building was kind of dome shaped with a triangular roof. There was moss hanging all over it and a sign over the arched doorway reading: Human.

            Her eyes remained locked on the sign as they walked up the stairs. She tilted her head back until she couldn't see it anymore. Next thing she knew, they were inside walking through an arched hallway. A strange, unidentifiable thickness settled into her chest, making it had for her to breath. She tightened her hold on Law's sleeve.

            They paused when they got to the other end of the hall. There were already so many people inside sitting in cushioned benches. The number of people seemed to match the number of strange sweet, flowery, almost sickening smells floating in the air that Neo didn't recognize. The combination of the different smells annoyed her nose. She rubbed her nose with the back of her wrist and looked at the people. They were happily chatting with an energy that Neo didn't like. She pressed her temple to Law's arm and rubbed her nose again. "I don't like it here. It doesn't feel right. And it smells funny."

            "That's the darkness of this place that you're feeling," Law said softly. "And it's all the perfume the women are wearing that's messing with your nose."

            "Perfume?" Neo looked up at Law.

            "It's a fragrant liquid that's made from oils taken from flowers and spices. It's used to improve a person's body or clothes," Law explained.

            "Improve? It stinks. And it makes my nose feel weird." A light pout appeared on her lips, making Law chuckle at how cute she looked.

            "Give it a few minutes and the smell won't be as bad. If it still bugs you in a little while, I'll take you outside for some fresh air." After Neo nodded in understanding, Law led them farther into the room. He quickly scanned his eyes over the seats and picked out the one that would best suit Neo's needs. When he found the right spot, just a few rows down from the top, he led them all over to it.

            He wanted to make sure she felt secure in this place so he signal Penguin to enter first then signaled fore Bepo and Shachi to sit behind them. He then guided Neo inside the pew and sat down with her. He passed his sword to Bepo for the bear to hold it and rested his arms on the back of the cushioned bench. He watched quietly as Neo continued to shyly take in her surroundings. The pressure, sounds, and smells of the place caused her to shift closer to him and duck down. He placed his hand on her head and whispered into her ear. "You're doing great. Remember, we're right here."

            "Thanks, Captain." She smiled lightly. "I'm fine."

            Things were fairly quiet after that as they waited for the auction to begin. The crew remained in their spots, protectively guarding Neo, while casually chatting occasionally with each other. Neo didn't move much until Law turned to look at someone behind them. Curious at what caught her captain's attention, she leaned forward a bit to see him raise his hand and middle finger. She then peaked over her shoulder. She flinched when she noticed a spike red haired man, with a crazy look in his eyes, staring towards Law. She quickly faced forward again. She lowered her voice and asked, "Who's that man, Captain? He looked at you."

            "That's Eustass 'Captain' Kid. He's a rival pirate captain from the South Blue," Law replied.

            "Rival?" Neo asked worriedly. “Are we in danger here? Should we leave?”

            "Don't worry. If he wanted to cause trouble, he all ready would have done it." Law tapped his knee against hers.

            She nodded in understanding and allowed herself to relax again. "So what was that hand thing that you did?" Neo asked. She raised her hand and preformed the gesture.

            Penguin, Shachi and Bepo about lost it. They choked back their laughter, but ended up snorting in the process.

            Law felt his face grow hot. He quickly covered her hand with his, bending her finger back down against her palm, his mind rapidly going over possible solutions to this problem. "It's, uh, just a gesture to tell him that I'm not afraid of him. But this particular gesture could cause fights. I don't _ever_ want to see you preform it again, that's an order, Neo. Do you understand me? _Never ever_ do it again."

            "Yes, Captain, I understand. I promise I won't do it again." Neo smiled at him then settled down, unaware of the panic she sent spiraling through the man beside her.

            Heart pounding wildly, Law glanced at her then at his men. Of course they found the scene amusing. He sent them a disapproving frown that settled them all back down. But their stupid grins remained on their faces. That was until Penguin suddenly cursed under his breath. "Crap! Captain, it's the Celestial Dragons!"

            Law tossed a quick, and slightly panicked, glance over his shoulder. There were two of them, a man and a woman. He watched as an auction house worker ran over to the Celestial Dragons and dropped to his knees. This wasn’t good.

            Neo turned to look at him when he growled slightly. Before she could get her eyes on him, he planted his left hand on top of her head, immediately pulled her into his chest, and hid her face with his right hand. Sensing the panic in her captain's body language caused her own panic to rise. "Uh, C-Captain? What's going on? What's happening?"

            The captain lowered his voice so only she could hear him. He brought his lips close to her ear. His breathe tickling her skin. "Stay still and keep quiet."

            Neo did as she was ordered and stayed stiff against his chest. An intense few seconds later, Law pulled his hand away from her face, and she felt him relaxed a bit. She lifted her eyes up to him. "Captain? What was wrong? What happened?"

            "Those two people." Law gestured to two people walking down the stairs.

            Neo followed Law's gaze. She quietly studied the oddly dress pair with bubbles around their heads.

            Law said, "Those are the Celestial Dragons we've been talking about. They're arrogant people who have no pity or sympathy for those of lesser status. They're also known for owning slaves. The men can take a woman because they like the way she looks. They can take you away from us just because you're as beautiful as you are." He stroked his thumb over her hair when he felt her body flinch against his own. She ducked back down against his chest, clenching a hold of his shirt like she always did when scared. He gave her a gentle squeeze. "It's okay, Neo. You're with me. I'm _no_ t going to let them take you. But its best if they don't see you. You can sit back up now."

            Neo hesitantly sat back up and shifted even closer to Law. He brushed his thumb over her shoulder before leaning back against the pew. He kept his left arm draped over her shoulder. His stomach did about a million flips and his body twitched when she bent up her arm and slipped her fingers through his. He hoped that no one outside of their crew notice her doing this. Penguin, of course did, since he was sitting on the other side of her. The man barely managed to choke back his snickers. But soon after that, things settled down, the crowd cheered again when the auction got started.

            She flinched when the auctioneer's voice rang out over the loud speakers. With a deep breath, she relaxed to the stranger's voice booming over the room.

            “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! Please, welcome to the stage, the one and only, Disco!”

            The crowd cheered as a man wearing a dark purple rob, a tall hat, and star shaped glasses walked out onto the stage.

            Neo watched the man as he started the auction and another man was lead out onto the stage by chains and a collar around his neck.

            Law and Penguin took several glances at her during the auction to measure her stress level. She seemed to have calmed down as soon as Law did after the Celestial Dragons were seated. She was watching the auction with a little interest, slight curiosity, and some concern for the slaves being sold. Each person they pulled out on the stage, lead by chains, looked so scared and miserable. Her mind kept replaying what the crew had told her before they entered into this place; slaves, no freedom, no choices, and even death. She shivered. "Captain, how much longer are we staying here?"

            "It's almost over," Law replied. "We'll be leaving soon."

            Just then another Celestial Dragon walked into the auction house causing another disruption. And once again, Law pulled Neo into his chest to keep her from being seen. When the Celestial Dragon was seated, Law allowed her to sit back up. He inspected her carefully. "You okay?"

            Neo nodded and turned her attention back to the stage. The next person that was brought out was a pirate captain. Disco was delivering his speech about the man when suddenly blood dripped from the pirate’s mouth. The pirate fell to the ground and the curtains were pulled over the stage. “Captain, what happened to him?”

            “He bit his tongue,” Law said.

            “Why?” Neo asked.

            “To keep from being a slave,” Law said. “He’s trying to kill himself. But it won’t work.”

            “Oh.” Neo looked back at the stage. The curtains were once again opened and there was something else on the stage but other curtains were covering it. She watched as lights lit up the curtains from behind. The shadowy figure of a person with a fish tail appeared before the curtains were removed and the next slave was revealed.

            “All the way from Fishman Island,” Disco said. “It’s the mermaid Keimi!”

            Excited chatter filled the room, but none more so than one of the Celestial Dragons. The black haired man shouted out, "It's a mermaid! They actually have a mermaid!"

            Neo didn't really hear the man yelling. She was slightly transfixed on the current merchandise being held in a glass jar. "Captain, what is that? Why does she have a fish tail?"

            "It's a mermaid. She's half human, half fish," Law replied. "Mermaids are highly sought out slaves. They're hard to catch because they're so fast. So it's very rare to see one here."

            "SOLD!" the announcer shouted. His loud declaration and slam of his gavel was followed by a sudden, very loud crash behind everyone.

            Startled, Neo jumped and grabbed her head with a whimper. "Captain…"

            Law brushed his leg against hers.

            She timidly glanced up to her captain who was inspecting what the crash was about. A smile formed on his lips. She carefully let her eyes drift to where Law was looking. A black haired boy wearing a blue vest, a straw hat and shorts was running down the stairs towards the mermaid. He was shouting, "Keimi! I've come to save you!"

            "Stop it, Straw Hat!" Another man, this one with white spiky hair, grabbed onto the black haired boy.

            "Captain, what's going on?" Neo leaned against his side. "What's happening?"

            "I'm not sure. But it seems that mermaid is a friend to Straw Hat," Law replied, not taking his eyes off the scene before him. He slipped his arm down around her waist and securely tucked her into his side giving her the security he knew she needed right now.

            "Straw Hat?" Neo whispered. A piercing scream made her flinch and brought her attention back to the ruckus unfolding in the auction house. The man with the white spikey hair had stopped running and let Straw Hat loose. Her eyes widened when she saw he had more than two arms. “He’s an octopus?”

            “Looks like it,” Penguin said. “A Fishman octopus to be exact.”

            "He's a fish man!"

            "Gross!"

            "Help! Someone! Stop it!"

            Neo jumped again when gunshots rang out in the room around them. She covered her ears and tucked herself into Law's chest again with a whimper. He tightened his arm around her waist while placing his right hand on her back and soothingly rubbed his palm against her, thankful that everyone was more concerned about the disruption than them. "Deep breaths, Neo, slow deep breaths. They're not going to hurt you. I won't let them."

            Neo did as she was told. She took a couple slow deep breaths to calm herself down. Instead of looking up, this time she kept her eyes closed and stayed tucked into his chest as pandemonium broke out in the building. She tried to block out the loud noises of people screaming that was going on around her. But she couldn't do it. She took a timid peak to see the one Law called Straw Hat walking back up the stairs with a strong, dangerously determined look in his eyes. "Captain, what's that guy doing?"

            "Nothing good," Law replied with a frown. He placed his hand on her head and pulled her back to his chest. "Close your eyes. I don't want you to witness this."

            "Um, okay." Neo closed her eyes. She flinched when she heard a strange cracking, thump sound followed by another crash then more screaming from the patriots of the auction house.

            Law relaxed and loosened his hold on her, allowing her to sit back up.

            Neo glanced around to find that it was only now the pirates, auction workers, and some guards remaining in the room. Sensing fish she looked up to find two flying fish buzzing around the room. A skeleton jumped from one while a black haired woman jumped from another. Her eyes darted back and forth between the skeleton and woman when the woman suddenly grew wings from her back.

            Shachi spoke up at that point and said, "Well, I was expecting trouble, but nothing like this."

            "That Straw Hat really is crazy," Penguin added. “Their whole crew is crazy.”

            "That's why he has such a high bounty on his head," Law said. He looked down at Neo at the same time she looked up at him. He locked eyes with her for a few seconds. She was handling this mess a lot better than he figured she would. He gave her a rewarding smile that made her heart thump against her chest and turned her cheeks red. They both then turned back to the battle before them.

            Neo's eyes wondered to the orange hair woman running down the stairs, away from some guards. The woman tripped and rolled down the stairs. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered when storm clouds appeared in the building. "St-stop it…"

            Law dropped his eyes back down to her.

            Penguin looked down at her as well. "Neo, what's wrong? You don't look so good."

            "T-that girl," Neo said, nodding at the orange haired girl with the long staff in her hand. "The storm in here didn't come from nature. She somehow did it herself. She manipulated the elements around her, but it's not like I do with my crystals. It doesn't feel right. I'm okay though. I just need to adjust to the way it feels. I didn't know someone could make and control the weather like that." She took a deep breath. “I’m better now.”

            Law kept his eyes on her until he noticed her body relax.

            Neo watched as the fight continued. Suddenly everyone stopped when the female Celestial Dragon pointed a gun at the mermaid and threatened to kill the mermaid. “Captain, is she really going to kill the mermaid?”

            “I don’t know,” Law said.

            Neo bit her lip. Her heart pounded in her chest, as her palms grew sweaty. She wanted to look away from the stage, but was unable to do so. Without anyone saying or doing anything, the Celestial Dragon suddenly fell backwards off the stool she was standing on. Then, before anyone could question it, the wall just above the woman began to crumble and fall to the floor. With more of the wall pulled away, a giant appeared at the same time an old white haired man wearing glasses walked out onto the stage. She looked over the old man while he addressed the Fishman that got shot.

            “Hachan! Is that you?! How have you been? Wait,” the old man said with a stern look. “Did someone hurt you? No, don’t speak.” Stroking his beard the old man looked around. “I see. Such a terrible situation. Well, you were fighting for what you believe in. Now then.”

            Neo started to turned to Law to ask him who the old man was. Suddenly, she felt something strange washing over her just after the old man narrowed his eyebrows and gave an intense look out at the seats. She slumped forward as the world around her went dark.

            Law shot out his arm at the same time Penguin grabbed for her shoulders. Their worried voices faded away from her as they calling out her name. "Neo!"

…

            "Neo? Neo?"

            Neo groaned slightly as Law's worried voice filtered into her ears. She felt his hand cup her cheek as she cracked her eyes open to see his concerned steely orbs looking back at her before he pulled her firmly into his chest.

            Sweat had beaded on her forehead. She panted and struggled to talk. "W-Wha…hap-en? I dun…fel-so good."

            "You're going to be fine, sweetie," Penguin said soothingly. He picked up and patted her hand lovingly. He too was holding concern in his face.

            She didn't need to see Shachi and Bepo to know they were worried about her as well.

            "It can't be," Law mumbled.

            Neo tilted her head so she could look up at him. She followed his gaze with her own. He had his eyes on the strange old man that had walked out onto the stage before she blacked out. She wasn’t sure but through her blurred vision it looked like the old man had his eyes locked in her direction. If she didn't feel so tired, she would have flinched at being looked at. All the movement she, and everyone else, was doing was starting to make her feel nausea. So she leaned her head against Law and closed her eyes. The world and voices around her once again faded away from her senses as her eyelids fell over her eyes.

            She didn't know how long she had her eyes closed, but she suddenly woke up when she felt Law moving. She grasped onto his arm as he stood up. She spoke to him in a low, dazed, and panicked voice. "Captain?! What’s…what’s happening?"

            Law paused and looked back at her, turning his arm so he could grab her arm and brush his thumb over her skin. "I didn't mean to wake you. I just have to take care of something. Stay with the crew now."

            Neo didn't want him to go, but nodded in obedience to his orders. She kept her hand on him as he moved away from her. When their hands touched, he gave her a gentle squeeze then let go. Penguin sat down and put his arm around her when she started shaking. Bepo placed his paw on her head while Shachi placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked at them all then smiled softly. "Thanks, guys. I'm okay. I just feel a but tired and nauseous."

            "We should move away from here. Can you walk?" Penguin looked her over.

            She was still a bit shaken from whatever it was that caused her to feel this way. Neo nodded and stood up to follow them back up the stairs. They guided her off to the side, making sure to keep her close to them.

            "Are you feeling better?" Bepo asked.

            "Yes. My mind is clearing up more now." Neo nodded, but it was obvious that something was on her mind.

            "Something bothering you, Neo?" Shachi asked.

            "The captain's going to fight, isn't he? Will he be all right out there?" Neo turned her worried eyes up to them. "He's not going to get hurt, is he?"

            "Yes, he's going to fight some marines that are outside. And he's going to be just fine." Bepo placed his paw on her head. "He'll take care of those marines in no time at all. You know how strong he is. They won't be able to touch him."

            Neo smiled lightly with a nod. They stood there quietly until all the swords and spears suddenly started floating up into the air. The crew watched carefully as the weapons flew past them. Luckily none of them got pierced by any of the sharp projectiles flying through the room. Once all of the sharp objects were out of the room, the Heart Pirates relaxed.

            "Wow! She's so beautiful!"

            Neo jumped when an unfamiliar voice shouted out. She glanced up to catch a glimpse of a black and yellow twister spinning towards her. She jumped again when the twister stopped spinning and revealed a strange faced blonde haired man. She dove into the protective arms of Penguin. “Penguin!”

            "What is a little cutie like you doing in such a horrible place like this?!" the strange faced man asked. “You’re too lovely to be exposed to this horrible place! Allow me to be your bodyguard and escort you out of here!”

            "Back off, Straw Hat pirate!" Shachi snapped.

            "Huh?" The blonde opened his eyes and blinked. The Heart Pirates were glaring harshly at him. "What's with the looks? All I did was give her a compliment. She is a cutie."

            "You idiot!" The orange haired woman shouted, causing Neo to jump again. She punched the blonde in the head. "Can't you see you're scaring her?!"

            The blonde looked at the woman then over at the small group of Heart Pirates. Penguin was rubbing Neo's back and whispering something to her.

            A tiny voice broke into Neo’s ears. "You _both_ are scaring her."

            Neo slowly turned upon sense another animal inside of the action house and looked down to find a strange animal looking up at her. He gave her a friendly smile and said, "Forgive him. He acts like that a lot. I'm sorry he scared you. He never thinks when a pretty girl is…"

            They all paused when the reindeer's voice faded off. He stared at her with curious eyes.

            “Chopper?” the orange haired woman asked.

            Neo, keeping one hand on Penguin, bend down to the creature. She tilted her head and inspected then animal at the same time he tilted his head and inspect her. His cheeks flushed. He giggled and twisted shyly then held out his hoof to her. "Hi. I'm Chopper. I truly am sorry that Sanji scared you. I promise he won't do that again. If he does, I'll give him a sedative that'll make him sleep for a month."

            "Hey!" Sanji protested. "I did nothing that should result in a punishment like that!"

            Ignoring the blonde's outburst, Neo reached out her free hand and took the tiny reindeer's hoof. She tilted her head again with a small smile. "You're cute."

            The three Heart Pirates exchanged confused glances at Neo's openness to a stranger.

            "Thank you!" Chopper's cheeks darkened a shade. "You're really cute too!"

            “But what are you?” Neo asked.

            “Oh, I’m a reindeer,” Chopper said.

            “A reindeer?” Neo ran her eyes over him again. “I’ve never seen one before. I like you.”

            “Ah, I like you too!” Chopper’s blush darkened.

            The rest of the Straw Hats stared in confusion at their smallest crewmember.

            The Heart Pirates watched the Straw Hats carefully. Penguin looked at Neo. She was still holding the reindeer’s hoof and didn’t seem to notice, or maybe she didn’t care, that the other pirates were watching her. He looked back up to the Straw Hats when the cyborg started talking.

            "Did I hear that right? Chopper accepted a compliment? Without hurling an insult back? I know I’m still fairly new to the crew, but I didn’t think that was possible," Franky was saying.

            “I can see how Chopper-chin likes her,” Keimi said from her spot on Franky’s back. “I’ve never seen such blue hair and eyes before.”

            "But who is this girl?" Usopp questioned. "How was she able to get Chopper to act like that?"

            “She is rather interesting,” Robin said with a small smile on her face.

            "Never mind that. We have to go now," Nami said. “Chopper, let’s go.”

            “Oh, okay.” Chopper looked at his friend then back to Neo. “I have to go now.”

            Neo nodded. She watched him join his friends then disappeared down the hallway that led them to the door.

            "Neo, are you all right?" Penguin asked softly when she stood back up.

            She nodded and leaned against him. "I am but I want to see the captain. When can we go to him?"

            "We're about to rejoin him." Penguin ran his hand over her back. "Just hold on a few more minutes."

            Penguin's eyes shot to Rayleigh when he noticed the old man had stayed behind and was looking in their direction again. He narrowed his hidden eyebrows and frown.

            Shachi and Bepo stepped in front of Neo and Penguin to guard her. They all waited to see what the old man would do next.

            Rayleigh was undaunted by the warning glares the Heart Pirates gave him. He just gave them a strangely soft smile. "I apologize about before, young miss. I didn't mean to knock you out. I didn't realize that you were a…" The old man paused as if he thought better of saying what he was about to say. "I promise to be more careful if we ever meet again in a situation like this."

            Neo looked over her shoulder. With Bepo and Shachi standing between her and the old man, she only caught a glimpse of him. He then disappeared without waiting for any one of them to reply. She looked up at Penguin. "Why did he apologize to me like that? I don't understand."

            "I don't understand either," Penguin replied. He watched Rayleigh follow the Straw Hats to the Auction House exit. "Come on. Let's go outside now. I’m sure the captain is about finished out there. We’ll be heading back to the sub soon."

            Neo nodded.

…

            As they rushed down the hallways, Nami looked down at Chopper. She noticed something on his mind and asked, "What is it, Chopper?"

            "I'm not really sure," Chopper replied. He glanced back over his shoulder as if he would still be able to see Neo. But the girl and her friends hadn’t entered into the hallway yet. "There's something about that girl."

            "What about her?" Robin asked.

            "She smells like nature," Chopper replied.

            "Nature?" Nami asked. She exchanged glances with Robin then looked back down the hallway. “What do you mean by that?”

            "I don't know how to explain it. But her scent isn't human," Chopper explained, or tried to. "I felt like I was back on my home island. I can smell all of the snow, the trees, and the flowers. There’s also a sweet smell coming from her. It was actually very nice. I hope that we get to see her again someday."

            “I’m sure we will,” Robin said.

            "Is she a threat to us? Other than being on a rival pirate crew?" Zoro asked.

            "No, I don't feel like she's an actual enemy," Chopper said. "I know that might sound weird because we're technically enemies since we’re on rival pirate crews. But I can tell that she’s really sweet. And I don’t want to ever fight her. I'm sorry. I'm just not sure how to explain it. All I know is, she's not a danger to us." He looked up at Sanji. “We’re not going to have to fight her, are we?”

            “I can’t say for sure,” Sanji said. “Like you said, we’re on rival crews. And they’re probably after the One Piece as well. So it’s likely that we will have to fight them at some point.” Hearts popped into his eyes. “But I personally refused to fight such a cutie! I too hope we get to see her again!”

            “Oh.” Chopper dropped his eyes to the floor.

            “Don’t worry about it, Chopper,” Robin said. “I’m sure that if we have to fight her it will be a more friendly fight than one of enemies. It’s clear that she really likes you. I doubt she’ll actually fight you.”

            “Come to think of it,” Usopp said. “She did look rather skittish for being on a pirate crew. I wonder who she is.”

 


	28. Intense Battle & New Crewmate

Intense Battle & New Crewmate

 

            Neo remained silent as Shachi and Bepo resumed their positions around her. They then proceeded to escort her back down the arched hallway. She mostly kept her eyes on the floor of the auction house, but occasionally would look up and study the Straw Hat crewmembers as they headed out of the building. When they'd turned their heads to speak to one another or to look back at her, she would drop her eyes back to the floor, worried they were going to catch her looking at them. Before long the sun shone brightly in her eyes upon stepping out of the building. The second they were outside her eyes went directly to Law. He was standing with Eustass Kid and Straw Hat Luffy. Beyond them was a whole fleet of marines, some of which were already laying on the ground unconscious. Or she thought it looked like a whole fleet as she remembered there was a Navy base on this island. Still, she was glad to see that the captain was unharmed. She relaxed with a sigh and leaned against Penguin’s arm.

            "Oh man," Shachi exclaimed. "The captain lost it again. No surprise there. Look at all the damage they did in just a couple minutes."

            "That surprises you?" Penguin asked, taking a quick glance at Neo. "Remember we have Neo with us. He's going to do whatever it takes to protect her."

            Neo barely listened to what the men around her were saying. She just kept her eyes on the captain as if he would disappear completely if she took her eyes off of him again.

            "Right." Shachi smirked. He too took a glance at their favorite blue haired girl.

            "See, Neo?" Bepo said giving her a confident smile accompanied with a tap with his elbow on her shoulder. "Told you he'd be fine."

            Neo lightly smiled, eyes still locked onto Law.

            Shachi hummed as the marines ran towards them and the other pirates on the stairs of the auction house. "Looks like we're going to have to fight after all."

            “Yeah,” Penguin agreed. “There’s no way we can get out of here without fighting.”

            “We might as well get in there,” Bepo said.

            Neo’s attention on Law was broke when Bepo suddenly took of down the stairs, like he knew what was coming next. She looked back at Law when she heard a man shout the captain’s name. The man was a rather large marine with curly blonde hair. He had his sword out and ready to slice Law’s head off. Her heart seized up in her chest as the Navy man said, “Trafalgar Law! I’ll teach you to treat us like your personal toys!”

            “Bepo,” Law said.

            "Aye aye!" Bepo cried as he jumped into the air and sailed over Law.

            Neo then understood why Bepo took off like that. She flinched when Bepo did several summersaults then slammed his boot into the marine's face. Her hands trembled on Penguin's arm. It took everything she had to keep her breathing and her stomach calm. Her stomach spun, though she wasn’t sure if it was solely because of the fight that was happening or if it was that strange sensation that hit her inside the auction house.

            "It's going to be fine, Neo," Penguin said, patting her hand comfortingly. She forced herself to look at her friend. "Just stay close to us. We'll protect you. And remember your orders."

            "I will." Neo followed Penguin and Shachi's lead and allowed her body and mind to shift into fighting mode. She mentally went over all of her lessons they taught her about combat. She hoped she could remember everything and act accordingly while not freaking out. Her eyes then went right back to Law. He had walked away from the battle and was walking over to a large man sitting off to the side. The man was wearing tannish colored clothes with an explosive collar around his neck. She tilted her head when Law started to exchange words with the man. Without taking her eyes from Law, she tugged on Penguin's arm. "Penguin, what's the captain doing?"

            "Mmm," Penguin hummed and looked over at their captain. "Looks like we're getting a new crewmate."

            "Huh?" Neo gave Penguin a quick look before returning her gaze to Law. The captain had his Room out and warped the collar off the man’s neck.

            "Captain wouldn't have set him free if he didn't plan on asking the man to join us," Shachi said.

            Neo's eyes turned up in worry over the thought of a new crewmate boarding the sub.

            "Don’t worry about it. You know the captain won’t let anyone around you that he doesn’t trust,” Shachi said. “We’ll work that out later. Right now we need to join the captain. We’re leaving this place."

            "Right." Neo nodded. She matched their pace as they finished descending down the stairs. They ran over to Law and the large man. She ignored the stranger and ran right up to Law. Looking up at him, she received a smile that caused her to smile back. She waited as he ran his eyes over her body; despite knowing she was safe inside the building with the crew. When his eyes landed back on hers her smile grew.

            "Time to fight!" Shachi cried. He ducked a punch from a marine then landed a kick on his attacker’s head.

            One by one the Heart Pirates smashed their way through the wall of marines that surrounded them. Neo followed close by, ready to fight but hoping she wouldn’t have to. The crew was keeping a tight circle her, doing their best to keep her protected from the battle. But, because of so many marines, they were outnumbered and got farther away from her then they had intended. A couple marines cut her off from the crew. Her heart hammered in her chest as she skidded to a stop. Forcing herself to remain calm, reminding herself that the crew and Law were nearby and would come back for her, she held her ground and lifted her trembling fists.

            "What the heck?" the dark haired marine, who was staring at her, asked. "She's just a child."

            "Doesn't matter! She's with those pirates!" another marine shouted. He charged at Neo with his sword. "She has to be a pirate too! Attack!"

            Still unable to look at anyone in the eyes, Neo kept her eyes on the marines’ chest. She had to watch and know when they were going to come at her. Her heart rate sped up. She really didn't want to fight, but when the marine got close enough, her body instinctively reacted with the fighting moves that Bepo had taught her. She knew that all these marines were bigger than her so she was going to have to use their size against them. Moving her feet farther apart, she stood ready for the marine. When the right moment came she stepped aside, grabbed the man's outstretched arm and flipped him over onto his back.

            She lifted herself up to find three marines charging after her with swords. It was at that point both Neo and Law realized she never really trained against anyone using weapons using only her physical abilities. Her only weapons were her crystals, and she was under orders to not use them. She backed up from the on coming attack and tripped over the man she just flatten and hit the ground with a hard thud.

            "Die! Pirate!" the marines shouted.

            She closed her eyes tight and screamed, “Captain!”

            "Neo!" Law cried out. He held up his hand, on the verge of creating his Room, but didn't get to attack. Penguin, and his wonderfully fast reflexes, planted his feet into the closest marine, kicking all three of the marines away from her. The stressed out surgeon relaxed. She was safe.

            "It's okay, Neo," Penguin cooed softly. Kneeling down beside her, he placed his hand on her back. “Sorry we got separated. It won’t happen again.”

            She slowly opened her tear filled eyes to Penguin. "Penguin, I…I don't want to do this. I don’t want to fight. I want to go back to the sub."

            "I know." Penguin took her hand and helped her up to her feet. "We're getting out of here right now. We’re taking you back to the sub. Come on."

            The two started off running. They a crossed the grove and made it to a bridge where Law and the large black haired man were already were. Law turned back and called for Bepo. "Hurry up, Bepo! We don't have time for this!"

            Neo was curious to what Law was talking about but didn’t dare look back to see what Bepo was doing. The bridge below her vibrated, snapped, and crackled. Looking back over her shoulder, she found that the large man had destroyed the bridge with a punch, trapping the marines on the other side.

            Through the dust that was settling, Bepo and the large man appeared and ran behind her and Penguin.

            “You’re the new guy so you rank under me,” Bepo said.

            “As long as I’m not a slave fine by me,” the large man said.

            “Hey, Captain! Look there!” Shachi shouted out.

            Neo looked up. She saw Eustass Kid and his crewmates facing off against someone. Through the cloud of dust she could see this person was even bigger than the man Law had freed.

            “What’s going on? Eustass?” Law said. The smoke cleared, giving them a better view of who was there. “Is that…? Oh no. What’s _he_ doing here?”

            Neo slowed down and stopped when Penguin stopped running. Panting, she took the pause to trying to regain her breath and strength. Her eyes survived the scene before them. She clenched Penguin's hand when the man beside her let out a low growl. She turned to him and asked, "What's wrong? What's going on? Who is that guy?"

            "That's Bartholomew Kuma," Penguin replied. He ran the back of his hand over his chin, brushing away some sweat. "He's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea we told you about. We're in so much trouble."

            Neo turned her eyes back to Law. She watched as the Warlord looked right at Law.

            “Trafalgar Law,” Kuma said.

            Law pulled his sword off his shoulder and spun it before holding it in front of him. “Look at that. He knows my name.”

            Neo blinked. The Warlord opened his mouth, revealing a strange light inside of him. It exploded. The light shot out right at Law. Ice ran through her body. She released Penguin's hand and tried to run towards Law. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she cried out in fear, "Captain!"

            "No!" Penguin threw his arms around Neo's waist, pulling her back to him. “Neo, don’t!”

            "No! Let me go!" Neo thrashed against his hold with strength that surprised him. He never thought as small as her body was and with only a few months of training that he'd have such a hard time holding onto her. But then, her fear over possible losing their captain was a powerful thing. If she was able to use her crystals right now, there was no way Penguin would have been able to hold onto her. "The captain-"

            "Is just fine. Look." Penguin said, struggling to keep his hold around her waist and keep his voice calm.

            Neo stopped struggling against Penguin and relaxed when her captain walked out of the smoke without a scratch on him. She whispered softly, "He's okay. He’s okay. The captain's okay."

            Shachi appeared beside her at that moment. "We're going to have to help fight Kuma. The captain wants you to come to him."

            "Okay." Neo nodded. "Be careful."

            "We will," Penguin replied.

            "Penguin, I'm sorry about…" Neo started.

            "There's nothing for you to be sorry for." Penguin cupped her cheek. "You were just scared. It's okay. Go to the captain now."

            Neo nodded with a small smile. She brushed away her tears while running towards Law while Shachi and Penguin ran towards the Warlord.

…

            Law watched Neo as she ran towards him. When she got to him, he looked at her tear-stained eyes and frowned. Someone had made her cry. No, this whole mess made her cry. Not wanting her to see the anger build up inside him, he placed his hand behind her head and pulled her to his chest. As she clenched a hold of his shirt, his anger continued to grow. He became furious at the Celestial Dragons for being the jerks they were, at Straw Hat for punching the Celestial Dragon despite the Celestial Dragon deserving it, anger at the marines for labeling them accomplices in the attack at the auction house, even at himself for bringing her here and not immediately removing her from this battle. She wasn’t ready for this yet. She shouldn’t be here in all of this mess. He tried to reason with himself.

            He tried to tell himself that she needed this, but he just couldn't convince himself of it. Neo was too innocent for battles. At least for close combat. He was going to rectify that when they got back to her training. He should have thought of it before. She was going to be better suited in long distance position, in a sniper position. His thoughts were interrupted by Eustass’s unwanted voice.

            "Hm? Hey, it's that girl you were sitting with in the auction house. Who is she? Is she really on your crew, Trafalgar? She looks like a child. Why would you let a child on your crew?" Eustass said.

            "She's none of your business," Law hissed. He grabbed Neo and pushed her behind him then stepped in-between her and the red-haired man. He felt Neo grab onto the back of his shirt. He knew she’d stay like that and he wanted her to. "Keep your eyes off her and on the battle, Eustass."

            "Touchy," Kid snickered. The two pirates turned their attention back to the warlord. "Whatever, Trafalgar. If you want a weak child on your crew then that's your business. It just means it'll be easier for me to defeat you when the time comes."

            Law wanted to be angry with Eustass for calling Neo weak. But a smile formed on his lips instead. He knew full well that Neo wasn't as weak as she appeared to be. She was force of nature that was just starting to learn how to utilize her abilities. He knew, next to him, she was going to be the strongest member on his crew. He knew, in time and despite the fact she'll always hate fighting, she wouldn't hesitate to protect him and the crew when necessary. She would have his back as much as he had hers. He turned his eyes up to Kuma. For now, it was still his turn to protect her. And that's what he was going to do. He lifted his hand to form another Room.

            The fight and everything else moved in slow motion for Neo. Unable to add any help without her crystals, she remained close to Law and watched as the pirates all attacked this Kuma guy. The Kid Pirates flew into battle, one slicing the tall bear like mad with a spinning weapon that she didn’t know the name of it. Then another one shot out fire from his mouth before her own friends jumped into the battle. Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo all got in a few hits before Kuma knocked them away. Bepo got in a couple more before kicking at Kuma’s leg. The bear screamed and grabbed his own leg. In a flash Bepo was away from Kuma and lying on the ground beside her and Law. She knelt down and placed her hands on him. He smiled at her despite the obvious pain he was in. She lifted her eyes back to Law. The captain had his sword now embedded inside of Kuma’s chest. The man sparked and fell back onto the ground. “What is he?”

            “Looks like an android, a cyborg, or something,” Bepo said.

            “Android?” Neo asked.

            “A machine of sorts,” Penguin said as he and Shachi rejoined them. “There’s no way that was the real Kuma. We would have been dead by now if it was.”

            “At least the captain defeated it,” Shachi said. “So let’s catch up to him and get out of here.”

            The pirates headed off towards their captain. They about caught up with him when another Kuma dropped in front of them. The ground rumbled beneath their feet. Bepo said, “What the heck?! How can there be two of them?!”

            “This is just great,” Penguin said.

            “Well, that first one was obviously some sort of machine,” Shachi said. “So this one has to be too.”

            “Let’s hope you’re right,” Penguin said as the two pirate captains engaged in battle once more. Kuma’s lazar beam shot out at them. They jumped to avoid getting hit. The beam exploded when it hit the ground. “I don’t think any of us are strong enough to go up against a Warlord right now. This guy is bad enough!”

            Neo watched the battle. The two captains were the main ones landing hits onto the second Kuma, drawing the man or machine’s eyes off of them. Her eyes wondered up the trunk of one of the mangrove trees. If only she could use her crystals. She could easily wrap this Kuma thing up by using the massive roots of the trees. Though she wasn’t sure exactly if that was a good thing. There seemed to always be buildings on the roots. She’d have to find one that didn’t have anyone on it. Or maybe she could use the branches instead or even the leaves. But she couldn’t. She had no choice but to stand there feeling completely useless. Shachi, Bepo, and Penguin charged in, landing a few hits onto Kuma before jumping away from him. The Kid Pirates jumped in and landed a few hits before the captains stepped up.

            “Let’s get rid of those beams,” Law said. He sliced his sword at Kuma’s hand when it lifted. The hand floated in the air until he moved it to the trunk of a tree where it could no longer do any damage.

            Kid, using his large metal hand, grabbed the now damaged arm of Kuma and smashed it before knocking Kuma into a tree.

            Kuma hit the tree with a loud crash and slumped down to the ground.

            “Is it over?” Shachi asked through his huffing.

            “I hope so,” Penguin said.

            “Doesn’t matter,” Law said. “We’re leaving before that thing gets back up.” Running back over to Neo, he grabbed her hand and took off in the direction of the sub. “You’re on your own now, Eustass.”

            “Whatever!” Eustass called out. “I don’t need your help anyway!”

            “What a jerk!” Bepo said. “After all we did to help them get this far.”

            “Never mind them,” Law said. “Just run.”

            And they did. They ran all the way back to the sub and didn’t stop until they were on the deck.

            "That was…so intense," Shachi panted. He dropped to the floor of the deck.

            "I hope we don't have to fight one of those things ever again," Penguin added. He was panting just as hard as Shachi was, their foreheads covered in sweat. He had his hands on his knees for a few seconds before dropping to the deck in exhaustion. “Who, or what, was that thing? Some kind of machine? A cyborg maybe?”

            “It had to be considering there was more than one of them,” Shachi said.

            “Who cares?” Bepo added. “I’m just glad we’re alive. I didn’t think we’d make it back to the sub alive.”

            Neo, her body shaking from the fight, let her eyes run over the crew, checking to see how badly they were hurt. She too was out of breath, but not as much as her male counterparts were. Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin were sprawled across the sub’s deck. Law was looking out at the island, contemplating something while scanning the area. And the large man was just standing there. While looking at the new man, she unintentionally caught his eyes. She flinched at the unintentional eye contact and shied away from his gaze by stepping closer to Law. Clenching a hold of his sleeve, she pressed her forehead against his arm.

            “Well, it doesn’t look like they’re going to pursue us,” Law said. “So we should be safe for now.”

            “That’s a very good thing,” Bepo said.

            “It was Straw Hat who actually caused this while mess,” Shachi said. “The marines are probably pursuing them instead.”

            “So what are we going to do now?” Penguin asked. “The rest of our crewmates haven’t arrived yet. Surely they’ve heard about what happened and will come running back to the sub so we can leave.”

            “We’re not leaving,” Law said.

            “What?!” the crew, but for the new one and Neo, asked.

            “Like Shachi said, Straw Hat was the one who caused the problem,” Law said. “If the Navy really wanted to capture us they would have continued to follow us all the way here. Since they’re not, we’re safe.” He turned to Neo at that point. He put his finger under her chin and lifted her to look at him. He ran his eyes over her face. "Are you injured?"

            "No," Neo replied softly.

            Law nodded, keeping his eyes on hers. He noted that even though she didn't fight as much as they did, she still got fairly dirty during their escape. He also knew a bath would help calm her nerves. "You did well for your first time against marines."

            "Thank you." Neo dropped her eyes from his. “I did what I could. Though I didn’t really do much.”

            "I want you to take a lengthy bath now. The hot water will help your body and mind relax," Law ordered. Well, he wanted her to take a bath. He knew that might not happen if she was too tired.

            Neo nodded, but didn't move.

            Law continued to watch her. She did look tired from all the stress she had went through, but wasn’t suggesting taking a nap. So he took her hand in his. Maybe he could get a bath in for her before she needed to sleep. He didn't say anything as he pulled her towards the door of the sub, not giving the rest of his crew another glance as they disappeared inside.

            “So who are you?” Bepo asked the new man onboard.

            “Jean Bart,” he replied. “I use to be a captain of my own crew before I became a slave.”

            “Well, welcome to the crew then,” Shachi said.

            "So what's with the kid?" Jean Bart asked. He looked to the door of the sub then turned back to the men and bear. "Why is there a kid on your, our crew? Is she all right? Doesn't seem like she should be on a pirate ship or crew if she hates fighting so much."

            "She's not a kid!" Shachi snapped.

            "How old is she then?" Jean Bark asked.

            "She's…" Shachi's voice faded off. He had forgotten they didn't know how old Neo actually was. "Well, she's…honestly, we don't know how old she is."

            "You don't know?" Jean Bart blinked.

            "Yeah, we don't know. Her name is Neo," Penguin replied. Sitting up, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Its kind of a long story, we'll tell you about it later. She's just really shy and timid around new people. She'll need her space and some time to adjust to you being around. And it's very important that you don't ever corner her or touch her until she gets use to you being here."

            "Also, be forewarned that the captain has strong feelings for her and is somewhat in denial when it comes to voicing his feelings for her to us. So whatever you do, _do not_ upset her. And, most importantly, _never ever_ make her cry," Shachi added. "Trust us on this. He's already killed someone who made her cry."

            "Okay." Jean Bart blinked again in confusion.

            "We should head inside now," Bepo said. "The marines still might come after us. We need to make preparations in case they do come. The rest of our crew should be here soon."

            “I guess we can show you where the crew’s quarters are and everything else on the sub,” Shachi said as they entered into the vessel.

…

            Law glanced over at the young woman beside him. Her hand was lightly trembling in his. He tightened his hold on to her, letting her know he was right there. Once they entered his room, he flipped on the main lights with his elbow. When Neo started to pull away from him, he tightened his hold even more. She turned back and looked at him. "Neo, I mean it. I want you to take at least an hour in the bath. Use your crystals to keep the water to the temperature that you like."

            "Yes, Captain, I understand." Neo nodded lightly. Her eyes dropped from his. There was an intense, thick-aired pause between the two before she spoke again. Her voice was low, timid, scared, worried. "You are all right, right? You and the crew? You got shot at. That person…that thing…it shot at you with something. It was so tough. That thing wouldn't stop. It wouldn't go down. It hit the crew. Bepo and Penguin and Shachi…they all got hit by him…by it."

            Law sighed. He placed his hand behind her head and pulled her to his chest. "We're all fine, Neo. But I’ll check on the crew again while you’re in the bath. Would that make you feel better?"

            She nodded. Raising her eyes back to his, she said, "Thank you, Captain."

            Law brushed a bit of dirt from her cheek before tucking her hair behind her ear. "That's a good girl. Get going now."

            She nodded again and slowly stepped away from him. Law kept his eyes on her as she grabbed herself a change of clothes then disappeared in to his bathroom. He waited a few more minutes before finally leaving the room to check on his crew like he said he would.

            With his right hand on his sword and his left hand in his pocket, Law trudged down the hall. He found his crew in the rec. room chatting with their new crewmate. "Bepo, Shachi, Penguin, come with me."

            "Aye, Captain!" the three crowed and followed after him.

            "What's up, Captain?" Bepo asked as they all trudged down the halls, up the stairs, and into the medical bay.

            "I told Neo I'd check on you all," Law replied. He propped his sword up against the wall and turned back to his crew.

            "She's worried about us," Penguin said, sounding guilty for having to fight.

            "Hey, don't sound so depressed." Shachi elbowed his friend.

            "He has a right to be," Bepo said with a sigh. "This was the first time she's seen us in such a terrible fight, plus the first time she's been in one. It's going to take her some time to wind down from it and process everything including the fact that we are all okay."

            "And that's why I'm checking on you all right now. I know that you're not seriously injured, right?" Law said and the three nodded. "But I'm still going to check your bodies over to make sure. I want Neo to feel secure once she gets out of the bath."

            Law then proceeded to check his crew out. Just as expected, they had no serious injuries, only minor cuts, bumps, and bruises. With the crew's minor cuts, he went ahead and put some disinfectant on them. And despite the hard kick Bepo did on the fake warlord, his leg was just fine. He did have a small bump and bruise, but his bone wasn't even cracked.

            "You call can go now," Law said once he finished up with them.

            "Aye, Captain," they replied back.

            "Captain?" Penguin asked. "What about Jean Bart and Neo's backstory? Should we go ahead and tell him? Or should we wait until Neo adjusts to his presence?"

            "We'll wait. It's her choice when she wants him to know about her past," Law answered. He didn't turn around as he cleaned up his medical supplies that he used on his crew.

            Penguin nodded then followed after Shachi and Bepo.

            Law remained in the medical bay, to clean up a bit himself, before heading back to his room. He closed his door while looking over to the bathroom. It had taken him forty-five minutes to check on his three crewmembers and return to his room. It would be at least fifteen more minutes before Neo got out of the tub. He felt to restless to sit and wait for her so he spent the remaining time cleaning up his room a bit.

            As he suspected, fifteen minutes later, he heard the faint whooshing of water. Neo was crawling out of the tub. He was finishing straightening up his desk when she finally emerged from the smaller room wearing a grey pair of lounge pants and a solid black shirt. He turned and looked at her.

            Neo's eyes were down, but she was staring into some far off distant space still thinking of the battle. Using a couple fire crystals and a couple wind crystals, she was mindlessly drying her hair. He grabbed his sword and headed for the door with the intent to leave with her. He paused when he felt her small hands grasp a hold of the back of his shirt. He then felt her press her forehead to his back. One soft whispered word from her lips caused his heart to sink low in his chest with guilt. "Stay."

            Law's shoulder's dropped. Creating a small Room, he warped his sword to lean it against the wall. He then turned around to her. With one arm supporting her back, he slipped his other arm under her knees and lifted her into his hold. He could easily feel her tiredness as she rested her head against his shoulder and clenched the front of his hoodie. He sighed inwardly and carried her over to his bed. He sat down, kicked off his shoes, and held her solidly in place on his lap and against his chest as he settled into the bed with her.

            "It's okay, Neo," he whispered softly, assuring their safety. "I'm right here. It's over. The crew is fine. I checked them over like I said I would. They have only minor injuries that will be healed in a couple of days. I'm fine as well. We're all back on the sub now. We're in my room. You do see that, right?"

            She nodded against him.

            "That's good. Close your eyes now. You're tired."

            Neo shook her head lightly. "I don't…I don't want you to go away."

            "I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay right here with you. I promise I'll be right here when you wake up." Law placed two fingers gently on her eyebrows. Slowly he dragged his fingers over her eyes, guiding her eyelids closed. "Sleep now. That's an order. You'll feel better after a nap."

            Unable to disobey his orders and her fatigue from stress, she snuggled into his chest and easily fell asleep. He watched her sleep for a while before realizing he was fairly tired himself. He tilted his head so his nose came close to her hair. She smelt so good, so sweet. He didn't bother trying to fight the intoxicating feeling washing over him. He slowly let his own eyelids drop close while breathing in her sweet scent while holding her securely to his chest.

…

            Law had no idea how long he had slept. All he knew is a tap at his door woke him up. In a slight panic, he looked down at Neo worried the noise had woken her up as well. It didn't. She was still fast asleep, snuggled into his chest. He couldn't help but smile at how cute and comfortable she looked sleeping in his arms. Another tap at his door brought him out of his trance. "Yes, come in."

            A second later, the door opened, and Penguin's head poked inside. The black and white hatted man instantly realized he disturbed his captain's slumber. For as long as he had known the captain, he only knew Law to take naps when Neo was involved. Taking in the scene before him to be sure, she was the reason he was napping. Penguin bite back a grin and said, "Sorry, Captain, I didn't realize you two were taking a nap. It's just been a while since we saw you and Neo and…"

            "You all are concerned about her." Law finished the man's sentence. Penguin nodded. "She was tired. I ordered her to take a nap."

            "A bath and a nap, probably a good idea considering the day she's had." Penguin smiled. He opened the door a bit more and stepped inside. "But if she sleeps for too much longer she won't be able to sleep tonight. It's almost five."

            "I won't let her sleep for too much longer," Law said returned his eyes to the girl when she shifted in her sleep. His entire body stiffened when her hand snaked up his shirt and landed on his shoulder while she nuzzled her nose against his neck in an obvious attempt to get closer to him and away from all the talking he and Penguin were doing.

            Penguin had to bite his bottom lip again to keep himself from laughing or teasing the captain.

            Law cleared his throat; obviously trying to pretend her sleep-induced actions wasn't affecting him at all. "She's still going to be a bit upset when she wakes up. Tell the crew to keep the noise down. I want everyone to remain calm around her until she feels secure again."

            "You got it, Captain." Penguin nodded with a smile.

            "Also, someone else is going to fix dinner tonight. I don't want her doing anything but relaxing," Law added.

            "Don't worry about that, Captain," Penguin said.

            Law raised his eyes to his subordinate at that point.

            Penguin shrugged. "We've all ready decided she wasn't going to cook for us tonight."

            Penguin turned to leave, but paused and turned back around. "Oh yeah…a couple more things I wanted to tell you about."

            "What is it?" Law's eyebrows rose at the concern Penguin held in his face.

            "Back at the auction house…Neo openly talked to one of the Straw Hat remembers," Penguin said.

            "The reindeer?" Law asked and Penguin nodded. Neo shifted again. He patted her arm, calming her back down then signaled Penguin to come closer so they could speak in lower tones. "That's not surprising at all considering he's an animal. Animals have never hurt her before."

            Penguin nodded. "I never thought of him being an animal. It makes sense."

            "And the other thing?"

            "Is the strangest of the two. The Dark King _apologized_ to Neo. He said, _'I apologize about before, young miss. I didn't mean to knock you out. I didn't realize that you were a…'_ He paused like he was unsure about finishing that sentence then added _'I promise to be more careful if we ever meet again in a situation like this,_ " Penguin said.

            Law's eyebrows kneaded in worry.

            "Do you think it's possible that he knows something about Neo?" Penguin asked.

            "It sounds like it," Law said, his voice dangerously low. His mind going over all the possibilities of The Dark King being an enemy of Neo's or a possible friend.

            Without knowing what else to say, Penguin waved to Law and excused himself to leave his captain alone with his thoughts and to continue to pamper Neo. Once the man had gone, Law turned his eyes back to the young woman in his arms. His brain was still going over possible dangers of The Dark King knowing something about _his_ girl. If the old man were a threat to her surely he would have attack at the auction house, right?

            Neo's humming brought Law out of his thoughts. He looked down to see she was smiling lightly in her sleep from a good dream. Tension and worry released from Law's body at the sight of her smile. His body relaxed as he let himself feel every single emotion, every single stomach flip, every single heart flutter she stir within him in that moment. Whatever the issue was with The Dark King, he could worry about that later. Right now, she needed his attention more that theories and guesses.

            He allowed her to sleep for about fifteen more minutes before deciding she needed to wake up. He raked his fingers through her soft hair then dropped his hand to her back. "Neo? Neo, it's time to wake up now."

            She protested to his words by snuggling closer to him. She mumbled in her sleep, "I don't wanna. I wanna stay here…with you."

            He chuckled. With a light shake, he tried again to wake her up. "Come on, Neo. Wake up."

            "Hm?" She opened her eyes after another minute. Tilting her head, she looked up at him. Forgetting she was in his lap before falling asleep, she stiffened and blushed at their closeness, earning another chuckle from him. She lifted off of his chest and rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes. "I fell asleep. How long was I out?"

            "Almost two hours," Law replied calmly. She looked at him with slight concern in her eyes. He smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear, making her tense again. "It's all right. You did nothing wrong. You needed to rest after that battle we were in. You feel better now, right?"

            "Yeah, I do." She nodded. "I still feel a bit, um…"

            "Insecure?" Law asked and she nodded again. "That's all right. You'll be fine in no time. If you want, you can stick with me for the rest of the day."

            "Thank you, Captain." Neo gave him a grateful smile.

            "Let's get up now."

            "Okay." Although not necessary, Law kept his hand on her back to support her while she got up from his lap. He then stood up himself. After reclaiming his sword, he took a hold of her hand with his left. The two then left the room together. And as he said, he kept her by his side for the rest of the day. Everywhere he went, she went too.

            Soon their sub travels led them into the rec. room where some of the crew had returned and were talking over the battle that happened on Sabaody with Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo. The crew, but for Jean Bart, greeted Neo. "Hey, Neo."

            "Looks like you're feeling better."

            "We're glad."

            "Don't worry about dinner. We've got it covered. You just stick with the captain."

            “Thanks, guys.” Neo sat down with Law on the couch and hugged her knees to her chest.

            “We’re glad to see that you’re okay. Sorry we couldn’t help with that fight. Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo were just telling us about it.”

            “You look like your handling it okay.”

            “I guess so. I had to take a nap,” Neo said.

…

            Jean Bart sat calmly as he observed his new crewmates and the blue haired girl they were talking too. His eyes wondered from the men and over to the girl. She looked in his direction, but didn't meet his eyes. She flinched when she knew he was looking at her and turned into their captain's arm. His eyes wondered down to the captain’s hand. He watched as his captain casually slipped his hand over to Neo’s ankle and gently rubbed it. Neo’s tensing was obvious and so was the in love look in the Surgeon of Death’s eyes As instructed by Penguin and Shachi, he remained quiet and slightly confused about the obvious attraction between these two and the obvious they weren't a couple, yet.

            Bepo noted the man's confusion and moved closer to him. "We forgot to mention, Neo also has feelings for the captain, but she doesn't understand them."

            "Huh?" Jean Bart raised an eyebrow at the bear. He became more confused.

            "It'll make sense once Neo is comfortable enough to reveal her past to you," Bepo replied. "Just be patient until then."

            Jean Bart only nodded in response.

…

            “Captain! Captain!” Archer’s voice called out just before he came running into the room with a newspaper in his hand. “You’re not going to believe this!”

            “Keep it down,” Shachi said. “Neo’s been through enough stress today.”

            “What happened?” Archer asked.

            “We got caught up in a fight,” Shachi said.

            “Oh, I’m sorry, Neo,” Archer said. “I’ll want to hear about that later. For now, we have more important and serious problems on our hands.”

            “What are you talking about?” Penguin asked.

            “Here, look at this.” Archer opened the newspaper. “Fire Fist Ace is going to be executed.”

            “What?!” the pirates screamed.

            “They can’t be serious!” Shachi said.

            “Do they have a death wish?!” Penguin asked.

            “I was wondering why there weren’t a lot of Navy soldiers on this island,” Jean Bart said.

            Neo looked around at the pirates. “What’s going on? I don’t understand.”

            “Fire Fist Ace is one of Whitebeard’s subordinates,” Law said. “He’s very protective of his crew. The Whitebeard pirates will no doubt go to Navy headquarters to stop Fire Fist’s execution.”

            “Execution,” Neo said. “That mean’s they’re going to kill him?”  
            “That’s right,” Penguin said. “They’ve been after Fire Fist for quite a while now.”

            “Is this a problem for us?” Neo asked.

            “It could be,” Law said. “All we can do for the time being is wait and see what happens.”


	29. Marineford

Marineford

            Neo gasped as she shot up in bed. She placed her hand on her chest while trying to slow down her panicked breathing and racing heart.

            Law automatically woke up and sat up beside her. "Did you have a nightmare again?"

            "Yeah," Neo mumbled.

            Law put his arm around her and pulled her to his side. "You haven't had one for a while. Was it the same one?"

            Neo flinched.

            Law lowered his voice to his captain tone. "Neo."

            "No." She sighed, knowing not to lie to him. "It was a different one."

            "How so?"

            "It was about that battle here on Sabaody." She laid her head on his shoulder as she turned to her side a bit, her hand automatically grasping onto the front of his shirt. "I know you all are fine, but it still scares me that you had to go through that.” She tilted her eyes to his. "Will I ever get use to this?"

            "You will." Law nodded. He then said, "I believe this only effected you more deeply because I had forbidden you from using your crystals. You had gain confidence in using them and had comfort in the fact you could back us up if needed. But it was still a lesson you needed to learn. "He went quiet after that. He gently stroked her hair until he felt her relax before speaking again. "Feeling better now?"

            "Yes."

            "We still have a few hours before it's time to get up. Would you like to try and sleep some more?"

            "Yeah." When he released her she laid back down and he pulled the covers back over her shoulders. Slowly, her eyelids drifted closed.

            When he knew she was asleep again, he reached out and brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek before shifting closer to her. He decided to stay up and watch over her sleeping to make sure she got enough before having to get up.

            "Captain?" Neo asked. She was sitting on his bed running her brush through her hair. Law was sitting over at his desk. He had been in that spot since she woke up. She had no idea how long he had been sitting there since he always woke up before she did. Nor did she know what he was working on.

            "Yes?" Law asked. He kept his eyes down on his paper.

            "Are you…" She hesitated thinking about the past could of weeks having Jean Bart on the crew. Despite not having gone anywhere yet the man spent most of his time off the sub and in the town. A lot of the crew have been coming and going from the sub. Mostly it was to keep an eye on things since Jean Bart was an escaped slave. But no one seemed to be even looking for him. "Are you going to tell Jean Bart about my past? He's been here for a couple weeks now and no one's said anything about it."

            Law looked up at her at that point. She had lowered her brush to her lap and was fingering it worriedly. He stood up and walked over to her. Tilting her chin up with his finger, he gave her a gentle smile that made her cheeks tint pink. "That's up to you. It's your decision when we tell him about that. I know he's only been here a short time and you're still adjusting to him. Do you want to tell him now?"

            "I'm not sure," Neo whispered.

            "That's okay." Law nodded. "Just take your time. You should move at your own pace with this."

            Neo nodded with a light, understanding smile.

            Law paused to think about the past couple weeks after the battle. She had been clingier to him and followed him just about everywhere he went during the first week after that battle. Then she started to break away from him in the second week. He figured she really needed to be near him so he never protested and the crew never released a single teasing snicker so he figured they sensed her feeling vulnerable too.

            His eyes dropped from hers down to her lips. He laid his thumb on her chin, brushing it and her bottom lip lightly, earning a tensing reaction from her. With a smirk in his eyes, he slowly pulled his finger from her chin. "Let's go. It's about time for breakfast."

            She quickly placed her brush back on his nightstand and rushed after her captain. They walked quietly to the galley. A few crewmembers were already inside chatting amongst themselves, Jean Bart included.

            Law paused when he noticed Neo stopped walking. They had just entered into the room when she stopped. Turning back to her he found her just staring into space. "Neo?"

            "I'm fine," she replied. She smiled at him then let her eyes drift over to the largest crewmember. She could feel the rest of the crew watched her quietly to see what she would do. Her eyes kept darting in Jean Bart's direction then quickly away. "Um, g-good morning, everyone."

            "Good morning, Neo," they chorused back.

            "Good morning," Jean Bart said carefully.

            Neo smiled lightly. She tucked her hair behind her ear and walked over to Penguin who was standing at the stove stirring a large pot of oatmeal. The black and white hatted man ruffled her hair with a smile. She took over stirring the oatmeal while Penguin moved to slicing up some bread.

            As they turned their attention to cooking breakfast, Law walked over to the table and sat down. He picked up the morning newspaper to see if anyone news was worth reading.

            "Looks like it won't be long now before she wants to tell you of her past," Archer said. “I’m a bit surprised. I figured it would be longer.”

            "Hm?" Jean Bart looked at him then at their captain.

            Law nodded in agreement. “She seems to be adjusting to you.”

            “You all know her better than I do,” Jean Bart said.

            “Anything of interest in the newspaper?” Shachi asked.

            “No,” Law said. “I guess the Navy didn’t manage to catch the Straw Hats at all.”

            “I wonder where they ended up,” Bepo said.

            “Well, their goal is to also go to the New World,” Shachi said. “So I highly doubt they went very far.”

            “Breakfast is ready!” Penguin announced while places a couple plates of bread down on the tables.

            Neo summoned her wind crystals. Lifting the large pot off the stove, she scooped out the oatmeal into pans and placed them on the table before claiming her spot beside Law. She took a bite of the oatmeal before Archer addressed her.

            “Neo, after breakfast how about we play a little bit?” Archer asked.

            “I guess so,” Neo said. “What do you have in mind?”

            “It’s a surprise.” Archer winked.

            “Oh?” Neo tilted her head.

            “I found something we could use for playing but also for training. You’re going to love it,” Archer said.

            “I can’t wait to see it then,” Neo said.

            “Great.” Archer nodded then turned back to his breakfast.

            Neo continued to eat as well. It didn’t take them long to finish up breakfast. She helped Penguin clean up the dishes then went outside. The captain was once against leaning against Bepo as the bear was napping. Only difference was they were on the ground instead of the deck. Summoning a wind crystal, she lifted herself and Penguin down to the island where Archer and Shachi were waiting for her. Her eyes landed on the ball tucked under Archer’s arm. “What’s up?”

            “This.” Archer took the ball in his hands. “Surprise! It’s a soccer ball.”

            “A soccer ball?” Neo asked.

            “You kick it around and try to get it into the other team’s goal,” Archer said. “But we don’t have any goals. And since you’re not allow to use your crystals here we’re just going to kick it around for a while.”

            “Okay.” Neo nodded.

            “Here we go then.” Archer placed the ball down on the ground and kicked it to Neo. “Now kick it back to me.”

            Neo tapped the ball with her boot. It rolled towards Archer before he kicked it towards Shachi. Shachi then kicked it to Penguin who kicked it back to her.

            Law sat back and enjoyed just watching his crew playing around with Neo. Archer had a good idea in buying this ball for her. It would help them all get some exercise and help build up their team trust. Once they get to another island he’d let her use her crystals to create them a couple nets so they could play for real. He continued to watch them until Conner came running up to them.

            “Captain! Captain!” Conner called out before coming to a stop next to Law.

            “What is it?” Law asked.

            “You’re going to want to come into the town! They’re showing the battle! I mean the war between the Navy and the Whitebeard Pirates!” Conner said.

            “They are?” Shachi asked.

            “Why would they do that?” Penguin added.

            “Who cares? We have to see this. It’s going to be the fight of the century!” Archer said.

            “And not only that,” Conner continued, “but Straw Hat’s there as well!”

            “What in the world would Straw Hat be doing there?” Shachi asked.

            “Let’s go,” Law ordered.

            The crew got up and followed their captain into the town. Neo stayed close to Law as he led them up the side of a building until they could see the screen showing everyone the battle. All of their eyes landed on the fight. She flinched, remembering the battle they were recently in. Her fingers curled around the back of Law’s hoodie. Her eyes locked onto the screen when Luffy appeared. He seemed more enraged than he did in the action house. The battle raged on and on until an announcement was made that caused everyone, but for her, to gasp.

            “Did I hear him correctly?! Ace is the son of the King of the Pirates, Gol D. Rogers?!” a man in the crowd shouted out.

            “It’s not possible!”

            “But we all heard it!”

            “So that’s why they’re really executing Fire Fist!”

            Neo looked around at the crew. She wanted to ask questions but their stern expressions kept her quite. So she turned her eyes back to the battle and watched until Whitebeard himself made another announcement. He shouted out, “The One Piece is real!”

            Pirates on the island screamed out, excited about the confirmation of the One Piece. Some of them ran off, not caring about the war anymore.

            “Captain?” Neo stepped closer to him.

            Law hushed her and kept his eyes on the war.

            Neo resumed watching it as well for a while. But it all started to get to her. Her stomach and head spun from the fighting. She pressed her forehead against Law back and closed her eyes to get away from it. Then the crowds became upset about the screen going black.

            “What happened?”

            “Is the war over? Who won?”

            “Are they keeping us from seeing something?”  
            “I bet Whitebeard sold out his crew and ran off!”

            “Sold out his crew? What a load of crap,” Law said. He pushed away from the building and headed back towards the sub with Neo still clinging to the back of his hoodie. “Whitebeard’s a legend because he would never sell out his crew. Let’s go. We’re leaving.”

            “I wonder how this is going to end,” Penguin said.

            “You mean the war, right?” Neo asked.

            “Yeah.” Penguin nodded. “A lot of soldiers and pirates are going to die today. But that won’t answer who’s going to win.”

            Reaching the sub they all climbed up and went into the vessel. Law said, “Neo, why don’t you go read for a while?”

            “Oh, um, okay,” Neo said before heading down the stairs.

            “What was that for?” Bepo asked.

            “I don’t want her to hear this yet, but we’re going to Marineford,” Law said.

            “What?!” Penguin gasped. “Are you serious?!”

            “But why, Captain?” Bepo asked.

            “I can’t really answer that,” Law said. “All I know it’s the right move. We’re going to help Straw Hat out.”

            “But Neo…” Penguin looked over to the stairs. “She’s not going to like going into another battle. And not just another one. This is a war.”

            “I know,” Law said. “I have no intentions of getting into the fight. I just want to go there. I can’t really explain it. But keep quiet about it for now. I’ll tell her when I’m ready. Just get the sub moving. We need to get there as soon as we can.”

            “Aye, Captain,” the crew said before heading off to fulfill their orders.

…

            Neo sauntered down the halls of the sub. She noticed a strange feeling in the air, but wasn't sure what it was. The crew was acting a bit strangely as well since they had returned to the sub. They kept talking quietly to each other about something when she saw them passing by the rec. room. Sometimes they would pause and look at her before waving and heading on to their destination.

            She tried to focus on reading, and did for a couple hours, but now she couldn’t focus on it at all. Her mind kept going to Jean Bart being on the crew. He seemed to be a rather quiet man when he was around her. Though she wasn’t sure if that was his nature or if the crew had told him to be like that. Either way she realized she was starting to like the old man even if it was just a little bit. She wanted him to know about her past since he was going to be staying with them. If the captain had let him on the sub and onto the crew then she knew she could trust him.

            So putting up her book she headed out to talk to the captain about it. She wasn't sure where everyone was at the moment, but when she came upon one or two, they acted nervous before rushing off somewhere. It struck her as odd how the crew as acting lately but that didn’t matter. Right now, she was looking for Law so she didn't stop to question their actions. “Hey, Conner, have you seen the captain?”

            “He’s in the navigation room.” The man paused on the stairs before continuing on his way up.

            She headed downstairs towards the navigation room. She found the captain, plus Bepo and a few others, in the bear's the room.

            Bepo had a map laid out on the table. He was the first to notice she was there. "Uh, Neo…"

            Law quickly turned to her.

            Neo caught a look in Law's eyes, but it fade to quickly for her to figure out what emotion it was.

            Law then addressed her, "Neo? Is something wrong? I thought you were reading."

            "I was. Well, sort of. I was thinking about Jean Bart," Neo admitted. Law kept his eyes on her as Bepo exchanged looks with the other crewmates. They could guess easily enough what she was going to say next. "I…I want him to know."

            Law walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure?"

            "Yes, Captain. You trust him enough to be near me and on your crew, so he should know." Neo nodded then added. "But I don't think that I can actually tell him myself. Captain, would you-"

            "Of course I will," Law agreed before she could even finish her question. She locked eyes with him. He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Want to tell him now and get it over with?"

            "Uh, aren't you busy?" Neo broke eye contact with him and looked over at Bepo. The bear jumped then fidget nervously. The other crewmates exchanged nervous glances.

            "No, I was just going over some plans with Bepo," Law replied cautiously.

            "What plans?" Neo asked. She noticed Law hesitating. Her chest tightened up with concern as she folded her hands in front of them. "Captain, what's going on? The crew’s been acting odd as well. I don’t like it. It’s scaring me."

            "Calm down, Neo." Law placed his hand on her head. "It's nothing for you to worry about right now. We'll talk about it later. For now, let's go talk to Jean Bart."

            Without another word, he quickly guided her out of the room. They found Jean Bart sparring with a couple other crewmates in the training room. They paused when Law said, "Jean Bart, I would like to speak with you."

            "Sure thing, Captain," the man replied.

            "You all can go do whatever," Law said to the other two in the room. They gave their captain a questioning look then quickly guessed what was going on when they looked at Neo snuggling against him arm. They nodded to Law and quickly left the room. Law's eyes then dropped to Neo's. She looked up at him. He studied her eyes carefully before slowly nodding then turning to the only other person in the room. He then proceeded to tell the large man about Neo's past. When he was finished, he paused to let Jean Bart absorb the information. He then turned to the girl on his arm. "Neo, do you feel like showing him your crystals?"

            Neo nodded against his arm and summoned her crystals. She called upon all of them to release the elements they held.

            Jean Bart blinked rapidly before speaking. "Wow. I never would have guess someone like this would even exist. I'm sorry you had to endure all of that hardship."

            "It…it's okay. I'm better now," Neo said softly. She turned her eyes up to Law, oblivious to the admiringly, lovingly, heart fluttering smile she gave to the man she was attached to. "The captain has helped me a lot."

            Law smirked at her while returning the exact same look and feelings she was giving him.

            Jean Bart finally saw what the crew had told him about. "So they were right."

            "Who was right about what?" Law asked, turning back to the man.

            "Nothing, Captain." Jean Bart smiled. "It's not important. I'll be sure to keep my distance still until you are completely comfortable with me being around."

            "Thank you." Neo gave him a grateful smile without eye contact.

            "Is there anything else, Captain?" Jean Bart asked.

            "No, you can do whatever now," Law said. He turned and guided Neo back out of the room.

            "Captain?" Neo asked as they walked down the hall. He hummed in response. "What's going on with you and the crew? You all seem so tense about something. There's a strange feeling in the air. I don't really like it."

            "Yeah." Law rubbed the back of his neck. "I know you don't. I've been trying to find the right moment to talk to you about this."

            "About what?" They both stopped walking at the same time. She looked up at him.

            "About what's going on with the battle at Marineford." Law slowly scanned her eyes. He didn't want her near a battle so soon after Sabaody. But it didn't look like he was going to be able to stop it.

            "You're going to fight again," she said, lowering her eyes to the floor with such a sad expression that made Law's heart sink.

            "Don't make that face." Law lifted her chin back up with his finger and pressed her forehead to hers causing his hat to push up higher on his head. She tensed at his actions like always but didn’t pull away. "I don't plan on fighting or letting the crew fight. This is more of a…spur of the moment kind of thing."

            "Spur of the moment?" Neo asked softly.

            A couple crewmates came around the corner but quickly turned back around when they saw Law pressing his forehead to Neo's.

            "It's something I just feel like doing," Law explained.

            "I think I understand," Neo said.

            "If you don't, you can always ask me," Law said while pulling away from her. He then took off his hat and placed it on her head, covering her eyes. "Now, I don't want you to think anymore about it."

            "I'll try not to." Neo adjusted his hat and smiled.

            "That's a good girl." Law put his arm around her shoulders and continued to lead her down the hall, keeping her by his side for the rest of the trip to Marineford.

…

            “There’s ice over the surface around the island,” Neo said. With her eyes closed she focused on what was going on around the island they were heading for. “I can also feel someone moving around on the island who feels like ice as well.”

            “Aokiji,” Law said. “He and the other admirals should all be there as well.”

            “I think I can feel them too,” Neo said. “One’s a light wielder and the other one controls magma.” Pressing her temple to Law’s shoulder, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. “The island is shaking. There’s a lot of fire as well. The animals are scared. I’m scared.”

            “It’ll be all right,” Law said.

            “She’s right,” Archer said looking at the screen before him. “There’s ice all over the place. Getting to the island is going to be difficult. We might need Neo to move some of the ice.” He looked back at them. “Can she even do that?”

            “Neo?” Law asked.

            “I think I can,” Neo said. “I should be able to heat the seawater with my water crystals. But that might make Aokiji notice me.”

            “As far as I’m aware Logia users can’t sense their elements being manipulated,” Law said. “So if you can fix a place where we can surface. We need to get as close to the island as possible.”

            Neo nodded. Closing her eyes, she snuggled back into Law’s arm while feeling out for the perfect spot. She followed along the ice, seeing it inside of her mind at the same time the wood from the ships appeared to her. She projected her water crystals under the ice when she found a spot a little thinner than the rest. The water bubbled around them, warming the ice. “It’s working.”

            “Hey, I can see the space she opened,” Archer said. “Shall I take her up?”

            "Do it," Law answered.

            Neo turned her eyes back to Law when she heard his sword click. The sub rose to the surface. It jerked, throwing her against him. She tensed at his arm locking around her body.

            "We've surfaced, Captain!" Archer informed them.

            Law looked down at his female companion and said, "Stay inside, Neo. I don't want anyone outside of the crew seeing you here."

            "Right," Neo replied with a light nod.

            “Archer, stay here and get ready to leave,” Law said.

            “Aye, Captain,” Archer said.

            Neo’s heart started beating faster with each step Law took to the door. Before he was able to step through she said, "Captain, wait!"

            "Huh?" Law looked back at her. "What is it?"

            "I, uh…" She paused and looked down with a sigh. "It's nothing. Never mind."

            Law studied her for a while before walking back over to her. He tapped his sheathed sword on her head. He chuckled lightly. "Stop worrying. I promise I'm not going anywhere near the battle."

            "Okay." She caught his eyes. Her heart flittered then tightened when he winked at her. She watched him disappear from her sight. She wanted to follow him. She wanted him to remain in her sight forever but knew that wasn’t possible. Seconds dragged on like hours. Her feet carried her to the door. She glanced back at Archer. The man had his eyes on the controls, ready to take off at the captain’s orders. She stepped out into the hall and made her way up to the main floor. Standing sat the top of the stairs she pressed her back to the wall and listened. She could hear the captain’s voice yelling at someone but she couldn’t understand what he was saying due to all of the gun and cannon fire. She had no idea what was going on outside. She had no idea what exactly the captain was planning on doing here.

            While she anxiously waiting for him to return a strong vibration ran through her body. She could feel it. The vibrations of the island were coming to her in strong waves. It was out of control. No, someone was trying to control nature. The animas could sense it. The birds and fish hurried away from the island in an attempt to get away from it while others remained in place. Wrapping her arms around herself she slide down to the floor. Her body trembled uncontrollably just like the island outside the sub. Her mind clouded with the fear nature was screaming at her with. "What's happening?"

            "Neo?" Conner’s voice asked through the clouds in her head. His hand was warm on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

            "I-I don't know. Something's happening to nature. Someone's trying to control it or something. I think it’s another Devil Fruit user. It's out of control. It’s too much. I…I don't like it. I don't like how it feels. It hurts," she replied just as the waves started rocking the ship. Pain hammered into her head. She grabbed her head, tears streaking down her cheeks, and screamed, "Stop it! Stop it! It's too much!"

            "Hey, it'll be all right," Conner said.

            She didn't hear him as she continued to mutter about nature being out of control.

            “Neo,” Conner gasped. “You’re…you’re glowing.”

            "Someone's coming," Neo said seeming to not have heard him. She looked down at her hands, at her glow. "Someone's coming. Someone…I know…I know them."

            "What are you talking about?" Conner asked.

            “He’s coming. It’s him. I know him,” Neo mumbled.

            “What the heck? Don’t tell me she’s having a nervous break down,” Conner said just before Penguin came running into the sub. "Hey, Penguin! Thank God you’re here! I need a little help over here!"

            "What's wrong?" Penguin asked, rushing over to them. He kneeled down and placed his hand on her shoulder, inspecting the glow around her body. "What happened to her? Why is she glowing?"

            "I'm not sure. She just kind of freaked out a bit or something. Something to do with nature being out of control then she started glowing and saying something about someone she knows being here," Conner said. He stood up and followed after the others, leaving Penguin to take care of her. “I’ll leave her to you.”

            "Neo?" Penguin asked softly. He cupped her face when she didn’t respond. “Neo, can you hear me? Neo?!”

            "I'm okay. I can hear you," Neo replied through labored pants. The halo glow around her started to fade. "It stopped. The shaking stopped. But he’s still here."

            “He who?” Penguin asked.

            “I don’t know.” Neo shook her head. “I don’t know.”

            "Okay, we’ll figure that out later. Let's go then. The captain won't be happy if he sees you like this. He'll no doubt hunt down whoever made you feel like this." He took her hand and helped her to her feet then pulled her towards the medical bay.

            Neo rubbed her nose when the smell of iron entered into it. Her eyes dropped on the two strangers lying on the operating tables, their bodies covered in blood. “That one’s a fish.”

            “Fishman to be more precise,” Shachi said.

            Neo pulled her eyes away from the fishman and looked at the other injured one. “That’s…”

            "Yeah. That’s Straw Hat Luffy," Penguin said.

            "He's hurt." Neo’s eyes landed on his wounded chest. She flinched at the memories of her own stab she did when she woke up in this room and subconsciously grabbed onto Penguin's arm. Her eyes then landed on the other injured party. He had a large wound on his stomach. A gag slipped out of her mouth. She forced her eyes off of him and onto the floor while placing a hand to her lips.

            "You don't have to be in here if it's reminding you too much of your past," Penguin said softly, he placed his hand over hers. "This is the first time you've seen such bad wounds.”

            "I'm okay." Neo shook her head. “But who’s that? The fish.”  
            “Jinbe,” Penguin said. “He was one of the Seven Warlords.”

            “Oh.” Neo released her hold on him and moved to the head of the operating table Luffy was on. She looked up from his injured body when Law, carrying a straw hat, and Bepo came running into the room. Relief washed over her body upon seeing the captain was all right.

            "Neo?" Law asked.

            Neo stiffened, and the crew jumped, when Law spoke to her with that dangerous tone he got when someone upset her.

            “Were you crying?" Law finished.

            "I was. It was because of something that happened on the island, when nature went crazy. Everything was shaking so much," Neo replied wiping her drying tears away. “It hurt. But I’m okay now.”

            Law eyed her carefully before nodding, half satisfied, and handed the hat over to Penguin before pulling on a pair of rubber gloves. “All right. Shall we begin? This one’s been shot through the stomach. It’s amazing he’s still alive. Straw Hat’s injuries are even worse. But I think his emotional trauma is the real issue.”

“Do they need anesthesia?” Penguin asked.

“Not in this state no. They’re both unconscious. And Straw Hat’s one step shy of comatose. Which means no matter how grizzly this gets you won’t hear a single peep out of them.” Law smiled, his eyes taking on a joyful look at the coming surgeries. “It’s going to be a fun operation, yeah.”

“Everything’s looking good. His pulse is steady,” Shachi said.

            Neo stood and just watched as one of the crew pushed a trolley with surgical equipment over to Law as he began working on Luffy’s wound. She gasped when she sensed ice flying towards them. “Aokiji’s attacking!”

            The sub rocked and shook from the ice shards hitting the panels, throwing the pirates off balance.

            "Curse that Aokiji!" Conner shouted. “He’s trying to sink us!”

            “We have to do something!” Shachi said.

            Neo glanced around at the panicked and stumbling crew. Bepo was obviously the most freaked out. He was screeching at their captain and rolling all over the floor. The bear jumped up and ran over to Law. He said, "What do we do, Captain?! What do we do?! Aokiji’s going to kill us!"

            "I don't care! Just do something!" Law ordered through gritted teeth.

            Even though that wasn't her order, she still felt like she should do something. She had control over the elements after all. And ice was just frozen water. Surely there was _something_ she could do to help them escape. She closed her eyes and released a low, steady breath. She concentrated on what was going on outside of the sub. She felt out the ice that was coming at them then summoned her water and earth crystals.

            Law casted her a concern glance when he sensed her crystals appearing in the room.

            Penguin also gave her a concerned glance while reaching for her. "Neo?"

            Law raised a hand to silence the man. When his subordinate looked at him, Law gave him a look that told him 'It's okay. Let her do what she feels she needs to.' then went back to work on Luffy after casting Neo one last glance.

            Penguin backed down and allowed Neo to continue without another word.

            Half of her crystals faded and appeared on the outside of the sub while the other half remained with her. The crystals that remained began to glow while the ones on the outside of the sub did her bidding. She used her water crystals to try and push back the ice while using her earth crystals to call up sea plants and rocks to try and block the ice that was beating down on them. Sweat began to bead on her forehead from trying to keep up with so many ice shards. Another jerk of the sub send her off balance. Her crystals faded. She flew backwards landing in someone’s arms.

            “You okay?" Conner asked.

            "Yeah." She looked up at him with a nod. "Sorry, I couldn't do much about that ice."

            "You did fine." Conner smiled. He patted her on the head after helping her regain her feet.

            Once stable, her eyes drew over to Penguin. He was watching her with a relieved smile. She returned it with a small smile of her own.

            "We're finally free, Captain," Jean Bart's voice said through the voice pipe on the sub.

            Neo glanced over at the voice pipe, wondering when Jean Bart had gone to the control room. She sighed. It didn’t matter. They were now safe from Aokiji.

            As the minutes ticked by the crew started leaving the operating room one by one. Having stood for a couple hours, Neo’s feet and legs ached. So she sat down at the foot of Luffy’s bed. His straw hat was also sitting there so she picked it up and placed it on her lap. She watched Law working on Jinbe. Since the fishman was so large Law had to stand on the bed. The air grew warmer and warmer. She summoned two wind crystals and created a breeze for them. “We’re close to some volcanoes.”

            "Are you feeling better now?" Law asked.

            "Yes," Neo replied. “I guess so.”

            "Talk to me," Law ordered softly.

            "The earth just started shaking. It was…it just felt weird. It was like back on Sabaody. When the girl of the Straw Hat crew created that storm inside, but this was a lot worse. It felt dark. I didn't like it and I freaked out a bit. I'm sorry."

            "You have no reason to apologize for that. It didn't feel right to you. That's understandable considering how you're connected to nature. You did very well in handling yourself back there, by the way."

            "But I…I didn't really do anything. Oh, and I also felt someone coming closer to us. He felt familiar somehow. I started glowing too."

            “You sensed someone coming?” Law finished up with Jinbe at that moment. He jumped off the surgery table and tossed his gloves in the trash before grabbing a towel to wipe off his hands while he studied the girl. He tilted his head as he stared at her. She was sitting dutifully on the edge of the table. Her eyes were down on the straw hat she was holding. He could easily tell she was going over the events that just happened. Suddenly, her expression changed to a tense one and she started to glow again. “Can you elaborate on that?”

            “I don’t know. I just…” Neo paused when jumbled voices and a baby crying then entered into her ears. Dark images filtered across her eyes. The first image she saw appeared to be a woman. The next two was men. The first man was right beside the woman with his arm around her shoulders. He was shorter and didn’t have broad shoulders like the other one did. The woman was clearly crying and holding something to her chest. She then handed whatever she was hold to the second man. A third image appeared in her vision. This one was smaller than the rest. He didn't say anything, but hugged the woman and the first man then walked over to the second man.

            The woman opened her mouth. It appeared she was pleading with someone, but Neo couldn't hear clearly what anyone was saying. The second man nodded and said something back. Panic rose in the room when the woman slumped forward. A third man appeared in the room. He hastily said something to the second man then ran out of the room. The second man handed the small person in the room the bundle he was holding. He said something to the smaller person then left the room.

            "Neo? Neo!"

            Neo swayed when Law’s voice snapped her out of her trance. Her body fell forward until hands pressed against her shoulders. “What…what happened? I don’t feel so good. I feel dizzy.”

            "I don't know. You were glowing again," Law said. He kept her hands on her shoulders to stabilize her.

            "That's the second time," Neo whispered. “Why does this keep happening?

            "I'm not sure. Are you feeling better now?" Law said.

            "Yeah." Neo nodded.

            Law lifted his hands off her shoulders. He was thankful he wiped off enough blood that it didn't get on her or her clothes. He watched her as he continued to wipe off his hands.

            Neo looked down at the hat. The board shoulder man in her vision was wearing a hat that looked like this. She then said, "Captain, why does Straw Hat wear this hat? Is it important to him?"

            "I don't know," Law replied.

            "Will they be okay?" Neo asked so softly that Law almost didn't hear her. She looked at the two injured parties lying unconscious.

            "Only time will tell. Come on. Let's get out of here," Law summoned.

            Neo slid off the bed. She paused to put the straw hat down and glanced at Luffy once more. She felt bad that he was hurt like he was, but she knew that Law did everything he could to save him.

            "Neo?"

            "Coming," Neo replied. She quickened her pace to catch up with her captain. Just as they reached the main floor muffled voices came from deck. “There’s a snake on the deck.”

            “A snake?” Law walked over to the door.

            Neo remained by Law's side as they exited the sub. Her anxiety immediately increased when she noticed a strange woman with long black hair standing on the deck with the crew. She automatically grabbed onto Law's arm and stepped halfway behind him.

            Law tossed her a glance over his shoulder, she didn't notice. She was half looking at the black hair woman and half hiding her face in Law's sleeve.

            "How is he?! How's Luffy?!" the woman demanded.

“I did everything I possibly could,” Law said, still rubbing his hands clean.

“So does that mean he’ll be okay?” the woman asked.

“We’ll just have to wait and see. He’s in stable condition now. But he took on a lot more damage than most people can endure. There’s no guarantee he’ll survive.” Law said looking down at Neo when she peaked more around his arm.

“Captain, who is that?” Neo asked.

“Boa Hancock,” Law replied. “She’s called the Pirate Empress.”

“What an uplifting prognosis,” a voice said.

“Who said that?” Bepo asked.

“Me! Duh! If you want Straw Boy to wake up you’re going to have to show him some love!”

The pirates looked up at the Navy ship and found several people standing there. They all cheered for the Straw Hat captain.

“We own Straw Hat our lives so take good care of him!”

“We’d still be in prison without all his help!”

“Now the New Kama can finally go to the Kamabakka Kingdom!”

“Off we go! Farewell, Straw Hat! We’re heading home!”

“So, uh, who are they?” Shachi asked.

“They are a group of prisoners from Impel Down. Luffy appears to be their friend. They must have snuck onto the ship as well,” Hancock said.

“I can’t believe he pushed his body past the limit a second time. That’s how strong the bond was between Straw Boy and Ace Boy,” the man with the purple hair said before jumping over to the deck of the sub.

Neo ducked back being Law when the stranger landed on the sub.

“You tell them, Iva! Nothing stopped him then and nothing will stop him now!”

“I wish that were true. But fate can be cruel. You can’t save everyone. All of that work for nothing. He’s almost dead because that’s the kind of world this is,” Iva said.

“Don’t get down, Iva! Straw Hat will pull through this! I know it!”

“Don’t you dare die on us, Straw Hat!”

“Luffy has touched so many lives. If there was some way I could take his place so he would survive. Poor darling,” Hancock said before covering her face and turning her back to everyone.

“Ah, so lucky,” Shachi said.

“Must be nice to have the pirate empress fawn over you like that,” Penguin added.

“You’re a new face. Are you one of Straw Boy’s pals?” Iva asked.

“No. I can’t say why I saved him. It’s complicated at best. You going to pressure me for the details?” Law said.

“No, no. Let’s just say that your heart guided you to his side.” Iva crosses his arms.

Neo peaked out from behind Law to inspect the purple haired man. His head was the largest she had ever seen. It didn’t seem possible that someone could stand up straight like he was doing.

“Oh, hello there,” Iva said when he noticed Neo looking at him. “Aren’t you an interesting one.”

Neo whimpered and ducked back hide Law.

“And a shy one,” Iva said. “I never expect that. But then you’re all different just like we are.”

“What are you talking about?” Penguin asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Iva said with a smile.

Everyone’s eyes turned to the door of the sub when some of the crew started talking. “Hey! You shouldn’t be up yet!”

“The captain said that you needed to rest. Your wounds could open up.”

“Get back here, please!”

“Leave me be,” Jinbe said.

“Jinbe,” Iva said when the fishman stepped out onto the deck.

“I know you. Captain Law of the North Blue,” Jinbe said.

Law nodded in reply.

Neo glanced at the fishman, wondering how he could move with such a horrible wound on him. She wanted to help heal him but had no way of doing so.

“You look awful. Should you really be moving around like that?” Iva said.

“I own you. I own you my life,” Jinbe said to Law.

“Enough. Lie down and get some rest,” Law said.

“My mind is trouble. Luffy…the pain for him is so much that I can’t rest. I have failed you friend. Remorse…if this is how I feel then just imagine him. His collapse may have been a mercy since it allowed us to take him away. But what now? Even if he survives with the immensity of his loss I feel for when he awakens,” Jinbe said.

Neo leaned in closer to Law. The fishman’s words weighed her chest down despite not understanding much of what was going on.

“You, the fuzzy one, where’s your transponder snail?” Hancock asked.

“You mean me? I’ll go get it. If you like,” Bepo said.

“He’s so lucky,” Shachi said.

“No fair. I want to serve the Pirate Empress as well,” Penguin said.

“Captain, they’re acting funny again,” Neo said.

“Just ignore them,” Law said.

“I will summon the Kuja ship so we can sail across the Calm Belt even with this submarine. The World Government can’t find out that Luffy’s alive or they’ll come after him. Let us harbor him safely on the Maiden Island,” Hancock said.

“Really?” Iva asked.

“As long as they still view me as a Warlord Luffy will not be in danger there,” Hancock said. “Now that that’s settled there is something I’d like to ask.” She pointed at Neo. “Just who the heck are you?”

Neo ducked her head.

“Her name is Neo,” Law said. “She’s staying with us.”

“She’s not a pirate?” Iva asked.

“No,” Law replied.

“Well, that’s interesting,” Iva said.

“What is your relationship to Luffy?” Hancock asked. “Answer me girl!”

Neo squeaked. She pressed her face into Law’s hoodie.

“Don’t yell at her,” Law said. “She’s not use to being around people. And you all are the ones invading her space.”

“Sounds like she might have been through some turmoil herself,” Iva said.

“You could say that,” Law said. “But we’re not giving you the details. So don’t ask for them.”

“Don’t worry. We won’t,” Iva said. “It’ll be more fun to see how things play out as they are.”

“Play out as they are?” Penguin asked.

Iva just smiled.

“So she has nothing to do with Luffy,” Hancock said. “That’s good.”

…

            "Where are we going?" Neo asked once they had reentered the sub. She followed Law up the stairs with Penguin and Shachi behind them.

            "Amazon Lily," Penguin replied with a dreamy expression on his face.

            "This is like a dream come true," Shachi added with his own dreamy expression.

            "Captain, they're acting strange again." Neo looked at the boys from over her shoulder before turning her eyes back to Law. "What's wrong with them? They seem to do this a lot. Why?"

            Law flinched at her question. He could feel his cheeks getting warm. He didn’t dare look back at her, but knew questions like this were bound to happen at some point in time. Neo was clearly grown more conscious of the world around her and how his crew was acting around women. He cleared his throat before and took a deep breath before speaking. "Never mind them. They're just excited about a new adventure. There's something I need to talk to you about right now."

            "What is it?" Neo asked as they came to a stop at the top of the stairs.

            "It's about the island we're heading for," Law replied. He studied her as she stood patiently for him to continue. He swallowed before speaking again. "This island is entirely, and only, filled with women. We men are not going to be allowed to enter their village. But it's possible that they will want you to enter because you too are a woman."

            "Oh." Neo's eyebrows turned up in a slightly worried fashion.

            "While I'd rather not have you out of my sight, you will be safe on this island," Law continued to explain.

            "Captain?! What are you saying?!" Penguin, snapping out of his trance, screeched.

            "Are you going to let her go with them?!" Shachi asked.

            "It will be beneficial for Neo to spend time with some women. If that's going to happen, I'd rather it be with women that I know will not hurt her or try to take advantage of her abilities," Law explained, casting his men a glance.

            "I guess you're right." Penguin sighed.

            Law looked back at Neo. "This means if you feel comfortable enough to go with them, I will allow you to. I'm also allowing you the choice of revealing your abilities to them or not. It's your choice. Do you understand?"

            "Yes." Neo nodded and looked down at the floor.

            "You don't have to decide anything right now." Law placed his hand on her head, regaining her attention. "It's going to take a while for us to get to that island. I just wanted you aware of what might happen when we get there."

            "I understand, Captain," Neo said.

            Law nodded in acceptance to her words before continuing to lead his three shadows into the room where Luffy was still lying unconscious. The beeping of the heart monitor and the air from the breathing mask were the only noises in the room at the moment. He walked over to his patient to check on him.

            Neo continued to follow him until she got to Luffy’s bedside. She stared down at him. Several tubes and wires were running to his body and under the blanket that was over him. He was totally unaware of what was going on around him. She watched him sleep, wondering what he was going to do when he woke up. From what she could gather from the way people were talking this Fire Fist Ace was someone important to him.

            “Come on, Neo,” Law said. “Let him rest.”

            “Yes, sir.” Neo turned and followed Law out of the room.


	30. Amazon Lily P1

Amazon Lily

Part One

 

            Over the next few days the sub sailed along with the Navy ship that Hancock had stolen. Neo, like always, didn’t care for the new people being around but felt better when they didn’t come into the sub. Only Hancock, Iva, and Jinbe stayed on the sub but remained out on the deck. And thanks to the Navy ship being stocked full of food, Neo and Penguin didn’t have to cook for the newbies. She did grow a bit curious about the men on the Navy ship and the way they were dressed but no one knew exactly how to explain why men were dressed the way they were. As the days moved on she grew more and more curious about the fishman sitting out on the deck than anyone else. He never seemed to move much from the spot he sat at against the sub wall. Today was no different. Just about everyone was out on the deck, basking in the warm sunlight.

            Neo was sitting down beside the fishman with her elbows on her knees and her chin resting in her palms as he told her about fishman village. “Oh, sounds really nice there.”

            “It’s very nice,” Jinbe said. “If you ever get a chance to stop by then you should.”

            “Maybe,” Neo said. “But the captain makes those decisions.”

            “Of course,” Jinbe said. He paused then asked, “If you don’t mind me asking a question of you, there’s something I’d like to know.”

            “Oh?” Neo asked.

            “I wish not to be forward but I have noticed over these past few days of spending time with you that you are different from everyone else,” Jinbe said. “I can’t explain it but somehow I can feel the sea with in you. What are you?”

            “I have noticed that as well,” Hancock said. The snake with her hisses and laid her head on the empress’s shoulder. “Salome is curious as well.”

            Neo looked down at the deck.

            “I do not mean to pry,” Jinbe said.

            “It’s all right.” Neo glanced over at Law. He was only a few feet from her so she knew he was listening in on their conversations. She didn’t know what to say and looked for guidance from the one she knew she could trust.

            “We’re not really sure who Neo actually is,” Law said. “Let’s just leave it at that.”

            “Very well,” Jinbe said.

            Neo looked out to the sea when two large snakes appeared in her senses.

            “Hey, there’s a ship coming!” someone from the Navy ship yelled out.

            “Who is it?” Penguin asked.

            “It looks like it’s the Kuja ship,” the guy said.

            “Good,” Hancock said. “They have arrived.”

            Neo’s eyes widened at the large snakes pulling the ship. “They’re so big.” She jumped and ran over to Law when the women, dressed in very little clothes, on the ship jumped over and shouted for their leader.

            “She’s so skittish,” Iva said. “The poor dear. She must have really been through something if she’s this scared of people.”

            Law glanced up at the large man before returning his eyes to Neo. He could feel her trembling behind him. There were far too many people gathered on the deck now for her comfort. So he slipped his arm around her and guided her over to the edge of the sub where he could place himself between everyone else and her. He felt the tension leave her body as she watched the women speak to each other from a comfortable distance. Both their eyes then lifted up to the Navy ship when Iva jumped back over to it.

“Now then, this chapter of Straw Boy’s co-staring yours truly has come to an end. Hee Haw! Jinbe, I hope you don’t mind watching over our friend in my place!” Iva said.

“Of course not. My body is still too weak to swim. So the least I can do is watch over Luffy until he recovers. Though I fear there is precious little aid I can give him,” Jinbe said.

“It was a curious twist of fate to meet you fishman,” Iva said.

“Like wise. Also we were both prisoners in the lower levels of the prison we almost never met. Luffy carried us away like a tidal wave. Though I must admit I know not the direction these seas flow,” Jinbe said.

“Tidal wave was right. His antics at Marineford were too turbulent even for us. I hate to say goodbye, my friend, but the candy girls of my kingdom can only wait on their master for so long. Take care of Straw Boy for me! I shall miss him!” Iva said before turning his eyes to Neo. “And the same goes to you, Little Blue.”

“Huh?” Neo tilted her head.

“I do hope that we get to meet again one day,” Iva said. “But until then enjoy the surprises that await you on your journey. Farewell, Little Blue!”

The men standing around Iva started yelling their goodbyes and well wishes for Straw Hat one more time before the ship started moving away from the sub. Neo looked up at Law. “He’s so weird. What do you think he was talking about?”

            “I don’t have a clue,” Law said.

“I hate to ruin the moment but we should really be off now,” Hancock said.

“Right,” Law said.

…

            Neo clenched a hold of Law's sleeve as the sub passed through the unfamiliar gates of Amazon Lily. Glancing up at the mountains that seem to be located in the very center of the island she saw that it had several snake-like shapes coming out of it. She cautiously took in her surroundings of the women standing on the cliffs of the bay they were pulling into. Snakes were wrapped around the women, all taking note of the ship in front of them as she took note of them. “There’re so many snakes here.”

            Law, leaning against the sub wall with his arms crossed, took her in. She was holding her anxiety at bay despite being surrounded by so many strangers. She had yet to grab onto him. He figured that was because they had already been around so many people who didn’t show any sort of aggression in the time they were together. Then his men caught her attention as they sniffed the air and shouted comments about the island being full of women.

“This place is filled with women!”

“So it’s true that only ladies live here on Amazon Lily!”

“Smells lovely!”  
“I know! It’s making me dizzy!”

“I think we might be in heaven!”

“The crew’s acting funny again,” Neo said.

“Hey, you guys. I’d hurry back into the submarine if I were you. Or else…”

            Neo turned her eyes to Law just in time to see him tilt his head to his right. The thunk of an arrow embedding in the sub wall next to his head made her jump. Before she could do or say anything, Law wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. She tensed at his touch and when he looked into her eyes.

            “I’m not hurt,” Law said.

            "I know. I was just startled. There's just so many." Neo turned her eyes back to the women on the cliff, ready to summon her crystals if necessary. “But why did they shoot at you?”

            “Remember what I told you before,” Law said. “Only women are allowed here.”

            “Oh,” Neo said. “I forgot.”

“Hold your fire, everyone!” Hancock then said. “These men are not our enemies! Luffy is on that ship. The wounds he suffered at Marineford have marred his body and spirit alike. And now he walks the line between life and death. It’s terrible.”

“Luffy’s here?” a blonde woman on the cliff asked.

“Ladies, carry him to the castle as swiftly as possible. And never fear I shall nurse him back to healthy myself,” Hancock said.

“Just a moment, Snake Princess,” a raspy voice said.

“Granny.” Hancock looked up to another cliff.

Neo followed the woman’s glance and saw a shorter, white haired woman standing there. Her snake, instead of being wrapped around her body, was stretched out like a stick but curled up at the top. “Who’s that?”

“Not sure,” Law said.

“Allowing Luffy in is fine but we cannot allow the men on that other ship to set foot on Amazon Lily. We cannot make acceptation to our island’s policies to strangers,” the old woman said.

“There is a doctor on the ship. Only he needs permission. If he could-” Hancock started

“Listen! I don’t care if he’s a doctor or not. No man is allowed to cross into our boarders. Besides think of the great doctors we already have on the island,” the old woman said.

“Well, while we’re on that topic. Your equipment…do you have the same medical technology as my submarine does? If Straw Hat’s wound opens up he will die. Hey, don’t take my word for it. If its no big deal then take him,” Law said.

“You’re going to let him go?” Neo asked.

“What?! Luffy will die! But I will wither away without him!” Hancock grabbed her head. “I, no, we must do everything we can!”

“There’s nothing to discuss. It’s obvious that we can’t save Luffy without the help of this man. If Captain Law is not allow on the island then we’ll have to take him somewhere else,” Jinbe said.

“That’s ludicrous! We’d all be devoured by sea kings! And even if we managed to repel them the Navy would soon find us! Luffy, how can I save you?!” Hancock said.

“Very well. I suppose we’ll make another exception. You may stay in the bay on Amazon Lily. Never fear the sea kings won’t attack you there,” the old woman said.

“In that case I will stay in the bay too so I can look after Luffy!” Hancock sang.

“No!”

            “Curse you, Granny Nyon! You can’t say no to everything!” Hancock snapped.

            “You know our policies, Snake Princess,” Nyon said. “The men are not allow, but if you wish to bring the girl into the village then that will be acceptable.”

            "Girl?" The native woman began to chatter again when they finally noticed Neo amongst the men on the deck of the sub.

            "There is a girl."

            "What's she doing with all those men?"

            "Is she a prisoner among them?"

            "Captain?" Neo squeaked, pinching his sleeve.

            Law spoke softly. "They just didn't notice you were here until it was mentioned. They won't harm you. Would you like to go back inside now?"

            "Yes." Neo looked up at him. "Are you coming with me?"

            "I'll be there in a minute." Law smiled and stroked her cheek when he saw disappointment in her eyes that he wasn't going in with her. "Go on ahead."

            "Okay." Neo nodded then reluctantly released him. When she turned around, Penguin was right there. He smiled and led her into the sub while Law remained on the deck to get directions to the bay they were going to anchor at and rules about staying in their camp.

            A few minutes later, Law, and the rest of the crew came back inside the sub. “Archer, take us around to the bay.”

            “You got it, Captain.” Archer saluted before heading downstairs.

            “I’m going to check on Straw Hat,” Law said. “You going to come with me?”

            Neo nodded then followed Law up to the medical bay. She watched quietly as Law checked the machines Straw Hat was hooked up to. “Is he all right?”

            “He’s still unconscious but stable,” Law said leading her back out of the room.

            "So what are we going to do now?" Neo asked.

            “We’re going to just stick around here for a while,” Law said. “At least until Straw Hat regains consciousness.”

            “And there’s no way of knowing when that will happen?” Neo asked.

            “I’m afraid not,” Law said.

            "Are those women going to be around a lot?” Neo asked.

            “Most likely not,” Law said. He paused to look out of the still opened door. The sub was pulling into the bay they had been directed to. “That old woman seems to be against the women coming close to us.”

            “So how is she going to keep them away?” Neo asked.

            “They’re going to put up a barrier to keep us from looking into their village,” Law said.

            “I don’t understand,” Neo said. “I can sense a lot of snakes gathered together. I assume that’s where their village is. And surrounding it is a large rock formation and a forest. We won’t be able to see inside of the village unless we climb to the top of the rocks.”

            “Just call it paranoia then,” Law said. “They’re trying to limit us on their island.”

            “Oh.”

            “Are you nervous?” Law asked.

            “A little bit,” Neo said. “I’m just not sure what to expect. We’ve already been in a fight and then we went to that war. And now this.”

            Law took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. The smoothness of her hand rubbed against his calluses. "We’re safe here. No one’s going to start a fight with us.”

            Neo raised her eyes to him at that point. "But they shot at you.”

            "They only did that because they thought we were here to hurt them." Law tucked her hair behind her ear then tapped her chin with his thumb. "Look at them as our allies, for now."

            "Allies?"

            "They're helping us because we're helping Straw Hat. We're not in any danger from them. You'll see that when they come into our camp," Law explained.

            "I understand," she said then paused before speaking again. "That old woman said I was allowed in, just like you said I'd be."

            Law nodded. "And it's still your choice whether you want to enter the village or not."

            "I don't want to. At least not right now." Her hand lightly trembled in Law's.

            He squeezed it again. "You don't have to. Just take your time and adjust to the different environment. If you want to go in later then you can. No one's going to force you to do anything you don't want to do, not with me around. I'll level this entire island if they upset you." Neo giggled at the mental image that provided her with. Law's heart skittered at the sound of her bell filled laughter. "Glad you're feeling good enough to laugh. I haven't heard that from you in a while."

            Neo's cheeks tinted pink.

            He smirked at her shyness then said, "You ready to go outside now? We can stay on the deck for a while before going on the island."

            "Yeah." She nodded again. "I'd like that."

            Law then led her out onto the deck.

            Neo scanned her eyes over the crew. They seemed to have adjust to their own issues and were waiting for the sub to dock. Her eyes then landed on Jean Bart. She tightened her hold on Law’s hand when she saw him but then relaxed. Her lips curled into a smile when the large man looked at her, though she was still avoiding solid eye contact with him.

            Their eyes went up to the cliff when they heard voices coming from it. A few seconds later several women appeared holding poles and rolled up pieces of white cloth. Remaining on the sub, the pirates watched as the women put up the barriers, lining the area where they were allowed to stay. Soon one of the women tossed down a rope ladder. Shachi grabbed it when it got close enough and tied it securely to the sub railing.

            Law watched the actions of his men as they drooled over the half naked women moving around on the island. His eyes dropped down to Neo. He was still holding her hand comfortably in his. He also found she was too busy adjusting to and looking over the parts of the island they could see and the strangers to even notice the drooling actions of her mate counter parts. He was grateful. She still wasn't quite ready for him to explain that to her yet, he wasn't ready to explain it to her either. That would mean he would have to confess his feelings to her. But still, while watching the girl beside him, he couldn't help but wonder when she would be ready for it.

            "Hey! You get back here!" one of the women suddenly shouted out. The crew looked up to see a tall brown haired woman near the edge of the cliff. Her snake was looking down at the sub, at Neo. She picked up her snake and returned the creature to her shoulders. “Where do you think you’re going?”

            "The snake reacted to me," Neo said.

            Law only nodded in response, wondering if Neo’s presence here was going to cause issues with the snakes.

            “Captain, we’re ready to go onto the island,” Bepo said.

            “You ready to go?” Law asked.

            “I guess so,” Neo said. She walked with Law over to the rope ladder and closely watched as the crew crawled over it.

            “Use your crystals if you need to,” Law said.

            Neo nodded.

…

            "This is truly an outrage!"

            Neo flinched, but held her ground when the tall, long black haired woman growled. It has been three days since they made camp on this island and she still wasn't completely sure of them or of their names. She only had mild anxiety when the women came to the camp to deliver food on the orders of their princess, mostly because of this black haired woman’s hostilities towards the male pirates. So she wasn't really bothered much by the women coming around, but still preferred to stay near Law when they came.

            However, she was also growing a bit curious about them and their village. While she wasn't completely aware of this, Law was. And he guessed that this was because the women had a certain air of naivety to them that other women didn't have. He assumed she could probably relate better to them than anyone else. And it helped they always had their snakes with them. Neo was even more at ease with the reptiles around.

            Neo ran her eyes over the women that she was becoming more and more familiar with. The dark haired woman was always accompanied by one woman who was shorter than she was. She had blonde hair and appeared to be one of the nicer women here. The other two were taller. One of them was plumper than the rest with her brown hair in pigtails atop her head. The fourth one was the tallest of the small group with long wavy light brown hair and a constant friendly smile.

            The black haired woman hissed, "How dare you _men_ treat such a delicate flower like a boy!"

            "We're not treating her like a boy." Law frowned. "We are very well aware of the fact that she's a girl. We all treat her like the girl she is."

            "Silence _man_!" the woman snapped. She pointed her finger at Neo. "You have dressed her like a boy! As sick as it makes me that all you _men_ have been allowed to dock and come onto our island, I am still grateful that this young woman will finally be able to know how a woman should dress and act! Come, girl! We have much to teach you!"

            Neo looked down at her jeans and plan light green shirt when the women mentioned her clothes before letting her eyes wonder back over to the only other four women in the area when the woman spoke about her clothes. She was dressed very differently than they were. She glanced up at Law. “Captain?”

            "It's all right, Neo," Law assured her. "You don't have to go if you're not ready to."

            "You do not have the right to make that choice for her!" the black haired woman hissed again. "It has been three days since you all have arrived here! It is time she learn how a woman should really be!"

            "Kikyo, please." The calmer blonde haired woman held out her hand to the older black haired woman. "She is obviously unsure of new places and people. A softer tone is needed here if you really want her to enter our village with us."

            The blonde then walked closer to Neo and Law.

            Neo's hold on her captain tightened, but she didn't try to hide from the woman before her.

            The woman smiled softly at her and held out her hand. "Hi there. My name is Margaret. That's Kikyo, Sweet Pea and Aphelandra." She gestured to the women when she said their names. They all, but Kikyo, waved happily when their names were spoken. The blonde turned back to Neo. "What's yours?"

            "Neo," Neo replied softly.

            "Well, Neo, it is very nice to finally meet you. We would really like it if you would join us. I promise that Kikyo is a lot nicer than she appears to be. We would love to show you around our home. We won't keep you away from your friends for long. They'll be right here when we get back. Won't you come with us?"

            Neo stared at the young woman's outstretched hand. Margaret's snake slithered around her arm and came face to face with Neo. The snake stuck its tongue out and tickled her nose. She smiled and bit her bottom lip to keep herself from revealing the bells in her laughter.

            Margaret smiled. "It seems all of our snake friends really like you."

            Neo nodded in agreement.

            Margaret said, "They are very friendly. And so is everyone in my village. I promise no harm will come to you."

            Law and the crew silently watched to see what Neo's choice would be. When she turned her eyes back up to him he could easily see in her eyes that she wanted to go, but was still slightly unsure about leaving the familiarity of the crew. He leaned down to whisper to her. He said, "Remember the signal I told you to use during your tracking training? You can always send me that signal if you need me. I will come to you. Rules or no rules."

            Neo nodded then looked back at the woman, still avoiding eye contact, and said, "I'll come with you. But…I'm not really comfortable with being touched by people I don't know."

            "That's okay." Margaret pulled her hand back, still smiling. Her snake slithered out more and wrapped around Neo's shoulders. "We don't have to touch."

            "Thank you," Neo replied back. She looked at the snake on her shoulder. The snake rubbed its scaly cheek on her. She smiled at the attention and patted his head.

            "Shall we be off then?" Margaret asked.

            Neo nodded then followed after the woman, letting her hold on Law's sleeve slip through her fingers. She looked back at Law when her hand slid into his. He gave her hand a squeeze and nodded. She nodded back then continued to follow the women.

            Once they passed the barriers Neo casted a glance back at Law again. Penguin was now standing beside him. They were having a conversation while watching her being led away from them, but Law's eyes remained on her.

…

            "Captain, are you sure about this?" Penguin questioned. "I understand that this will be beneficial for her, but they have such strong views about men. This might confuse her."

            "She'll be fine," Law replied, his eyes locked onto Neo. What he didn't say was that he too was having the same concerning thoughts about their female companion. "If she does get confused, she'll ask us about it. She always does."

            Penguin nodded. He mumbled in thought while walking away from Law. "Still, I'm concerned about her. I wish at least one of us could accompany her. Maybe Bepo should go with her. They don't seem to have an issue with him. He is a bear after all. Besides us, Neo's more comfortable with animals than people, too."

            Law didn't say anything as his subordinate moved away from him. His eyes remained on Neo as she faded away from his view, from his side, from his protection. His mind suddenly became plagued with every possible dangerous scenarios of what might happen to her.

            He grumbled and rubbed the back of his neck while trying to force the 'What ifs' from his mind. No one ever came to this island. She _was_ safe. And Margaret had said they wouldn't keep her long. He forced himself to turn away from the forest when they were finally out of his sight, constantly repeating to himself that she was safe and that _if_ she was in danger he would enter the village to help her whether men were allowed to or not. _No one_ would keep him from her if she needed him. He walked away from his current spot and sat down against a nearby tree. He purposefully positioned himself so he could view the direction of the village just incase Neo sent him a signal.

…

            Neo remained silent, as she was lead through the forest by the women. Her eyes drifted up to the giant rock wall that separated the forest from the village. She started to wonder how they were going to climb it but was stopped when the women lead her through a cave in the rock wall. Shielded by the coolness of the rocks, a cool breeze washed over her skin before they stepped out of the other side of the cave. The warm sun beat down on her arms and face. They then lead her down a well-worn dirt path and closer to the village. She looked around and found several buildings built into cliffs, all seeming decorated in a snake theme.

            She started to tremble a bit when they stepped inside the noisy village of women yelling out another one thing or another and kids running around playing. Margaret's snake seemed to sense her anxiety and squeezed her shoulders before tickling her cheek with its tongue again. Neo gave her thanks to the reptile by scratching under its chin then stroked the snake's back below its head.

            Aphelandra giggled. "So what shall we do first? How about the battlegrounds? Or the shops? Maybe the food? Think she's hungry?"

            "Why not ask her?" Sweet Pea asked.

            "First things first," Kikyo said with authority. "We must fit her with the proper fitting attire. Come, child."

            "I'm getting new clothes? I didn't bring any money with me." Neo looked down at her clothes then at the women, her hand still stroking the snake's back. The repetitive motion was keeping her calm.

            "Do not worry about that, young one," Sweet Pea said.

            "Yeah." Aphelandra giggled. "Consider them a gift."

            "A gift?" Neo asked.

            "You have gotten gifts before haven't you?" Sweet Pea asked.

            "Yes, I have. The crew has giving me books before. And Penguin gave me a ribbon to hold back my hair when I train," Neo openly said.

            "Then we shall not discuss this matter farther," Kikyo said. She gestured to a nearby shop. "Let us proceed."

            The small group walked inside. And, within a few short minutes, Neo found herself dressed in one of the island clothing. It was a solid bluish green open bikini style top, matching bikini bottom with a light green, almost white, frill on the hips of the bikini bottom. Her cheeks were brightly flushed as the women stared at her. She stood with her hands collapsed in front of her, wishing she didn't put the outfit on. She forgotten about her scars, her suicide attempts which were now visible. She wondered if they were going to ask her about them, but hope they would think they came from being with a pirate crew. She tugged at her top, trying to cover herself more.

            Aphelandra clapped happily. "She's so cute. I really like this one on her."

            "Much better." Kikyo nodded approvingly.

            "I'm not so sure she likes it," Sweet Pea said, noting Neo's fidgeting.

            "Nonsense," Kikyo spat. "She's a woman and a beautiful one at that. Even with all of those scars on her skin."

            Neo bit her bottom lip. She braced herself to be asked about them, but it didn't happen.

            "She maybe beautiful, Kikyo, but she's also nervous," Margaret said, stepping closer to Neo. "You've never worn clothes like this before, have you?"

            "No," Neo replied. She tugged at the bikini top again, trying to get it to cover her chest more. It didn't work. "I always wear clothes I can train in. The captain really wouldn't like me being in this."

            " _Tsk!_ _Men!_ " Kikyo scoffed then added, "You are a warrior. Have pride in your body."

            "No, I'm not a warrior, not really." Neo shook her head. She tugged at the top again. "The captain and the crew are teaching me how to fight, but I really don't like to do it. I've only been in one battle."

            "You really don't like wearing such clothes. That's not a problem, I can easily fit them so you'll be more comfortable in them," Margaret said.

            Neo watched as she walked over to one of the other women in the shop. She asked the woman something and the woman nodded. The woman disappeared behind a curtain and returned with a small box in her hand. She handed it to Margaret then the blonde returned to the group.

            "I'm going to have to get a little closer to you than I have been. Is that all right with you?" Margaret asked.

            "I…I guess so." Neo flittered her eyes between Margaret and the floor. She rubbed her right hand on her left arm. "Just don't corner me, please. I have some issues with being cornered."

            "Not a problem." Margaret smiled. She stepped closer to Neo. "I'm just going to alter your tops a bit so you'll be more comfortable wearing them."

            A little while later, Neo was standing in the newly altered, chest covering bikini top. The women nodded in approval. Aphelandra giggled yet again, "You look so good in our clothing."

            "I do?" Neo questioned. She looked down at herself.

            "You sure do. Take a look." Sweet Pea gestured to a mirror.

            Neo stepped in front of the mirror and looked at herself. She tiled her head as she stared at her revealing reflection. "I look…different somehow."

            "It is a huge improvement from what you wore before." Kikyo held up the pants Neo was wearing like they were a dirty diaper. The woman wrinkled her nose at them. "Despicable what those men put you in. These must be disposed of immediately."

            "Please don't do that," Neo begged. "I like those clothes. I want to keep them."

            "Of course you can keep them," Margaret said. She took them from Kikyo, folded them and placed them in the bag with the other new outfits she just finished altering. Neo had acquired two more bikini tops, a corset top, and two off the shoulder long sleeve mealtime tops and a couple more bikini bottoms along with a couple mini skirts with matching leggings.

            Shortly after that the small group left the store and continued to guide Neo around their village. Feeling better about her surroundings, Neo took time to look around at the strange buildings built into the walls of the mountain, the snake like decorations and at all the warrior women bustling about. She noted that they all were very strong as they easily carried around large fish or wood that would seem impossible for anyone to carry. They greeted the women she was with cheerfully and even greeted her with friendly 'Hellos' and waves. She stopped walking when her group paused. She followed their gaze. There were some other women doing target practice with their snake bows and arrows.

            Kikyo turned to Neo. "Let's see what you can do."

            "What?" Neo inquired.

            "Let us gage how much warrior skills you have," Kikyo said.

            "Really, Kikyo?" Aphelandra asked. "She's a guest. Why should she have to do this?"

            "It's not like I'm forcing her into a battle," Kikyo replied, crossing her arms. "I just want to see what she can do. You said you have gone through training, right?"

            "Yes," Neo answered. "But not like this. My training was, uh, is a bit different."

            "What do you mean?" Sweet Pea asked.

            "Well, I, uh…" Neo paused. She raised her hand to her face and formed an earth crystal in her palm. She wasn't quite sure if she should show it to them. After a few seconds, the crystal faded. She chose not to reveal them. "I can't answer that."

            "Why not?" Kikyo asked.

            "It's not something I'm really comfortable talking about. At least right now." Neo lowered her eyes. The women's snakes slithered closer to her. She lightly scratched under each of their chins while talking. "My past really isn't the best."

            "Oh," Kikyo said softly. "I see. But I still want to see what you can do here. Margaret will allow you to borrow her snake bow."

            "Huh?" Neo looked up. Margaret smiled as her snake slither around Neo's neck again. Neo blinked at the snake. The snake snuggled against her cheek.

            "It seems that our little friends have really taken a liking to you," Sweet Pea chuckled as the rest of their snakes drew closer to their guest again. "It's an odd thing for them to do so. You must be very special."

            Neo didn't answer. The snake wrapped around her shoulders and looked as if it was smiling. She wondered how much the snakes here actually knew about her secrets. Margaret's voice then broke into her thoughts. "Just hold out your hand. My snake will do the rest."

            Neo held out her hand like she was instructed. The snake took its place as her bow. She then took the arrow that Margaret was holding out for her. "Thank you."

            Neo turned and faced the target. She pulled back, aimed carefully, and shot the arrow. She didn't hit the bullseye, but came close.

            Kikyo nodded, obviously impressed. "Not bad at all, young one. With some more training you will make a fine warrior. I suppose all that time with those _men_ wasn't wasted after all. That will do for now. We can proceed."

            "Have you always been with those men?" Aphelandra question as they walked away from their current location.

            "No, not always," Neo said. "I've only been with them for a while. Um, I believe it's coming upon a year soon."

            "So why did you join them?" Sweet Pea asked. "If I may speak honestly, you don't seem like the type to willingly become a pirate."

            "A pirate…" Neo stopped walking and looked down at the ground. Her hand automatically went to the cut she did on her stomach as her mind filled with the reason why she was with the Heart Pirates. "I was…it wasn't really my choice."

            "Did those _men_ force you to join their pirate crew?!" Kikyo demanded. "If they did, so help me, I will kill them all right now!"

            "No!" Neo stepped in front of the black haired woman and held out her hands as if to stop the woman from running after the crew. Panic pounded her very soul as tears, that she couldn't stop, streaked her face. "They didn't force me to join them! I care about them! They saved me! Please don't hurt them!"

            "They saved you?" Margaret asked carefully.

            "Yes, they did!" Neo paused to take a few deep breaths. Law would be furious if she returned to him and it was obvious she had been crying. A few more deep breaths and her tears subsided. "P-please don't hurt them! I use to try and kill myself! The captain and the crew stopped me from doing that! They stopped me from hurting myself!"

            The four women exchanged glances at Neo's words then dropped their eyes to the scars on her exposed skin. They were shocked at her confession. Kikyo reached out and placed her hand on Neo's shoulder. Neo jerked at her touch, but didn't pull away. Kikyo said, "I apologize. I didn't mean to upset you. I hadn't realized that you were this fond and bonded to those me-to your crew."

            "It's okay," Neo replied. She rubbed her right eye with the heel of her right hand. The snakes once again slithered up to her. She gave them a soft smile. "I'm okay."

            "Is that why you don't like to talk about your past?" Aphelandra asked.

            Neo nodded.

            "Then we won't ask you again about it," Kikyo said.

            Neo raised her eyes to the woman.

            "If you wish to reveal more of your past to us, then you will do it in your own time. We won't force you to do it,” Kikyo said.

            "Thank you," Neo replied with a grateful smile.

            "How about we get you something to eat before we take you back?" Margaret offered. "I think you've been away from your crew long enough for today. We can bring you back tomorrow again, if you would like that."

            "Thank you." Neo nodded. She looked around at her surroundings then looked back at the women she was with. "I think I would like to come back with you all tomorrow."

…

            "W-what are you wearing?!" Penguin shrieked when Neo returned to them. Lucky for them all, only Margaret and Aphelandra accompanied her back to the Heart Pirates campsite.

            "Uh." Neo fiddled with her fingers, unable to raise her eyes to the crew. "They wanted me to wear this."

            "We got her more outfits in here." Aphelandra smiled cluelessly while holding up the bag that contained the rest of Neo's clothes. "She looks really cute in them all."

            "What?!" Penguin shrieked again.

            "What's the matter, Penguin?" Conner asked. "I think the look suits her."

            "I agree," Archer added. "She's more cute this way."

            "Don't you dare even think like that!" Penguin shouted. The crew shrunk back down from the ranting man. " _Captain!_ _Do!_ _Something!_ _About! This!_ She's too innocent at this point to wear such clothes!"

            Neo finally raised her eyes. She looked right at their captain. He was staring at her with widened eyes and red cheeks. It made her suddenly feel self-conscious. Heart pound wildly as her chest tightened. She couldn’t stop fiddling with her fingers.

            Penguin appeared right by the silent, staring captain's side. "Captain! Order her out of _that_ outfit! _RIGHT! NOW!_ "

            The crew gasped at Penguin's words to their captain. Penguin, still ranting about Neo's clothes, didn't even realize he was telling the captain what to do. The crew tried to calm him down. "Shh! Are you insane?!"

            "Telling the captain what to do? Stop doing that!"

            "Penguin! Stop! The captain won't _kill_ you with Neo around, but that won't stop him from Shambling you into a million pieces!"

            Neo slowly walked up to Law. Her heart pounded harder the closer she got to him. She swallowed while trying to find her voice. "I-if you want me to change, I-I will."

            Law's eyes continued to wondered up and down her form freely. After a few, intense for the crew, confusing for Neo, seconds, the captain finally answered. His cheeks tinted even more. He forced himself to pull his eyes away from her and rubbed the back of his neck. "You don't have to change if you don't want to."

            Penguin about fell over.

            Shachi put his arm around his friend's shoulders and whispered. "Settle down, big brother. This is a good thing."

            "How can you say that?!" Penguin snapped quietly. "She's just a _child_!"

            "Obviously not," Shachi snickered, casting another glance at the now maturely dressed blue haired girl. Penguin growled at him. "Look, this is a good thing for her _and_ the captain. Just look at him."

            Penguin drew his hidden eyes over to their captain. Law's cheeks had darkened a few shades; if that was possible at this point, and it was obvious he was stealing glances at her from underneath his hat.

            Shachi then said, "The captain has control over what Neo wears on the sub, but it's obvious he wants to see her dressing in more feminine clothes. He just too protective of her to willingly let her wear clothes like this at this point. This way he has no choice. It'll loosen him up. Maybe it'll get him to confess how he feels about her and explain the feelings she's having for him. At the very least, this will move their relationship along a bit faster."

            Law grabbed Neo by her wrist and pulled her over to the tree the he sat before to keep an eye on the village for Neo’s distress signal. He purposefully guided Neo to sit down on his right side before sitting down himself, so the crew was on his left away from her. The captain then crossed his sword over her lap.

            It was obvious to the entire crew he was tightening up his guard over Neo, even from them.

            Penguin sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "Fine. But no one better think anything inappropriate about her."

            "Sometimes I think it's a coin toss as to who worries about her more, you or the captain. But have no fear, Big Brother Penguin," Shachi said, the crew was behind him nodded wildly. "We're all love and respect Neo too much for that kinda thinking. Besides," He lowered his voice to a whisper, "we're totally petrified of what the captain will do to us if we ever think like that about her. She's our little sister. And that's how we will always think of her."

            The rest of the crew nodded in fierce agreement.

            "Uh." Margaret blinked in confusion at the actions of the crew before her.

            "You men are funny!" Aphelandra giggled.

 


	31. Amazon Lily P2

Amazon Lily

Part Two

 

            With satisfaction, Neo closed the book she just finished reading and stood up from the couch. She placed her book back on the shelf then stretched out her mildly stiff body before leaving the rec. room. Walking through the quiet halls, she figured the majority of the crew was out on the island. She came to the galley and stepped inside. Running her eyes over the room she found Jean Bart and Conner were the only ones inside with her. She gave them both a small smile when they glanced up at her. "Is everyone else outside?"

            "Yeah," Jean Bart answered. He filled himself a cup of water and drank it down in one gulp then filled it again.

            "You've been reading for a while. They got bored of sitting inside," Conner added. He was sitting at the table with his own cup of water and a newspaper spread out on the table. He flipped to the next page with more aggression than was necessary. “I hate this place. So may women and we can’t have with any of them. It’s torture.”

            "The captain too?" Neo tilted her head.

            "He's on the deck doing some training," Conner replied. He paused, looked up from his newspaper and scanned his eyes over the fuchsia colored bikini she was wearing then added, "Aren't you going into the village today?"

            "Yeah." Neo nodded. "Kikyo wants to see me sparring with Margaret now that I'm more comfortable with them. We're going to be using their battle arena. No one else is supposed to be there today. So it's going to just be the five of us, plus their snakes. And the captain said it would be good if I trained with them a bit while we're here. To learn about different styles of combat or something like that."

            "Well, it's nice to hear they are being so patient and accommodating for you. It also sounds like you're enjoying your time with them," Jean Bart said.

            "I am," Neo replied. She collapsed her hands behind her back and rocked back on her heels. "They're quite different from being around you guys all of the time."

            "How so?" Conner inquired with a smile.

            "I'm not really sure. I like it though. It's definitely a different experience from living with all guys, maybe that's why. You all are guys and they're girls," Neo said with a thoughtful expression. She then smiled sweetly at the two men in the room. "But the crew is my family. I will always want to be with you all."

            "Well, that's good to hear." Conner winked at her. "We always want to be with you too. You should get going now. I'm sure the women will be here any minute to escort you to their village. You’re so lucky."

            "They should be on their way." Neo waved as she head back out into the hall. "See you later!"

            "Bye." Conner and Jean Bart waved.

            "Shouldn't you have warned her exactly what the captain is doing on the deck considering her naivety of her feelings towards him?" Jean Bart asked.

            "Why, whatever do you mean?" Conner turned an innocent look at the older man.

            "I don't see how the captain puts up with you all." Jean Bart shook his head.

            “We all need a push once in a while.” Conner shrugged. “Even the captain who’s too cautious with her.”

            “Or maybe you’re just too horny and want them to have sex,” Jean Bart said.

            “Hey! It’s not like that at all! What kind of guy do you take me for?!” Conner demanded.

            “Don’t think I haven’t noticed where your hand has been the majority of the time we’ve been in here,” Jean Bart said.

            “Why are you even looking?!” Conner demanded.

            “Learn to be more discrete,” Jean Bart said. “Imagine what the captain would do to you if Neo saw you doing that.”

            Conner gritted his teeth.

            "He must really love her to spare all of your lives the way he does," Jean Bart said.

…

            Neo stretched out her arms again while walking down the hall. The sub had grown warmer since she left the rec. room so she summoned a couple wind crystals to give herself a cool breeze. When she got closer to the main door of the sub, she started to hear a familiar 'whooshing' sound. She tilted her head and squinted at the bright light coming through the open door. "I guess the captain's working on his sword training."

            She stepped out of the sub. Her eyes adjusted to the bright sun before her body froze stiff. Her winds twirled around her, causing her hair to fly straight up before her crystals vanished. Her eyes widened. Her heart thumped hard against her chest as her stomach flipped in multiple directions, probably inventing some new moves in the process. Standing in the middle of the deck was Law. He had his sword out. And his shirt off. His exposed skin was dotted in sweat from his work out.

            Law seemed oblivious to anything and everything around him as he moved gracefully on the deck. His sword seemed to have a power all its own and Law was just a follower as the weapon led him through their current training regiment. His moves were graceful yet powerful, like a cat slipping silently upon its prey, readying itself to pounce. But he wasn't oblivious to the world around him. He knew Neo was there the second she stepped out the door.

            After gliding through a few more moves, on Neo's behalf, he looked at her. A smirk pulled onto his lips when she finally noticed he had stopped moving and was looking at her. She flinched and slowly backed up back into the sub until the shadows hide her from his view. Law chuckled and called to her. "Neo, come back here."

            There were a few seconds when he wasn't sure she was going to come back out, but she eventually reappeared. Her hands collapsed in front of her. Her eyes were darting all over the place, but would always returned to his bare, tattooed, sweaty chest. Even though she didn't see it, he wiggled his finger at her, beckoning her to come closer. "Come here."

            Her body automatically obeyed his command. She walked over to him and paused. He studied her inability to keep her eyes off his chest before stepping closer to her. He slipped his arm around her back, pressing his hand to her wrist. He took his sword and placed it in her hands though he had no idea what possessed him to do so. His sword was cursed. No one else should be able to hold onto it. Yet here Neo was taking a hold of his sword like it was just a normal everyday sword. Her arms dropped, causing the sword to clank against the deck, when he released his hold on it. Sure enough the sword didn’t reject her at all. His eyebrows lifted upon his forehead. He wondered how this was possible but didn’t voice his concerns.

            The weight of the sword brought her back to reality and she was able to speak again. She said, "It's heavy."

            "I suppose it is," Law said in a hushed tone. He then placed his hands on hers and on the sword. "This is Kikoku."

            "Kikoku?" Neo asked as Law lifted her hands and the sword.

            "It's my sword's name. It means, demon wail," he replied. He gently guided both their arms through a few moves. As they glided along, his sun warmed skin brushed against hers. He forced himself to not chuckle in amusement every time she tensed at his skin brushing on hers.

            "I didn't know your sword had a name. I didn't know swords were given names. It seems like an odd thing to do," Neo spoke softly.

            "It's not that odd, is it?" Law asked, guiding her through a few swipes of the blade. "The sub has a name."

            "Polar Tang." Neo nodded slightly. "Sorry. Maybe it's not that odd."

            "It just seems odd to you because I don't ever call my sword by name." Law lowered both their arms down, the sword's tip tapping lightly on the deck floor. He smiled when she turned her head to look at him. Her eyes glided over his caramel colored facial features before settling on his eyes. "Do your hands hurt?"

            "No, they're fine. A little numb, but fine," Neo answered honestly.

            Law nodded.

            "I am a little dizzy. My chest is tight too," Neo said.

            "That'll pass soon." Keeping his left hand firmly on hers, he raised his right hand and brushed the back of his fingers over cheek before cupping it tenderly. "You look very cute in that outfit."

            Neo swallowed.

            Law lowered his eyes to her lips. She was moving them ever so slightly in an attempt to form a response to him.

            "Neo!" Aphelandra's voice suddenly called out making them both jump slightly. They both looked up to see the tall woman standing with Sweet Pea and Margaret on the cliff. Aphelandra waved happily, oblivious to what she had interrupted. "We've come to get you! Are you ready to go into the village now?!"

            Law sighed, wishing they hadn’t shown up yet.

            Neo turned her eyes back up to Law.

            His smile returned when he saw she wanted to stay with him. But he encouraged her to go. He knew they wouldn't be on this island forever and Neo needed to spend as much time with the women as possible. He already saw a positive influence they had on her since that first day she went with them into their village. He brushed his thumb over her cheek a couple more times before lowering his hand. "It's okay. You should go now. You have only a limited amount of time to spend with them. I can give you another private sword lesson some other time."

            Neo opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. So she just nodded in response.

            Law reluctantly released his hold on her. He took hold of his sword completely as she passed it back to him. He escorted her over to the rope ladder and carefully watched her climb back up to the cliff. Even thought he knew she had her wind crystals and could fly, his entire body was still stiff with worry until Penguin took a hold of her hand and lifted her upon to the cliff. He relaxed then. She was now safe on the other side.

…

            Neo followed the women through the village. Having grown comfortable with the inhabitants of the island she greeted them warmly when they spoke to her. Before long they were standing in front of a couple large doors mounted onto a round stonewall.

            “This is it,” Margaret said as Sweet Pea and Aphelandra pushed the doors open.

            They all walked into the arena. Neo scanned the area was filled with stone benches. Stairs led down to a circle area with some form of a moat around it. There was also a set of stairs inside of the area that led up to an observation platform.

            “Come on,” Margaret said.

            Neo followed the blonde woman down the stairs. A little over halfway down the other three women broke off from them and sat down. She continued to follow Margaret as they crossed a bridge to the fighting arena. Glancing over the side she found the moat was filled with sharp points. A shiver ran through her at the thought of falling on one of those. She rushed across the bridge to catch up with her friend.

            “Are you ready?” Margaret asked.

            “I am.” Neo nodded.

            “Then let’s begin,” Margaret said taking her fighting stance.

            Neo lifted up her fists and stood ready for the woman to attack.

            Margaret flew towards her, throwing several punches.

…

            "Interesting…I wasn't expecting her to be this skilled with how timid she is," Kikyo commented. She, Sweet Pea and Aphelandra were still sitting in the stands while Neo and Margaret continued with their sparring session. It was coming up on two hours since they had started. Occasionally, Margaret would pause their sparring to give Neo a hint or some other helpful advice on how to improve a move or attack. Neo clearly and easily followed the woman’s instructions. “She appears to have adjusted to our presence.”

            “She has.” Sweet Pea nodded.

            “She such a strange girl,” Aphelandra said. “But I really do like her. I’m going to miss her when she and her crew leave the island.”

            Sweet Pea and Aphelandra gasped in anticipation when Margaret leaped up into the air. She brought her fist down in a swift motion. Neo easily back flipped away from the attack then countered it with a roundhouse kick. Margaret easily predicted the move and blocked the kick with her arm. She grabbed Neo's leg and flipped her around and slammed the girl on her back. Neo quickly rolled away from Margaret when the blonde woman's heel was about to come crashing down on her diaphragm.

…

            "You're not bad at all," Margaret said. She pulled her foot back under her and charged at Neo.

            Neo moved to plant her feet where she would be able to grab then throw the blonde woman over her shoulder. However, her foot landed on a small puddle that had gone unnoticed. Her foot slipped out from underneath her, throwing her off balance. A wind crystal flickered into view from being startled.

            "What the…?" Margaret caught a glimpse of the light blue crystal shimmering in front of Neo before the wind snapped out of the crystal and slammed her in the chest. She gasped as she flew over the protective railing of the arena and plummeted towards the spikes below.

            "Margaret!" the women in the stands shouted.

            "No!" Neo pushed a strong gush of wind over the side and wrapped it around Margaret’s body. She lifted the blonde woman back to safety before her own knees gave out on her. She collapsed to the floor of the arena. Panic settled into her chest, clenching her heart with an icy grip. She had revealed a crystal. And she had almost killed someone in the process.

            Margaret dropped to her hands and knees. Her heart was racing from almost being impaled by the spikes surrounding the arena. She panted to catch her breath. "What was that?"

            "Margaret!" the women cried. They jumped up from their seats and dashed over to their friend.

            "Are you all right?" Aphelandra asked, kneeling down.

            "Yeah." Margaret nodded.

            "What happened?" Kikyo asked.

            "I don't know. I was hit by a gust of wind. It came from..." Margaret lifted her eyes to Neo. Neo had her hands over her mouth and tears running down her cheeks. "What did you do?"

            "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Neo's breaths were raspy as she spoke. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

            The women carefully watched her for a few minutes. They were confused and concerned about the fear that was now present in Neo's eyes. After a minute, Margaret stood up and walked over to the scared girl. She kneeled down and placed her hand on the terrified girl's shoulder.

            Neo flinched away from her. She grabbed her head and shouted, "Don't hurt me! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do it! I didn't mean it!"

            Kikyo, Sweet Pea, and Aphelandra exchanged confused looks. They then turned back to Neo and Margaret. Margaret patiently waited for a few seconds before reaching for Neo again.

            Neo jerked away from her again.

            Margaret spoke softly to her. "I'm sorry. I forgot you don't like to be touched. But everything's okay. What you did…it was an accident, right?"

            Neo lightly nodded. She quickly brushed the tears from her eyes. Law wouldn't be happy to know she was crying. "I…I didn't mean to do it. I'm so sorry."

            "What _exactly_ did you do?" Sweet Pea inquired. "If you don't mind me asking. I know we said we wouldn't pry into your past, but…"

            Neo bit her bottom lip in thought. She wasn't sure what she should do here. She wanted them to know then she didn't want them to know. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, Law's words on how it was her choice to reveal them or not filtered into her mind. His words on trusting her instincts also filtered into her mind. She did feel like she could trust these women. So she summoned her crystals and braced herself for the truth.

            She slowly opened her eyes when the small group gasped at her shimmering crystals. "It's because of these crystals. I can control the elements, all four of them. I accidentally summon a wind crystal when I slipped. That's why Margaret went flying like she did."

            "Interesting," Kikyo mumbled while inspecting a nearby water crystal.

            "I'm sorry," Neo said. "I really didn't mean to use them on her. I just lost control a bit."

            "I'm getting the feeling that you have a very turbulent past, huh?" Sweet Pea asked.

            Neo nodded. She cautiously looked at them. She felt like she should tell them about her past. She sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. "I grew up being hated by everyone because of my crystals and how animals acted around me. That's why I have so many scars on my body. I did it all myself, but for this one on my left shoulder. I've tried to kill myself so many times. I never trusted anyone. But, about a year ago, the captain found me and took me in. The Heart Pirates have been helping me to gain control over my abilities since then. They've also been educating me. I guess I still have some work to do with my crystals. This is actually the first time I've sparred with anyone outside of my crew. I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to use my crystals on you. I really don't want to hurt anyone."

            "That's so sad," Aphelandra sniffed. She brushed her finger under her left eye. "I don't know what to say."

            "There's no need for you to apologize, Neo." Margaret smiled. "Like we already said, it was an accident."

            Neo looked up at the blonde in surprise. She locked eyes with her for a few second before dropping her eyes back down to the floor. "You don't hate me?"

            "Of course not." Margaret giggled slightly. She reached out again to place her hand on Neo's shoulder.

            Neo flinched lightly but didn't pull away from her this time.

            Margaret decided to pull her hand back. "I do understand that you didn't mean it. It _was_ an accident. No harm was done. We're friends now. You can trust us."

            "Friends?" Neo asked. She flickered her eyes back up to the women and actually looked at them directly before dropping her eyes again.

            "That's right!" Aphelandra giggled.

            "We are friends now. You will always be welcome in our home," Sweet Pea replied.

            Kikyo nodded in agreement.

            Neo passed a quick glance at each of them, resting her eyes on theirs for a few brief seconds. Their snakes gathered around her shoulders.

            "See? Our snakes even agree with us. I still find it strange how much they like you. They're usually not this friendly towards outsiders," Margaret said.

            "Yeah." Neo nodded with a light smile. "It's because of my crystals. Other animals have reacted this way to me too. I'm somehow a part of nature. They can sense that. I can also understand their language and they understand me."

            "I guess that makes sense. If you can control the elements then it should be the same with animals. They are a part of nature, too," Kikyo summoned up.

            A grumbled rumbled through Neo's stomach. Her cheeks tinted pink. "Uh…"

            "Let's get you something to eat. It's about time we returned you to your crew anyway," Margaret said.

            Neo nodded in agreement.

            "It's time to eat! I'm hungry! I bet your crew is hungry as well," Aphelandra giggled as she stood up with the rest of them.

            Neo stood up too. She followed them out of the arena. While heading towards their next destination, they inquired more about her crystals. She freely told them about what all she could do with them, even while they ate in the large dinning hall. Despite it just being normal meal, the food that was spread out on the table reminded Neo of a banquet she read about in one of her books. Several types of fruits, vegetables, fish, and other meats were scattered up and down the long rectangular tables. Other Amazons were in the building with them, but her group managed to get a table by themselves. Neo occasionally looked up at the doors and windows to make sure her escape routes were clear.

            Then after they had asked all of their questions she had a couple of her own. “Would it be all right if I asked why there are only women on this island? I mean why can’t men come here?”

            “We have no idea how our women only have girls. It’s just how this place is. As for your second question, it’s because men cause a lot of suffering and cause wars,” Kikyo said. “They’re barbarians who know nothing but how to fight with each other.”

            “But you all fight,” Neo said.

            “We raise our girls to learn how to protect themselves and our homes,” Kikyo said.

            “It’s probably similar to how your captain taught you,” Margaret said.

            “But if you all don’t like wars and fighting and stuff, why did the Pirate Empress go to the war at Marineford?” Neo asked.

            “Because she’s a Warlord of the Sea of course,” Aphelandra said.

            “The Snake Princess holds the position of a Warlord to keep our people safe,” Kikyo said. “With out that the Navy would come in here and destroy our home.”

            “Oh,” Neo said. “I think I understand. I don’t like fighting either. But it’s necessary sometimes, right?”

            “Yes, it is,” Sweet Pea said. “Though I think most people on the planet would love it if no one ever fought again.”

            “So how are you liking your stay on Amazon Lily?” Margaret asked.

            “It’s nice,” Neo said. “I know it took me a while, but I feel a lot more secure here than I have on any island we’ve stopped at before.”

            “We’re happy to hear that,” Aphelandra said. “You’re always welcome here if you’re ever in this area.”

            “Thank you,” Neo said. “I think I would like to come see you all again someday. If the captain would allow it.”

            “You do not need his permission to come see us,” Kikyo said. “Those men are not a good influence on you.”

            “I’m sorry.” Neo ducked her head.

            “So what are your goals?” Margaret asked directing the conversation back into friendly territory.

            “My goals?” Neo asked.

            “What do you want to achieve in life?” Sweet Pea asked.

            “Oh, well, I don’t know,” Neo said. “I never really thought about it. But, I guess, one thing I would like to find out is who I really am. And why I have these abilities.” Margaret’s snake curled around her shoulders. She smiled and scratched under his chin. “I’d like to know if there’s anyone else out there that’s like me.”

            “I’m sure there are,” Margaret said. “The world might be a very big place, but I highly doubt you’re all alone.”

            “She’s right! I’ll bet while you’re sailing with your crew you’ll find someone just like you!” Aphelandra said. “So keep your chin up and keep smiling!”

            “Thank you,” Neo said. “I’ll try.”

            The women finished up eating then gathered the supplies for the Heart Pirates before making their way back to the bay.

            Neo breathed in the smells of the forest when they stepped out of the cave. A few minutes later, the men greeted her happily, glad to see their girl was back and unharmed. After a small wave to her new friends, she immediately broke away from her female companions. She went right over to Law and sat down on his right side. He was sitting up against the tree like always, this time with a bottle in his hand. Neither said anything at first. They just acknowledged each other with brief eye contact and a smile before she turned her eyes out to the sea.

            Law carefully studied her while she slipped her arms around her thighs and rocked herself slightly. He could easily tell by how close she was sitting to him, and how she purposefully put him between herself and the others, that she revealed her crystals and more of her past to the native women and needed some security. He didn't say anything about it though. He want to see if she would openly tell him what she had done without him coaxing it or ordering it out of her.

            They sat quietly for a few minutes before she finally did confess. She sighed then stopped rocking herself. "I accidentally revealed my crystals when sparring and almost hurt Margaret. I cried too."

            "Oh? How do you feel about it?" Law watched her as she debated on her feelings.

            "I was scared that they would hate me. But they didn't seem to mind since it was an accident and Margaret was unharmed. They understood I didn't mean to do it. I was able to actually ask questions while we ate. It was nice."

            "Then you have nothing to worry about." Neo looked at him. He gave her a light smile. "You haven't sparred with anyone outside of the crew until now. It's understandable that you'd have a little slip up. But you did well in correcting your mistake. And you told me about it all on your own. I didn't have to coax or order it out of you at all. You've grown up some. I'm proud of you, Neo."

            Neo blinked a few times at his words. Her cheeks were pink as she thought over his words. He smirk then went back to his drink while she continued to think over recent events. She was brought out of her thoughts when her eyes dropped to the bottle in his hand. She tilted her head questioningly at the bottle. "Do you and the crew really like that stuff? Is it really that good? You all seem to drink it a lot. Or the crew does. You don't seem to drink as often as they do."

            Law studied her and the drink in his hand for a few seconds before holding out the bottle to her.

            Neo took it and brought it up to her lips. She sniffed the contents before finally taking a small sip. She wrinkled her nose at the bitterness and forced herself to swallow the drink. "Yuck."

            Law chuckled at her reaction to the beer he was drinking. "At least I don't have to worry about you getting drunk. Still, I don't want you trying any kind of alcoholic drinks without me by your side. These types of drinks can affect parts of the brain that control a person's movement, speech, judgment, and memory. It can cause them difficulty in walking, slurred speech, memory lapses, and impulsive behavior. It's also the reason I don't drink much. I like to keep my mind clear since I'm a doctor. And that's just some of the effects it has on humans. We don't have a clue what will happen if alcohol was to mix with your crystals. I don't want you to get yourself into trouble. Do you understand me, Neo?"

            "Yes, I do. I don't want to drink them anyway if they all taste that bad. I'll stick with my sweet tea." Neo nodded. She gladly handed him back the bottle and went back to rocking herself. The two fell into comforting silence for a while.

            Law kept glancing over at her. He couldn't stop his eyes from wondering over her island attire that reveals so much of her skin to him. And her curves. He never noticed them before, but he was sure noticing them now. The sight of them made his heart race erratically in his chest.

            Neo then suddenly winced at a sharp pain in her back between her shoulder blades. She stopped rocking herself again. She released a faint whimper while trying to reach back to rub the hurting area.

            "What's wrong?" Law asked, slight concern in his voice.

            "My back hurts," Neo replied.

            "Let me take a look. I'm going to unhook the back strap so hold the top to your chest so it doesn't fall." Law sat down his drink before reaching for the bikini top she was wearing. He glanced quickly over at the crew. They all were distracted at the moment, by the food the Amazons were giving them, so he unhooked her top. She obeyed his order and pinned the shoulder straps to her body to keep the top from falling off completely. "Where exactly does it hurt?"

            "Between my shoulder blades," Neo replied with obvious pain in her voice.

            Law inspected her skin, but found nothing. He quickly hooked the strap back up then started rubbing her back. He couldn't stop a smile when she tensed at his touch. After a few minutes of soothing rubs he asked, "Is it still hurting?"

            Neo shook her head. "It's gone. But what was it?"

            "Did you hit your back hard while sparring?"

            "No."

            "Well, it could have been nothing. Or maybe just a pinched nerve," Law replied, still with his hand moving over her back. "If it happens again, be sure to tell me. Even if it only lasts for a few seconds."

            "Okay," Neo hummed. She hugged her knees while resting her cheek on them.

            Law smiled again. She was obviously enjoying his hand on her back.

            "Excuse me." Law and Neo simultaneously looked up when Margaret spoke. "Could you tell me how is Luffy doing? Has he woken up yet?"

            "At the moment, he's doing fine," Law replied. "But he hasn't woken up yet. I don't know when that will be either."

            "I see." Margaret nodded sadly. She lowered her eyes to the ground then raised them back up. That's when the young blonde noticed Law's hand was on Neo's back. She tossed her eyes back and forth between the two.

            Law immediately caught her questioning gaze and let his hand drop from Neo's back.

            She opened her mouth to question it, but was cut off by Kikyo calling for her. "Coming! Well, I have to go now. I'll see you later, Neo."

            "Bye." Neo waved. She tilted her head slightly. "She looked like she wanted to say something else. What do you think it was?"

            "Uh." Law's cheeks tinted. His hat dropped over his eyes. "Don't worry about it. It was obviously nothing important or else she would have said what was on her mind."

            "I guess you're right." Neo turned her eyes out to the sea again.

            Law continued to secretly watch her. A small smile had formed on her lips. He could only guess at what she was thinking as she continued to stare out at the water.

            A little while later, Neo and Law's quiet time together was interrupted when Jinbe appeared. He walked over and sat down near the surgeon.

            Neo smiled at the fishman. “How are you feeling, Jinbe?”

            “I’m all right,” Jinbe said. “My wounds are healing up nicely.”

            “That’s good to hear,” Neo said. “I was worried that you might-”

            A loud crash interrupted her. Their eyes few to the cliff where the nose had came from. Neo watched as Law and Jinbe immediately got to their feet. She jumped and followed after them when they ran over to the cliff. She looked down at the rocking sub and crashing waves before questioned it. "What happened?"

            Before Law could answer her, another loud, metal ripping, crash was heard. There was a collective, startled gasps, as Luffy came flying out of the sub and landed hard on the island. The crew stood still. No one had any idea what the bandaged teen was going to do. Luffy lifted himself up off the ground and screamed out in heart wrenching pain. "Ace! Where are you?!"

            The air quickly fill with a thick tension that Neo didn't understand. Her body trembled and she took a step closer to Law. "Captain, something doesn't feel right. It's scaring me."

            Law placed his hand on her arm and gently pushed her behind him. "I know. Just stay behind me, Neo. Straw Hat's not thinking clearly right now. I don't know what he's going to do."

            "Okay." Neo nodded. She obediently took another half step behind him.

            Law kept his arm out to protect her. He stood ready to fight Straw Hat if he had too.

            Neo watched quietly when the rest of the crew started to try and contain Straw Hat. She reached out and clenched a hold of Law's shirt. Leaning into his back, she said, "He's in so much pain. It hurts. Captain, is he going to be all right? Can you make the pain stop?"

            Law casted Neo a glance over his shoulder. He wasn't sure how to response to that. He was a doctor, but he healed physical wounds not mental ones. Neo was the exception to that. He knew how to handle her. He didn't know how to handle Straw Hat here.

            When it was clear that Straw Hat wasn't going to actually attack any one of them, Law took Neo's hand. He guided her to a spot of his desire. He sat down first then pulled her down in front of him between his legs. He kept his knees bent up and rested his arms on them, keeping Neo enclosed and protected.

            Neo gave Straw Hat another look. The crew was chasing him around now, trying to get him to hold still. She then leaned her back against Law's chest. She lifted her hands and started to fiddle with Law's fingers to keep herself distracted from all of Straw Hat's yelling. It wasn't an easy task considering the teen kept yelling and was being constantly tackled by the Heart Pirates.

            "Ace!!!"

            "Please! Stop it, Straw Hat!"

            "He can't hear you anymore! He's gone!"

            "Ace?! Where are you?!"

            "Calm down, Straw Hat!!"

            Jinbe shook his head with a deep, thoughtful sigh. He then sat down near Law and Neo. Once comfortable, the fish man pulled his eyes over to the surgeon. He raised an eyebrow at Neo fiddling with the surgeon's hands and at how tolerant Law was being with her. He opened his mouth to question the situation, but quickly shut it after Law shot him a harsh warning glare that screamed to not speak of anything dealing with what Neo was doing. He cleared his throat and then asked, "So what's going to happen to Luffy?"

            "Well, if he keeps up this reckless behavior he's going to end up killing himself." Neo tilted her eyes up to Law when he said that. He looked down at her. Her eyebrows were turned up in slight concern. She still had her fingers laced with his, he squeezed her fingers gently. He kept his eyes connected with hers even when he felt her relax in his hold.

            "Isn't there something you can do for him?" Neo asked.

            "I'm afraid not. I've done all I can for him," Law replied.

            “Hey, Jinbe?” Neo then asked.

            “Yes?” Jinbe asked.

            “Why does Straw Hat keep calling out Ace’s name?” Neo asked.

            “Ace and Luffy were brothers,” Jinbe said.

            “Oh,” Neo said sinking back into Law’s chest. “That’s why he’s in so much pain?”

            “It is.” Jinbe nodded. “At the war Ace took a punch from Akainu that was mean for Luffy. So Luffy saw his brother die right in front of him.”

            “That’s terrible,” Neo said. “I wish there was something we could do for him.”

            "I agree. And t here might be something I can do for him." The two turned their attention to the fishman when he spoke. Without another word, Jinbe stood up and headed over to the crew.

            "What do you think he's going to do with Straw Hat?" Neo asked.

            "I don't know," Law replied. They watched as Jinbe grabbed Straw Hat and disappear into the forest. Straw Hat's cries fading the farther they went in.

            "They're going into the forest? Won't they get into trouble?" Neo questioned.

            "Straw Hat won't since he has permission to go wherever he wishes on this island. I doubt Jinbe will get into any trouble since he's with Straw Hat and he’s not a human man," Law said. He looked down at Neo again. She still held some concerned in her eyes about Straw Hat as she stared in the direction Jinbe took Straw Hat. He couldn't help but feel a bit surprised. Neo never has shown concern about anyone outside of the crew before. He wondered if she sensed the same thing about the black haired teen as he did, that Straw Hat could be trusted. Or if this was just her growing more accepting of people. He placed his hand on her head, regaining her attention. "I don't want you worrying over Straw Hat anymore. Whatever happens now is out of our hands."

            "All right." Neo nodded. She leaned back again his chest with a sigh. She stayed quiet as Law kept one hand on hers while picking up the straw hat that was discarded on the ground nearby and studied it with his other hand.


	32. Amazon Lily P3

Amazon Lily

Part Three

 Oops. Apparently I skipped this chapter. So I'm posting it now then when everyone reads it I'll switch it with Value. Sorry about that.

            "Sounds like he finally stopped screaming," Shachi said, his fishing line dangling lifelessly in the water below. The crew had gathered on the edge of the cliff shortly after Jinbe had disappeared into the forest with Luffy.

            Law still had Neo sitting in front of him between his legs even though Straw Hat was no longer near them. He had the fingers of his right hand entwined with hers while holding the straw hat in his left hand. While keeping one hand constantly on his, she would occasionally use her other hand to brush her fingertips over the straw hat and give it a curious look. Law would always watch her carefully when she did this. He wondered if she was going to start glowing like she did in the sub.

            "Yeah." Penguin nodded. He then looked over his shoulder. "I wonder where they went. Is it really a good idea for him to be traipsing through the forest with those injuries? They might be in more danger from going where they're not supposed to than from their wounds."

            "I doubt that," a crewmate said. "The Empress is very fond of Straw Hat remember? She wanted him at her castle when we first arrived."

            "Lucky him," another crewmate said.

            The rest sighed with a nod of agreement.

            "Hey! I finally caught one!" Shachi cried out. Everyone looked at him while he held up the fish on the line.

            "Uh?" Neo suddenly tightened her hold on Law's hand. A light salty breeze teased her hair as she looked out to the sea.

            "What's wrong, Neo?" Law asked.

            The crew turned their eyes to her.

            "There's something happening in the ocean," Neo replied.

            "What do you mean?" Shachi asked. He turned his eye out to the water.

            "Hey! I see something!" Penguin pulled up his binoculars to his hidden eyes. "I think I just saw a fish."

            A gush of water rose up when a large sea king leaped out of the sea with a deep roar. The crew gasped at the size of it. "Wow! That thing is so huge!"

            Shachi asked, "What's happening? Is it fighting with something? Another fish maybe?"

            "It is fighting something," Neo said with a light tremble. Law looked down at the girl in his hold. She tilted her eyes up to him. "But it's not another fish. I can sense something else. It's familiar. I don't like it."

            "It's dead!" Penguin informed them. "What killed it?"

            "There's someone in the water!" Bepo yelled.

            "Huh?!" The crew gasped when a human hand emerged from the water. They watched as the hand came closer to the cliff. White hair then popped out of the water and a man became to climb up the side of the cliff towards them.

            Neo's body tensed up at the memory of him in the Auction House at the same time Law narrowed his eyebrows. The closer the man got to the top of the cliff, the more Neo's anxiety rose. She pressed her back into Law's chest with a low whimper.

            Law dropped his right arm from his knees to wrap around her waist. He leaned close to her ear to whisper to her. "Take a deep breath. He's not going to use his Haki here. I _won't_ let him knock you out like that again."

            Neo obeyed his command. She took a deep breath. It helped her relax a little, but she still remained firmly pressed against Law's chest.

            The old man grumbled while stepping upon to the cliff. "Good grief."

            Neo's body flinched when the crew shouted, "It's Dark King Rayleigh!"

            "Hm? Oh, it's you guys. We met back on the Sabaody Archipelago in the Auction House." Rayleigh looked over the crew. His gaze paused when his eyes landed on Neo.

            "B-but how did you get here? Where is your ship?" Penguin asked.

            "Oh, it sank in a storm a little while ago. I had to swim here," Rayleigh said his eyes still on Neo.

            "What?!" the crew shouted.

            "But the Calm Belt doesn't have storms. That means you had to swim from somewhere farther away?!" Shachi shouted. "You can't be serious!"

            "That's a legendary pirate for ya!" a crewmate shouted. "He killed a sea king too! Impressive!"

            Law growled disapprovingly at the prolonged look Rayleigh was giving Neo. Sensing their captain's shift in mood, the crew looked at him then noticed Rayleigh's stare at their girl.

            Rayleigh chuckled when the entire crew shifted into 'Protect Neo Mode' and gathered closer to her and Law. He said, "Sorry, that's the second time I've caused this reaction with you all where the girl is concerned. I really intent her no harm. And I would have handled my Haki differently if I had known before hand that she was in the auction house. Anyway, I assume Straw Hat is here. If you can just tell me where he is, I'll just get out of your way."

            "He's in t-" Shachi started.

            "No!" Law hissed, cutting off Shachi. His grey eyes were locked onto the white haired man.

            Neo tilted her eyes up to him when he tightened his hold on her again. But Law didn't look back down at her this time. He just kept his intense glare on Rayleigh.

            "Captain?" Bepo asked.

            "It's obvious you know _something_ about her. I want to know what it is. Why did you single her out in the auction house? Why directly apologize _only_ to her? How do you know her? Why would you even care about her?" Law demanded.

            Neo pulled her eyes from the captain. She timidly glanced over at Rayleigh. The old man had his eyes wisely locked with Law's.

            "Hmm." Rayleigh stroked his chin in thought. The old man then carefully studied each and every single one of the Heart Pirates. "Are you sure you all want to know? It might come as quite a shock, especially to her."

            "She'll be fine as long as she's with us," Law said. "Now _tell me_ what you know about her."

            "Very well. I see no harm in it." Rayleigh shook out his shirt then sat down on a nearby rock. The crew leaned in closer in anticipation to what the man was going to say. "I know of her because I'm pretty good friends with her godfather."

            "Godfather?" Penguin asked. "Who's her godfather?"

            Rayleigh smiled, light reflected off his glasses. "Red Haired Shanks."

            "What?!" the crew shrieked in disbelief. "Red Haired Shanks is Neo's godfather?!"

            "Godfather?" Neo turned her eyes up to Law. "What's a godfather?"

            "Well, a godfather is usually a person who presents a baby at a baptism and responds on the child's behalf, promising to take responsibility for the child's religious education. But more commonly, a godfather or godmother is someone who steps up to raise a child if the child's parents are unable to or if they die," Law explained.

            "Raise a child?" Neo blinked in thought. She tilted her head like it would help her process his words.

            "They're not that much different from birth parents," Law said.

            "Oh, okay. I think I understand." Neo nodded lightly.

            "Huh?" Rayleigh blinked in confusion at Neo's lack of knowledge of what a godfather was.

            "Neo's not as _informed_ as the rest of us are," Law said cautiously when he caught Rayleigh's confusion. "She was…" He paused. He lowered his eyes down to the girl in his arms and wondered if he should really tell Rayleigh about her past. He looked back up at the old man. Rayleigh was patiently waiting for his next move.

            "Captain, you're not going to tell him about Neo's past are you?" Shachi asked when he and the rest of the crew realized why their captain became so quiet.

            "First things first," Law said. "Tell us what all you know about her."

            "Well, I know she can control the elements through her crystals and her people are called Elementals," Rayleigh replied. "That's how Shanks said I would be able to sense who she really is."

            "What are Elementals?" Shachi asked.

            "Creatures who can control the elements through the crystals they are born with, as I'm sure you've noticed Neo doing," Rayleigh replied. "I'm not exactly sure what they really are, but you can think of them like their fairies, minus the wings."

            "What do you mean by being able to sense who she really is?" Penguin asked.

            "Because she's not human. I'm sure you all sensed that too at some point while she's been with you," Rayleigh said.

            "We have." The crew nodded.

            "I noticed she smells differently from everyone else," Bepo said, pointing to himself. "She smells like nature. And she also smells sweet."

            "How do you know of her?" Law asked again.

            "I guess it's best to just start at the beginning," Rayleigh started. He stroked his chin while gathering his thoughts. "Shanks actually met Neo's people quite sometime ago. He was still fairly young himself. During a tough battle with another pirate crew, a wild storm had blown up and just about ripped his ship completely to shreds. Somehow he was able to make it onto the Elementals home island of Luminous. The Elementals were actually shocked to find a human had landed on their island. Apparently it's extremely difficult to find this island because it's protected by magic. Anyway, being the kind people they really are, they nursed Shanks back to health and helped repair his ship. And during that time on the island they all became very good friends. And he became especially close to her parents, who might have been only dating at the time. Shanks would go visit them whenever he could and eventually he put them and their island under his protection despite it being an extremely hard island to fine and practically no one knows it exists. Then, one day after having an extremely bad feeling about them, Shanks took his crew and returned to the island to find a terrible battle going on. I'm not completely clear on all the details, but for some reason, some of the Elementals were trying to kill Neo who was still inside of her mother's womb at the time."

            The entire crew gasped.

            "Captain, I don't like this." Neo's voice, and body, trembled as she sunk back into Law's arms for comfort from the intense shock Rayleigh's story was providing.

            Law dropped the straw hat at that point. He placed his hat free hand on her head and stroked her hair to soothe her while keeping his right arm firmly around her. He knew this story was starting to upset and confuse her, but they had to know more about her. He whispered softly, and comfortingly, to her, "Shh. It's okay. I'm right here."

            Rayleigh paused to take in Neo before continuing. "Shanks, his crew and some still friendly Elementals helped her parents board Shanks' ship in an attempt to escape, but the attacking Elementals followed after them. There's not much defense against creatures that have nature bending to their will. Well, during all the confusion, Neo ended up being born on Shanks' ship. Knowing they probably wouldn't survive, Neo's parents asked Shanks to be her godfather and take care of her and her brother if something did happen to them."

            "Brother? Neo has a brother, outside of us?" Shachi interrupted. The entire crew looked at Neo. She looked at them with her eyebrows turned up. It was clear to them all that she didn't know what to make of this story that Rayleigh was telling them.

            "Yes. I believe Shanks said his name was Kailen." Rayleigh nodded. "The Elementals then attacked the ship. At which point, unfortunately, Neo's parents lost their lives. Completely out numbered, Shanks decided that Neo's brother should take Neo and run while they, and the Elementals that were helping them, fought against the attacking Elementals. The plan was to meet up with him and Neo on Sabaody once they shook off the Elementals. But something didn't go right. Shanks never found Neo and her brother. He's been looking for them ever since, as well as just about everyone he trusts."

            "But why were her people trying to kill her?" Penguin asked. He kneeled down beside Law and Neo. He wanted her to feel his presence there. He wanted to help comfort her.

            "That I can't tell ya. All I can say is what I've already told you. He only asked me to keep an eye out for her and her brother. He probably never imagined they would get separated from each other. Or that Neo would end up like this and with a pirate crew." Rayleigh rested his arms against his legs and leaned forward. "Tell me, how exactly did you come to have her in your care?"

            "Hn." Law gritted his teeth. He heavily debated on whether or not he should actually tell the man about Neo's past. After a few minutes of debating, he decided to tell. He felt it was the right thing to do.

            "I see." Rayleigh closed his eyes then crossed his arms and legs when Law finished telling Neo's story. "Such unfortunate turn of events for the little princess."

            "What's that supposed to mean?" Archer asked. "You're not going to take her away from us are you?!"

            "Well, I was supposed to take them both into my care until I could return them to Shanks if I ever found them." Rayleigh smirked at them.

            "Uh! No!" Neo all but slammed her body into Law's at that point. Her heart pounded in her chest as her blood frosted over.

            "No! We won't let you!" the crew started shouting.

            "You'll be in for a fight if you try it! We don't care that you are The Dark King! We won't let you have her!" Bepo growled while baring his fangs.

            "Captain!" Neo pulled her legs up to her chest and turned to her right side. Her breaths became short and raspy as she grabbed onto the front of Law's hoodie. Her intense fear was radiating from her small body. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

            It made Law's chest tighten to the point he felt like he couldn't breath. He felt like he was feeling her fear himself.

            "Please, don't let him take me! I don't want to go with him! I don't want to be taken away!" Neo said.

            " _Enough!_ All of you stop _right_ _now_. You're upsetting her," Law ordered with a thick hiss. He lightly clenched Neo's hair in his left hand while rubbing soothing circles on her back with his other hand. He lowered his chin so his nose was touching her hair and filled with her scent. His voice lowered back down for her sake as she pressed her forehead to the base of his neck. He could feel her desire to get away from this old man and his story. His eyes took on sharp, possessive, raging storm filled look that would have sent wild beasts running away in fear. "Neo _is_ staying _right here_. You _will_ _not_ be taking her away from m-from us."

            "Hm…I see. She has come to mean a lot to you all." Rayleigh chuckled, unfazed by Law's fury and possessiveness over Neo. He then looked directly into the young surgeon's eyes. " _You_ , in particular, obviously have very strong and deep feelings for her."

            Law's expression lightly up a bit with how easily this old man could read him. His lips curled down into a frown. He didn’t like how easily he could be read.

            Rayleigh chuckled again. "Don't worry. I won't be taking her away from you. I don't believe that's necessary considering Shanks already knows she's with you all."

            _"_ What?! He already knows?!" the crew shrieked. _"_ How is that possible?! _"_

            "You all were at the Battle of Marineford at the same time, right?" Rayleigh asked.

            "But how would he know she was even there?" Penguin questioned. "The captain ordered her to stay in the sub! She never left it!"

            "Because Neo bonded with Shanks when she was born. Plus, Shanks and his crew gained the ability to sense Elementals from the time they've spent with them on their island," Rayleigh explained.

            "Bonded?" Jean Bart asked. "What do you mean by that?"

            "Beats me. She's a magical creature. And there are never complete answers to everything in this world. All I know about the bond is, Neo began to glow a bright white light and engulfed Shanks in it shortly after she was born," Rayleigh said.

            "That must be why Neo started to glow when she looked at Red Hair's wanted poster," Bepo said. He looked at Law who was still possessively holding onto Neo. "Captain, is that the same glow you mentioned before? When Neo showed you what happened to her?"

            Law could only nod. His mind was reeling with all this new information. The crew exchanged looks.

            Conner then said, "That must have been why she was glowing back at Marineford too. She kept saying that someone was coming. It must have been Red Hair Shanks that she sensed then. Right, Penguin?"

            "That must have been why." Penguin nodded. He then asked, "Does this mean Neo is bonded with the captain too? What does this bond do exactly?"

            "As I've already said before, I don't know everything about her or her people. I believe those answers will reveal themselves to you all in time. But you are correct in your assumptions. She can sense Shanks just like he can sense her. That straw hat there use to belong to Shanks." Rayleigh pointed to the straw hat in Law's hand. Law's eyes widened slightly. "Judging from your expression, Trafalgar, I assume she has felt something familiar about that hat too. If she did engulf you in that glow then you are definitely bonded with her on a fairly deep level. It'll be up to you two to figure what exactly your bond entails. For now, just be aware that Shanks will now be keeping a _very close_ eye on you all and your adventures. So be sure to take _very good_ care of her. I'm sure you don't want a furious _Emperor_ breathing down your necks. And be aware that while they won't know why, others _will_ be able to sense that she's different from us humans, especially if they are strong themselves or have Haki."

            "The mercenaries!" Archer then shouted. "Is it possible that Neo's people were the ones to hire them?!"

            "Mercenaries?" Rayleigh blinked questioningly at them.

            "Mercenaries attacked and took Neo from us a few months ago," Law explained. "They said they were hired by someone to go after her. We never figured out who hired them."

            Rayleigh rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, then it is possible that it was her people. I doubt that they have any reason or proof to believe she's been dead all these years."

            "This is just too insane," Shachi said. His knees gave out on him and he dropped to the ground.

            When no one else said anything, Rayleigh spoke up. "Well, if there's nothing else left to discuss, I really should get to Luffy. There are some things I need to discuss with him. Is there anything I need to know about his current medical condition?"

            "He just needs to rest for two more weeks," Law replied. "Then he can do whatever he wishes."

            "Very well. I'll be sure he rests like he's supposed to," Rayleigh said. "What about you all? What are you going to do now?"

            "We'll be leaving. We have no other reason to remain here on this island," Law said. He tossed his crew a glance. "Prepare to set sail."

            "Aye aye, Captain!" the crew chirped. They all then moved away from their captain and Neo.

            Penguin paused momentarily to look at Neo then over at Rayleigh. "How long ago was it when Neo was born on Red Hair's ship?"

            The crew paused. All of them were curious to how old Neo was.

            Law swallowed in anticipation before Rayleigh answered. His heart skittered uncontrollably in his chest. Her age was going to be a huge factor in how their relationship would move.

            "I can't say for sure, but it's somewhere are eighteen to twenty years, maybe even less,” Rayleigh said.

            Law released a low sigh of relief at the same time Penguin started talking again. "Eighteen to twenty years or less? And she's been with us for almost a year now. So she was around nineteen, maybe even eighteen or so when you found her, Captain."

            Law nodded. He glanced down at her. She was still firmly tucking herself into him. He was relieved they now had a close guess on how old she was. She wasn't no kid after all, in years anyway. Their relationship could grow into something romantic now.

            "We're leaving?" Neo lifted her head up from Law's chest to look at him again. He looked down at her and nodded. "I won't be able to say goodbye to Margaret and the others."

            "I'm sorry. You can write them a quick letter if you want. It'll take a little time to prepare everything before we set sail," Law said. His voice was back to his normal, everyday tone.

            Rayleigh sat quietly while taking the young captain and young girl in.

            "Okay," Neo said, but she didn't move away from Law.

            "It's okay, Neo. He's not going to take you away," Law said encouragingly, but shot a quick pointed glare at Rayleigh before returning his eyes to hers. "I'll be right here. Go ahead and go write your letter."

            "Okay," Neo said softly. Slowly, she started to move away from Law. She walked over to the rope ladder. She paused to look back at Law before finally climbing down it. Once below the cliff's edge, she summoned her wind crystals and flew over to the sub.

            "She's such a delicate flower. I'm sorry that my story of where she's from upset her. But she seems to be growing up into a beautiful young woman despite her hardships. You have done well for her, Trafalgar. And she seems to have done you some good as well." Rayleigh sent Law a knowing smirk. Law shot him another glare. "Don't worry. You can trust me with her secrets. I have been keeping them all these years after all. And I won't tell anyone of your feelings for her. Although you know you're not going to be able to keep that a secret for long, but I suspect you have your reasons for keep a lid on that for now, most likely for her sake. Just be aware that, if she stays with you, she _will_ be labeled a pirate at some point in time and a bounty _will_ be placed on her head."

            "I'm well aware of that." Law frowned. "And I already have a plan that will handle that situation when it arises."

            "Oh?" Rayleigh raised an eyebrow at Law. "Well, I hope it's a good plan that will keep her protected. Shanks won't be pleased if you end up getting his goddaughter hurt or killed."

            "That _won't_ happen," Law hissed. His glare returned to his eyes.

            "Relax, young man. I believe you. I also believe she is going to become a very powerful ally for you in the future once she understands everything about her heritage and becomes more comfortable in her abilities."

            Law raised his eyebrow at a strange look Rayleigh suddenly got in his eyes. It was a look of secrecy. He frowned when the strong feeling Rayleigh hadn't told him everything he knows about Neo washed over him. "What haven't you told me?"

            "Just keep doing what you have been doing for her. And remember that the past never stays buried. It will always come back to us when we least expect it. But I believe that everything will work out just fine for the both of you," Rayleigh said.

            Law was about to question the man farther when a light breeze alerted the two men to Neo's return. He instantly calmed back down when she landed on the cliff with a folded up piece of paper in her hand.

            Neo flinched when Rayleigh looked at her. After twisting her toes into the grass, she cautiously walked towards Rayleigh. The old man sat patiently for her to speak while Law eyed him for any slight sign of possible danger. Keeping her eyes low, Neo slowly held out the paper to Rayleigh. "W-would you, please, make sure this letter gets to a woman named Margaret? She's a friend of mine."

            "Of course I will, young princess. I'll be glad to deliver your message," Rayleigh said as he reached out and took the paper from her hand.

            Once the paper was out of her grasp, Neo quickly pulled away from the old man and rushed over to Law.

            Law was already on his feet when she got to him. Clenching a hold of his shirt, she pressed into his chest while his right hand landed on her head and his left hand landed on her back.

            "Captain! We're ready to go!" Bepo shouted from the entrance of the sub.

            Law looked over at the sub before looking back at Rayleigh when the old man started to speak again. He said, "There's one more thing…when the Navy and the world begins to take notice of her, it would be best if you all pretend that she has Devil Fruit powers."

            "Why? She'll have to fake being weakened. That would put her in danger when someone uses sea prism stone on her," Law said.

            Neo cautiously looked over her shoulder at Rayleigh.

            "She and her people will be in a lot more danger if the world realizes their not human and connected to nature. You, being a doctor, should know full well how scientists would treat her if they ever find out about her abilities. Many people will be tempted to use her as a _weapon_ ," Rayleigh pointed out. "And you remember what they did to the mermaid at the auction house back on Sabaody, right?"

            Law's heart slammed hard against his chest. He cursed under his breath and tightened his hold on her.

            Neo looked up at him when she sensed his calm exterior change. "Captain?"

            "I will do everything in my power to protect her. I _won'_ t let her be an experiment, a slave or a tool for anyone." After a few intense seconds of eye contact, Law pulled his eyes away from the old man. He sighed heavily while stroked Neo's hair before looking down at her. "I'm fine, Neo. Let's go now."

            Neo nodded and the two headed over to the cliff. She summoned her wind crystals and lifted them down to the deck of the sub. Penguin was waiting for them when they got there. The three then entered into the sub. Law paused momentarily to look back at Rayleigh. The old man was on his feet and watching them aboard their ship. Law narrowed his eyebrow. _I wonder what he's keeping from me._

            Law then entered into the sub and closed the door behind him.

…

            Rayleigh stood up from the rock he was sitting on. He walked over to the edge of the cliff. He looked down to watch the rookie crew enter into their sub. He smirked when Law turned back around and looked back in his direction. "Don't worry, young surgeon. I've told you everything you need to know right now. Something’s are just best left to reveal themselves in their own time. But I do have to wonder, what _exactly_ Shanks will think about all this. What will his move be concerning Neo? Will he let you keep her? Or will be come for her at some point?"

            Rayleigh chuckled. "Whatever happens, things are really starting to get interesting from this point on. I can’t wait to see how things develop."

…

            Law guided Neo through the sub by her hand. His eyes glided over his crew as they went. They were peppered throughout the sub, carrying on whispered conversations with each other about what they had just learned about Neo. They paused to look at the passing couple before turning back to each other. He could tell by the expressions on their faces they wanted to talk with him and her about what all Rayleigh had told them, but they remained quietly respectful to the fact that Neo was going to need time to process everything they just learned about her. Law led Neo down into the control room. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap. Clenching a hold of his shirt, she curled into him. "Captain, I don't know…"

            "Shh," Law hushed her. "It's okay. We don't have to talk about this right now. It's a lot to take in even for me. You just relax right now. We can talk later about it."

            "Okay." Neo nodded. She snuggled into his chest, causing a storm of butterflies to flitter around in his stomach.

            He wrapped his arms around her and forced himself not to think about Rayleigh's words. Law relaxed and allowed himself to become content in their surroundings of each other. Their only other company was the beeping and flashing lights of the controls.

            But the blissful peace was soon broke a short few minutes later when Penguin and Shachi poked their heads into the room. Penguin smiled when Neo looked at him. He said, "Hey, sweetie. How you feeling?"

            "I'm okay," She replied. She sat up, her eyes automatically going to Law's. "Confused, but okay."

            "Yeah." Shachi nodded. "That was pretty shocking to us too. I can only imagine how it's making you feel. Never would I have guessed you were connected to an Emperor."

            "Was there something you two wanted?" Law asked, disappointed his alone time with Neo got interrupted.

            "Not really," Penguin said. He reached out and ruffled her hair, earning a bell-chiming giggle. "We just wanted to check on our favorite girl."

            "I'm okay. Really." Neo smiled.

            "So, what do you think the Dark King wants with Straw Hat?" Shachi asked, changing the subject.

            "I've wondered that too," Law said. He placed his hands behind his head with a smirk. "Monkey _D._ Luffy. I wonder what kind of storm the D is going to blow up this time."

            "Huh?" Neo looked at Law and blinked.

            "I'm just bummed we didn't get to peak inside the village of women," Shachi sighed.

            "Yeah." Penguin nodded in agreement. He then got a mischievous look in his hidden eyes. "But at least we get to see Neo in their native clothing."

            Law flinched, and blushed, at his subordinates’ words as his hat fell over his eyes. " _Ahem_. Speaking of which…Neo?"

            "Yes?" She turned her eyes back to him when he beckoned her.

            "You are _only_ permitted to wear your Amazon outfits _on the sub_. When off the sub you must wear your regular clothes," Law ordered.

            "Oh, um, okay, Captain." Neo nodded lightly. "Is there a reason why?"

            Law flinched again. "Well, uh-"

            "It's because you are just extremely cute in these particular outfits!" Shachi chirped, pointing to the fuchsia color bikini style outfit she was still wearing. He grabbed Neo's wrist and pulled her off the captain's lap, much to Law's disappointment and disapproval. Shachi hugged her and rubbed his cheek against hers. "We, _especially the captain_ , just don't want anyone else taking an interest in _our_ little cutie!"

            "Oh, I think I get it. Is just like with my crystals back on Sabaody," Neo said with a giggle due to Shachi's actions. "You need to shave. You have stubble. It tickles."

            "Something like that." Penguin nodded with a huge grin.

            "Then I won't wear them off the sub." Neo gave Law an innocent grin that made his blush darken two shades. "I'm yours, no one else's."

            Shachi and Penguin snort laughed at her words then quickly covered up their mouths at the harsh glare Law gave them. Law was about to order them out of the room when he noticed Bepo poking his head into the room with an 'I'm up to something' look on his fuzzy face. Neo sensed the bear. She turned to look at him and found he had already moved up behind her. He then swooped her up into his arms and dashed out of the room.

            "Hey! Bring her back here!" Shachi and Penguin shouted.

            "No way! I'm saving you two for Neo's sake!" Bepo called back.

            "What does that even mean?!" Shachi and Penguin demanded.

            "You two keep pushing things too far!" Bepo said. " _Neither_ of them are ready yet!"

            "Fine! We'll back off! Now give her back to us!" they yelled.

            "Not gonna happen! She's mine for now!" Bepo replied.

            Law sighed at the antics of his crew when he heard several crashes and bangs followed by more yelling from other crewmembers that had clearly joined the chase. He was about to order them all to give her back, but stopped when they passed by the door. Neo was laughing and enjoying herself. He didn't want to take that away from her, especially with what they had just learned about her. So he propped his feet up on the console and listened to the ruckus his crew was causing with Bepo's little game of 'Keep Neo Away From the Rest of the Crew'.

            Law tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling. "Dark King Silvers Rayleigh and Red Haired Shanks, huh? I wonder what other surprises my little girl's origins has in store for us."

…

            Meanwhile, somewhere in the New World, Shanks was standing out on a cliff that over looked his ship and the sea. The air was filled with the smells of salt, native flowers, palm trees, and booze. He had a smile on his lips and a wanted poster in his hand.

            Benn walked over to his captain and addressed him. The man's cigar smoke mixed into the salty air. "Captain, what are you doing all the way out here? The party's back there with the crew."

            "Just needed some air," Shanks replied the wind lightly teasing his red tresses as it blew.

            "Air? Since when does our captain need air over booze?" Benn joked. He then noticed a strange, almost tranquil, look on his captain's face that was highly out of place. "Okay…what's with that look? I haven't seen a look like that on your face sinc-Uh! Wait a second! Are you saying that…?"

            "She's alive, Benn!" Shanks turned a wide, cheesy grin to his first mate. "She's alive!"

            "What?! Where is she?!" Benn tossed his gaze around. "I don't sense her!"

            "She's with him," Shanks said. He handed the wanted poster he was holding to Benn while turning back to the ocean.

            "Huh?" Benn blinked as he looked at the wanted poster. "Isn't this one of the up and coming rookies that caused a mess on Sabaody then helped Luffy escape from Marineford?"

            "Trafalgar Law, the Surgeon of Death." Shanks' lips pulled into a smirk.

            "But, how?" Benn asked. "How did you know she was with him?"

            "Because I sensed her back at Marineford," Shanks said casually. "You all probably didn't sense her because you were too focused on the battle. But with my bond to her, it was easy for me to tell she was there. She was on his submarine."

            "What?! You knew she was there and you didn't go after her?!" Benn shouted in disbelief. "Why, Captain?!"

            "Because I believe she's right where she needs to be," Shanks said.

            "What do you mean by that?" Benn asked.

            "If she was on their ship against her will then I would know it. And I would have immediately removed her from their grasp. But she wasn't. I believe she's just fine right where she is…at least for now." Shanks closed his eyes momentarily. A mischievous spark rose in the red haired man's eyes as he turned back to his first mate. "I want to know _everything_ about him and his crew. And I want eyes on him at _all times_. I want to know what kind of man is housing my precious goddaughter."


	33. Value

Value

 

            "Where you going, Bepo?" Neo asked when the bear passed by the rec. room at the same time she was coming out of it.

            "It's such a nice day. A nap is calling my name," Bepo replied with a friendly smile. "I figured I'd take one on the deck while we're surfaced. Would you like to come with me?"

            "I would like that." Neo nodded. She followed after the bear with a light skip in her step.

            They were about to the door when Law suddenly cleared his throat and called for them. "Where are you two going?"

            "Out on the deck," Neo answered as the two turned back to the man. He had his sword resting on his left shoulder and his right hand stuffed in his pocket. She slipped her hands behind her back and laced her fingers together. "Bepo wanted a nap and asked if I wanted to go with him."

            "I'm sorry." Bepo bowed his head when Law looked at him.

            Neo giggled. She reached up and patted his head. "Such a cute bear. There's no reason for you to apologize. Or is there, Captain? We didn't do anything wrong, did we? We're not leaving the sub." Her expression filled with worry.

            Law felt guilty when she turned her blue eyes to him. He didn't mean to give her the impression she had done something wrong. "No, there's no reason for him to apologize. I was just curious as to where you two were going."

            "Oh, okay," Neo said.

            Law was relieved when a smile returned to Neo's lips.

            "Would you like to come with us, Captain?" Bepo then asked.

            Neo looked back up to the bear before looking at Law again.

            Law could easily tell she wanted him to come, but was still to shy and unaware of her feelings to ask him to. He thought about the question for a split second before answering. "Sure. I'm not doing anything right now anyway."

            Neo's eyes lit up at his answer.

            Bepo caught her delight, but being more rational than Shachi and Penguin, he was able to keep his snickers away easily. He did smile though while saying, "Let's go then."

            "Mhmm." Neo nodded. She waited for Law to join her side while Bepo went ahead and opened the door for them. When Law was beside her, they locked eyes with each other before following after their animal companion. By the time the two got out on the deck, Bepo was already on his back snoring. She giggled again. "Silly bear. He falls asleep so easily."

            Law smiled at her enjoyment of the bear's sleeping habits. He then asked, "Was there anything you wanted to do out here?"

            "I guess. I feel like moving." Neo turned to him. "I still feel a bit weird after hearing about where I'm from and what happened. I'm just so, um…"

            "Restless," Law said filling in the word she couldn't find. She nodded. "Then go ahead and do what you wish. It'll help clear your head."

            "Thanks, Captain." Neo and Law shared a smile before she walked away from him.

            He remained in his spot as he watched her lift herself upon the railing of the sub with her winds. He then walked over to Bepo, sat down, and settled in against the sleeping bear while keeping his eyes locked onto Neo.

            Neo bent over and placed her hands on the railing of the sub. She brought her legs up straight above her before spinning around on her hands a few times. She lowered her feet to the rail to complete her delayed handspring. She paused then took of on the railing with an array of handsprings and cartwheels. After completing them, she bent down then shot herself into the air, without using her crystals. She did a few twists and spins while flying through the air before landing back on the rail effortlessly. A smile pulled across her lips. She continued with her little training session, unaware of the heart pounding effect she was having on the ever-watchful captain.

            Law shifted. His hat fell over his eyes as he watched Neo do whatever she felt like on the rail. Disappointment settled into his chest when he realized she wasn't wearing her Amazon outfit anymore. She was wearing her white button up shirt and shorts. The disappointment didn't last long. It vanished when Neo bend her knees to launch herself into the air. Before she did, Law's eyes wondered helplessly over her well-toned legs.

            He forced his eyes to stop focusing so much on her bared skin. Instead, he looked over her acrobatic movements. He quickly noticed she had improved, a lot. She had gotten faster with executing her moves. She had also improved on herself confidence in executing those moves. It seemed their time on Amazon Lily wasn't a waste after all. His heart pounded against his chest again when his mind, without his permission, automatically went back to the outfits Neo had acquired from their time there. He sighed at his inability to control his thoughts and emotions where she was concerned. He felt ridiculously hopeless. He felt…ridiculously in love. And he loved the way she made him feel. He really was hopeless.

            Still he couldn't stop himself from feeling this way. He didn't want to stop himself from feeling this way. He settled back down into watching her movements. He had no idea how long he had been watching Neo's acrobatic dance on the railing of his ship when unwelcome snickers brought him out of the trance she had put him in. His entire crew had gathered around him. He cast another glance at Neo. She was still moving around on the railing so he was unsure if she knew the crew was outside with them now. Disappointed by the interruption, he growl before turning back to them and asked, "What do you all want?"

            Knowing better than to bring more attention to what their captain was doing, they went right to the point of their unexpected visit. Shachi asked, "We wanted to speak to you about what our next move is. We all want to know when we're going to the New World."

            "We're not," Law stated simply. "For a while anyway."

            "What do you mean we're not going to the New World?!" the entire crew questioned.

            Neo paused at that point to look up at them. Finding interest in their question, she stopped what she was doing and sat down on the rail where she could still see Law and he could still see her. She quietly listened to the conversation at hand.

            "Are sure about this, Captain?"

            "We'll be the last ones there!"

            "Of course I'm sure," Law smirked. "There's no point into rushing into a chaotic storm with other pirates doing nothing but killing each other. Let them kill each other off. It'll be better for us if they do. The One Piece is not going anywhere. It'll be right there waiting like always. We'll enter into the New World when the time is right. And that will be a time that suits me."

            Neo dropped her eyes back down to the floor with a low sigh. She couldn't help but wondering if the reason they weren't going to the New World was because of her. Unknown to her, Law looked over at her at that point, easily reading what was on her mind. She then heard him speak again, but didn't look at him.

            "Just shut up and follow me," Law said.

            "All right!" the crew shrieked just as happily and as loyally as ever.

            Neo smiled a bit at their loyalty to the spotted hat man.

            "Aye aye, Captain! I'll follow you anywhere!" Bepo cried out in his sleep.

            "Will you stop sleep talking?!" Shachi and Penguin shouted.

            "I'm sorry."

            "Oh shut up!"

            "If there's nothing else," Law then said, "you all can go."

            "Great! I can't wait until we get there!" a crewmate said while they all headed back inside the sub.

            Penguin paused to look at Neo. She didn't notice, however. Her eyes had dropped back to the ground. Penguin sighed when he saw the doubt in her lowered eyes. But he didn't say anything to her. He knew the captain would speak to her about it. So he followed after his fellow crewmates, leaving his sister in their captain's capable hands.

            Law waited for his crew to completely disappear inside before looking back over at Neo. He watched her for a few minutes before calling to her. "Neo?"

            She looked up at him. He wiggled his finger at her. She immediately obeyed his silent command. She slid off the railing and walked over to him. He removed his sword from his shoulder and laid it down on his right side. He then tapped the floor on his left side. She obediently sat where she was told. She dropped to her knees and sat down on her legs. "Yes, Captain?"

            "I saw that look of doubt in your eyes," Law said. "Talk to me. Tell me why."

            Neo fiddled with her fingers before answering him. "Is it…is it because of me?"

            "Is what because of you?" Law blinked.

            "Are we not going to the New World because of me? Because that man, the Emperor Red Haired Shanks, is my godfather? He's in the New World, right? If we go there he could sense me. He could come for me," Neo said with her head low. Tears started to gather at the corner of her eyes. "I know you are strong, but he's stronger, isn't he? Because he's an Emperor? He could easily take me away from you, couldn't he?"

            "Neo," Law said her name then paused. With a low sigh, he reached over and tilted her chin up. He flinched at the tears in her eyes. "Red Hair being your godfather definitely puts an interesting spin on things, but it's _not_ the reason we're not going to the New World yet. And if he wanted you to be with him then he would have already come for you."

            "Do you really believe that?" Neo looked timidly into his eyes.

            "I do." He smiled and nodded. "You _are_ safe here with me. And _if_ Red Haired Shanks does ever come for you, I won't let him take you. I'll get stronger so I can protect you." Law was relieved when a small smile donned her lips again and her tears vanished before they could fall. Lowering her gaze from his, she shifted uncomfortably while her heart pounded against her chest. He knew her heart was racing when she lifted her fingers to rub against the still unfamiliar beats.

            She soft voice reached his ears again. She said, "I've been thinking."

            "About what?"

            "About some stuff that guy, the Dark King, told us about where I'm from and all," Neo said.

            "What exactly are you thinking about?" Law asked carefully and softly. His mind was spinning with curiosity.

            "About it all actually, but mostly about the bonds he mentioned." She lifted her eyes back to him. "What all do you think I can do, we can do with it? I mean, I think I can connect to memories of Red Haired Shanks and my parents."

            "What do you mean?" Law tilted his head at her words.

            "Remember back on the sub when you were operating on Jinbe?" She continued when Law nodded. "I was holding the straw hat and started to glow? I saw images of people. I think…I think they might have been my parents and Red Haired Shanks."

            Law's eyes widened. He remembered the event, but never pressed her for complete details of what she saw since she wasn't sure and it had upset her.

            "Is it possible that I could have actually remembered them? And remembered Red Haired? Even though I had just been born?" Neo asked.

            Law didn't answer her right away. He wanted to give her a straight, solid answer, but he wasn't sure there was one. "Well, I have heard tales of people having memories from being a baby. Although, I'm not sure that has been proven true or not. I believe it's possible that you really saw them."

            "Do you think I could do it again?" Her question surprised him. He didn't think she would ever want to do something like that again since it made her dizzy, but then they didn't have all their current information on her back at that point in time.

            "There's only one way to know for sure," Law said. He paused to take her in before adding, "Do you want to try it?"

            She hesitated to answer. After a minute, she slowly nodded.

            Law nodded back then said, "Go ahead. Just focus on what you were feeling and thinking when you first did it. Focus on the images that you saw."

            Neo nodded again. She closed her eyes. Law waited patiently as the painfully slow ticking second that passed by. About two or three minutes later, a familiar white glow slowly began to appear. Law continued to wait, for what he wasn't really sure. A light hum passed over his lips when her glow extended to him. He remained quiet. He didn't want to disrupt her concentration as long as she was keeping calm. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared in his eyes. Everything faded away and was replaced with darkness. Then his body came back into focus. In a slightly panic he looked around. "Neo?"

            He calmed down when she appeared beside him. She opened her eyes and looked at him, but didn't say anything. He was going to reach for her, but paused when the sounds of a baby crying filled the empty space. The cries were followed by muffled voices. Slowly the images Neo saw the first time started to come into view. "Captain…"

            "I'm here." Law reached out and placed his hand on her hair. Voices cut Law off before he could say anything else. Panic was clearly present in their tones.

            _"Captain! Their coming!"_

_"Keep firing! We have to escape!"_

_"Shanks, please, take care of her."_

_"We can't take much more of this!"_

_"Please! You’re their godfather! You have to keep them safe!"_

_"I will."_

            Neo gasped. She and Law suddenly were back on the deck of the sub. She panted hard while trying to focus back on reality.

            Law stroked her hair. "It's okay. It's over. You did fine."

            Unable to speak yet, she just nodded a couple times. A few minutes later, she finally calmed down. "I don't want to do that again. You're not going to add that into my training are you?"

            "No, I'm not," Law said. "If I ever do add it, it will only be because you want it there."

            "Thanks, Captain."

            "And speaking of training," Law said. "We're going to start back up soon. I'd like to include Jean Bart in your training now. I've noticed you're talking to him more often. Are you getting use to him being around?"

            "I'm getting there," Neo answered. "I still kinda jump when I see him, but I'll be fine to train with him."

            "That's a good girl." Law chuckled and ruffled her hair.

            "Go on, Captain..." Bepo suddenly chirped in his sleep. "Tell her…"

            "Huh?" Neo leaned forward to peer at the bear around Law's shoulder. When she moved, Law let his hand drop from her hair to her hip. "What did he say?"

            "N-nothing," Law slightly stuttered. "He's just talking in his sleep. He does that often. You know that."

            "Yummy fish," Bepo muttered while making 'yum yum' noises. "Tasty."

            A light smile formed on her lips. She giggled.

            Law let his hat fall over his eyes. The corner of his lips twitched at the sight of her smile and the sound of her bells. He let his eyes drop to his lap. He noticed that, at some point, Neo had rested her arms on his leg to stabilize herself as she watched Bepo sleep. She was completely unaware of it.

            "Hn." Neo suddenly winced.

            "What's wrong?" Law asked.

            "My back hurts," she replied.

            "Again?" Law pulled his hand from her hip. "Let me take a look. Turn around here."

            Neo turned her back to him.

            He lifted up her shirt and unhooked her bra strap. Like the first time, he saw nothing. He rolled his own shoulders when a light pinch formed between his shoulder blades. Once the pinch was gone, he rubbed his fingers over her skin to make sure nothing was there. She tensed at his touch, but didn't pull away. "Hmm…"

            "What is it, Captain?" Neo asked when he hummed in thought.

            "I don't see anything." When he concluded nothing was there, he hooked the strap back into place and lowered her shirt. He tapped his finger on his knee while she turned back to him. "I don't like that this happened a second time. If it happens again, I'm going to run some tests on you." Alarm flashed through her eyes. Law put his hand behind her head and pulled her to his chest. "Don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing. I'll _only_ do the tests if it happens again. I promise it won't hurt. I'll take care of you. Okay?"

            She clenched his shirt with a light nod. Silence fell between then for a while before Law spoke up again. "Also, I don't want you off the ship without me by your side from now on."

            "Hm?" Neo tilted her head so she could look at him. He looked down at her with a soft caring look in his eyes that she didn't understand. He smiled lightly at her confusion while tucking her hair behind her ear.

"I want to make sure you are protected. I'm the strongest of our crew. If these Elementals do attack, I'll be the one to most likely be able to handle them," Law explained.

            "Okay, Captain," Neo said.

            Law lightly nodded.

            She then laid her head back down on his chest with a content sigh.

…

            Neo paused to catch her breath for a split second before Jean Bart charged at her. He had his fist pulled back in preparation to hit her. She held her ground until the right moment before launching herself into the air with her winds. Jean Bart's punch hit the ground. It sent several rocks and dirt chunks flying. She summoned her earth crystals and used them to throw the rocks and dirt at the man. She avoided his face. She didn't like going for the cheep shots even if this was just a friendly training session.

            He easily blocked the barrage then started to charge at her again. He paused when he couldn't find her. He blinked several times before she finally appeared a few feet in front of him. He raised his arm, causing her to plant her feet there. He started to tilt over, but he managed to keep his footing. She gritted her teeth and pushed away from him. She did a back flip before landing on her boots.

            Jean Bart smiled. "Not bad at all, kid. All most had me that time."

            Penguin clenched his fists and squealed nervously, yet excitedly, over the fact that she almost took Jean Bart down. "So close! Come on, Neo! You can do it!"

            Law held his traditional smirk while watching his favorite charge train. He was leaning against a log while Penguin was sitting on it beside him. The rest of the crew was scattered around on their current island. Occasionally, the others would come back to check on Neo's training before going back to their own training, fishing, napping, or whatever they decided to do. For the past four days, Neo's orders for training were to knock Jean Bart over. Once this had been completed, Law was going to have the crew join in to create obstacles to keep her from knocking the large man over again.

            Neo panted. She brushed the back of her arm over her chin before charging in for another attack. Jean Bart stood ready for her. Once she was close enough, she dashed to her left.

            He caught her fake though. "Going to the right, huh?" He moved his defensive posture to his right. He was ready to block her again, but got a surprise when she disappeared then reappeared in front of him. "What the…?"

            "Huh?!" Penguin gasped. "She disappeared!"

            "Gotcha!" Neo smiled when she reappeared and slammed her feet onto his chest. With all of her wind crystals behind her, she pushed the man over. She remained standing on his chest, even after he landed on the ground. After she was sure he was down, she jumped off him a little worried she might have hurt him. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

            Jean Bart grunted. He propped up on his elbows and smiled at her. "Of course I'm okay. I was just surprised. You moved so fast that I didn't even see you. But you finally did it. Congrats, kid."

            "Thanks." She dropped to the ground herself. She was panting hard from her training.

            "Neo! You did it!" Penguin chuckled. He kneeled down to check on her and gave her some water he had waiting for her. "Are you all right? Have some water."

            "Yeah, I'm okay" Neo said through her pants. She took the water from him and took a drink. "Thanks."

            "That was incredible. You completely disappeared. I couldn't follow your movements at all." Penguin smiled.

            Neo looked at him while contemplating his words. She asked, "Was I really moving that fast?"

            "It appears you have gotten faster," Law then said. Neo looked up at him. "Considering you have control over the wind it's to be expected that you could move just as fast as it can. Well done, Neo. You've completed this part of your training. We'll pick up it up again the day after tomorrow."

            "Oh, um, okay." Neo blinked.

            "Is there something wrong?" Law asked.

            "No, I was just…I thought I was going to be a sniper. How does this help me with that?" she asked.

            "You will specialize in being a sniper. But I still want you to be able to handle yourself in close range combat," Law explained.

            "Ooh." Neo nodded then smiled. "Okay. I get it now."

…

            Neo shifted before sitting up with a yawn and stretched out her arms. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

            "Good morning, sleepy head." Shachi greeted her. She looked to find the man was squatting down, extremely close, beside her with his elbows on his knees and his chin resting in the palm of his hands.

            "Ah!" Neo, startled by the man, jumped and grabbed onto something familiarly solid beside her. "Shachi! Why are you sitting there like that? You startled me."

            "I'm sorry." Shachi laughed. "I didn't mean too. It's just…you were sleeping for so long and you just looked so cute. _Right, Captain_?"

            Neo turned to finally take notice of who she was holding on to. She blinked in slight confusion then examined their close proximity and at the fact that her pillow was on his other side.

            Law smirked at her confusion. He had removed her pillow and laid her head on his lap at some point while she was still asleep.

            "I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't mean to grab you like that," Neo said.

            "It's fine," Law replied nonchalantly.

            "I over slept?" Neo questioned when Shachi's words filtered back into her mind. She let her hands slip from Law, much to his disappointment, and then looked up at the sun's position. She had over slept. From the sun's spot in the sky, it was almost ten thirty. "Why didn't you wake me?"

            "Captain order us not to," Bepo replied.

            "Huh?" Neo glanced over the few crewmates who were around their camp then looked at Law.

            The captain just shrugged. "You've been training hard the past few days. And you know rest is just as important as your training is. If you push too hard in your training, you'll end up getting injured. And I _do not_ want that happening. Understand?"

            "Yes, Captain, I understand." Neo nodded.

…

            "Hey Neo, we're thinking about exploring the island some. Do you want to come with us?" Penguin said. He, Neo, Shachi and Bepo were cleaning up the dishes from lunch.

            "I would like to, but the captain doesn't want me out of his sight," Neo replied while she wiped off a wet plate with her towel.

            "Those are his orders, but he could come with us." Bepo smiled. Neo turned her eyes to him so she didn't see the double thumbs up Penguin and Shachi gave to the bear from behind her. "You should ask him to join us."

            "I didn't think he does stuff like that," Neo said, glancing at the captain.

            Law was leaning against the log like always with his hat over his eyes and his arms crossed over his chest. His sword was currently on the ground beside him instead of leaning on one of his shoulders.

            Neo tilted her head and examined the shirt he was wearing. It was a short sleeve dark blue one. She was use to seeing him in his hoodie. But it had been warmer than usual lately.

            "He'll do it if you're the one who asks him to come with us," Shachi responded.

            "You think so?" Neo questioned.

            The three looked past Neo's shoulder to glance at Law then looked back at her.

            "Of course he will! Go ask him!" All three of the men nodded fiercely and cheered. They gave Neo a push towards their captain. She stumbled a bit, but never lost her footing. She tossed them a questioning look. They gave her cheesy grins and thumps up. "Go for it!"

            Neo could only shrug. She then walked over to Law. When he sensed her standing there, he raised his eyes to hers. She moved her hands behind her back and, bending her knee, tapped the tip of her toes on the ground before speaking. "Uh, Penguin, Shachi and Bepo want to go explore the island. They want me to come with them. I know I'm not supposed to leave your sight, but they said you'd come with us if I asked."

            Law pulled his eyes over to his three meddling subordinates. They waved guiltily at him. He released a puff of air from his nose before looking back at her.

            "If you don't want me to go, it's okay. I can stay in camp with you," Neo said.

            "It's fine. We can go with them," Law answered while he stood up.

            "Really?" Neo looked at him. He gave her a half smile at the joy she had in her eyes.

            "So, do we have you two added into our little entourage?" Shachi asked as he walked over to them with Penguin and Bepo following.

            "Entourage?" Neo questioned.

            "A group of people surrounding or attending an important person," Law explained.

            "Oh." Neo nodded.

            "Let's be off then," Penguin suggested. The group, but for Law, nodded. They turned away from their camp and started their little voyage over the island.

            "Wow," Shachi exclaimed a couple hours into their exploration. He ducked under a low hanging branch. "This island is a lot bigger than it looks. I hope we don't get lost in this jungle."

            "We don't get lost with Neo with us," Penguin said. He shot Neo a confident smile. She smiled back, feeling a bit awkward at the praise. "She can always fly into the sky to find our direction."

            "Hm?" Neo hummed as her smile faded. She looked carefully around her environment. A few birds flew by her, checking her out before moving on. The leaves shifted in the wind, a few falling off and disappearing being another tree.

            "What is it, Neo?" Law asked. The other three stopped walking and looked at her. "Do you sense something?"

            "Yeah, I do." Neo nodded. "But I'm not sure what exactly nature is trying t-"

            Suddenly the ground underneath them crumbled. They all cried out in surprised when they started to fall.

            Neo, unable to react quick enough, found herself being pressed into the familiar chest of her captain. She closed her eyes and clenched a hold of his shirt.

            Before Law could form a Room, his back slammed against something that was surprisingly soft.

            Neo remained stiff against his chest as she clung to her. He tried to examine her, but their only light was from the hole they fell through. It was too high to provide him enough light to check for injuries. He caressed her hair. "Neo? Are you injured?"

            Neo pulled away from him slightly, but didn't answer.

            "Light up a fire crystal," Law said.

            "R-right." Neo nodded. She summoned a fire crystal and did as she was told. At that time, her eyes met with Law's worried ones.

            He scanned his eyes over her face. She was upset, but not crying. He opened his mouth to question her again, but she spoke before he could.

            "I'm sorry. Y-you had to save me again. I should have sensed that the ground was going to crumbled," Neo apologized with a sigh.

            Law lightly chuckled. "There's no need for you to apologize. That wasn't your fault. You really shouldn't put so much pressure on yourself when something happens like this. You're still learning after all."

            "But you and the crew could have gotten seriously hurt!" Neo said.

            "But that didn't happen, did it?" Law pointed out. "We actually landed on something rather soft."

            "Huh?" Neo looked down. She placed a hand on the ground beside Law. She pushed down on something soft and damp. The odor of moss, dirt, and water then filled her nose. The moss was very thick so it provided the perfect landing spot.

            "See?"

            Neo brought her eyes back up to Law when he spoke. She felt her face grow warm when her eyes locked onto his. He lifted his hand up. She tensed and her fire crystal flared up when his calloused fingers brushed over her soft cheek. Her fire light up their surroundings more. It revealed their three forgotten friends. Bepo wisely remained quiet, yet blinking curiously at the two on the ground while Shachi and Penguin snickered at the position their captain was in with Neo.

            "You really didn't have to light up the area like that." Shachi chuckled. "I'm sure you two were just fine in the low, _romantic_ lighting."

            "We were absolutely fine being left in the dark," Penguin added.

            Law growled as he rose into a sitting position, lifting Neo with him.

            Neo was too glad to see her friends that she didn't register their words or the fact they made Law growl. She smiled and unknowingly snuggled into Law's chest, making his heart race rapidly. "You're all right!"

            "Was there any real doubt?" Penguin grinned. He placed his hands on his hips before looking around their surroundings. He couldn't see much though. Even though Neo gave them more light, it only revealed a few more feet of their current location. "We had just as soft of a landing as you two did."

            "Where do you think we are?" Bepo asked. He too started to look around.

            "Neo, can you give us more light?" Law asked.

            "Sure." Neo summoned more fire crystals. Spreading them out over their heads, she lit the lit the crystals on fire. The light washed over the ground and up walls of a cave. Small creatures hidden in the darkness scurried away from the intruding light. "Where are we?"

            "It looks like we're in some underground cave," Penguin answered.

            "There seems to be a path over here." Shachi pointed to an area where he had walked.

            After standing, Law held out his hand to Neo. She took it and allowed him to help her stand up. He then grabbed his sword that he had discarded when he checked on Neo. Keeping her hand in his, Law led her over to Shachi. Once united with him, they all began to move down the path he had discovered. Their feet sunk into the moss with each step they took.

            "You okay?" Law asked when he felt her shudder. The other three looked at her, but didn't say anything.

            "Yes, Captain, I'm fine," she replied. "I can sense some creatures nearby. They keep watching us. They don't like that we interrupted their darkness. They want the light gone."

            "They're not going to hurt you, right?" Law released her hand so he could put his arm around her and pulled her to his side. Her hand automatically grabbed onto his shirt. "We're leaving now."

            "I know." Neo nodded. She faced forward again and tried to tune the creatures’ unhappy chatters out of her ears. She wasn't sure how long they had walked, but the path suddenly led them to a circular cave. Her fire spread over the room and bounced back at them. Without being asked, she added more fire crystals.

            Penguin and Shachi gasped when the light revealed the reason Neo's fire reflected back at them. The cave they had entered was filled with glittering gold and jewels. Vines and dust covered the treasure.

            "Wow! Look at all that treasure!" Shachi and Penguin shrieked. The two then immediately dashed forward and starting picking through their findings. Bepo walked up to a pile of his choice and looked through it at a slower pace. Neo remained standing with Law as he cautiously looked around for possible danger.

            After coming to the conclusion that they really were the only ones here, Law pulled Neo closer to the piles of gold and jewels to inspect their findings himself. She found she missed the warmth of his arm around her when he pulled his arm from her, but didn't think about it much. She turned her eyes to the piles of gold. Slowly she walked among them, kneed her eyebrows.

            Penguin noticed the confused look on her face. "What's up, Neo?"

            "I don't understand," she said.

            "Don't understand what?" Penguin questioned.

            "This stuff is valuable, right?" Neo raised her eyes to him and he nodded. "They why would someone leave it alone like this? Why not take it with them?"

            "Well, ships can only carry so much gold," Penguin explained. "And pirates often accumulate tons of the stuff. If they were taking too much with them, they'd sink. That's why pirates hide their treasure. They can always come back for it later."

            "Then someone will come back for this," Neo said.

            "Probably not," Bepo said. They looked at him. "This stuff hasn't been disturbed in some time. Look at all the dust and vines growing over the piles. Most likely the owners of this were pirates and have been defeated or arrested."

            Neo looked back down at the pile she was standing by. Bepo was right. The treasure was covered in dust and vines clearly showing that it hasn’t been moved in a long while. She had missed that somehow. She reached out and picked up a bracelet from the pile. She brushed the dust off with her fingers to reveal the thick golden bracelet had four rubies embedded in it at opposite points. She carefully placed it back on the pile before asking, "And it's okay for us to just take it?"

            "Of course." Penguin nodded. "We're pirates after all."

            Shachi then suddenly appeared beside Neo with a simple gold band style crown set with gemstones of different colors in his hand. He placed it on her head and chuckled. "So cute! You'd make a lovely princess!"

            Neo blinked. "Uh."

            Shachi then took her hand in his. With a low bow, he waved his free hand in the direction of a near by rock. "Your thrown, milady."

            She allowed him to then guide her to the rock. She sat down with without protest. She folded her hands in her lap and blinked again.

            Penguin joined them at that point. He cooed, "Ah, you make such a cute princess. You sure do have the grace of a princess."

            "Princess?" Neo asked.

            "Daughter of a king and queen who rules over a country," Penguin explained.

            "Oh, right. Those are in some of my books." The crown, being a bit too big for her, slipped and fell over her left eye. She pushed it back up. "I won't know anything about being a princess though."

            "Perhaps not." Shachi shrugged. He then put his arm around Neo's shoulders and lowered his voice. "But you are sure a princess to our captain."

            "What do you mean?" Neo asked.

            "I mean you are valuable to him." Shachi said while Penguin nodded in agreement.

            "Valuable means something important or useful." Neo blinked. She removed the crown from her head and looked at her distorted image in one of the gems. "And I'm valuable to him?"

            "Of course you are! You're his precious little lo-" Shachi and Penguin said at the same time.

            "What are you two doing to her?" Law suddenly asked, cutting them off and causing them all to jump.

            Neo immediately stood up from her rock throne. When she did her right foot sunk through some wet moss. A rock was hidden underneath it. She whimpered in pain when the rock sliced the side of her right foot. The crown fell from her head and landed on the moss.

            "Neo!" Penguin shot his hands out towards her.

            She grabbed onto him to keep herself from falling over.

            Bepo, hearing Penguin's cry, looked over at them. When he smelled her blood, he rushed over to them to make sure she was okay.

            "Sit back down," Law ordered while quickly stepped over to her.

            Penguin guided her back down to the rock.

            Law leaned his sword against his shoulder before carefully picking up her injured foot.

            "I'm okay," Neo replied.

            "This cut is fairly deep," Law reported after brushing as much dirt away from the cut as he could. He laid down his sword and carefully lowered her foot back down. He then lifted the tail of his shirt up to his teeth and ripped a piece off.

            "Y-you don't have to do that," Neo protested softly.

            "No arguing," Law ordered. "I can't properly clean this until we get back to the sub. I need to make sure no more dirt gets into the cut."

            "Y-yes, sir." Neo nodded. She sat obediently quiet after that.

            Law carefully wrapped his makeshift bandage around her foot. When she winced at the pain he gave her an apologetic look. She returned a small smile to him. He then tied off the bandage and stood up. He stepped closer to her. Slipping his right arm around her back, he put his left arm under her knees and lifted her off the rock.

            She opened her mouth to protested being carried, but quickly closed it.

            "Now how do we get out of here?" Penguin asked, looking around. "There has to be a way out of here if the gold got put in here in the first place."

            "I believe the opening is that way." Neo pointed to the far side of the cave. "I can feel the sea. There's very light breeze coming from that way too."

            "Let's go then," Law ordered. "Bepo, grab my sword."

            "Aye aye!" Bepo quickly grabbed the discarded sword before following after everyone. After several minutes of walking down the damp cave, a light began to appear before them. They exited the cave onto a beach about half a mile from where their campsite was posted.

            "Hey, we're not that far from the sub," Bepo noted.

            "Ironic. We never would have known if we didn't go for that walk," Shachi said.

            Law casted his crew a glance from the corner of his eyes before he started walking again towards the sub.

            "Hey, what happened?" Conner asked when the small group returned to the camp. "Neo, are you all right?!"

            "Yes, I'm fine." Neo nodded with a smile. "I just cut my foot on a rock."

            "You all can talk to Bepo, Shachi and Penguin about this. I need to take care of the cut before it becomes infected," Law said, cutting off questions before they could be asked.

            Neo waved to the crew as Law passed by them.

            Once close enough, Law warped him and Neo onto the halls of the sub. He then proceeded in carrying her to the medical bay. He placed her down on the exam table then gathered the necessary items he needed to tend to her wound. She sat obediently while he flushed out any dirt remaining in the cut before applying the antibiotics. She flinched when he applied the stinging medicine to her foot.

            "Sorry," Law said.

            "It's fine," Neo said softly as she waited for him to finish.

            While putting up his supplies he gave her orders on what to do and not do with her injured foot. "Avoid walking on that foot until it's healed. Use your wind crystals to fly. If you have to use your foot, keep on your toes. And no soaking your foot either. It's showers from now on until it's healed. Do you understand me?"

            "Yes, Captain," Neo said.

            Law nodded in satisfaction before pulling her back into his arms. He took her back out on the deck, warped them to the ground, and then walked over to the fire. He sat her down then sat beside her. Bepo was the only one there.

            Neo looked around for the missing crew and asked, "Where did the other's go?"

            "They forced Shachi and Penguin to show them where the gold is," Bepo replied as he sat down by Neo's free side. "I think gold fever hit them."

            "Gold fever?" Neo asked.

            "They got excited about our gold fine," Law explained. "They probably when to get it."

            "Oh."

            "How's your foot feeling, Neo?" Bepo asked.

            "It's still throbbing a little bit, but it's fine." She smiled.

            "I'm glad." Bepo smiled back.


	34. Strange Occurrences

Strange Occurrences

_"Huh? Where am I?" Neo asked. Her voice echoed through the strange purplish colored void that currently surrounded her. There was a faint glow from an unseen source falling down on her from above. It gave her enough light to see, but there wasn't much for her to actually see. The only thing that was around was her, the void, the light and strange black crystals that were rising up out of the ground. "Crystals? Why are they so dark?"_ _She took a few steps and looked around. "Captain? Penguin? Where is everyone?"_

_When no one answered her, she started to get scared. She pressed her hands to her chest. "What's going on? Where am I? I don't like this. I don't want to be alone. Captain!"_

_Neo rushed forward. In desperation, she looked around for Law and the crew. But no matter how much she ran, no matter how far she ran, she couldn't find them. She only found more purplish void and more black crystals. She stopped when her legs started throbbing from all of the running. The black crystals then started to glow. They gave her a bad feeling. Like darkness itself was trying to reach out and grab her._

_She folded her hands back against her chest with a shiver. "I don't like this. I want to go back to the captain. I want to be with the crew again."_

_She gasped and spun around when she felt and heard the roar of an ocean wave. Towering over her was a monster wave that was at least ten times the size of Jean Bart. She shivered at the dark magic that radiated off of it. It started to fall towards her. She summoned her water crystals in an attempt to gain control over it. Nothing happened. She gasped again when she couldn't take control of the wave. Before she could summon her other crystals the wave crashed down on her. It wrapped around her like a giant watery hand. She tried to force it away from her, but nothing happened. She was trapped in water that she couldn't control that swirled with such dark magic. She felt it squeeze her body. Air was forced out of her lungs as she tried to call out for Law. "Captain! Help me!"_

            "Help me…help me…Captain!" Neo called out in her sleep. She twisted and pulled at her blanket.

            Law instantly woke up when he heard her call for him. He quickly got up and moved closer to her. Grabbing her shoulders, he said, "Neo, wake up."

            "Captain!" Neo cried again.

            "I'm here. Wake up now. Neo, wake up," Law called sternly. When it was obvious her dream had too much of a hold on her, he switched to his captain tone. "Neo, I order you to wake up!"

            She gasped in response to the order and woke up. She shot up and, with panicked breaths, she darted her eyes everywhere.

Law cupped her cheek to get her to look at him. "Neo?"

            "Dream." Neo panted. "It wasn't real."

            "That's right." Law nodded while brushed his thumb over her skin. "It wasn't real. It's over now." As he waited for her rapid breaths to slow down, he shifted his position so he could lean against the log. Once comfortable, he pulled Neo into his chest. She clenched a hold of his shirt like she always did when feeling scared or vulnerable. "Was it the same one?"

            "No." Neo shook her head. "It was different. It was really weird."

            "How so?" Law asked.

            "I don't know. I was in some strange place with a bunch of black crystals coming out of the ground. The crew wasn't with me. You all were gone. _You_ were gone." Neo shivered at the memory.

Law tightened his hold on her and stroked her hair soothingly.

She released a relaxing sigh then continued. "The crystals started to glow. Then there was this huge wave. It crashed down on me then wrapped around me like a hand. I couldn't control it at all. I was so scared. I don't know why I couldn't control it. It felt really dark."

            "Dark?" Law questioned.

            Neo tilted her eyes up to his. "I don't know how. It just felt like that. I know water's not dark. It's not evil. But it still felt like that. Why?"

            "It was just a bad dream. They often don't make much sense," Law said. He stroked her hair a few more times before letting his hand rest on her back. "It's over now. The crew is still with you." He nodded towards his sleeping crew.

She turned her eyes to them. Her cries weren't loud enough to wake any of them. She was glad for that. She was also glad that they all were still with her. She turned her eyes back to him. "And you're still with me."

            "Yes, I'm still with you." Law smiled sweetly at her. He then guided her head back down to his chest.

Neo noticed at that point that he smelled like the smoke from their fire. The smoke had clung to his clothes. She liked the way it mixed into his normal scent. He smelled so good. It was soothing.

"Relax now. It's over. You can sleep again," Law said. Sensing she wasn't going to fall asleep as quick as he wanted her too, he started to rub his hand on her back.

She tensed at his touch. After a minute her body relaxed again. Her eyes slowly drifted closed to the rhythmic rubs Law did on her. When he felt her body go completely relaxed, he shifted himself into a better position to hold her. He looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms. His heart fluttered wildly. With a content sigh that she was now sleeping peacefully again, Law allowed himself to close his own eyes.

…

            Later that day Neo stood in front of the crew. With her crystals out she focused on creating an obstacle course with them. With her injured foot, Law didn't want her to do any hand to hand combat at all. Her foot was healing fast like always, much to the captain’s satisfaction. She knew he was worried with all the moss, dirty water and dirt they had trekked through, she might have gotten an infection in the cut. He's checked on the cut often.

So, being under restrictions, her own training today was to basically train the crew. She was only working on her 'moving target practice' while trying to tag the crew with water as they ran through a wild obstacle course of plants, dirt mounts, sand mounts and rocks that Law had shown her through a drawing he did. They had to climb over, dash around, run up, jump across everything all while trying to avoid getting hit by her.

            The entire crew crashed to the ground panting and covered in sweat from their intense training session they just went through. She ran her eyes over them in hopes she didn’t wear them out too much. They were getting use to her as a trainer but she still worried they might over do it and get hurt or sick. But today they looked just fine. Tired but find. She exhaled and allowed herself to relax. The ground and plant life she used lowered back to normal size.

            Conner spoke up between breaths. "That…was…intense."

            "No kidding," Archer said. “I didn’t think we’d survive.”

            "You sure did give us a good workout, Neo," Shachi said between his huffing.

            "Sorry." Neo smiled apologetically. "It's the captain's orders."

            "We know," the crew said simultaneously and in a gloomy way.

Neo laughed.

            "I say we call it a day," Penguin suggested. He looked out at the horizon. The sun was starting to turn reddish gold as it hovered just above the edges of the water. A cool breeze rushed off of the sea onto their skin. "The sun is going to set soon anyway."

            "Good idea."

            "Yeah, I'm hungry. Whose turn is it to cook?"

            "Neo's!" the crew shouted. They all then laughed.

Neo smiled and shifted awkwardly at their praise. They had grown to love her cooking and wanted her to always do it. She loved to cook for them too.

            "Not this time," Penguin said in his big brother tone. He pushed himself to his feet and brushed off the sand that stuck to his suit. "Captain wants her to take it easy on that foot. So no standing around cooking for any of you."

            "We know," the crew said. "We know. We don't want her to over do it either."

            "Sorry, guys," Neo said with her eyebrows turning up. "How about once my foot is healed I make you all some cookies? What kind would you like?"

            "Yeah!" the crew cheered. They then started shout off what kind of cookies they wanted at the same time. All their words got jumbled up to the point Neo couldn't understand what they were saying.

            "You guys are so silly." She giggled.

They laughed again before pulling themselves up off the ground.

            "Silly and sweaty," Bepo complained while wiggling his nose. "You all stink."

            "You stink too!" the crew shouted.

            "I'm sorry." Bepo bowed his head.

            "Will you stop doing that?!" the crew demanded.

            "Oh, leave him alone, guys," Neo said with a little giggled on her lips. She flew over to Bepo and hugged him. "He's a bear. His nose is a lot more sensitive to smells."

            "Yeah, we know," the crew agreed as they headed back for their camp. They were also obedient to her words and wishes even thought she technically had no authority over them. They loved her so much that they were growing to automatically obey her without realizing the transition. She didn't realize she was gaining their respect so much either.

            "Thanks, Neo." Bepo smiled.

            "You're welcome," Neo chirped with an innocent smile.

            "Come on, you two. Let's go," Penguin called.

            "Okay!" Bepo and Neo said. They turned and followed after the man. The rest of the crew was already back over at the fire where Law was waiting like always.

            "Huh?" Neo paused. She turned and looked out at the sea.

            "Neo?" Penguin asked when he noticed she was no longer beside him and Bepo. "What is it?"

            "I don't know," she whispered. A cold wind blew off the sea. She wrapped her arms around herself with a noticeable shiver. "Something's wrong with the sea."

            "Huh?" Penguin turned to look at the water. Nothing seemed out of place. "It looks fine to me."

            "No," Bepo growled. His fur stuck straight up. "She's right. Something's wrong."

            Penguin looked at the bear. When he noticed his furry companion wasn't joking around, he looked towards the fire. "Captain! You better get over here!"

            Law was already on his feet and running over to them. Just as Penguin was turning back around, Bepo shrieked, "What the heck?!"

            "Huh?!" Penguin's eyes about popped out from underneath his hat. A large wave had come out of nowhere. It was towering over them like a giant water monster.

            Neo summoned her water crystals. She gasped when she couldn't take control of the wave. A cold sensation settled into her chest as her mind flashed back to last night. "No…my dream…it can't be."

            "Neo! Move!" Penguin shouted when the wave started to come down on them. He reached out to grab her. Before his hand could touch her, the wave divided and slammed into his body. He felt like someone had swatted him away from her as he went flying through the air.

            "Neo!" Bepo jumped toward her at the same time Penguin reached for her. The wave fell towards him as well. He easily dodged it. But, much to his surprise, the wave turned and followed him. It knocked him away from her. The wave now looked like it had three limbs. Three flowing limbs ready to crash down on Neo.

            Neo was frozen in place. Law panicked when he realized how similar this was to her dream she had told him about. He knew she wasn't going to move without help. He shouted, "Neo! I order you to move!"

Neo snapped out of her catatonic state. She shot up into the air just before the wave limbs crashed down on her. No one was able to breath a sigh of relief as the wave followed her. It snapped up and wrapped around her ankle. The entire crew shouted when the wave jerked her towards the ocean. "Neo!"

            "No!" Penguin bolted back towards the water just as she disappeared beneath the waves. He didn't wait for orders. Once he got back to the water's edge, he immediately dove in. He was quickly followed by several other crewmembers.

            An intense fear wracked Law's body when he reached the edge of the water. For once in his life, he couldn't think straight at all. A sharp pain stabbed through his head. He didn't register it or the fact he ran right into the water. He got about ankle deep in the ocean when, somewhere in the back of his brain screamed at him that he was a devil fruit user. He didn't listen to it. He was still walking out into the water when Bepo's paws landed on his shoulders and he was jerked back onto the beach.

            "Captain! Are you crazy?!" Bepo shrieked even though Law didn't hear him. Law's eyes remained darted all over the surface of the water. His chest tightened with each second the crew didn't resurface with her.

            The crew stayed under as long as they could. But with the salty water stinging their eyes, they weren't able to find her. They popped back up and shouted for her. "Neo!"

            "Where is she?!"

            "She should be back up by now!"

            "Why couldn't she take over the wave?! Why isn't she using her crystals now?!"

            "Wait!" Jean Bart shouted. "Didn't you say that she had to focus to use her crystals?"

            "That's right!" Bepo shrieked. He pumped his fists up and down like it would help the situation. "But we don't have time to discuss it!"

            "I'm just saying that, if she's not back up here now then she's not using her crystals because she can't focus!" Jean Bart said.

            "She must have hit her head or something!" Penguin panicked. "Captain! Do something! Please! She's going to die!"

            Finally snapping out of this own panicked state at the words Penguin said, he raised his hand, but paused. Panic hit him again when he realized she could be farther out into the water than his Room could reach. Suddenly, his eyes landed on the area he somehow knew she was. He ran down the beach about ten yards before finally creating a room. He made it as large as he possible could to ensure she was in it. "Room! Shambles!"

            "Neo!" the crew cried when she appeared on the beach. They all ran over to her and dropped to the ground.

            "She's not breathing!" Shachi, being the first to reach her, shouted. He placed his fingers under her nose.

            Law immediately abandoned his sword. He kneeled down and parted her lips. He then pressed his mouth onto hers and breathed into her. He pulled back to place his hands on her. More panic stabbed his heart with each pump he did on her chest. "Breath! Breath, Neo!" He breathed into her again. He repeated his actions several times. Each time he got no results it sent another wave of panic through him. "Dang it! I said, 'Breath'! Do you hear me?! That's an _order_! I _order_ you to _breath_!"

            Actually obeying his order, she gasped, coughed and spit out some water then coughed some more. She took a couple raspy breaths before finally opening her eyes. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief that she was awake and breathing again. She looked around at them through the slightly blurry vision she now had.

Penguin kneeled beside her and placed his hand on her head. "Neo, are you okay?"

            "Y-yeah," she said with a shaky voice. She raised her right hand. Penguin took it in his and helped her slowly sit up. When she was up, her head began to spin. She slumped into Law's arms. "Captain, my chest and head hurts. What…what happened?"

            "That's what I'd like to know," Law said, releasing a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

            "I'd like to say it was a random, freak act of nature, but that was a bit too freaky to have been a part of nature," Conner said while carefully scanning his eyes out at the sea. The crew exchanged worried looks. They all had the exact same train of thought, but no one spoke. They turned their eyes to their captain. He too had the same train of thought that they did as he slowly ran his eyes over their surroundings.

            "I think…I think I hit my head," Neo said, bringing Law's eyes back to her. "I feel dizzy."

Law, ignoring his own throbbing head, carefully inspected hers. "You might have. There's a small bump here."

            "It's going to rain," Neo said as Law stood up with her in his arms.   

            "Never mind that. Let's get you inside the sub for now," Law spoke softly. "I want to give you a complete check over to make sure you don't have a concussion." Neo could only nod slightly against his chest. Before moving, Law looked at his crew. "You all check and make sure."

            "Right, Captain," Penguin said, already knowing Law would want them to do a perimeter sweep to make sure no one was on the island. His eyes were on Neo. "She needs your focus right now. We'll handle everything else."

            Law nodded then turned to walk away. While walking back to the sub, Law asked her questions about how she was feeling. "How are you feeling?"

            "A little tired. My head and chest still hurt a little too."

            "Do you have blurry vision?"

            "No."

            "Do you feel dizzy?"

            "It's going away."

            Once inside the medical bay, Law gently sat her down. He continued to ask her questions. And she continued to answer them truthfully. While talking, he examined her head. He was grateful to find that there was only just the bump he found earlier. Her skin had not been broken.

            "That's good." Law nodded. He sighed inwardly with relief. "You don't appear to have a concussion. But I still want you to take it easy thought. I don't want you using your crystals for the rest of today, that's an order. Just walk on your toes for now."

            "Yes, Captain." Neo nodded. "Would it be all right if I took a shower now? I think I have sand in my clothes as well as my hair."

            "I think that would be fine," Law replied. He took her back into his arms and pulled her off the table. He carried her to his room. Once inside, he sat her back down on her feet and watched her carefully as she gathered up a clean and dry set of clothes. She made sure to walk on the toes of her right foot as she moved around. When she walked over to the bathroom door, he spoke to her again. "If you start feeling dizzy or light headed at all, get out of the shower _immediately_. I'll be waiting right out here. Call if you need me."

            "I will." Neo smiled lightly at him before entering into his bathroom. She laid down her clean clothes on the sink before removing her wet ones. She draped them over the dirty clothes hamper so they could dry out some then turned on the water. When it warmed up, she stepped inside.

            She sighed contently while the just right temperature water flowed over her body, washing the itchy sand from her skin. She let herself linger for a few minutes before reaching for the shampoo. She winced when she hit the bump on her head. It caused her to move her hands more slowly through her hair. Once her hair was finally all lathered up, she rinsed it out then completed the rest of her shower.

            Stepping out of the shower, she grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her shoulders. She brought the soft fluff up to her nose and found it didn't smell as much like Law anymore. Disappointment settled into her chest, but she wasn't sure why. Shaking it from her mind, she finished drying off and pulled on her clothes. She had picked out a simple black short sleeve shirt and dark grey lounge pants. She dabbed her hair with her towel and stepped out of the small room.

Law greeted her with a light smile from his desk where he was obviously waiting for her. She returned him a smile of her own and walked over to the bed while he questioned her again. "Are you feeling dizzy? Any blurry vision? Nausea? Tiredness?"

            "No, Captain, I'm feeling fine."

He watched her carefully as she sat down and grabbed her brush off his nightstand.

She let her eyes close as she ran the brush through her hair, unaware that Law was watching her every move. She winced when the bristles caught in her hair. "Ouch."

            "What is it?" Law asked.

            "I got a knot in my hair," she reported. "It won't come out."

            Without a word, Law stood up and walked over to her. He sat down on the bed. When he held out his hand for the brush, she paused with a blink but handed it to him. She sat stiff as a board when he started to work out the knot. Eventually, her body relaxed at him being so close. While working at the task at hand, Law glanced at her face. She held a concerned look in her eyes.

"You know better than to keep your thoughts inside like that. You better start talking to me," Law said.

            "Sorry," she whispered. "It's just that…I was scared."

            "I know you were."

            "Captain, was it _them_?"

            "What do you mean?" Law paused his hand for a moment before continuing to work out the knot. He knew exactly who she was talking about. Something inside of him just didn't want to say it out loud. It was like if he didn't say it then it wasn't real. Like keeping quiet about it would mean that no one was out to kill her.

            "The Elementals? They can control the elements like I can. That wave was just like my dream. I couldn't control it. I think it was because of the darkness that was inside of it. Is that possible?"

            "I don't know," he said just as he finally got the knot out of her hair. But he didn't stop brushing her hair. He continued raking the brush through her blue tresses, carefully being mindful of the bump she still had.

            She sighed. "I do nothing but cause problems for you."

            "Don't say that," Law said sternly, but softly. "You're not causing problems."

            "But they're after _me_. Because of me you al-"

            "Stop that right now," Law said more sternly. This time she looked at him. He had his eyebrows narrowed. His features softened at her gaze. He sat her brush down on the bed with a sigh. He then cupped her cheeks. "You listen to me…you are _not_ causing us any problems. Nothing that's happened is your fault. If I didn't want you here then…you are here because _I_ _want_ you to be here. Don't you understand that? I _want_ you here."

            "I'm sorry, Captain. I do. It's just that…I know…you know what I am capable of doing with my crystals. I just don't want to hurt you all. I don't."

            "I know. And you won't."

            "But _they_ will. _They_ will because you are trying to protect me. How can you…how can the crew fight against them? How do you fight against the forces of nature? Humans have always been weak against it, right?"

            Law cringed. He knew she was right. Human beings have never been able to over come nature when it was raging at full force. And these Elementals _were_ nature. He had no clue how they were actually going to over come these creatures. "Neo, I don't care if they are nature. I will find a way to defeat them. We already know that Elementals are not perfect creatures. Remember you can't use your crystals when you can't focus. There's no reason to assume that that only applies to you. I believe that that's their weakness too. And no one has an unlimited supply of energy. The crew is training hard. They will be able to out last the Elementals. We'll try and figure out how to make a powder of our own that will disorient them. And we also have you."

            "But I'm so weak."

            "You've gotten stronger. You don't see it yet, but you have. And you are developing a protective nature over the crew."

            "What?" Neo raised an eyebrow.

            Law smiled at her confusion. "You just don't see this because you haven't been in battle like we have. But think back to when we were at Marineford. When we were trying to escape from Aokiji's ice? _You_ made the choice to try and stop it on your own. _You_ did what you felt you had to do to protect us."

            "I did?" Neo tilted her head as she thought about the memory.

            Law nodded. "You are already protective of us. That will help you grow stronger."

            "I want to. I want to get stronger. I want to protect you, all of you. I don't want to lose my family." Neo's eyebrows turned up in worry, a single tear slip slowly down her left cheek. "I don't want to lose _you_."

            Law smiled again when she had unknowingly emphasized not wanting to lose him. He slowly brushed away her tear causing her to tense. "You won't lose anyone. I'll get stronger as well. I'll protect you and the crew. You won't lose them. And you won't lose me."

            Neo nodded slowly. Her eyes locked onto Law's.

He noticed she was searching for something. He also noticed she had started glowing again. The glow slowly washed over his own body connecting them once more. Even though he wanted to inspect the glow, he didn't move his eyes from hers. Both their hearts were racing.

She swallowed before speaking. "Something's different."

            "Hm?" Law tilted his head in question.

            "Between us. There's something different between us. Something's happening, isn't it?" Neo asked softly.

            Law nodded in response. _She's starting to become aware of the fact my relationship with her is different from the crew. She's starting to become more aware of her feelings._ He released her cheeks to let his hands trail down her arms. He noticed, but didn't break their eye contact, that her skin was cool to the touch. When he got to her hands, he took them in his. "Would you like me to explain?"

            "I don't know. It's…it's scary. I'm scared. But I'm not scared. It's just you. You're not different. You haven't changed." Neo swallowed again. Her breathing became slightly more intense as she looked over his features. "I don't understand. I don't know."

            "It's okay. You're not ready yet." He gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "We don't have to rush anything here. You'll be ready when you're ready."

A couple knocks came on the door causing them both to jump. The glow faded away from them at that point. Neither looked away from the other while Law answered the hidden caller. "Yes?"

"Captain?" Shachi's muffled voice filtered through the metal door. "The crew would like to have a word with you."

            "Okay, I'll be right there," Law replied. He brushed his thumbs over her hands. "I'm going to go see what they want. You're cold. Put on one of my hoodies, okay? I don't want you getting sick."

            "Y-yes, Captain," Neo stuttered.

Law nodded, but didn't pull away from her yet. He stayed for a couple more minutes before finally forcing himself away from her to go see what the crew wanted.

Neo watched him walk across the room, open the door, paused to look at her again before he finally disappeared into the hall. She pushed herself off of his bed as disappointment settled into her chest again. She walked over to his closet and pulled out his dark blue hoodie that she had become accustom to wearing. She didn't want him to leave. She didn't want him to be out of her sight. But she knew he was still there. She knew he wasn't leaving the sub. She could feel him walking down the hall and stepping into the control room. She tugged his hoodie over her head and paused. Realization slowly seeped into her brain. "I can feel him?"

…

            "How is she?" Penguin asked, in his typical worried big brother tone, when Law had finally joined the crew in the control room.

            "She's fine. I don't believe she has a concussion, but I'm going to keep a close eye on her anyway." He leaned against the wall while looking over his crew. They all held relieved expressions she was fine. He could tell by their expressions whatever they wanted to talk about didn't really have anything to do with the strange attack that just happened. They clearly found nothing out of place while looking over the island. If they had, they already would have told him about it. "What is it that you all wanted?"

            "You know, Captain," Archer said. "It's coming upon Neo's one year anniversary with us."

            Law tilted his head lightly and waited for them to continue.

Bepo, who was holding Law's forgotten sword, then spoke up. He said, "We want to throw her a surprise party celebrating her one year anniversary with us and to official welcome her to our crew."

            Law's entire body flinched. To try and hide it he raised his eyebrow at them and crossed his arms.

Shachi snickered at his captain's reaction. "Come on, Captain. We _all know_ she's been an official member of our crew for months now, even though you refuse to come out and just say it."

            The corner of Law's lips dipped down as his eyes widened slightly. Had he really become that easy to read when it came to her? The entire crew snickered at his reaction. They all then composed themselves in a more professional manner. They wanted him to say, 'yes' and not kill them for reading him so easily. He sighed at their silent stares and silent pleas to let them do this for their girl. He rubbed the back of his neck. He knew it was becoming harder to deny to them that she _was_ a part of their crew. With a surrendering sigh, he replied, "Fine. But _do not_ upset her with all your secrecy. Remember, she's never been to a party and doesn't know what one really even is. All the sneaking around you're going to be doing will confuse her. _So take it easy_."

            "Aye aye, Captain!" the crew cheered. They immediately started to chat happily about what they wanted to do as they exited the room. Bepo gave Law his sword back as he left. This left Law and Penguin the only ones who remained in the room.

Law had fallen into a rather deep thought about what just happened, the party, and the attack. He didn't notice one of this subordinates remained until he cleared his throat and started talking.

            "I wonder what I should get Neo," Penguin said thoughtfully. "She loves reading and cooking. So books will always brighten her day. What do you think, Captain?"

            "Whatever, that's fine." Law shrugged in an 'I don't care' way.

            "Ya know…since this is her one year anniversary with us," Penguin continued, "it would be nice for at least one _certain_ _person_ to get her something special. She doesn't have any jewelry."

            "Jewelry?" Law inquired. Penguin had somehow grabbed his attention with the word.

            "A necklace or a bracelet won't really work since we get into fights. They could snag on something." Penguin tapped his chin in thought. "A ring would be more fitting. She might like that."

            Law's eyebrow rose again.

Penguin smiled and started to walk out of the room with his hands collapsed behind his back. "And if I'm not mistaken…the next island we're headed to has a craftsman who makes custom rings."

            Law huffed at what the man was obviously implying. _Why in the world would I want to ever get her one of those?_

            The captain grumbled to himself. He pushed himself off the wall and shoved one hand in his pocket and placed his sword back on his shoulder. He left the control room. He mindlessly wondered around until he found himself at the galley door. He blinked in confusion as to why he had come here. A familiar, yet strange, feeling washed over him. He then realized he come here because she was inside this room.

He stepped closer to the door and peaked inside. Just like he felt, Neo was in the galley. And she was wearing one of his hoodies like he ordered her too. Shachi, Penguin, Bepo, and Jean Bart were also inside. He quietly watched them from the shadows of the hallway.

Penguin, being the protective big brother he was, ushered Neo over to the table and insisted she sit down. "You just sit here. We'll handle supper tonight."

            "You don't have to," Neo timidly protested. "I'm fine."

            "You should still rest," Bepo said.

            "The captain would want you to," Shachi added with a huge grin.

            Neo shifted and lowered her eyes to the table. A small smile played on her lips while a light tint of pink brushed across her cheeks.

Law felt his heartbeat rapidly increase at the sight of her smile. A smile pulled over his own lips as his hat dropped shadows over his eyes. A light blush appeared on his own cheeks as he forced himself to turn from the blue haired girl. Walking away from the room, he rubbed his neck. His mind was constantly going over Penguin's suggestion. "A ring, huh?"

His mind then went over the waiter back at the Sabaody restaurant they ate at. Anger and jealously flooded his chest. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew other men would take notice of her at some point. He knew he couldn’t just keep her all to himself no matter how much he wanted that. But he still wanted to believe that she belonged only to him. He didn’t want any other man to look at her in the ways that he did. She had feelings for him. He knew that. And he knew there was a chance she could develop feelings for another man. The chances of that happening were still very slim since she was still scared of people, but it still could happen. She wasn’t ready for that to happen.

He knew apart of his thoughts and plans wanted to keep her all to himself because of his own feelings for her. However, he also knew he needed to protect her from the advances of other men. Many other men would take advantage of her naivety and try to kiss her. Or worse. They might force her into their bed. That thought lit up another spark of anger. This one was a protective anger. He didn’t want anyone to touch her like that whether or not she returned his feelings. As least until she grew more aware of men’s intentions and how to handle them if she found herself in a situation like that. He was going to have to give this ring idea some very careful thought.


	35. Unforeseen Visit & Conquer

Unforeseen Visit & Conquer

 

            "Captain, is there something wrong with the crew?" Neo inquired as she walked down the sub's halls with Law.

            "Why would you think that?" Law asked. He looked down at his female companion. She wasn't looking at him so he took the time to scan his eyes over her body. She was wearing his hoodie still, the tips of her fingers barely poking through the end of the sleeves. And she was wearing it like it had become a security blanket to her because it had his scent on it. He knew this to be true because he would often catch her holding the fabric up to her nose with a light dreamy expression accompanied by a light blush across her cheeks. He also knew that they had bonded again last night. He just wasn't sure how or why they bonded again. He only knew that they had. He also knew that she was aware of the bonding that occurred, but didn't understand it any better than he did. Neither of them spoke of the bonding as of yet. Both needed time to think about it before questioning it with the other.

            "They've been acting differently these past few days," Neo said, breaking Law's thoughts. They came to the rec. room where four members of the crew were huddled together talking instead of going into town, yet anyway. She didn't know why they chose to stay behind. Ever time they stopped at an island before they all when ashore. Law paused when she paused and looked at them. They jumped when they noticed her. They greeted her with guilty smiles and waves. She waved back to them then turned to Law. "See?"

            "Just ignore them." Law shrugged. "You know their moronic sides have a bad habit of coming out often. Let's get going."

            "I guess you're right." Neo looked once more into the rec. room, the crew was trying not to look so guilty and was failing, before she started walking down the hall again.

Law remained where he was to send his subordinates a warning glare to be more careful with their party planning before following after her.

            Once they were outside on the deck, they were meet by the sound of music, colorful banners, and flags and a large array of different foods floating on the wind. Neo tilted her head. "What's going on? What is all that?"

            "It appears some kind of festival is going on," Law answered while his eyes roamed over the decorations. He was glad he had ordered her to wear her sandals before coming out here. He tapped her arm with his sword to pull her out of the trance the colorful decorations had put her in. Neo obediently followed Law down the ladder to the docks. Once on the dock, Law slipped his left hand, sword free hand, into hers. It felt bit awkward since he was holding more of his hoodie than her hand. But she pulled the sleeve up so her hand fit better in his. She smiled when their eyes met. He couldn't help but smile back at her. Without a word they headed for the town.

            Her hand tremble slightly in his just before they reached the end of the docks. He gave her hand a comforting squeeze while running his eyes over her. She smiled lightly. "I'm okay. Just a little nervous. I'm not scared."

            Law nodded. He ran his eyes over her features one last time before gently guiding her into the town. He kept a close eye on her for any signs of distress. So far she was doing just fine. Her hand did tremble lightly in his, but she wasn't looking at the ground. She was carefully, and curiously, looking around at the food and craft booths that had been set up on the streets. She was still carefully looking around when a balloon suddenly popped. She jumped with a startled squeak and grabbed onto his arm with her free hand. He squeezed her hand again then brushed his thumb over her skin. "It's okay. It was just a balloon."

            "Just a balloon," she parroted with a relaxing sigh. "I'm fine."

            Law nodded then proceeded to escort her around. She kept her hand on his arm but never showed signed of increasing stress. He paused when she tugged on his arm. He looked to find she was pointing to a food booth. She asked, "What's fried pie? I thought you baked pies. I do. Are they something different?"

            "No, they are still pies. The only difference in them and regular pies is that for fried pies you wrap the fillings up in the dough and fry them instead of baking them. They're also smaller than regular pies." Law paused. "Would you like to try one?"

            "Would that be all right?" Neo asked.

            "Of course it will be." Law smiled before leading her over to the vendor.

            The vendor was an old woman. She was wearing a simple fade orange dress with a white apron tided around her waist. Her grey and silver streaked hair was pulled back into a tight bun with a hair net snuggly wrapped around it. She adjusted her glasses and greeted her two new guests. "Good afternoon. What would you like to have today?"

            "A fried pie," Law stated simply.

            "Good choice! They're my specialty! I home grow all of my ingredients in my humble little farm!" the woman said with a smile. "I guarantee you won't find a fried pie better than mine!"

            "Why?" Neo asked suddenly. "Why is yours better than anyone else's?"

            When the woman looked at her, Neo realized she openly spoke to her. Her face flush as she tucked herself into Law's arm.

The woman smiled. "She's a shy one, isn't she?"

            "Yeah," Law replied. He kept his eyes locked onto the girl once again hiding in his arm. He was about to speak to her when she peeked out from his sleeve.

            "Well, young lady, I might have been tooting my own horn a bit," the woman said.

            "Tooting your own horn?" Neo asked, coming more out of Law's arm.

            "I was bragging about my skills," the woman explained. Law inspected the old woman carefully. She seemed to either understand that Neo was less informed than people normally were or she was ignorant to the fact and was just being friendly. He wasn't sure which was the correct answer. "I've been baking for over seventy years. I feel entitled to brag occasionally. But never mind that. What type of pie would you like? I have apple, blueberry, blackberry, pecan and peach."

            "Um, pecan, please," Neo replied softly.

            "Pecan it is. Just one moment and I'll have it right out," the woman said cheerfully. She turn bent over and opened a cooler that was tucked under the table. Neo watched curiously as the woman pulled out a half circle shaped pie. The woman then carefully dropped the pie into a pot that Neo didn't recognize. A short minute later, the woman scooped the pie out of the strange pot and laid it down on a paper place that was covered with a napkin. She then scooped up some cinnamon sugar and shook it over the pie. She let the sugar melt into the crust before waving the pie with a fan. She then handed the pie out towards Neo and Law. "Here ya go!"

            "T-thank you," Neo said while reaching for the plate. She blinked several times in curiosity at the item now in her hand before slowly releasing her hold on Law. She paused when she realized she wasn't sure how she was supposed to eat it. It was smaller than a baked pie but it was still bigger than her hand. "Uh…"

            "Here just break it in half like this," Law said as he broke it in half for her. "The whole thing will be too much for you anyway."

            "Thanks, Captain," Neo said. She then picked up her half. She inspected it before taking a small bite of the treat. Her eyes lit up at the burst of flavors that danced across her tongue. "It's so good."

            "She's so innocent." The woman giggled. Law, feeling slightly alarmed, shot the woman a hard glance. She chuckled at his reaction and winked at him then turned back to Neo. "Would you like a demonstration on how these are made?"

            Neo couldn't stop herself from nodding. She then looked at Law. "Yes, I would. Captain, would that be all right? Please?"

            Law looked down at his female companion. She was once again pleading with him with her beautiful electric blue eyes. The exact same look she gave him when that speared whale rocked the ship. There was no way he was going to be able to say no to her. He didn't want to anyway. This was a rare moment. Neo _wanted_ to interact with a stranger.

            "I promise it won't take long at all. I already have the dough made up." The woman's voice pull Law's eyes away from Neo. The woman was propped up on her elbow, resting her chin in her hand with a knowing smirk on her face that annoyed Law.

Law released a huff of air from his nose. Was he really that easy to read when it came to Neo? He returned his eyes to the blue haired girl. She was still giving him _that look_. He was starting to feel the word 'no' slipping from his vocabulary completely. He sighed inwardly. "It's fine. I'm not in a hurry anyway."

            Neo squealed with delight. She sat the plate down so she could hug him. "Thank you, Captain!"

            "Yeah." Law's cheeks flushed when he heard the old woman snicker. "Just get to it. I might not be in a hurry, but we don't have all day either."

            "Right!" Neo nodded. She picked up her half of the pie and started nibbling on it again.

            "Step over here then and let's get to it," the old woman said as she directed Neo to the side of her booth.

Neo started to move, but stopped to grab a hold of Law's hand. She looked at him. He squeezed her hand in assurance that he wasn't leaving her. He then grabbed the rest of the pie and followed her to the side of the booth. He ate his half while she watched the old woman's demonstration.

            Law patiently chewed on his pie while waiting for the demonstration to end. He popped the last bit of the pie into this mouth. He was just about to swallow it when an all too familiar feeling washed over him. It was blood lust. He swallowed the pie and carefully looked around. Nothing seemed to be out of place. People were still laughing and talking like they didn't have a care in the world. Those who were running booths were busy doing whatever their skill was. There was no signs of a fight had broken out. There was just nothing. Soon the blood lust feeling was gone as well.

            Law carefully scanned his eyes over the area one more time just to be sure nothing or no one was going to be a threat to Neo. He was about to turn back to her when his eyes landed on the ring maker Penguin had mentioned a few days before. The old man was busy working on a ring with a few people watching him with peaked interest. Law felt his heart rate rise at the thought of buying her such a gift. It seemed so intimate.

"And that's how it's done! I hoped you enjoyed this demonstration of how to make fried pies." The baker's cheery voice broke Law's stare at the ring maker.

Neo nodded. "It seems like it won't be a hard thing to do with some practice."

            "You've got it, missy," the woman chirped. She then held out a piece of paper to Neo. "Take this with you."

            "What is it?" Neo asked while taking the paper in her hand. She looked down at it and found it was a dough recipe. "A dough recipe?"

            "It's my secret recipe," the woman said.

            "I can't take it if it's a secret." Neo shot her eyes back to the woman, not realizing she was making eye contact. She held the paper back out to her.

            "I want you to have it." The old woman smiled sweetly at Neo. "I don't have any one that I want to pass this particular recipe on to."

            "But why me?" Neo asked.

            "I just have a feeling you could really use it." The woman's smile grew a little wider. "And it's nice to receive gifts from people occasionally, _right_?"

            Law raised his eyebrow when the old woman looked right at him when she said the word 'right'. He got the distinct feeling she wasn't talking about the recipe at all.

"Oh, well, thank you," Neo said.

            "You are most welcome. You two run along now and enjoy the festival." The old woman waved at them like she was leaving no room for them to argue the matter.

            "Thank you," Neo said again just before Law started walking, pulling her along. She stared at the old woman until she could no longer see her. She then turned her eyes to the piece of paper in her hand. "Why did she do that? I don't understand."

            "Sometimes people just do nice things for others for no reason at all," Law replied. A familiar sadness flowed into his chest when Corazon filled his mind.

            "Captain?" When Neo tugged on his hand, he turned his eyes to her. "Are you okay?"

            "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Law asked.

            "You just looked sad." Neo tilted her head and took him in.

            "Don't worry about it. I just got lost in thought, that's all." He smiled to prove he was fine.

            "Okay then. What are we going to do now?" Neo asked.

            "Whatever you want to do."

            "Really?" She smiled as Law nodded. "Can we just continue to look around then?"

            "Absolutely." Law nodded again when his answer lit her eyes up. "You should put that recipe in your pocket so you don't lose it."

            "Right." Neo nodded. She released Law's hand just long enough to fold the paper and slip it into her pocket before reclaiming his hand.

            The two then proceeded to look around at all the booths. Law patiently escorted her around and stopped at whatever booth she inquired about or found interesting while he continuously looked around for possible dangers. That feeling of blood lust he felt earlier was still with him and still bothered him. So while she was currently taking in a booth that had colorful glass figurines out on display, he took the time to look around their surroundings again.

            His heart skipped a beat when he caught a young man, about his age with dark green hair and eyes, staring at Neo with a panicked, yet shocked, expression. Law tightened his hold on both her and his sword. Before he could react the young man spun on his heels and disappeared into the crowd. He carefully scanned his eyes over the crowd one last time before checking on Neo. She was lifting her gaze to him and said, "We can move on now."

            Law nodded. She didn't appear to notice his distress. He took a deep, slow breath to calm down before leading her away from their current booth. She tugged on his arm. Pointing at another booth, she said, "Captain, that one has books. Can we look at them, please?"

            "Of course we can." Law chuckled as he led her over to the booth. While her heart dove into the pile of books on display, his heart jumped into his throat. The book booth was right next to the ring maker he noticed earlier. He swallowed hard and tried to ignore it. He tried to focus on how Neo's eyes lit up as she scanned her eyes over the books. But he just couldn't do it. His eyes kept drawing over to the rings displayed out on the table next to them.

            Suddenly, Law's protective instincts kicked in. He released his hold on Neo. He whipped around and moved to pull out his sword. He grabbed the hilt of his sword, but his hand quickly fell away from it when sea prism chains wrapped around his ankles. Neo shot her eyes to him when he let her hand go. Law was crumpled on the ground. "Capt-" She was cut off when someone's strong grip clamped on her arm and jerked her away from him. She panicked and screamed at the unfamiliar hand on her arm. She tried to resist him pulling her through the crowd. "No! Let me go! Captain!"

            "Shut up, _freak_ ," a strange, yet somehow, familiar voice hissed.

Neo slowly lifted her eyes to the person holding her. Painful past images hammered through her mind. Past pain refilled her senses. She froze in shock. He was older. His hair had grown shaggy. But the scar still remained under his left eye like the first day she accidentally put it there. It _was_ him.

            "N-Neo." Law struggled to lift himself off the ground. He got himself up enough to see the completely terrified look in Neo's tear streaked face. He instantly knew she was paralyzed with fear, but not just from being touched by a stranger. There was also a look of realization in her expression. She knew this man.

            Law's heart pound so hard against his chest he felt like someone was stabbing him with a hundred needles. He struggled helplessly as the brown haired man dragged Neo away from him. He growled in anger. His mind rapidly going over every single painful thing he was going to do, then do again and again and again, to that man when he got the sea prism off of him. Law rolled over. He reached for the stone, but found two wrinkled old hands were already unwrapping the chains from his ankles. The old woman baker was helping him. "Why are you…?"

            "Never mind that," she said. She unwrapped the chain one last time then looked at him. "Just go after her now. She needs you, right?"

            "Bu-" Law paused when, for some reason, he noticed her hair wasn't really grey or silver. It was a faded green of the years that had gone by. He took a closer look at her. Her wrinkles also suddenly seemed suspiciously young looking. She really didn't look that old at all despite saying she's been baking for over seventy years. She moved surprisingly fast for someone over seventy years of age. And there was a familiar feeling of nature surrounding her.

            Snapping of fingers snapped him out of his stare.

            "Snap out of it! You need to go after her!" the woman insisted.

            "Right." Coming back to his senses, Law nodded. He grabbed his sword and jumped to his feet then bolted through the crowd, leaving his questions and the old woman behind. He headed in the direction the man drug Neo, but then jolted to a stop. He frantically darted his eyes around. He realized he had no clue where the man had gone. He had no clue where she was. He clenched his eyes and fists tightly. _Neo! Where did he take you?!_ His eyes suddenly snapped open when he felt her presence several blocks from his current location. "But how d-Grr! Never mind! I can figure out _how_ later!"

            Law turned and bolted in the direction he now knew she was. He ran a couple blocks when suddenly a storm blew in from nowhere. Surrounding plants grew larger than they shoulder be, dogs barked, cats hissed, the wind picked up-blowing everything light weight around, he could hear waves crashing onto the docks while thunder clapped and lightning streaked across the sky. A woman screamed when the fire of a cooking booth suddenly flared up. Neo was using her crystals all at the same time. She was losing control. He growled. _What are they doing to her?_

            He started running again, but people were panicking. They were running around trying to get away from the disruptive elements. He tried to weave through them, but it was only slowing him down. There were just too many of them. He then deciding using his powers would get him there faster and easier. He held up his hand. "Room! Shambles!"

…

            Neo slammed into the ground with a hard thud when he shoved her. She pushed up on her arms. She covered her mouth when she felt her stomach lurch. An unfamiliar voice asked, "This is her? Are you sure?"

            "Of course I'm sure, Jamison! Don't you think I know my own tormentor?!"

            "Sorry, man, I was just asking. From what you told me about her I was expecting something else. She's just so tiny. Can she really control nature like you said?"

            "Yes! The little witch is a demon! A _monster_ that I'm going to eliminate from this world!"

            Neo spun around when she heard footsteps coming towards her. She summoned an earth crystal and snapped a vine at him like a whip. She faltered when the memory of striking him when they were kids and when she destroyed that island flashed repetitively into her mind. The vine hit the ground instead of him.

            "What the heck was that?!" Jamison shrieked.

            "I told you she was a little freak!"

            "Sorry I doubted you, Brogue. That was insane," Jamison said.

            "And now you know why she needs to die! I won't let her destroy another island!" Brogue shouted. He started to stalk towards her again.

            "Stop it! Stay away from me!" Neo scrambled back away from him, but the alley was a dead end. The only way out was to fly. If only she could of remembered she could do that. All of her crystals appeared then to protect her. Dark clouds rolled in with strong winds. Vines, grass, and bushes grew up and snapped wildly. A small group of stray dogs entered into the alley they were in.

            "What the heck is she doing?!" Jamison screamed. He eyed two growling, teeth bearing dogs cautiously. One dog snapped its jaws and barked. The blonde man jumped upon a crate like he forgot dogs could jump as well.

            "She's going to destroy this island! I won't let you!" Brogue charged towards Neo.

            "Stay away!" Neo shouted. Her earth crystals reacted to her. Vines snapped out at the man advancing on her. They wrapped around his limbs and his neck then slammed him into the near by building.

            "See?! You are a freak! A murder!" Brogue shouted. "You're going to kill everyone here! Just like you did back on Mertensia!"

            Neo, hearing the man's words through her hysteria, gasped at the sudden realization that _everyone_ included the crew. She shook her head. She shook the images from that island out of her head while forcing herself to remember all the good things the crew and the captain had done for her. _Remember the good. The captain…the crew…they helped me. I'm not a danger to anyone anymore. I'm not going to lose control. I won't hurt anyone. I won't hurt 'them'. I won't!_

She then took several slow, deep, but raspy breaths. "I won't. The captain…the crew…I won't do it. I won't lose control. I _won't_ let what the captain and crew did for me be taken away! I won't lose them! I won't lose control! Stop it, nature! Go back to being calm! I'm not hurt! I'm scared, but not hurt!"

            Neo locked her senses onto all of her crystals and all of nature. She fed her desire for things to go back to normal into each and every single one of them. Instantly obeying her command, the flora started to go back to its normal size, the animals calmed down, the wind slowed, the dark storm clouds faded away back into the pristine blue the sky previously was.

            She finally did it. Everything was calm once again. Feeling drained, physically and emotionally, Neo slumped down on the ground. A small nervous chuckle passed over her lips when the dogs gathered around her, one licking her cheek. She whispered, "I'm okay. I didn't lose control."

            "I knew you were still a freak." She heard Brogue say. She forced herself to not listen to him. He didn't know anything about her. She pushed up on her hands to face him. When she finally got herself back up into a sitting position, her eyes widened. He was holding a gun at her. He started to pull the trigger. "Die!"

            She crossed her arms in front of her body and summoned her crystals to try and stop the bullet. Relief flooded her chest when a familiar blue film moved through the air and his voice wrapped around her like a protective cocoon. "Room! Shambles!"

            "Captain!" Neo cried.

            The gun separated into multiple pieces along with Brogue's body. Law grabbed the front of Brogue's shirt, pinned the man's head, shoulder, and torso to the wall and pressed the sharp blade of his sword to the man's neck. He paused when his eyes caught the scar under the man's left eye. Realization seeped into Law's mind of who this man really was and why he freaked Neo out so much. His eyes thundered and flashed with their own violent storm as his steel orbs locked onto his prey. He was so angry with this man that he couldn't speak. He just wanted to kill him.

Jamison's knees gave out on him. He dropped to the crate and shook at the power that both Neo and Law had displayed.

            Neo rubbed the heel of her right hand against her eye while her left hand went to one of the dogs’ head. "Captain…"

            "Release me!" Brogue hissed. He had a desperate wild look in his eyes as he tried to get free of Law's hold. The man's grip on reality was clearly gone. Law didn't respond to him yet. His mind was too busy going over all the ways he wanted to torture then kill this man. "You don't have a clue what you're doing! She's a _monster_! A _freak_! She deserves to _die_! You have no idea what she did to my island! My home! My family! She killed them all! She's a _murderer_! I _will_ kill her!"

            Law's eyes flashed with lightning. He pressed his blade harder into the man's neck, just barely breaking the skin. His voice finally surfaced. Not wanting to scare her any more than she already was, he kept his voice as under control as he could. "Shut up. She's _not_ a murderer, a freak or a monster."

            "Yes, she is! She killed so many p-Ah!" Brogue gasped when Law punched him in the stomach. He gasped again for air. Once his lungs were refilled enough to speak, he said, "W-why are you defending her? Do you have any idea what she really is? What she did?"

"I know _exactly_ what happened back then," Law hissed. "And it wouldn't have happened if _you_ and the rest of the worthless scum from _that_ _island_ didn't treat her so horribly _just_ because she's different."

            "B-but she's a-"

            "A scared little girl, just like she was back then. It was _you_ _monsters_ that caused her to lose control." Law started to press the blade farther into the man's neck, but not enough to kill him, yet. " _You_ are the one who stole her pendant, isn't that right? Where is it?! Give it back! _Right! Now!_ "

            "I sold it! It's gone! Just like she sho-"

            Law punched the man again. This time it was hard enough that Law broke a couple ribs and the man coughed up blood. " _You_ hurt her. _You_ made her cry. _You_ _took her from me._ And _you_ are going to pay for that."

            "Captain…" Neo shivered from the dangerous aura emitting from Law.

            "What's the matter with you?!" Brogue asked through painful breathing. His eyes becoming crazier with desperation, but also with realization. "Don't tell me you have _feeling_ for this _freak_!"

            More anger flashed across Law's eyes.

            "Takt!" Law pointed to one of the man's severed hands. It flew over to him on his command. He grabbed one of the man's fingers and broke it in multiple places, starting at the tip and moving down to his hand.

Brogue cried out with each snap.

Neo flinched with each snap and covered her mouth. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the nauseating sound.

"My relationship with her is none of _your_ business. All you need to know is she's under _my_ protection. I will not tolerate _anyone_ making her cry, hurting her or taking her away from me," Law said.

            "He's going to kill him," Neo whispered to herself. Her heart pounded hard, choking off her breathing. "No…Captain, don't."

            Law tightened his hold on his sword in preparation to sever the man's head from his body. "Now. Die."

            "Law, stop!" Neo screamed.

Law's heart thundered hard in his chest at Neo calling him by his name. His hand paused. He heard her rushing footsteps before her small hands grasped onto the back of his hoodie her whole body was trembling.

Neo pressed her forehead to his back. "Please…please don't. Please don't do it. I don't want this. I don't want you to ki-Please just don't. Please take me back to the sub. I want to go back. I want to go _home_."

            Law gritted his teeth. That was the first time she's ever called the sub her home. He forced himself to take a deep breath. His body relaxed as he released it. "Okay, Neo, okay. I'll take you back." He then leaned in close to Brogue, his eyes sharp with warning. He lowered his voice enough so Neo couldn't hear him. "She has spared your life. _But_ if you _ever_ come near her again, I _will_ kill you."

            The pirate captain then, reluctantly, released his prey. Brogue's body parts dropped to the ground with a thud. Law sheathed his sword then started to turn around to her. He paused to look at the forgotten blonde man on the crate. Jamison's eyes were completely white, his mouth over flowing with foam. Law smirked. At least he didn't have to verbally threaten that one to stay away from her.

            With a light, satisfied huff, he turned his attention to what was really important right now. He put his right arm around her back, angling his sword so he wouldn't hurt her, and his left arm under her knees and picked her up. He could feel how tired she had become when she laid her head on his shoulder. She clenched a hold of his shirt. "Captain…"

            "Yeah, I'm here. I've got you. We're going back now," Law said. He then formed a Room and, without another look in Brogue's direction, warped them out of that area.

…

            The sub was quiet, cool, and still when Law warped Neo inside. Neither said a word as he walked her through the halls. He walked into his room and closed the door with his foot. He then propped his sword against the wall before sitting down on the bed, keeping Neo in his lap. He waited a while before speaking. "Neo, we're back in my room now."

            "I didn't lose control," she whispered. "I almost did, but I didn't."

            "I know." Law rubbed his hand on her back. "You did very well today."

            "I was so scared. That guy…he was…"

            "I know. And I'm sorry I couldn't protect you better." Neo lifted her eyes up to him. Law hesitated, but soon returned her gaze. "I honestly didn't think we'd ever run into him. But you don't have to worry about him anymore. He won't ever come near you again."

            "Thank you, Captain," Neo said before covering up a small yawn. She laid her head back on his shoulder. "The sea prism stone… how did you get free? How were you able to find me?"

            "That old woman baker took the chains off," Law explained as he slipped her sandals off her feet. He then worked his fingers over her feet to easy the tension wearing shoes always caused her. "And I just sensed where you were."

            "Sensed?" Neo lifted off his shoulder again. "I felt you too. The other day when the crew asked to speak with you? I could feel you walking through the sub. You went to the control room, right?"

            "That's right." Law's eyebrows rose on his forehead.

            "But how?" Neo asked.

            Law thought about it for a couple seconds before answering. He said, "I guess that's part of our bond now. You could feel Red Hair when he arrived at Marineford. And The Dark King did say Red Hair can sense you too."

            "I like it," Neo said after a pause.

            "What do you mean?" Law inquired softly.

            "I like being able to sense where you are. Is that all right, Captain?" Neo asked timidly.

            A sting of disappointment shot through Law's chest when she called him 'Captain'. He kept the disappointment from showing on his face, but it still hurt hearing her address him so formally. He smiled softly at her. "Of course it's all right. I like being able to sense you too. I'll be able to keep a better eye on you this way."

            Neo's eyes lit up a bit as a light pink spread across her cheeks. She raised her sleeve-covered hand to cover another yawn. Resting her head back on his shoulder, she said, "I don't feel like going back on that island. Would it be all right if I just stayed in the sub?"

            "Of course it's fine." Law wrapped his arms around her. He rubbed his hand over her arm. She yawned again. "You're tired. You should take a nap now."

            "Okay." Neo remained in his arms for a few seconds longer before he finally loosened his hold on her. She shifted onto the bed. Law lifted up her blanket for her and she crawled underneath it.

            "There's something that I still need to get on this island," Law said. A small flash of worry crossed over her eyes. He instantly knew the meaning behind it. "Don't worry. I'm not going to go after that guy. And I promise I'll be back before you wake up."

            "Okay, Captain." She snuggled down into her blanket with a low, relieved sigh. He soothingly stroked her hair while she drifted off to sleep. "Mertensia."

            "What?" Law asked softly.

            "That's the name of the island that I…he said it. I didn't even know the name of that place. Or maybe I just forgot it," Neo said before another yawn. "I'm not sure."

            "That's not surprising considering how closed off you were to the world. But it doesn't matter now. That part of you life is over. You've conquered it today. You'll still have to deal with the emotional aspects of it a little bit, but it'll no longer control you like it did. I'm very proud of you, Neo." Law smiled softly at her with she looked at him.

            "Thank you, Captain," Neo said just before her eyelids slid closed.

            "You really have done well, my little girl," Law whispered to her sleeping form before leaning down and pressing his lips to her forehead. "You are growing up so well."

            Law pulled back and watched her sleep for five minutes before finally pulled himself from the sleeping girl. If he was going to be back before she woke up like he promised, he needed to get going. He reclaimed his sword and left the room, leaving the door a couple inches open for her.

He was about to the main door when Penguin and a few other crewmembers came busting through it. Penguin was the one who spoke. He frantically asked, "What happened?! Where is she?! Is she all right?! We saw the elements go wild! Did she get hurt?! Did someone hurt her?!"

            "She's fine. And she's asleep so keep your voices down," Law ordered. "I don't want anyone to wake her up."

            "What happened, Captain?" Archer asked, calmer than Penguin ever could. When Law told them, they all got furious and wanted to go after the men. "What?!"

            "How dare they hurt our little girl?!" the crew screamed.

            "I told you to keep it down," Law ordered again. "She's fine now. Just go on back to your shopping or whatever it was you were doing. You can see her later after she wakes up, _on her own._ "

            The crew grumbled, but obediently left the sub as they were ordered to do. Penguin was the only one who remained. He held up a white shopping bag he had. "I got what I wanted. I'm going to stay here in case she wakes up before you get back. She'll want to know she's not alone. You are heading out again, aren't you, Captain?"

            Law nodded. "Just be sure not to disturb her. I still have some business to take care of. I shouldn't be gone for too long."

            "Sure thing, Captain." Penguin nodded then stepped aside so his captain could pass him. Once his captain closed the door, Penguin made his way down the hall. He peaked inside Law's room, just in case. Neo was sleeping peacefully like the captain had left her. He smiled then continued on his way to the crews’ quarters. He got to his bunk and opened the drawer that was underneath it. He then placed his shopping bag inside of it. Another, bigger, smile formed on his lips as he thought about the item inside. It was a present he bought for Neo's one-year anniversary with them. And he couldn't wait to give it to her. He snickered. "They're going to be so surprised. I can't wait to see _his_ face."

…

            The walk back into the town was an intense one. Law constantly let his eyes roam over the people. He wanted to see those two men again. He still wanted to kill _him_. But he wouldn't. He wouldn't break a promise to Neo. Besides, he knew those men would be at the hospital by now. Law smirked at the damage that he did do to them. He knew they wouldn't dare come near _his_ little girl ever again. While the desire to kill them still lingered inside of him, it was slowly fading. He let his eyes stop looking for them and focus on other people instead. They were cleaning up the mess that Neo did cause. He paused for a moment when he came upon a couple of the islanders taking about the storm that just passed.

            "That was so weird."

            "I know. The weather was supposed to be clear all day today."

            "Maybe it was just a pop up storm."

            "Pop up storms don't cause plants to rapidly grow, fire to flare up, animals to go wild…what happened just wasn't normal."

            "Well, maybe it was just someone with a devil fruit power. You know how they are. Nothing but trouble, especially _pirates_."

Law couldn't help but smirk proudly at that statement.

            "Yeah," the people agreed.

            "Well, I heard that some girl was the cause of this."

Law gripped his fists tightly when a teenage boy stepped over to them.

            "What are you talking about?" a woman questioned.

            "There's these two guys at the hospital my mom works at," the boy explained. "They're going on about some girl being able to control the elements through crystals."

            "That's crazy. How can crystals be the cause of all of this?"

            "It's just what I heard." The boy shrugged. "They want the Navy to come and arrest her or something like that."

            "You really shouldn't listen to rumors. Crystals controlling the elements doesn't make sense. At least we know devil fruit users are real. That's probably all this was."

            "Yeah." Another round of agreements passed through the crowd.

Law relaxed again. He was never so grateful for the existence of devil fruits than he was in that moment. He continued walking again. More chatter of what happened filtered into his ears. All the people seemed to be coming to the same conclusion of it being a devil fruit user. His feet paused when he got back to the spot where the old woman baker should have been. She wasn't there. Narrowing his eyebrows, he mentally questioned the reason as to why she was no longer around. _The festival obviously has hours left before shutting down for the day. Why would someone leave right in the middle of it?_ He rubbed the back of his neck. "Such a strange old woman."

            He then turned his attention to the reason he came back here. His eyes drifted over to the ring maker's booth. He stared at the old man for a while. His heart pounded erratically. He swallowed before finally forcing his feet to walk him over to the booth. The old man smiled when he noticed Law standing there. "Hello, young man. Can I help you?"

            "Yeah," Law said, slightly hesitating. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He handed it to the old man. "Can you make a ring with that design on it?"

            "Hm…" The old man hummed while looking at the paper. "That's a very interesting design of a heart. Of course I can do it. It'll be easy. Ah, I see you've written her ring size down here too. That's good. A lot of people don't usually know their ring size. She must have delicate hands indeed. What color would you like it to be? The ring and the gems I'll be embedding in the design?"

            Law paused to think about the man's question. His eyes dropped to the rings on display. The man had silver and golden bands. In a small box, with divider walls were several colorful gems. With Neo's tan skin the gold, he didn't think it wouldn't look right on her. And her hair and eyes were blue so that choice was very easy too. "Silver and that blue one right there."

            "Silver and the topaz blue." The man scribbled the color choice down on the paper Law had handed him. "Very good choices, sir."

            "How long will it take? I'm in a bit of a hurry to leave this island soon," Law said.

            "Mmm…with a design like this? I easily can have it done by tomorrow about ten in the morning. I'll have to charge you with a rush order fee, of course. It'll cost yo-"

            "I don't care about the cost. I'll pay whatever you want," Law said.

            "Oh, I see. She must be very special to you then."

Law lightly flinched, which didn't go unnoticed by the old man.

"Don't worry about it. When you live as long as I have, you easily to notice such things. Besides, you hold the exact same look in your eyes that I use to have when I looked at or thought about my love. Sadly, she passed away four years ago. But my heart still flutters like a hurricane of butterflies when I remember how her voice sounded when she said my name."

_Her voice, huh?_ Law wondered as his mind drifted back to a little while ago. His heart fluttered when he remembered how his name sounded on Neo's voice. He knew she wasn't even aware she had said his name, twice now, instead of calling him captain. And he didn't care. He still liked that she had said his name. He wanted her to call him by his name. Perhaps it was time she did.

 


	36. Unexplainable Pain

Unexplainable Pain

 

            Law tapped his finger on his elbow of his crossed arms. He was leaning against the wall in the training room observing the little battle currently going on between Neo and one of the crew. The crewmate threw a punch that almost grazed her cheek. She round house kicked at him, but it was too slow and her sparring partner blocked it.

Law could easily tell that she was slightly distracted with what happened yesterday since her movements were slower than they normally were. It still bothered her a bit, but it wasn't controlling her at all. Still, being docked at this island didn't help the matter either. He knew that. He wanted to get her away from here, from _him_ , but couldn't just yet. He still had to pick up his gift for her. His stomach turned nervously at the though of having to pick it up soon. He was getting impatient with the slow ticking of time. He wanted it over and done with so he could then turn his nervous thoughts on actually giving it to her.

            "Ah! Neo, I'm so sorry!" The shrieks of the crewmate snapped Law out of his nervous thoughts. Neo was now sitting on the ground with her arms wrapped around her stomach. Law pushed off the wall and rushed over to them.

            Neo took several gasping breaths before being able to speak again. She said, "It's okay."

            "No, it's not! I kicked you!" the crewmate shrieked.

            Law kneeled down beside them as Neo chuckled lightly. "You're supposed to. We're sparring after all."

            "Yeah, I know, but…I didn't mean…I wasn't trying…" he muttered. Neo cupped his cheek when he couldn't finish a single sentence. "I'm sorry."

            "It's okay. Really," Neo insisted. "I know getting hit is just a part of it. And I know you all have been going easy on me too. It's actually kind of amazing that I've improved at all with how easy you all have been going on me."

            The crewmate flinched in guilt. Law's eyebrow twitched. Both knew she was right. They all were holding back when it came to hand to hand combat with her. None of them wanted to hurt her, even by accident. The crewmate rubbed the back of his neck. He then said, "Sorry. We'll try to not do that so much in the future."

            Law's eyebrows narrowed in on her hand still on his subordinate's cheek. A twinge of jealously swam through his chest. He cleared his throat then said, "Let me take a look at you just in case."

            "All right, Captain," Neo said, sending another jolt of disappointment through Law's core.

The crewmate respectfully, and quietly, excused himself from the room. Once gone, Law lifted up her shirt. He touched his fingers to her stomach causing her to tense. "Does anything hurt?"

            "No."

            "How about when I press?" Law pressed gently on her stomach.

            "N-no, Captain," Neo stuttered.

Law brushed his fingers over her skin again. No redness, no forming bruise, no pain. She was fine.

"Captain, is something wrong with me?"

            He mentally cursed himself for letting his hand linger too long on her stomach. His hat dropped over his eyes, casting shadows over his flushed cheeks, and lowered her shirt back down. "No, Neo, you're fine."

            "I'm sorry. I'm distracted," Neo said with a sigh. "I know I hit a very big milestone yesterday, but it still bugs me that that guy is still so close. I feel guilty about what I did. I know it wasn't my fault, but still. I just wish there was something I could do or say to him that would make it better."

            "Don't worry about it," Law said. "Seeing someone like that would throw anyone for a loop. You're still handling very well. So stop feeling guilty about it, that's an order. _He's_ one of the ones that caused you to lose control in the first place. You have no reason to feel like you need to make up for it. Besides, his mind is too far gone. If you did try to make up for it, he wouldn't accept it. You owe him _nothing_."

            "Really?" Neo asked.

            "Yes." Law nodded. He held out his hand to her. She took it and followed him when he stood up. "You only feel like you owe him something because you're a very sweet person. You're clearly not the type to hold grudges against anyone no matter how much they have hurt you."

            "I never noticed I was like that," Neo said thoughtfully while thinking about herself. "I guess I still have a lot to learn about myself. All right then, I'll try not to feel so guilty anymore. If I'm done training, I can get lunch started early then. I've been wanting to make some cookies too."

            "What are you making today?" Law asked. He brushed his thumb over her knuckles, causing her to tense again.

            "I was thinking about fried fish and onigiri. We haven't had those for a while. Some of the crew has wanted mash potatoes for a while too. Maybe some baked beans? That sounds good," Neo spoke thoughtfully. She then smiled at him. "Would that be all right?"

            "Sounds very good." Law returned her smile. He stepped closer to her. He shifted the position of his hand so he could lace his fingers through hers. She became shy again at his actions. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she blushed. He chuckled and ran his thumb over her skin again. That's when he realized he had to go pick up the ring. It was getting close to ten o'clock. A light frown settled on his lips at the thought of separating from her. "I have to run back into town for a little bit."

            "Oh, okay." Neo nodded. Disappointment had settled into her eyes.

            "I won't be gone long," Law said. He cupped her cheek with his free hand. She nodded again. "Why don't you walk me to the door?"

            "Okay." Her disappointment vanished a little with his question. He then led her out of the room, keeping her hand firmly in his.

            "I'll be back soon, okay?" Law asked when they reached their destination.

            "Okay." Neo nodded again. With one last look in each other's eyes, the two reluctantly separated.

Law left the sub.

Neo headed to the galley. Both, at the same time, focused on feeling out the other's presence. Both, at the same time, smiled when they locked onto each other's spirit.

…

            "I can't believe it's actually happening tomorrow. I was sure someone would slip up and tell her about it," Bepo said. He, Shachi and Penguin were standing at the door of the galley. They all were watching Neo as she moved around the room preparing lunch and mixing up the batter for her sugar cookies with the help of two other crewmates. "I guess this crew can keep a secret after all. I'm just glad we haven't upset her with all of our sneaking around. Is the party decorations and her gifts hidden?"

            "Of course they are. They're tucked away in our quarters. She won't go in there even though she has permission to," Shachi replied. "The only part I'm concerned about is how to keep her distracted tomorrow while we're setting it all up. She's going to suspect something's going on when we start baking the cake. The smell is going to be hard to cover up."

            "And we can't have her outside either since we're holding the party outside and not in the sub," Penguin said. He crossed his arms in thought. "I suppose we could spar with her to keep her distracted, but that doesn't solve the smell of the cake problem. Maybe if some of the crew fans the smell away from her? That won't do either. We can't keep her training ever second of the day. She'll go to the galley at some point. Hmm…how long is it going to take us to set all of this up? Maybe we could do that while she's sleeping when we reach the island? I'm not sure if that would work either. But first we need to leave this island for any of that to actually happen."

            "Speaking of which…why _haven't_ we left yet?" Shachi asked. "I thought we had all the supplies we needed."

            "Captain said there was one more thing he had to get," Bepo answered. "He left a little while ago to pick it up."

            "What do you suppose it is?" Shachi asked. "It's not like him to be the last one done shopping."

            "I'm not sure." Bepo shrugged. "He left a little while ago after Neo's sparring session."

            A smile appeared on Penguin's lips at a memory of yesterday. While doing his own shopping for Neo's gift that he got for her, he just happened to see Law and Neo. Of course he stayed hidden. He didn't want to take the chance of Neo seeing what he got for her, even thought it was safely tucked into the bag. He watched them for a while and notice Law taking in the ring maker while Neo was distracted by another booth. So he had a pretty good idea where their captain was at the moment. Penguin thought about telling them, but only for a second. If the captain wanted them to know, he would have told them where he was going. Besides, they all would know soon. The captain won't be able to keep it a secret forever.

            No one said anything else after that. They just watched their favorite blue hair girl prepare lunch for them all. The two crewmates, that were helping her, finished peeling all of the potatoes needed for lunch. They stood up from their seats and walked over to the sink to wash them off for her.

            "Thanks, guys," Neo said while spooning out her cookies and dropping the batter on the cookie sheets she had sitting out.

            "You're welcome," they chirped simultaneously with smiles.

            After getting the batter on the pans, she slipped them into the oven. She then moved over to the cabinets that housed the pots needed to boil the potatoes. She pulled the two pots out and carried them over to the sink so she could fill them with water. She turned off the water when the first pot was filled then lifted the pan out of the sink. When she turned to walk to pot over to the stove, a sharp pain stabbed into her back between her shoulder blades. She cried out and, dropping the pot, she crashed to the floor. "Ah!"

            "Neo!" the pirates cried while running over to her.

            Penguin was the first to reach her. Ignoring the puddle on the floor, he kneeled down and helped her sit up. He took her hand in his, allowing him to squeeze it. "Neo, what's wrong?"

            "It's my back. It's hurts so much," she replied. Pain shot though her body again. She screamed and collapsed into Penguin's arms. "Penguin…"

            Penguin lifted up the back of her shirt. All of them gasped at the bright red spot between her shoulder blades. Penguin then said, "Bepo! Go get the captain! Now!"

            "Aye aye!" Bepo screeched, already running for the door.

            "Hold on, Neo," Shachi said, kneeling down. "Bepo's going for the captain right now."

            Neo just winced at the pain. They weren't sure if she had heard him or not.

...

            "Here ya go, young man," the ring maker said while holding out the ring for Law. "Came out simply beautiful, if I do say so myself. I hope it's to your satisfaction."

            "It is." Law inspected the ring with a light smile. He then pocketed the ring while handing the old guy a fairly thick wad of bills.

            "It's been a pleasure, sir. I hope your girl will love it." The old man smiled.

            "She will," Law said. He then walked away. He got about ten yards away from the ring maker when a dull, but very annoying pain settled into his back. He rolled his shoulders to try and get the pain to go away. Suddenly, the pain got sharper and he heard Neo's voice cry out for him.

_'Captain!'_

            "Neo?" Before Law could process what He just experienced, Bepo came running up to him.

            "Captain! Something's wrong with Neo!" Bepo screeched, arms and legs flailing wildly. "Hurry! Hurry! You have to come back to the sub now!"

            Law only nodded in response. The two dashed through the crowds, weaving in and out of the people. Then rushed down the docks. When they got close enough, Law warped them into the sub. Bepo then said, "She's in the galley!"

            Law was already heading in that direction before Bepo even spoke. Once inside the room, he dropped his sword and kneeled down. He paused when his eyes noticed how red her back was. He then took her into his arms. "Neo?"

            She pulled her eyes to his. Tears running down her cheeks from the pain. She winced then whimpered. "C-Captain…it hurts. It hurts a lot."

            "Captain!" the crew shouted, worry dripping from their voices.

            "Okay, come on." Law carefully lifted her into his arms and stood up. The crew followed him to the medical bay. Having to remove her shirt, he ordered them to stay out. "Wait out here."

            "But, Captain…" Bepo started to protest.

            "I have to remove her shirt. Stay out here," Law ordered again.

            Reluctantly the crew obeyed the order and stayed out in the hall. Once through the door, Shachi closed it for their captain. He then took a few steps from the door to wait with the others. His sunglasses covered eyes roamed over the crew. Penguin, obviously the most worried of them all, was sitting down against the wall. He had his arms crossed over his bend up knees. Shachi walked over to him and sat down beside him. "She's going to be fine."

            "Yeah." Penguin nodded without a smile. "I know."

…

            Law gently sat her down on the exam table and promptly removed her shirt as quickly, and softly, as he possibly could then unhooked the clasp of her bar. He barely swallowed back a gasp when he saw her back again. Her skin was bright red and now _glowing_ right between her shoulder blades. He leaned closer and inspected her glowing skin. _How is that possible?_

            Another whimper from her snapped him out of his stare. He reached out and touched the glowing redness. Her skin was hot, but not 'hand jerking back' hot. He stepped away from her. After quickly filtering through his medications, he stepped back over to her and started to apply some anti-burn cream to her skin. His eyes widened when the cream instantly disappeared from her skin. He placed more on her skin only to have it end in the same results of disappearing. He tried a few other different creams and ointments he had. He growled to himself when he kept ending up with the same results. All of them disappeared from her back the second he put them on.   

            "C-Captain, I don't…feel so good," Neo said while placing her hand on her face. She started to sway.

Law shot his arm out just as she slumped forward and passed out. "Ne-" He started to call out her name when he noticed the glow and redness started to fade away. After about ten seconds it was completely gone. Thinking he was just seeing things, Law ran his fingers over her back again before hooking the clasp back in place. He pulled her shirt back on knowing he wouldn't be able to keep the crew out much longer, and laid her down on the table. He checked her pulse, finding it normal, and then stepped over to the door to open it. The worried eyes of his subordinates looked at him simultaneously.

            "Captain, how is she?" Jean Bart asked.

            Law hesitated before answering. With a sigh, he said, "I'm not sure. She passed out." The crew gasped. He quickly added, "She passed out from the pain, but appears to be resting comfortably now. The redness has vanished as well."

            A tiny sigh of relief passed over the crew. Penguin stepped forward. He said, "Can we see her?"

            "That'll be fine. Just keep it quiet and let her rest," Law ordered. He pushed the door open farther and they all filed inside.

            "Captain, what's wrong with her?" Penguin asked once beside her. He stroked her hair. "Why does this keep happening?"

            The crew waited anxiously for their captain to answer. Law didn't reply immediately. He just walked back over to his medical supplies. He pulled out a needle, alcohol, cotton balls, and a bandage. After placing them on a small silver tray, he stepped back over to her. "I don't know. But I'm going to find out."

            After disinfecting the bend of her elbow, he inserted the needle into her skin. Since she didn't flinch from the poke Law knew she was still completely out of it. Once the needle body was filled, he pulled it out, bandaged the tiny prick then proceed to run everything single test he could possibly think of running on her.

…

            A steady familiar beeping was the first thing that greeted her when she started to wake up. She opened her eyes to slightly blurry vision and a little dizziness. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened her eyes again. Her vision was cleared, but the dizziness remained. "Hey there, sweetie. How are you feeling?"

            Neo turned her head to the left. Penguin appeared in her view. She said, "A little dizzy, but better."

He took her hand and helped her sit up. She paused when something pulled on her shoulders and chest. She panicked when she saw wires running under the neck of her shirt. She grabbed at them to jerk them off. A familiar hand gently snapped out and grabbed hers before she could. Law's voice then reached her ears. "You're fine, Neo. I only hooked you up to the heart monitor just as a precaution." She turned her eyes to him just as he placed his free hand on her forehead. She tensed, but didn't pull away. "Your fever's gone down too, that's good."

            "I had a fever?" Neo asked releasing her hold on the wires she took ahold of his hand instead. Law nodded. "What's wrong with me? Why does my back keep hurting like this?"

            "I wish I knew. I ran some tests while you were sleeping, but I haven't found anything," Law replied. Neo dropped her eyes down to her legs, her eyebrows narrowed with worry. When he started talking again she raised her eyes back to him. "Neo, I want you to stay in here tonight."

            "What for?" she asked confusion started rising into her eyes.

            "I just want to monitor you for a while," Law said. He tucked her hair behind her ear then tenderly stroked her cheek. She tensed again when his skin made contact with her own.

            "Will you stay with me?" Her eyebrows turned up.

            "Of course I will." Law smiled. He sat down on the edge of the bed with her. He gently pulled her into his arms, careful not to pull the heart monitoring patches off her skin. She nodded against his chest, the beeping of the heart monitor slightly increasing.

            Penguin bit his bottom lip to keep himself from snickering. He knew now wasn't the time for teasing snickers, but, at the same time, he wasn't sure they would hear him even if he did snicker. He cleared his throat to remind them he was still there. They jumped lightly at the intrusion from the forgotten man. He said, "You're probably hungry. Would you like me to bring you something? Jean Bart and a couple others took over making what you had already going after we knew you weren't in any life threatening danger."

            "Yeah, I think I can eat." Neo nodded again. "And some tea, please."

            "Of course." Penguin chuckled before kissing her temple. "Coming right up. Would you like me to bring you anything, Captain?"

            "No, I'm fine for now," Law replied. He waited for his subordinate to disappear into the hall before turning back to her. "I'm going to check your vitals then draw some more blood."

            "What for?" Neo asked.

            "Just another precaution," Law replied while getting up from the bed. He gathered what he needed then placed the items on a tray and walked over to her. He sat the tray down on the bed. "I just want to be thorough. I want to know I didn't miss anything."

            "All right," Neo said while he checked her vitals. She shifted when he picked up the needle.

            "I'll make this as painless as possible," Law then said when he noticed she really didn't like the idea. She only nodded in response. Once he wiped her arm clean with the disinfectant, he uncapped the needle and, as gently as possible, slipped the needle into her skin. She winced slightly, but held still. "Sorry."

            "It's fine, Captain." Neo shook her head.

Law's stomach sank a little when she called him captain again. His mind drifted back to when she called him by his name and what the old man had said to him. _"But my heart still flutters when I remember how her voice sounded when she said my name."_ And just like the old man, his heart fluttered again at the sound of his name on her lips.

"Captain?" Neo said.

            "Hm?" Law hummed.

            "Is something wrong?" Neo asked.

            "Why would something be wrong?"

            "You had this strange look on your face."

Law raised his eyes to her at that point. His heart raced at the purity and innocence in her eyes. "It's nothing," he replied. He grabbed a cotton ball and pulled out the needle. He laid down the needle before bending her arm up so she'd hold the little ball in place. He then grabbed the bandage, removed the cotton ball, and laid the bandage over her pricked arm. He studied her before speaking again. "Why don't you lay down and rest?"

            "Okay, Captain." Neo nodded before laying back down.

Law rubbed his hand on her arm before picking up the tray and setting to work on studying her blood again.

"Suppertime!" Penguin announced cheerily when he reentered the room a short time later. He was carrying a tray with Neo's plate and drink on it as well as a plate and drink for himself. She sat back up. He then placed the tray on her lap and sat down on the bed with her. Just as the two started eating, the rest of the crew started filtering into the room holding their own plates and drinks.

            "Hey, Neo!" they all greeted Neo cheerfully while claiming spots on the floor to sit down and eat. It didn't take long before the entire crew came into the room. Some of them were carrying extra pillows. They placed them behind her so she could recline instead of sitting up before joining their fellow crewmates on the floor.

            Law was too busy, and distracted by the current problem, to even notice his crew was now in the room. He continued going over her blood until he heard her heart strumming, stomach fluttering, bell filled laughter. A couple of the crew was dancing around with their empty cups on their heads and chopsticks in their noses. He smiled. He was glad that the crew’s antics were making her feel good enough to laugh. He turned back to his microscope, but didn't look into it. Instead he slipped his right hand into his pocket. His hand took hold of the tiny round object inside, making his heart pound even faster.

…

            Law sat on the edge of the bed like he has many times since he brought Neo into the medical bay hours before. She had finally fallen asleep a while ago. Worry was etched over his face. His mind kept going over all the tests he had run on her and her blood. Nothing. No abnormalities. No diseases. There was just nothing. It really annoyed him that he didn't find anything. Something obviously was happening to her.

            He clenched his fists. _Maybe what was wrong with her can't be detected by my means, by human means. She is, after all, not human. She is an Elemental. Whatever the heck that actually consisted of. Human medicine might have no effect on her at all. Or worse. They might have an effect on her. A bad one. After all she hasn't really been sick or anything since she came to live with us. And I have only used a sedative and painkillers on her a couple times. And the sedative hadn't taken a quick effect on her despite it being a heavy dosage. The painkillers seemed to do fine though._

            Law grumbled. He rubbed the back of his neck. All of his doctor skills could end up hurting her. He felt so frustrated. He needed to know more about Elemental biology and the effects medications could have on her. But how could that happen? Rayleigh said that her people were after her for whatever reason. They weren't going to be any help even if he could find them. He had also said that their home island of Luminous was hard to find. So the possibility of going there and stealing some of their medical books was an out of reach option as well. And since Neo wasn't even born when she was last on the island, she wouldn't be able to find it either or know anything about their medical procedures.

            The only option that he had access to was experimenting on Neo. A sharp pain of fear and dread shot to the very core of this being. His body turned completely cold. There was no way he would ever to that to her. He couldn't. It would hurt her too much. He wouldn't do that to her. He wasn't going to do that to her. Never.

            Law rubbed his hands over his face and growled. Why did his only accessible option have to hurt her? If he tried to find out what was wrong, it would hurt her. If he didn't try to find out what was wrong, her back would keep hurting her. What would happen to her if her pain were left untreated? The attacks were still far apart, but the pain was obviously getting worse. Was this a life threatening issue after all?

            Before Law could spiral into a panic frenzy that the last question was starting to cause, he heard a knock on the closed medical bay door. "Yes? Who is it?"

            "Just me," Penguin answered from the other side. "Permission to enter?"

            "Granted." Law composed himself just before his subordinate entered into the room. "Something wrong?"

            "No, everything's fine." Penguin smiled. He walked over to them and looked at Neo. "I was just coming to check and see if you needed anything."

            "I'm fine," Law replied.

            "Okay." Penguin nodded. "I just thought you might want to take a shower or something."

            Law paused and thought about the man's words. "Shower, huh?"

            "If you wanted to grab one, I could stay with her just in case she wakes up," Penguin offered.

            Law nodded slowly. "Yeah, I could use one. It might clear my head."

            Penguin only nodded in response.

Law let his eyes linger on Neo one last time before pushing himself off the bed. He shoved his hands into his pocket and forced himself to leave the room. The humming of the sub's engines, the creaking of the walls, the low talk of the crew who was still awake, his own footsteps, all faded away from his ears. He barely even registered making it to his room.

            He opened the door and stepped inside. His eyes automatically went to his bed. A hollowness appeared in his chest. It wasn't right. Her not being in his bed just wasn't right to him. She should have been here instead of the medical bay. Law shook his head. He reminded himself that she was only going to sleep in there for one night. That's all. And he was going to be with her. He pushed himself forward into the room. He grabbed himself some clean clothes and walked over to the bathroom. He paused when his eyes fell onto her large teddy bear sitting in the corner of the room. The large white teddy bear he had _won_ for her back on Sabaody.

_Just one night. Just one._ He thought before finally stepping into the bathroom. He turned on the water before quickly disrobing and stepping inside. He sighed when the hot water ran down his body, his tense with worry body. It helped relax him a bit. He felt a little better.

He then turned his attention to actually taking his shower. He told Penguin he wasn't going to be long. And he wanted to get back to her as soon as possible. So he lathered up his hair then his body as quick as he could then rinsed off. He stepped out of the shower and dried off just as quick. He had his pants pulled on and was about to button them up when he got the feeling he needed to get back to the medical bay. Now.

            So with a hasty button up of his jeans, abandoning his shoes, he grabbed his shirt and dashed out of the room. He pushed through the partially opened door, that he'd left open. His heart about leaped into his throat when he saw she was wake. And, even from his spot several feet away, he could tell she was trembling. Penguin, who had his arms around her, turned his eyes to Law. Law demanded, "What happened?!"

            "She just had a bad dream," Penguin replied, rubbing his hand on her back. Law walked over to them as the man continued. "I'm not sure, but I think it was about the first couple of times she woke up in here. She keeps mumbling something about chains. She did it in her sleep too. I don't think she's completely awake at the moment."

            Law released a sigh of relief that her back pain hadn't returned. But he also felt guilty for leaving her. "All right. I'll take it from here. You can go."

            "Aye, Captain." Penguin nodded. He turned back to Neo and kissed her temple then finally released his hold on her. She trembled harder without his arms around her. He wanted to hold her again, but knew Law was better suited to handle her now. So he left the room, closing the door as he went.

            And Law did. He dropped his shirt on the bed while sitting down where Penguin just was. He ran his fingers through her hair. She mumbled," Chains…no more…chains…no more please…no more chains…"

            Law placed his finger under her chin and tilted her eyes to him. Penguin was right. She wasn't completely awake yet. Her eyes were lightly glazed over. "Neo, wake up. Wake up now."

Her eyes lightened up a bit at his words. She looked at him. She then looked at her wrists. "The chains are still there. Captain, I don't want to be chained down anymore."

            "Neo, you're all right. You were just having a bad dream. There are no more chains." Law rubbed his hands over her wrists to prove his point. "See? They're not there."

            "No more chains?" Neo drew her eyes back up to his.

            "No more chains. And I will _never_ put chains on you ever again." Law ran his fingers through her hair again. "I only did it then because you were a danger to yourself and to us. But you're not anymore. The chains are gone, forever. Do you understand?"  

            "I understand. No more chains. It was just a bad dream." Neo nodded lightly.

            "I'm sorry. I should have realized that being in here could trigger bad dreams." Law pulled her into his arms and to his bare chest. "But I promise you only have to stay in here just for tonight. And I will be right by your side. I won't let you have another bad dream."

            "Thank you, Captain." She nodded against him. He then felt her hands making their way up his torso. She tried to grab onto his shirt like she always did when scared or feeling vulnerable. When her fingers didn't curl around the fabric of his shirt, she lifted off of him. Her face flushed, her entire body stiffened and her heart pounded fast at the sight of his bare, tattooed chest. Law bit back a chuckle when the heart monitor started beeping wildly.

            "Sorry. I forgot I didn't put my shirt on." Law, smiling, pulled away from her just enough so he could pull his shirt on. The second his impressive chest was covered the beeping from the heart monitor started to slow down. She remained staring at his chest, however. When it was obvious she wasn't going to move anytime soon, he chuckled then said, "You should lay back down now and get some sleep."

            She snapped out of her trance then. She locked eyes with him. Timidly, she asked, "Will you laid down with me? Please? It's to…open in here. I don't like it."

            "Of course I will." Law nodded. He then realized that she didn't have the security of the wall and him nearby like she did when sleeping in his bed. Compared to that the medical bay might as well had been an open field. He had always been with her since he moved her into his room. And even more so when he started sharing his bed with her. She had always had security until tonight. That was also another trigger to cause her to have a bad dream. "Lay down now."

            She shifted over on the bed to make sure he had room to lay down then laid down herself. Law made sure she was tucked back into her cover before laying down beside her, thankful the crew brought in extra pillows. Sensing she wasn't going to fall back asleep as quick as he wanted her to, Law laid his arm over her and started to gently rub her back. Her heart rate sped up again. But she quickly adjusted to having his hand on her back. He soon lulled her into a peaceful sleep. He shifted a bit then settled into a long night of watching over her.

            Once she was completely asleep, Law propped upon his elbow to watch her sleep. His hand slipped into his pocket where he had put the ring before his shower. His heart raced at the thought of giving it to her. He also thought about the reasons he was giving it to her. It was for her one year anniversary with them, but also for other reasons, mostly to keep men from hitting on her. His mind wondered back to the waiter at Sabaody. The man was clearly interested in Neo. Law really couldn’t blame him. Neo was an amazing looking young woman. And her innocence made her even more attractive. He knew some men would take advantage of that. Having a ring on her finger would prevent some of that from happening. But was it all just him being protective of her? No. He wanted her to wear his ring. He wanted her to belong to him. To a degree she already did. But for that to actually happen she would have to agree to it. And she would have to start calling him by his name. After thinking about it for a few more minutes he decided it was about time she called him by his name.


	37. His Ring

His Ring

"How's the cake coming?" Shachi asked when he wondered into the galley. His mouth watered a bit at the sweet smell of the cake filling up the room. "Smells so good in here. It smells good outside too. I think we've cooked up just about everything thing we have. Good thing we decided to buy extra food at the last island."

"Just fine. It'll be do-" Penguin, who was making the cake, paused when he turned to look at his friend. His hidden eyes blinked multiple times as he stared at the mess before him that used to be his best friend. Shachi was covered in glitter, tape, wrapping paper, confetti, and dirt. "What happened to you?"

"We're not having so much luck with decorating for the party," Shachi replied, sighing. "The banner is giving us fits. We're still working on setting everything up."

"Apparently," Penguin said. A chuckle was playing on his lips as he continued to run his eyes over Shachi again and again. His friend almost looked like a piñata. "Is there anything left for the party?"

"Of course there is!" Shachi snapped. "But we're  _pirates_   _not_   _party planners_! If you wanted perfection, then you should have hired one!"

"Calm down." Penguin laughed. "It doesn't have to be perfect at all. She's going to love it either way."

"I hope so," Shachi said brushing some of the glitter off his boiler suit. "Is she awake yet?"

"I don't think so," Penguin said, looking towards the door. He then leaned over and opened the oven, grabbing the pot holder, and pulled the oven rack out. He then poked a toothpick into the yellow cake. It came out clean. He pulled the plain sheet cake out of the oven and sat it down on the cooling rack. "Finally it's done. For a moment there I thought there was something wrong with the oven and the cake wasn't going to get done at all. Now that that's done, I'm going to go check on her while the cake's cooling. Since you all are having so much trouble with the decorations, I'll ask the captain to keep her in the medical bay until we're ready for her. You better get back to it."

"Yeah, yeah," Shachi grumbled as the two left the galley. They separated once in the hall of the main floor. Shachi headed back outside while Penguin headed up towards the medical bay.

When Penguin got to his destination, he lightly tapped on the door. He entered when he heard Law's muffled, "Come in."

The calm beeping of the heart monitor greeted him when the door was open. Penguin forced back a smile when he saw Law was still on the bed with her. The shoeless captain was propped on three pillows that the crew had brought in the night before, with a book in his hand. The rest of the pillows were stacked up at the foot of the bed.

Law lowered the book and looked at his subordinate. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Just checking to see if she had woken up yet," Penguin said. He stepped over to the other side of the bed and smiled down at their sleeping girl. "The crew's having issues getting the party decorations ready. We could use a little more time. I was just wondering if you could keep her in here until lunch or shortly there after. They should be done by then. I hope."

"I suppose that will be fine," Law replied. He looked down at Neo then back at Penguin. "But much longer and she'll get suspicious. I  _won't_  lie to her if you all aren't finished by then."

"We will be, Captain." Penguin nodded. "Once she's awake I'll bring her some breakfast. Would you like me to bring you something?"

"No, I ate already. Just bring her a light meal. A couple scrambled eggs, lightly salted, and one toast should be fine," Law ordered. "She'll most likely be awake within a few minutes."

"Aye aye, Captain. I'll get that right now and be back soon," Penguin said with a nod. "Oh, there is one other thing."

"What is it?" Law asked with a bored tone.

"I'd like to be the one to escort Neo outside to her party." When Penguin said that, Law raised a suspicious eyebrow at him. Penguin just shrugged. "I just want to give her my gift in private."

"What?" Law demanded lightly as not to wake Neo up.

"Don't worry. It's nothing bad. It's just kind of a surprise for the entire crew." Penguin chuckled secretively and nervously. Keeping secrets from Law, especially when it concerns Neo, wasn't a good idea, but it was necessary. "Besides, she won't be so self conscious if the crew sees my gift at the same time."

Law mulled over the man's words for three intense minutes before finally agreeing, reluctantly. "Fine. Whenever you want to give her your gift, just tell me the crew wants to see me. I'll leave so you can give it to her. But you better not upset her."

"Of course I won't, Captain," Penguin chuckled. He then left the room so he could get Neo's breakfast started then get on with decorating the cake since it should be cool enough by then. He also left Law with his own thoughts involving the party.

Law lowered his eyes to Neo once more. She, like always, was on her right side facing him. Her left arm was draped over her stomach. He gently slipped his hand under hers. Her fingers curled around his hand in response, making him smile. He brushed his thumb over her ring finger. Soon his gift would be resting upon it. It made his heart and stomach start twisting again. When he could feel his skin starting to get clammy, he pulled his hand back from her. He didn't think it would wake her up, but he didn't want to take the chance that it would.

He took a deep breath and slowly released it. He couldn't believe how nervous this was actually making him. But it would be over soon. He just had to figure out exactly when he was going to give it to her. He definitely did not want to give it to her with the crew around. It would be too much pressure. And not just for her. He was going to have to find the right moment to get her away from the crew. The crew should easily supply that means without realizing it.

Law slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the little silver gift. It looked so tiny and fragile laying in his large, calloused hand. Tiny and fragile, just like she was. But he knew it was safe in his hands. Just like he knew she was safe in his hands as well. He moved the ring closer to her hand and imaged what it would look like on her finger. His stomach flipped again just as she shifted. He quickly pocketed the ring when she started to stir from her slumber.

He pulled his hand from his pocket at the same time her eyes cracked open. She blinked then raised her eyes to him. He rested his hand on his lap with his book and smiled at her when the beeping of the heart monitor increased slightly. "Good morning, Neo. How are you feeling?"

"Good morning, Captain. I'm feeling okay." Neo rubbed her right eye while rolling over onto her back. She closed her eyes with a low sigh. "Still a bit sleepy. I'm not awake yet."

Law chuckled lightly. He waited patiently for her to completely wake up. After three minutes she reopened her eyes and looked at him again. He said, "Penguin will be here soon with your breakfast."

"Okay." Neo nodded before sitting up. She cautiously looked around.

"You're still in the medical bay, remember?" Law asked carefully.

"Yes, I remember." Neo brought her eyes back to him. She shifted a bit closer to him, giving him the impression that she slightly forgot where she was. "How long do I have to stay in here now?"

"Well, since nothing happening to you during the night, it won't be much longer. I would like to monitor you for a couple hours longer now that you're awake. I'd say about lunch time I'll let you leave this room completely," Law said. He instantly felt guilty when a hint of disappointment flashed through her eyes. But, like always, he knew she would obey him. "Don't worry about it. I'll get you one of your books to read. The time will fly by fast. Afterwards I'll take you outside for some fresh air."

"All right, Captain." Her lips turned up into a smile, but not a real one. The light in her smile wasn't present at the moment. She then tilted her head. She was inspecting him. "Captain?"

"Yes?"

"Did you…" Neo paused. She bit her bottom lip before continuing. "Did you stay awake all night?"

Law's eyebrows rose. He wasn't expecting her to notice that he did stay awake all night to watch over her. "Yes, I did."

"Why?" She asked.

"Because I was worried about you. I wanted to make sure you were resting and not in pain anymore," Law answered honestly.

"I'm sorry." Her eyebrows turned up. "I didn't mean to make you worry."

"You don't have to apologize," Law said. "You haven't done anything wrong."

"But I made you worry. And I made you stay up all night," Neo said with a sigh. "That's the second time I've done this. You should sleep. Sleep is important. Rest is important. You told me so yourself."

"I did, didn't I?" Law said with a light chuckle. Neo nodded in response to his question. He tucked her hair behind her ear before cupping and brushing his thumb over her cheek. "But I am all right. One night of no sleep won't hurt me one bit."

"But you should have slept." Neo reached up and grabbed a hold of his wrist. "You should have."

"I'm sorry. I'm making you worry now. How about I take a nap while you're reading? Will that make you feel better?" Law asked.

"You want to nap while I read?" Neo asked back.

"If it will make you feel better." Law smiled.

"It will." Neo nodded. "Thank you, Captain."

A knock at the door caused Law to pull his hand away from her. He turned his eyes to the door. "Yes?"

"Just me again," Penguin called cheerfully.

"Come on in," Law replied back.

The door opened and Penguin stepped inside carrying a tray of Neo's breakfast in one hand and two of her books were tucked under his arm. He greeted Neo with a warm smile as he walked over to her. "Good morning, sweetie. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Neo replied while shifting the blanket on her lap a bit. "But the captain wants me to stay in here for a while longer."

"I see." Penguin nodded. He sat the tray on her lap while Law grabbed a couple pillows from the foot of the bed and placed them behind her. Penguin then held up the books he had. "I brought you a couple of books to read."

"Thank you, Penguin," Neo said. Law shot Penguin a light glare. Penguin flinched when he realized he could have blown their party secret by bring the books with him. Luckily for them, Neo didn't notice that Penguin already knew Law wanted her to stay in this room longer. Her attention was on her scrambled eggs and toast. "Where's the rest of the crew?"

"Oh, their out on the island all ready," Penguin replied carefully. "They can't wait to see you. They'll be glad that you're feeling better too. Well, I'd love to stay and chat with you, but I have orders I need to attend to."

"Okay." Neo nodded lightly. "See you later then?"

"You bet you will." Penguin ruffled her hair a bit before finally leaving the room.

"How's your breakfast?" Law asked a few minutes later.

"It's good," Neo replied before taking a sip of her sweet tea.

"Well, since you seem to be okay with everything, I think I'll get that nap now," Law said while he shifted lower on the pillows. "Wake me if you need anything."

"All right, Captain. Have a good nap," Neo said as she gave him a smile.

Smiling back, Law lowered his hat over his eyes. He watched her finish up her breakfast then opened one of her books. Finally, after about fifteen minutes of secretly watching her every move, Law forced himself to pull his eyes away from her and closed them. He didn't want to lie to her after all.

…

Back in the galley, Penguin was drawing on Neo's name on the cake when Bepo came wondering in. He said, "Is the cake done now? All the decorations and food is finally set up and ready."

"Just finished," Penguin replied as he finished up the 'o'. He paused to examine the work he had done. The majority of the icing on the cake was, of course, blue while the 'Happy One Year Anniversary, Neo' was done in yellow.

"Um, how exactly are we going to get this down to the island without dumping it on the ground?" Bepo asked as he pointed at the cake.

"One step ahead of ya, Bepo," Penguin chirped. He kneeled down and opened a cabinet. He then pulled out a board that had one-inch boarder walls and a rope attached to each corner of the board. He laid the board on the counter then placed the cake, and the serving tray it was on, on the board. He then picked it up and turned to Bepo. "All ya have to do is lower it, slowly, to the ground with the rope."

"That'll work." Bepo blinked at the little invention of Penguin's. The bear took the cake in his paws. He got to the door before turning back to Penguin. "What about the captain?"

"I'll shoo him outside when I give Neo her gift," Penguin said with a bright smile.

"What did you get her anyway? You've been rather secretive about it," Bepo pointed out.

"You'll see soon." Penguin waved his hand at the bear like he was shooing away a fly. "Go on now. I'm going to go get Neo and the captain. We'll be out there shortly."

"I'm going. I'm going," Bepo said while finally leaving the galley.

"All right!" Penguin capped his hands together. He was so ready for this to finally happen. Today, Neo was going to be officially part of their crew. He looked around the galley one last time, to make sure everything was cleaned and put back into place, before finally leaving the room himself. He quickly marched down the halls of the sub.

Just in case, he glanced down both ends of the hallway when he finally reached his room. No one was around of course. He slipped inside and went right to his bunk. Kneeling down, he pulled out the white bag he had hidden inside of his bunk. It wasn't easy to hide his gift from the rest of the crew, but somehow, he managed to get it cleaned and placed neatly back into the bag. He also found a glittering golden bow that he decided to use as a decoration so it now looked like a real present.

Clenching a hold of the bag, he pushed back up to his feet and left the room. While walking back towards the medical bay, he wanted to feel a bit guilty for being as sneaky as he was being with his captain and Neo, but couldn't as it was going to be worth it in the end. This was a push that they both needed. Now at the medical bay door, he knocked on it again like he had twice before that same day. And once again, he heard Law's voice beckoning him to come inside. He took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping fully into the room, making his presence known.

Penguin took in the only other two people in the room. Both were still in the exact same spots that they had been in the previous times he's come in this room. The only difference was Neo was reading instead of sleeping and wasn't wearing the heart monitoring patches anymore. So Law had obviously taken them off at some point. He then said, "Captain, the crew would like to see you outside."

"Okay." Taking his planned cue, Law closed his book and stood up. He pulled on his shoes.

"Uh, Captain?" Neo called out with concern in her voice.

"It's all right, Neo. Penguin will escort you outside. I just got to go see what the crew wants. We won't be separated for long," Law said.

Neo nodded with a silent sigh.

Even though it really wasn't a lie, Penguin who was part of the crew really did want him outside, he still felt like he was lying to her. Law had no clue why his subordinate requested that he be the one to escort Neo outside to her party. What kind of gift could a person get someone that required the third party to not be in the room?

Not wanting to leave her so disappointed, Law stroked her hair before tickling her under her chin. Once she giggled for him, he stopped. He tweaked her chin, making her blush and tuck her hair behind her ear, then shot Penguin a warning glance. Penguin just smiled, shrugged and waved innocently back at him. Law sighed then continued his way out of the room, grabbing his sword as he went. He let his eyes roam over Penguin and Neo one more time before stepped out into the hall and closing the door.

"So are you ready to go outside now?" Penguin asked when he stepped over to Neo.

"I guess so." She smiled at him. Her eyes dropped to the bag he was holding. She tilted her head at the bag, but she didn't ask him about it.

"Well, let's get to it then. Today wouldn't have been any fun if you were in pain still," Penguin said with his smile growing.

"What do you mean?" Neo asked. She placed her book on the bed beside her while tucking her feet under her legs. She then placed her hands in her lap. "And where's the crew? I know you said they were outside, but no one has come to see me."

"They wanted to come see you, but they've been busy with something. They're waiting for you right now. So we better hurry up." Penguin smiled and held out the bag. "Here, I have something for you. Go ahead and take a look inside."

Neo blinked in confusion while taking the bag from him. She opened up the bag and peaked inside. She reached in and pulled out what was inside. When she got it out enough to realize what it was, her eyes jumped back up to Penguin. His smile grew even wider. He said, "It's a dress. I wanted to get you a present. Do you realize you've been with us for a year now?"

"Uh…yeah, I knew it was coming up soon, but didn't realize it was today. Thank you, Penguin," Neo replied. She pulled the dress completely out of the bag. It was a mini sundress with thin shoulder straps. The chest part of the dress was pure white. The rest of the dress was a royal blue with a silky light blue sash attached to it right below the chest line. The tails of the sash flowed over the front of the dress, but stopped short about four inches from the hem. Her rising confusion only made him smile more. "But I don't understand. The captain won't like me wearing this. I can't train in it."

"Trust me, sweetie." Penguin chuckled as he walked back over to the door. "The captain is going to  _love_  you in that. Get changed now. I'll step out into the hall."

"Um…okay," Neo replied. "But why? What's going on?"

"You'll know soon. Just hurry and change." Penguin waved at her from the door. "The others are waiting for us."

He quickly shut the door so she wouldn't be able to question anything again. She huffed at his actions. She then looked at the dress in her hands before swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. As if was going to break, she gently laid the dress on the bed. She ran her hand over the smooth fabric before finally tugging off her clothes. She neatly folded up her clothes and placed them on the bed before taking the dress into her hands again. She almost gasped when the fabric brushed a crossed her skin. Her other clothes didn't feel this soft. She smoothed out the dress with her hands several times before remembering Penguin was waiting for her.

Her shoeless feet were silent as she made her way over to the door. She reached for the handle and paused. She felt nervous for some reason. It was just Penguin on the other side of the door. She shouldn't have been nervous. She whispered, "It's just Penguin."

She then opened the door.

Penguin gasped slightly when she finally revealed herself to him. "Oh my gosh! Look at you! You are just so beautiful!"

"Uh, t-thank you," Neo stuttered. Her cheeks were pink as she collapsed her hands in front of her. He stepped closer to her. When he took her hands in his, she timidly looked up at him.

"You are growing up so fast now." Penguin sighed. "I can't believe it's been a year already. Well, let's have another look at you. I want to make sure you're just perfect for it."

"For what?" Neo asked, again.

"You'll see," Penguin said as he flipped her hair this way and that way. Once he got it to lay where he wanted, he stepped back to examine his work. He nodded once. "Perfect as perfect in this imperfect world can be."

"What?" Neo tilted her head in confusion.

"Never mind. I'm just mumbling because you are so beautiful. We better get going before the others start wondering where we are." Penguin slipped his arm around her waist and guided her shy, confused form down the stairs and towards the front door of the sub. She paused when he walked her over to the railing. She squinted her eyes, trying to take in the crew and their surroundings. Penguin bit back a chuckle. He was glad they decided to move their camp farther away from the sub than normal. She couldn't read the sign clearly from the sub. "You should fly us down with your wind crystals. The captain won't want you climbing the ladder in a dress. It wouldn't be appropriate."

"Oh, okay," Neo said with an unsure nod. She summoned her wind crystals and lifted them both off the sub's deck. She placed her hand on the dress when her winds started blowing it up a bit too high. After settled them down on the beach, Neo inspected her dress to make sure she didn't rip it somehow.

"It's fine, Neo," Penguin said with a light chuckle. "It'll take more than a light breeze to rip a dress."

"I just don't want to damage your gift." Neo looked at him. "I mean it's very pretty. I really like it. But, um, are you really sure it's okay? I don't want to upset the captain. And I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Don't worry, little sister." Penguin kissed her cheek. "It's okay. The captain won't mind. And I'm not going to get into trouble. Let's go now. The others, I know, are growing impatient."

"Okay." Neo nodded. She followed after him when Penguin took the lead. The closer they got to the others the more her nerves rose. When they finally got close enough, Neo's nervousness was quickly replaced with complete confusion. Their camp was different from the ones before.

Several crates had been set out. They were covered with bed sheets, as makeshift tablecloths. The edges of all the makeshift tablecloths were decorated with streamers and glitter. Two crates held colorfully wrapped boxes and bags. While a large variety of food, consisting of meat, fish, multiple vegetables, and fruits sat on four other crates. A decorated cake sat alone on its own crate beside the presents. But the most confusing of all for her, was the large banner mounted on two poles that the crew must have found on the island or made from two long tree branches. The banner read: Happy One Year Anniversary, Neo!

"What…" Neo looked at the decorations then at the crew then back at the decorations. She looked over at Law for answers. "I don't understand, Captain."

She waited for Law to answer, but she wasn't going to get one anytime soon. Law was staring at her, wide eyed, and shocked. His eyes were locked onto the dress she was wearing. He didn't even register the fact she had addressed him.

Penguin couldn't help but roll his hidden eyes. He was satisfied with his captain's reaction to the dress. Now if the captain would just recover from the shock. Penguin took a hold of Neo's hand, pulling her attention from the mind blown captain. He guided her closer to the crew and addressed her. He said, "This is a surprise party we planned for your one year anniversary with us."

"A party?" Neo tilted her head.

Taking her confusion as his cue, and knowing Law hasn't recovered yet, Penguin explained to her what a party was. "It's a social gathering of people to celebrate something or someone. In this case, it's you. So…"

"Surprise!" the crew yelled, tossing small pieces of steamers and glitter into the air. Her cheeks tinted a couple shades when the crew started cheering, whistling, and giving her more attention than she was use to. "Happy One Year Anniversary, Neo!"

"You look so good in a dress."

"You're really surprised, huh?"

"I'm just glad we were able to pull this off without upsetting you. We all were so worried about that. We didn't want to make you feel like we were neglecting you."

"It…it's okay. I knew you all were up to something, but I didn't know it was anything like this," Neo said as she received a hug from each one of the crewmates. Even Jean Bart gave her a hug even though he was still fairly new to the crew. "This is just…um…thank you?"

"Don't worry. The confusion will pass soon," Shachi said. He then squealed before throwing his arms around her. "You are just beyond cute in that dress! Penguin has surprisingly good taste!" He paused for a second and thought about his own words. He then sent Penguin a cheeky grin. "Wait a second…how is it that you picked out such a great dress for Neo? Do you have a feminine side we don't know about?"

"What are you implying?!" Penguin shrieked with angry red cheeks. "I only picked out a dress that would match her hair! I also asked the sale's lady for her opinion about the dress!"

"Okay, okay!" Shachi laughed. "I believe you!"

"You do look amazing," Jean Bart commented. There was another round of agreements from the crew.

"T-thank you," Neo timidly squeaked, tucking her hair behind her ear again.

"I'll say she looks good. She looks so good that the captain is actually speechless." Shachi chuckled while jerking his thumb at the awe struck man.

Neo gathered her wavering courage to pull her eyes up to the captain. He was still just staring at her with wide eyes. She swallowed then walked over to him with her hands collapsed in front of her.

"C-Captain?" she asked softly, tilting her eyes to him when she was a few feet in front of him. When he didn't reply, she got worried that she had upset him by wearing something that she couldn't train in. Her eyebrows turned up as tears gathered in her blue eyes. She dropped her chin.

"Captain!" Bepo, appearing beside the silent man, quietly hissed. He elbowed Law on the arm to snap the captain out of his trance. "Snap out of it!"

"What?" Law, finally snapping out of his transfixion, asked as he looked around cluelessly at his men. Some of the crew face palmed while others shook their heads and grumbled at their captain's uncharacteristic cluelessness. But they couldn't blame him for acting this way considering his feelings for the blue haired young woman before them, especially with her being in a dress.

"You're going to make her cry." Bepo pointed out and pointed at Neo.

Law turned his eyes back to the girl. He visible flinched when he saw she was on the verge of crying. He placed his finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to him. He flinched again at the tears in her eyes. Even though they hadn't fallen yet, he still brush his hand over her cheeks like he was brushing the tears away. She tensed at his actions. "Neo…you did nothing wrong. I was just surprised that's all. I didn't know you got a dress."

At that point, Law shot a glare at Penguin. Penguin jumped and waved guiltily at his captain. Law mentally growled. He should have known Penguin, of all his subordinates, would pull something like this. After all the black and white hatted man had become a best friend and a big brother in one to Neo. He would be the most comfortable pushing the boundaries that Law had set up for Neo. Law turned his eyes back to her. "You actually look very pretty in it."

"Really?" Neo fiddled nervously with her fingers. Law nodded with a smile. She bit her smiling bottom lip lightly as her cheeks flushed.

Law, unintentionally, let his eyes wonder over her dress covered curves again. He blinked and took in her curves. Had she always had those curves on her body? The crew chuckled when their captain let his eyes linger far too long on her. He blushed and pulled down his hat with a low, borderline 'I'm going to Shambles you all' growl.

"Neo, come see what else we have for you," Bepo said, knowing it was time someone saved their captain before he  _did_  use Shambles on all of them, especially Penguin. He put a paw on her shoulder and guided her over to the pile of gifts and the banquet they had laid out for her. "Would you like to open your presents first or are you hungry?"

"Oh, um…" Neo ran her eyes over the gifts and food before her. "I'm not sure."

"Well, there's an easy solution for that," Jean Bart said. "You can eat while you open your gifts."

"That's a good idea," Archer said. He grabbed Neo's shoulders and guided her to the logs they had pulled over for their camp. He guided her down to one.

Neo sat down properly. Her knees were pulled together and her hands were gently placed in her lap like she had always worn a dress and knew how she should sit in one.

At that point, Penguin walked over to her with a plate filled with just about everything they had in one hand and her favorite drink in the other. He paused to take her in. He never noticed, until that moment, that Neo had a very natural grace about her. He started to recall how she moved. Her walk, her run, even her battle movements had a graceful flow to them. It was like she was trained her whole life to be a proper lady instead of suffering from the abuse that she did.

"Uh, Penguin?" Neo's soft voice called out to him. "Is something wrong?"

"What?" Penguin blinked and looked at her.

Law, who was leaning against the log beside her, had his eyebrow raised in a curious way.

"You have this funny look on your face." Neo tilted her head and took the man in.

"Oh, sorry." Penguin smiled. He continued to walk over to her. He handed her the plate and tea. "I was just thinking about how much you have grown up this past year. I guess I was just distracted by it. So much has changed for us all in the year that you've been with us."

"Has it really?" Neo asked, setting her teacup on the ground, so she wouldn't spill it, and the plate on her lap. "I know I'm different now, but have I really changed things that much for you all?"

The crew, who were getting their own plates of food and inspecting that the gifts were fine, paused what they were doing. They all looked at her then at Law with a quiet, hopeful look on their faces. Bepo was the one to speak up for them all. He said, "Captain? Can we tell her now?"

"I suppose its fine to go ahead and tell her," Law said with a light nod.

"Tell me what?" Neo asked curiously but cautiously.

"That this party isn't just to celebrate your one year anniversary with us," Penguin said. He kneeled down and placed his hand on her shoulder. He smiled brightly. "It's also to celebrate the fact that you are now officially part of our crew."

Neo stared at him for a while before letting her eyes wonder over the rest of the crew. They all held bright grins and nodded to confirm Penguin's words. She then dropped her eyes down to Law. Though his eyes were once again covered with his hat and looking down at his lap, he nodded too. Her eyes went back to the crew. They all jumped and shrieked when tears spilled down her cheeks. "Eek! We didn't mean to upset you! Please don't cry! The captain's going to kill us if you cry!"

Neo rubbed the back of her right arm over her eyes while keeping her plate still in her lap with her other hand. When she started to laugh, the crew relaxed a little bit but looked at her in confusion. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm crying  _and_  laughing. I'm not sad. I'm not hurt or scared either. I shouldn't be crying at all. What's wrong with me?"

The crew exchanged smiles of realization before letting their eyes settled back on Neo. Penguin shifted his position and sat on the log beside her. He put his arms round her and pulled her into his side. With a soft chuckle, he said, "Neo, you're crying because you're  _happy_."

"I'm crying because I'm happy?" She looked up at him.

"You are." He smiled and brushed her tears away with a nod.

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Neo insisted. The crew chuckled.

"I guess it doesn't make sense," Penguin said. He rubbed his hand over her back.

"But this is okay?" Neo asked. She looked at them all before resting her eyes on Penguin. "It's really okay? I can  _be_  happy?"

"Of course you can be happy, Neo." Shachi kneeled down in front of her. He placed his hand on her knee and smiled at her. "That's what we want for you. We all want you to be happy."

Neo looked at Shachi before running her eyes over each and every one of the crewmates again. When she got to Law, he lifted his eyes to her and smiled at her. His smile made her stomach flutter. With more tears running down her chees, she said, "I'm happy. I'm actually happy. You all make me happy. It's all because of you guys."

The crew cheered again at her revelation.

"So how does it feel to officially be part of our crew?" Bepo inquired once the crew's cheers settled back down. When Neo looked at him, the bear held a worried look in his eyes.

"Uh." Neo let her eyes wonder over the crew and the captain again. A bright smile spread across her lips. "I think I really like it. I really like it a lot."

"Yeah!" the crew cheered, yet again. They then start to hand their gifts to her and had her open them. She nibbled on her food between opened them all up. They got her several books, reading books and some cook books, some shirts, and three glass figurines. The glass figurines consisted of a multicolored hummingbird drinking out of a pink flower with three green leaves, a blue and black colored butterfly and a red with white spots toadstool with a tiny blue haired fairy wearing a green leaf style mini dress on top of it.

While she was busy opening her gifts, Law slipped his right hand into his pocket. He had his sword resting on his left shoulder instead of his right like usual. He grabbed a hold of his gift her for and started to figure out when he was going to give it to her. And how he was going to get her away from the crew so he could give it to her without them around.

…

"Hey, Captain!" Penguin suddenly called out hours later when the sun was on the verge of setting. "When are you going to give Neo  _your_  present?!"

"Hn." Law flinched. The entire crew turned their teasing grins at him. Apparently they all knew he had gotten her something. He wondered from their cheeky, teasing grins, if they somehow figure out  _what_  he got for her. He knew it really didn't matter. Once he got up the courage to actually give it to her, they'd all know anyway.

Neo turned her eyes to him, but didn't say anything.

Law cleared his throat as he stood up. Now was the right time to take her away from them. "Neo, come. We're going for a walk."

"Um, okay, Captain." She allowed Bepo to take her half eaten cake slice from her when she stood up. She ran until she was by Law's side. Her pace slowed down as she walked beside him.

"Don't keep her out too late now, Captain! You know she's not ready for that!" Shachi sang out causing the crew to laugh.

Neo paused and looked back at the crew and blinked. "Not ready for what?"

Law just grumbled under his breath and continued walking. He summoned her again. "It's nothing. Come on now, Neo."

"Right. I'm coming." Neo turned and ran up to his side.

…

Law, keeping himself between her and the sea because of the weird wave attack, secretly glanced over at the young woman walking beside him. She wore a content look on her face. His heart fluttered in his chest when his eyes roamed freely over her dress. He felt his cheek grown warm once again when he realized he was tracing her curves with his eyes. He silently cursed, and thanked, Penguin under his breath while forcing himself to look away from her before she caught him looking at her.

When he did, Neo paused and looked out at the setting sun painted sea in an array of yellows and oranges. Law took a few steps away before noticing she stopped. He turned back to see she was looking at a coupledolphins. They clicked and chirped at her.

She giggled when they started to jump out of the water, doing some flips. "Sorry, I haven't been in the water. You better get back to your pod now before the sunset completely sets. They're probably worried about you."

"What did they say?" Law inquired when the dolphins disappeared under the water.

"They were chasing after a fish and asked if I had seen where it went," Neo replied, collapsing her hands behind her back and turning to him. She gave Law a closed eye smile. "They were being silly."

Law's eyes roamed over her body,  _again_. The salty wind started to blow off the calm sea, making her hem dance against her legs, revealing more of her naturally tanned skin to him.

Neo tilted her head when Law swallowed and quickly averted his gaze, and flushed cheeks, from her. "Captain, is something wrong?"

Law didn't reply. His heart was pounding so hard that he almost didn't hear her question. He just pulled his hand out of his pocket and quickly held it out to her. She looked to see lying in his palm was a small silver circle. He said, "It's…it's my present for you."

Neo didn't say anything as she plucked the item out of his hand. She remained quiet while inspecting the small circle. It had blue gems embedded into an intricate shape of a heart. It looked very familiar to her, but she couldn't place where she had seen the heart before.

Law watched her quietly and wondered if she recognized the design or if seeing him with his shirt off was too much for her to remember the design of his tattoos.

"It's very pretty, Captain. Thank you." They looked in each other's eyes at the same time. Neo tilted her head when his cheeks tinted darker. "Captain, are you feeling okay?"

"Why do you ask?" Law asked.

"Your face is red." Neo reached out her left hand for him. "Are you getting sick?"

"No, I'm not getting sick," Law said, quickly grabbed her hand before she could touch him, causing her to tense. He then plucked the ring from her other hand and purposefully slipped it onto her left hand's ring finger. Once the ring was firmly in place, he paused to inspect how it looked, and just as he suspected the ring looked great with her coloring. It stood out like it should have. The gold would have blended into her skin more. That wouldn't do at all. The ring was supposed to get people to notice it, to protect her. He then gently pressed his lips to the back of her fingers, making her gasp lightly and tense. "Neo?"

"Y-yes?" She whispered unable to get her voice to go any higher.

"N _ever_  take this ring off, okay?" Law lifted his eyes back to hers. She was blushing. "Promise me you'll always keep it on."

"I-I promise," Neo replied softly, her chest tightening, her hands trembled. "C-Captain…I feel kind of strange. I'm not sure how to explain it. I'm kind of scared. What do I do?"

Law quietly studied her before answering her. He said, "You don't do anything. Just let yourself feel these emotion for now. They're not going to hurt you. I know they seem scary, but it'll be all right. I'm still here."

"Thank you," Neo said, her voice still soft. "Thank you for being so patient with me, Captain."

"Law," Law's voice cracked as he spoke his name. She tilted her head in curiosity at the odd tone in his voice and wondered why he said his own name. His heart soared at her innocence. "This is another gift I want to give you. I want you to call me by my name when we're alone."

"But, Capt-"

"No," Law said sternly while finally releasing her hand and pressing his finger to her lips. "We're  _alone_. Call me by my name. Call me Law."

Neo stared at him.

Law waited patiently for her to speak. He knew this was going to be slightly difficult for her since she's been calling him captain for so long and was still lacking in her social skills.

Neo swallowed before finding her voice several seconds later. "L-Law…"

Law smirked when she finally said it. Just like it had before, her voice made his heart skip, several beats this time. He watched as the corner of her lips twitched into a smile. She then giggled. And with the innocent look she held in her eyes now, it made her look and sound like a child who had been up to mischief.

He brought his eyes up to hers before they slid back down to her lips where his finger still was. Without thinking, he lightly brushed his finger over her smooth lips. He then dragged his finger down to her chin, tilting her head up a bit and started to lean in towards her.

"C-Captain…W-what are you doing? My chest is tight. It's hard to breath. I…I'm scared," Neo said.

Law pulled back and studied the scared, confused look she held in her eyes. He sighed and pulled away from her. He mentally cursed himself for almost losing control. She just had that effect on him when they got into situations like this. "You don't have to be scared. I wasn't going to do anything that would hurt you. Let's continue our walk now, okay? You'll feel better then."

"Y-yes, Captain," Neo replied with a nod then started walking beside him again.

"Neo," Law said, casting a sideways glance at her. She turned her eyes to him and his captain tone. "I told you to call me Law when we're alone. And we are still alone, right?"

"Yes, C-Law," Neo apologized. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You'll get use to it in time." Law smiled and turned his attention back in front of him. He stole glances at her while they walked along the beach.

She kept looking at his ring with a light smile on her lips. She just couldn't seem to stop staring at it. It was probably about fifteen minutes later when her arm finally got tired of being in that position. She had no choice but to lowered her arm back down to her side. That's when he shifted his sword to his other shoulder. He then let his hand drop to his side.

Slowly, he reached for her hand and wound his fingers in hers. He felt her tense up from his touch, but she didn't pull away. He kept his eyes forward for a while before finally stealing another glance at her. She was still smiling, but had her eyes down to the ground. His lips twitched into a smile when she slowly closed her fingers around his and took a step closer to him. A familiar white glow emitted from her body. She looked up at him at the same time the glow passed to him. He noticed she started to hesitate, but the hesitation vanished when she spoke.

"C-Law, can I ask you something?" Neo asked.

"Of course you can," Law replied gently.

"This, uh, this change that's happening between us." She paused before continuing. "It's a good thing. Isn't it?"

"Yes, Neo. It is going to be a good thing," Law said.

"And you'll explain it to me when I'm ready," she said though it came out both as a statement and a question.

"Of course I will. Whenever you're ready, I'll tell you," Law said.

She nodded in understanding then let her eyes dropped back to the sand before taking another step closer to him.

Law could sense in that moment that it wouldn't be long now before she finally asked him to completely explain why she felt the way she did around him. He couldn't wait. But he would. He would wait until she was ready. It would only make it the more sweeter when he could explain it and finally confess his own feelings for her. Though he always thought it was corny when people said they would wait forever for the person they loved, he knew he would do just that. He would wait and wait for Neo. Nothing would ever change that. And there would be nothing in the world that would get in the way of that.


	38. Ambushed

Ambushed

Neo stood with her eyes closed. She had over fifty earth crystals out. They were hovering beside her before she mentally ordered them to fly out over the island. The crystals started glowing when she connected them to all of the plant life on the isle. She recalled everything Law had told her he wanted her to do. She envisioned trees growing up from the ground, their branches circling around the trunks to create stairs for the crew to walk up. A few branches bunched up together forming platforms in the trees. Opening one eye she found the trees doing what she wanted.

She stretched out vines for bridges and for vine swings. She enlarged flowers so the crew could use them as hiding spots and shields. She raised rocks to also provide shelters and shields while they could also be used as stepping-stones. She twisted bushes around to provide cover for the crew while also providing cover for herself and Law if they needed it. And, even though it wasn't a suggestion from Law, she created a variety of fruits around her mega forest so the crew wouldn't get hungry during their this training session they were about to do since it was going to take up most of the day. While the crew was going to build up their strength in their bodies by run all over Neo's wild jungle, she was going be hiding with Law and snipe the crew when she saw them.

Law, like always, was standing right beside her. He was carefully observing her for any signs of stress or pain from possible over use of her crystals. This was her first time creating a forest this big. He moved his eyes from her to the trees. The trees were now as tall, or taller, than a giant. His eyes went back to her. He didn't find any warning signs that he should have her stop. It made him wondered about the limits of her abilities. There had to be a limit to them somewhere, but so far it seemed she didn't have any other than the ones they've already discovered.

The thought vanished from his mind when he saw her raise her right hand to her left hand. He watched as she brushed the tips of her fingers over his ring. A smile pulled across his lips. She was subconsciously checking to make sure the ring was still there while working on her current task. He was noticing her doing this rather often since he had given it to her. At times it was obvious she knew she was doing it. While other times, she was did it subconsciously like she was doing right now. The gift had a strong impact on her without her realizing it. In the past two days since he gave her the ring, she was sitting closer to him and taking a hold of his hand more. She wanted to be physically closer to him. Law never objected and never pulled away from her. He wanted to be physically closer to her too. And things were starting to move more in that direction.

"Hm." Neo's humming pulled Law from his thoughts. She had finished up her job and was studying her work. "I don't think I'm going to be able to put this place back to the way it was before."

"It doesn't matter," Law said. He stepped closer to her and slid his hand into hers. She looked up at him and smiled, closing her fingers around his. "Even if someone was able to figure out it was you who did it, they'll be stupid to try and do anything to you. Besides, they'd have to get past me first."

Neo's smile got brighter as she shyly tucked her hair behind her ear. She then said, "Speaking of which…when will people start noticing me? I'm feeling anxious about it. I want it to happen, but then I don't want it to happen. That means more people will be looking at me. So many strangers. So many new people. So much newness."

"They'll start noticing when we start making more of a ruckus in public. For now we're still focused on getting you trained. It won't be long now before we start moving forward and head for the New World," Law said. "Try not to worry about it. If something becomes far too much for you to handle, I'll immediately remove you from the situation. I won't let you get hurt in any kind of way."

"I know you won't." Neo nodded slightly. "The New World, huh? I've been wondering… do you think my godfather will try something once we enter into that world? I mean that is where his territory is and all, right?"

"I doubt he'll do much of anything. At the very least he'll just make his presence known to us rather than doing anything like trying to take you away." Law brushed his thumb over her hand when he felt her tremble in his. He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers, making her tense. "Don't worry about it. From what we do know about him and your bond with him, I don't believe he'll do anything to upset you. He seems rather loyal to your people and to you."

"I suppose so," Neo whispered. She tilted her head a bit, causing their noses to touch. Both blushed at the unexpected move.

"Capta-Oh. Oops," Archer's voice caused them to pull back from each other, but they kept their hands linked. The crewmate chuckled nervously at the interruption he caused. "Sorry about that, Captain, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"What is it?" Law asked with some annoyance in his tone.

"Just reporting and checking in," Archer said. His eyes dropped down to Neo's left hand. A smile twitched on his lips, but he managed to keep a straight face. He, plus just about all his crewmates, were a bit shocked that their captain got Neo such an intimate gift. But they all noticed how much Neo really loved the gift so they kept a tight lid on their desire to question and tease the two on their growing connection and relationship. They also knew their captain had his reasons for buying her a gift like that. And they all trusted their captain to not take advantage of Neo's naivety towards the gift. Law would no doubt explain it to her at some point in the future. "We all were wondering how much longer this was going to take."

"She's done now," Law replied. "We'll start the sniper session soon. What else was there?"

"We spotted another pirate ship in the area a little while ago," Archer reported. Neo flinched at the report. She stepped closer to Law and clenched a hold of his sleeve with his free hand. Archer smiled at her when she did this. "Don't worry, Neo. They turned east and headed away from us. They might have noticed the jolly roger on the side of the ship and decided it was best to stay away."

"I don't think so," Neo said. Law shot his eyes back down to her. She had a concentrated look on her face.

"What do you mean?" Archer asked.

"On the east side of the island, there's a disruption coming from the wildlife." Neo closed her eyes. She summoned her earth crystals again. Spreading them out over the island, they started to glow. "There's someone on the island. I think there's about thirty of them. They're heading for the rest of the crew." Her eyes shot open. She looked directly at Law. "Captain! They're going after the crew!"

"Neo, fly us there," Law ordered.

Neo quickly banished her earth crystals and summoned her wind crystals. She wrapped her winds around them and flew them back to the crew as fast as she could. Their abrupt landing startled the rest of the crew.

"What's going on?" Penguin asked, noting the urgency in the small group that just landed.

"We got company!" Archer shouted. "Get ready for a fight!"

"Huh?" the crew asked with confusion.

"Neo?" Law looked at her.

Neo nodded in understanding. She once again summoned her earth crystals. The crew whipped their heads around when startled cries came from the forest behind them. When they turned, they found Neo had her vines wrapped around thirty pirates. She pulled them out from behind trees and bushes. A hawk circling above cried out, but stayed in the air.

"What the heck?" Shachi asked. "Where did they come from?"

"They must be from the pirate ship we spotted earlier," Archer said. "Apparently they circled around to land on the island's hidden east side away from us."

"An ambush then," Jean Bart stated. His eyes roamed over the vines wrapped around the intruding pirate crew. "Not smart on their part, considering."

"How is this possible?!" one of the intruding pirates, with dirty blonde hair, demanded. "We had the element of surprise on our side! And we were up wind of you all! You should not have been able to detect us!"

"Does not matter." The one who was obviously the captain of the group, chopped away at the vine holding him. He dropped to his feet just as his crew followed his example. The hawk screeched again then landed on the pirate captain's shoulder. It flapped its wings a few times before settling down. It tilted its head in curiosity at Neo.

"Captain?" Neo spoke in a hushed voice. She noted the bird taking her in, but choose not to bring attention to it. She figured her crew already noticed the bird checking her out anyway.

"It's all right." Law gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "They're nameless nobodies."

"Nameless nobodies?!" the other captain hissed. He pointed his sword out at Neo. "We are the Silver Hawk Pirates! And we'll be taking that pretty little thing right there! We were watching you all for a while. She can do the most interesting things with plants, can't she?"

Neo swallowed nervously and took another step closer to Law.

One of the other Silver Hawks Pirates spoke up. He said, "What kind of devil fruit is it that you possess? I've never heard of one that can manipulate plants before."

"It seems they don't know about Neo's other abilities despite her flying you three back to camp," Penguin whispered when he stepped closer to Neo and Law. "Should we attack?"

Law quickly ran his eyes over his crew. All of them were ready to protect their girl if necessary. His eyes then dropped down to Neo. She sensed him looking at her and turned her eyes up to his. He studied her carefully. She was a little nervous, but other wise fine. He smiled at her. He said, "Why don't you handle them?"

"Me?" Neo asked.

"Trust me. They really are nameless nobodies," Law said with confidence. "You can handle them easily."

"I said, 'We are the Silver Hawk Pirates'!" the captain of the Silver Hawk Pirates shrieked. "Didn't you even listen to me at all?! Do you not see this hawk on my shoulder?!"

Law squeezed her hand again when a flash of concern passed over her eyes. "You don't necessarily have to hurt them. Just do whatever you feel like in getting them off this island."

"Captain, are you sure?" Bepo asked.

"It's fine," Law said. "If these nobodies were serious about attacking us they already would have. They're nothing but talk. Go ahead, Neo, get rid of them. You don't have to hurt them. Just remove them from this island and give them the desire to never come near us again. You can do that easily."

"Okay." Neo nodded before turning her eyes back towards the Silver Hawk Pirates. She focused in on the hawk first. "Go on back to your ship now."

The Silver Hawk Pirates, thinking the command was for them, laughed. One of them said, "That's it? You're just going to  _tell_  us to go back to our ship, little girl? And you! You're seriously going to let a little girl handle thirty grown men?! What kind of pirate captain are  _you_?"

The hawk chirped and tilted its head this way and that before obeying her command. Law smirked when none of the opposing pirates noticed that the bird obeyed Neo's command. Law then said, "Obviously a better captain than your own. You all are in way over your heads here and you don't even realize it. If you really want to make a name for yourselves then you need to fight against other pirates who are weaker than you not stronger than you."

"Why you, little brat!" another Silver Hawk Pirate shouted. They all pulled out their weapons. Some had swords, others had spears, and a couple was holding knifes.

"This just pathetic," Conner said cracking his knuckles.

"They seriously don't have a clue how out classed they are here even though they were spying on Neo?" Shachi asked. He shook his head then stretched out his neck. "This is just sad."

"Charge!" the Silver Hawk Pirate captain ordered. His crew cried out as they charged forward.

Neo once again wrapped her vines around the opposing pirate crew.

Their captain shouted out, "Don't think that trick will really work, do ya? We can easily cut through these vines, child."

The captain raised his sword to slice away at the vine holding him. His crew followed suit. But before they could make the first strike, Neo called upon more vines. She wrapped them around their weapons and easily pulled them from their hands. She then opened up a large hole right there on the beach. The Silver Hawk Pirates eyes bugged out of their heads when the hole appeared. Neo dropped their weapons inside of the hole then easily closed it up.

The Heart Pirates laughed at the distraught and sudden realization looks their enemies were getting in their eyes. Not wanting to reveal her other crystals to them, Neo used only her earth crystals the entire time. Feeling out where their ship was, she called upon more earth crystals. She easily lifted their ship up by the use of vines and seaweed and pulled it to their side of the island.

"What?!" the Silver Hawk Pirates shouted out when their ship appeared being carried around the edge of the island by Neo's vines and seaweed.

"This is your  _only_  warning to stay away from us." Law released Neo's hand and walked over to the other pirate captain on the island. He leaned in and hissed to the intruder. " _She_  may show you mercy, but  _I_  never will show you any when you target her.  _Never ever_   _do it again_." Satisfied with the fear he had caused in the man, Law then walked back over to Neo. Reclaiming her hand, he said, "Go ahead, Neo."

"Right," Neo said softly. She then flung the Silver Hawk Pirates onto their boat. Once they all were on board, she lifted the ship into the air about twenty feet off the surface of the sea. With the help of some seaweed, she spun the ship around and around until she knew the pirates were all dizzy. She smiled at that point, which Law noticed. She then summoned her wind and water crystals. Using her vines, she unfurled the sails. Then with her wind and water crystals she pushed their ship out to sea until it caught in a current that pulled them even farther away from the island.

Once the Silver Hawk Pirates ship was completely out of sight, the majority of the Heart Pirates collapsed to the ground with laughter. One said, "Did you see the looks on their faces?!"

"I think a couple of them wet their pants!" another added.

"That was incredible," Penguin said while putting his arm around Neo's shoulders. He kissed her cheek. "You did so well! They didn't know what hit them! They'll think twice before trying to come after you again!"

"Thanks," Neo said, uncertainty lacing her voice.

"Neo?" Law looked down at her. He watched her as she ran her eyes over the crew. Her lips were moving slightly. Law was easily able to read her lips. She was counting the crew. Once she reached fifteen, she sighed with a light smile.

"I'm okay, Captain." Neo looked up at him then. She tightened her hold on his hand. "It felt a bit weird directly confronting people like that, but I think I'm going to be fine. Like you said, I didn't have to hurt them to protect you all."

"That's right." Law nodded. He carefully studied her eyes before speaking again. "We should proceed with our training lesson then. Are you all right with that?"

"Yes, I am." Neo nodded.

"Very well then," Law said to her. He then turned to his crew. "Give us ten minutes to get inside the forest. Then you all spread out and start working your way to the other side of the island."

"Aye aye, Captain!" the crew chirped. "Good luck, Neo!"

"Don't hit us too hard now," Shachi added with a wave of his hand.

"I won't." Neo giggled. She waved to them all as she and Law disappeared into the jungle to get set.

…

The crew waited just as they were ordered. After their ten minutes were up, the crew started to wonder into the forest. They all gasped at what Neo had done. "Wow!"

"This is incredible!"

"Amazing!"

"It's like some kind of fairytale wonderland or something."

"She's just doesn't fail to impress, does she?" Jean Bart asked. "What exactly is she capable of anyway?"

"I'm not sure we'll ever find out," Shachi replied with a shrug. "It seems that her abilities are limitless, even though I know that's just not possible."

"I hope one day we can finally get answers to what all she can and can't do," Bepo said.

"Yeah." Shachi nodded. "Well, we better get going."

"Right!" the crew quietly shouted. They then split off in different directions to proceed with their training session.

Penguin lingered behind. He watched as his fellow crewmates disappeared into the wild jungle before them. Most remained on the ground, weaving through the brushes and trees Neo manipulated for them places to hide and traverse over. Some immediately took to the trees. They jumped up to the stair branches that she had created. Some of those crewmates walked up the branches to check out what Neo had done on a higher level while a couple of them started to swing away from the area by the use of the vines hanging down from the tree canopy.

This place was a bit breath taking, but for some reason, something else was bothering him. Something just didn't feel right to Penguin. He just didn't know why. Maybe the pirate crew that Neo just ran off bothered him more than he thought. He shrugged. He didn't know why that would bother him. She did just fine in handling herself with them. And she was still safe under the watchful eyes of their captain. Law wasn't going to let her out of his sight anytime soon.

"All right!" Penguin lightly patted his cheeks with his hands. "Nothing's wrong. She's fine and safe. Time to get moving. I've training to do."

Feeling a little better, Penguin raced off into the dense jungle. He ran on the ground for a while before jumping up into the trees. He just had to explore this wild place while he had the chance.

…

Law, leaning against the tree he was standing in with his arms crossed, watched Neo closely as she carefully flew herself from branch to branch. She had located another crewmate, without the use of her other crystals, and easily tagged him with her water crystals. Law's eyebrows rose high on his forehead. He was starting to notice that she was highly enjoying tracking the crew like this. He recalled how she also enjoyed toying with that other crew back on the beach a few hours ago.

When his mind pulled back into the moment, he realized she was gone. Forgetting he could easily sense her, he looked around in a panic. "Ne-"

"Gotcha!" Neo cried as she flew into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She looked up at him with a big amount of amusement in her eyes and a smile on her lips.

"What do you think you're doing?" Law asked, forcing himself to relax. He wrapped his arms around her, careful not to hit her with his sword. "You scared me when you disappeared."

"I'm sorry, Captain." Neo giggled. She pulled back from him a bit. "I couldn't stop myself. You just looked so distracted for some reason."

"I suppose I was. Well, despite that, you're being very playful today," Law said with a light chuckle on his lips. He stroked her hair. "It seems you might be starting to develop your own battle style."

"I am?" Neo blinked. "That's a good thing, right?"

"It's a very good thing. It'll help you remain calm in battle. Just like a few hours ago when those pirates tried to ambush the crew. Do you remember how you felt when confronting them?" Law asked.

"Um." Neo pooched out her lips in thought. Law's heart skittered in chest at how cute she looked. "Well, I felt nervous at first then I became strangely calm. I know I was with you and the crew so I wasn't really scared at all."

"True." Law nodded. "But you were also at ease confronting them because you knew you didn't  _have_  to hurt them to get rid of them."

"I think I understand. I don't have to hurt anyone if I don't want to. Being playful with them will end in the same results as being aggressive towards them. Is that correct?" Neo asked.

"That's correct." Law nodded again.

"Thanks, Captain," Neo said. Law sighed and shook his head. "What is it?"

"That's twice now you've called me 'Captain'," Law pointed out. He tilted her chin up with his finger and gave her a teasing smirk. "You're supposed to call me by my name when we're alone."

"I'm sorry…Law," Neo apologized. She tried to bite back her smiled but couldn't. "It's just so new to call you by your name. I forget."

"It's all right." Law chuckled again. He took off his hat and placed it on her head. "You'll get use to it soon. It just takes time."

A light pink dusted across her cheeks. She fingered his hat before putting her arm back around him and laid her head on his chest with a content sigh.

Law released a sigh of his own before tightening his hold on her. He buried his nose in her hair, becoming light headed from her scent. "Mmm…you're supposed to be sniping the crew."

"I all ready did. They're probably heading back to the camp by now," Neo replied.

"Not all of them." Both Neo and Law jumped and pulled away from each other when Shachi's voice appeared out of nowhere. They turned to find Shachi, accompanied by Penguin and Bepo, standing on a nearby branch. All held teasing, but approving, grins on their lips.

Law cleared his throat before speaking. He said, "You all were supposed run through the maze Neo set up then head back to camp after getting tagged by her. How did you all even know where we were?"

"I figured it out after her last attack on our crewmate. I just followed the shot back to this tree." Penguin shrugged casually. "And we were going through the maze while heading back to camp. We just noticed that we all were tagged and decided to come up here so we could walk back to camp with you both."

"I'm impressed that it only took about six hours for you to tag us all," Bepo said. He looked down and around their forest. "I thought it would take a lot longer since you made this place so dense and you weren't using your crystals to find us."

"Well, I thought it was going to take a lot longer too. But there are only fifteen of you for now. And none of you set up defenses for my aerial attacks. You all were too busy looking for us on the ground and behind trees and stuff that none of you bothered to even look up, despite knowing I can fly with my wind crystals," Neo explained. They all started at her. They were in slight shock at how precise she was being with her deduction of her success.

"Did you tell her about this?" All three turned their eyes to Law at the same times and asked the same question.

"Nope." Law grinned with satisfaction at how Neo had done all this on her own. "She figured that out by herself."

"But I don't really get why." Neo turned to Law. "Why didn't any of them look up for possible attacks?"

"That's because we don't have natural enemies lurking in the air," Law replied.

"I don't really understand." Neo tilted her head.

"Well, think about hunters," Law explained farther. "The majority of them set up stands in trees or climb to high places so they can get their target in their sights while staying clear of their prey's sights. A deer, for example, has no natural enemies that hang around in trees so they don't have a need to look up to see if a hunter, a wolf or other predator is waiting for them there. It's the exact same with people. If someone is going in for an aerial attack it's because they are using a devil fruit power or other source of flying means. People, physically, don't have the means to attack someone from the air without the aid of a weapon."

"Oh, I get it." Neo nodded.

"It looks like we're going to need to add that to  _our_  training sessions," Shachi said with a humorous laugh. "It'll be good practice for us in case we have to deal with someone who specializes in aerial attacks."

"For now let's just head back to camp," Bepo whined. His stomach rumbled loud enough for them all to hear. "I'm starving. We've been at this for hours."

"I'm sorry, Bepo." Neo's eyebrows turned up. "If I could have grow fish from trees, I would have set you out some."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Bepo cooed. He jumped over to the branch that Law and Neo were standing on. He put his arms around her shoulders and rubbed his furry face against her cheek, earning a charming bell filled laugh from her. "I only just got hungry recently. Some of the others said they were going to start up supper as soon as they got back to the camp. They're making fish. It just smells so good. My tummy is rumbling."

"You have such a strong sense of smell." Neo giggled. "You're fur is really tickling me."

"I know!" Bepo smiled brightly as he rubbed against her even more.

Neo's giggled shifted into laughter at the attention.

"Let's get going then," Law said with an obvious jealous huff.

"Looks like the captain is getting jealous that someone else is getting Neo's attention," Shachi said with a snicker.

"Easy, Shachi," Penguin said in a warning, but obviously amused, tone.

"Jealous?" Neo blinked. "What's-Uh?!" She cut her own voice off when she felt something odd. She tossed a look over her shoulder.

Law narrowed his eyebrows. He asked, "What is it, Neo?"

The others went into defense mode when Neo didn't answer right away. After a few intense seconds, Neo relaxed.

Law stepped closer to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Neo?"

"I'm sorry." Her body tensed then relaxed under his touch. She looked up at him. "I guess it was nothing. Something just didn't feel right suddenly. It was like a storm wanted to pop up but quickly vanished before it could."

"Are you sure?" Law asked.

"Yes, Captain, I'm sure." Neo collapsed her hands behind her back and turned her body to him more.

Law carefully studied her eyes and her body posture. Whatever she had sensed, it was gone now. "All right. Let's get back to camp then," he ordered.

"Aye aye, Captain!" the crew shouted simultaneously. They all then started to descend the trees they were in by jumping down from branch to branch. Not wearing shoes, Neo flew herself down to the ground as she followed them. Before her feet could touch the forest floor, she sensed a creature in distress. She pivoted her body and flew in the creature's direction without a word to the crew or Law.

Law's heart jumped into his throat when he turned to find she was no longer by his side. Before his voice could surface, he easily located her spirit still nearby. He rushed towards her. He rounded a tree and a couple bushes before finding her squatting down. "Neo, why did you take off like that? You know you're not supposed to go off on your own."

She shot to her feet. Turning to him, she collapsed her hands behind her back. She gave him a guilty, yet innocent, pout. "I'm sorry, Law. I thought you were right behind me. I didn't mean to startle you like that."

"No, don't worry about it. I wasn't really paying attention either." Law walked over to see what had caught her attention. "What did you run off for anyway?"

"Oh, um." Neo turned back around to what she was looking at before. When Law got to her side, he noticed a small grey rabbit. Its right hind leg was caught under a fallen log.

"A rabbit?" Law questioned.

"This log was resting on this rock here." Neo pointed to the rock she was talking about. "It fell over when the bunny wondered by."

"And you sensed the creature's distress. That's why you took off," Law summed up as he watched Neo kneel back down.

"Yeah," she answered him before nodding. She then turned her attention back to the rabbit. Law watched her, very closely, as she eased her hand out to the frightened animal. "Easy now, little one. I'm not going to hurt you. It's all right now."

Neo brought her hand right to the rabbit's nose. She allowed the creature to take in her scent before stroking its head gently. She then carefully removed the log off the rabbit's leg and picked her up. Neo then turned to Law. "Is her leg broken? Easy now, little bunny. This is my captain. He's a doctor. He won't hurt you either."

Law mentally chuckled to himself. This was his second nonhuman patient she had brought to him. Instantly, he knew he wouldn't be able to deny her request to look at the rabbit. So he didn't even bother to try and deny her. He reached out his sword free hand and inspected the creature's leg. "No, nothing's broken. She'll be fine."

"Thanks, Law." Neo smiled sweetly at him, making him blush. Before she noticed the reaction she caused, she turned her eyes back down to the rabbit in her arms. She scratched behind the rabbit's ear while talking to her. "You'll be all right now. You just had the best doctor in the world look over you. Take care of yourself."

Law shifted awkwardly at her praise as he felt his cheeks grow even warmer.

Neo carefully lowered the rabbit back down to the ground. Once her four paws hit the forest floor, the rabbit took a few hops away from Neo. She paused to look back at Neo before disappearing into the underbrush. Neo giggled while standing back up straight. She started to turn back to Law. As she moved, a bad, familiar feeling of darkness settled over her.

Law flinched at the scared look taking hold in her blue eyes. He rushed closer to her. Cupping her cheek, he asked, "Neo, what is it? What's wrong?"

"I-it's the darkness from my dream again," Neo whispered, almost too low for Law to hear.

"You mean the dream about the wave?" Law asked.

Neo started to nodded but suddenly stopped. She summoned her wind crystals. Pulling both her and Law off the ground, she rushed them back to their missing three companions. "Their after the crew!"

"Who's after the crew?" Law asked.

"I don't know! There's just someone here! Their presence is so dark! It's just like that wave was!" Neo said. Before they could share any more words, they caught up with Shachi, Bepo, and Penguin.

"There you two are," Penguin said. The three were walking back towards them. Both Neo and Law's eyes widened when, behind the three crewmates, vines started to grow up without Neo manipulating them. "We were starting to get wo-"

"No!" Neo cried out. She wrapped her winds around the three and pulled them away just before the vines came crashing down where they were standing.

"What the heck was that?!" Shachi asked once they recovered from being jerked forward by Neo. They all turned to see the vines had left a very big dent in the forest floor. The vines were also pulling back for another attack.

Neo summoned her earth and her wind crystals. She tried to take control of the plants with her earth crystals while simultaneously trying to push the attack away from her and her family. "Stop it! Stop attacking! Captain! It's not working! What do I do?!"

"Room!" Law called out. He swiped his sword over the vines multiple times, effectively shredding them. But more quickly took their place. He should have known that wouldn't have worked. He cried out, "Shambles!"

The small group of pirates was quickly warped away before the attacking vines became too much for Neo to hold back. The vines slammed on the ground. It sent multiple leaves and flower petals flying upward before raining down on the area. Cracks rippled through the forest floor and up the trunks of several trees.

…

"Crap!" Penguin cursed when they reappeared after being warped. "It's  _them,_  isn't it?!"

"The Elementals that the Dark King warned us about?!" Bepo screeched.

"What do we do, Captain?!" Shachi asked.

Law mentally let off a string of curses, all the ones he knew and some new ones he made up on the spot. He looked down at Neo when she leaned into his chest. She was trembling. She was scared. Her electric blue eyes were looking up at him. Pleading for him to tell her what she should do. But…he didn't know. He still didn't know how to stop creatures that could control nature. He still had no clue what that powder was that disoriented Neo before. He had no plan. He was starting to panic.

"No!" Neo cried out when a vine wrapped around her waist and tried to pull her away from Law.

"Neo!" Law shouted. He grabbed her wrist just before she could be completely ripped away from him.

"Hold on!" Penguin added as he and the other two grabbed onto their captain. All four of them tried to pull against the vine. They didn't do much good. The vine easily pulled them several feet forward. They dug their feet into the ground, but it didn't do anything to help stabilize them.

"No! Let go of me!" Neo cried. She summoned her fire crystals. She burned the vine around her. The second she was free Law jerked her back into his arms. "Captain!"

"Room! Shambles!" Law formed another Room and warped them again. When they reappeared, he quickly scanned their area. He had no idea how many there were. He had no clue where they were. Neo obviously couldn't sense them for some reason. They had to get out of the forest. There were far too many hiding places for the enemy to hide in. "We have to get back to the beach. Neo, which way is it?"

"That way," Neo said, pointing out the correct direction.

The group nodded. Law took Neo's hand and headed in the direction she pointed. Penguin, Shachi and Bepo followed behind. The three formed a circle around Neo and Law, but none of them were sure if it was going to do any good. It didn't.

Several thorns, about six inches long, flew at them. The group dodged them easily enough. Law sliced a few while Neo adverted some with her wind crystals and, using her earth crystals, she raised some vines and pulled some branches and rocks in the way to block some from hitting her family.

Bepo's eyes bugged out when two thorns hit a branch near him. A strange green liquid spilled out from the thorn. It sizzled as the bark from the branch disintegrated. "Eek! We are so in over our heads! Captain, they have poison!"

"There are more thorns coming this way!" Shachi shouted out as thorns came flying in from his right.

"More vines and thorns are coming from this way as well!" Penguin added. He grabbed a broke limb and started to bat away the thorns.

Neo used her crystals to blow away and block them too, but more just kept coming.

Loud creaking made all of them look up. Four trees were falling towards them from different directions. Bepo shouted out, his arms and legs flailing wildly. "Ah! We're gonna get squashed!"

"Room! Shambles!" Law warped them a couple more times. When they reappeared after the sixth warp, he moved to warp them again. But a sudden down pour of rain drenched them just as vines wrapped around all of them. With their skin now wet, Neo was easily pulled from Law's hold. "Neo!"

"Captain!" Neo fruitlessly reached out for him. But they were just separated more by the vines pulling them and by flora rising up out of the ground. The flora boxed them in. She summoned her earth crystals again and tried to take control of the plants in the area. They didn't listen to her. "What's wrong?! Why can't I take control of this?! Let go! Let us go!"

Neo banished her earth crystals and summoned her fire crystals. Forcing her erratically pounding heart to slow down, she closed her eyes and located where her crew was. When she locked onto each one of them, she flared up her fire crystals. Starting with the vine around her, she moved the fire down it then out into the area surrounding her. She then forced the fire to spread out in the forest and head for Law and the others. Breathing slowly, and deeply, she kept her attention on the crew so she wouldn't burn them while moving the fire in their direction.

She carefully looked up when rain started coming down. She could sense something dark hovering in the sky above her. There were about five of them. Carefully, she flared up her fire even more. She shot it up to the sky towards the five dark presences. Suddenly, the five scattered and the rain stopped. Before they could move in on her again, she moved even quicker with her fire.

…

"No!" Law growled as he sliced the flora that surrounded him into tiny little pieces. More rose up, but he just sliced them too. He ran in the direction he sensed Neo in. His heart pound so hard in his chest that he was surprised it hadn't cut off his circulation. He could easily feel that she was scared, even more so now that they were separated.

He tried sending her comforting thoughts as he sliced and ran through this thick brush that dared stood between them. He held out his hand and formed a Room. "Room! Shambles!"

Law warped away from his current location only to warp him into another area that was just the same as the last one. He did feel Neo was closer now, however. He held up his hand again to for another Room, but stopped when he felt and saw fire. All of the flora around him began to sizzle and crackle as the fire burn through their plant flesh.

…

Penguin, his own heart pound hard against his chest, stood in the middle of his plant room. He carefully looked around and looked up. The vines of this room were too far apart for him to ricochet off the walls in an attempted to get out of this thing through the opening above. He wasn't sure if he could make it up to the top of this room anyway even if he could bounce off the walls. The top of this place looked to be over a hundred feet tall. Still, he had to try. He had to get back to her. "Neo…just hold on. We're coming for you."

Scanning his options, Penguin bent his knees slightly then took off running towards one of the vine walls. When he got close enough, he jumped at it and pushed off towards a branch that hung low. He grabbed the branch and swung himself to another one. Just as his hand grabbed onto the second branch, a vine wrapped around it. Penguin's stomach turned when he heard a familiar snapping that wood makes when you snap it in half. His body plummeted back to the ground. He flipped a couple times before easily landing on his feet. He looked around to try and find another solution to his problem. Before he could locate one, he heard the sounds of a fire crackling near by. Soon his plant room was snapping and crackling from the fire that engulfed it. "Neo…"

…

Bepo growled, literally, as he swiped his claws at the vine wall before him. They were getting him nowhere. His natural weapon of his teeth and claws were no match for the thickness of the vines that surrounded him. He jumped back from the wall before charging at it again. He jumped up and planted his feet on the vines. The vines just flicked him back like he was an insignificant little insect.

He landed on his feet with ease, but dropped to the ground in defeat. He didn't know exactly what he was doing. He knew this wouldn't work. He had no way of getting out of this. He sighed. Looking up at the sky, he said, "The captain is going to be so furious. I just hope he doesn't lose his cool while trying to get back to her. And I pity the poor soul who's separated her from him. If he get's his hands on them…Neo, I so hope you are okay for both yours and the captain's sake."

Bepo then sniffed the air. He smelled the smoke rolling through the air before he heard the crackling of the fire.

…

Shachi stood, as calmly as he could, in the middle of his vine room. He carefully looked around. He couldn't help but notice that these vines weren't attacking him. He also noticed that the vines were only aggressive when they were with Neo. He hummed. "That makes sense. It's Neo's people that are after her. There's no real reason to attack  _us_  unless we are directly protecting her. Directly interfering with them trying to get to her. We are of no consequence to them being separated like this. They are the embodiment of nature in a human like form. If they  _wanted_  to kill us, they already would have done it. It's obvious we are far too weak to fight against them. Neo's their real reason for attacking. She's the one they want."

"And where's the rest of the crew? I know they headed back to our camp, but we're not that far from it. They should easily hear all of this ruckus and know something's wrong. They must have been taken out so they wouldn't interfere. Oh man, I hope they're only knocked out and not…" Shachi started to walk around the room. He was trying to see if he could possible find a way out of this situation. He stopped walking when he heard the sounds of a fire and smelled the smoke from it. He soon felt the heat of the blaze on his face. With how the flames were moving, he could easily tell Neo was the one in control of the fire.

…

Neo slowly opened her eyes when she felt she had finally spread her fire to her crew. She divided the walls of her fire. She could feel Law coming closer to her. A wave of relief washed over her heart. If he knew this was her fire and she was in control of it, then the other three did too. They would come in her direction through her firewalls. She could easily lead them to her that way.

"Law!" Neo cried out happily when Law finally did appear seconds after she divided the firewalls.

"Neo!" Law rushed over to her just as the other three appeared. Neo glanced at them before Law pulled her into his arms. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." Neo clenched the back of his shirt. She reluctantly pulled back from him. "But I don't know how long I can keep the flora at bay. They're a lot stronger than me."

"I know." Law nodded and cupped her cheek. He scanned his eyes over her. No cuts, no scratches, and no bruises. She was still wearing his hat, his ring, and her clothes were in tacked. She was just fine. He felt so relieved she wasn't hurt.

"Captain, we need to get back to the rest of the crew. They might be in trouble," Shachi said once he, Penguin and Bepo had reached Neo and Law.

Penguin stepped right up to Neo. His hidden eyes running over her body, making sure she wasn't injured.

"Let's go," Law said. He held up his hand. Quickly forming a Room as big as he could, he warped them out of the area. A couple more warps and the small group were finally back on the beach.

"Captain!" Neo gasped. Her eyes were locked onto their campsite. The rest of their crew was laying scattered about the camp. They weren't moving at all.

"Crap. I was right," Shachi cursed. "They went after the rest of the crew to keep them from helping us."

"Room! Shambles!" Law quickly warped them over to the rest of their crew. He immediately kneeled down to inspect one of his subordinates.

"Captain, are they…" Neo started, but couldn't finish her sentence. She held her breath and bit her bottom lip.

"They're alive," Law reported.

Neo released her held breath in a relieved sigh. But her relief didn't last long. She felt the dark presences coming down on them again. Before she could do or say anything, a large wave rose up out of the sea. It crashed down on the beach, trapping Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo in its watery grasp. They tried to swim out of the water, but it was nothing but a large current constantly whipping them around and around inside of its watery belly.

"No!" Neo shouted. She summoned her water crystals and tried to make the water recede back into the sea. It didn't work. She summoned her wind crystals to try and blow the water away. It didn't work. She summoned her earth crystals to try and use the sand and dirt to dry up the water. It didn't work. She summoned her fire crystals to try and dry up the water with a large blaze. It didn't work. Nothing worked. More dark water just filled what little water she did manage to get rid of.

"Room! Shamb-" Law held out his hand to warp his crew out of the water. But before he could preform the act, a vine snapped out and knocked his feet out from under him. His back collided with the ground. When he went to pick himself up, he found he couldn't. His entire body was drained of his powers. He looked down to find his body was engulfed up to his chest in water, in seawater.  _They_  knew his weakness. He growled. He should have known they would know about that.

Neo's arms dropped lifelessly to her sides as her crystals faded away. Penguin, Shachi and Bepo could no longer hold their breath. She knew that. They were out of air as their bodies floated lifelessly in the water. The water pulled back from them, dropping their wet bodies onto the beach. Tears began to fall effortlessly down her cheeks. Her eyes drifted over to the weakened Law. She pleaded to him for help. To tell her what she should do. "No…what do I do? Captain…what do I do? I can't control it…I can't…"

Law just stared at her, helplessly. He could see in her eyes how scared she was. He could feel how scared she was as her eyes roamed over his weakened state. She knew of his weakness, but never really saw him like this before. He was also a strong, solid presence to her. Now, he just felt so helpless. He wanted to go to her. He wanted to hold her in his arms. But he knew he couldn't. He couldn't help his crew. He couldn't help  _her_. His mind was racing over all the possibilities of how he could possibly get her out of this situation. He came up with no solution, but for one. One very painful solution. And he hated it to the idea's very core. She had to run. He had to  _order_  her to leave the crew. And to leave  _him_.

He felt his heart stop. It literally stopped beating for an entire minute. The very thought of her leaving hurt him so much. But he had to do it. He had to protect her.  _They_  were after her, not him or his crew. Tears stun the back of his eyes as he forced his voice to speak the word he really didn't want to say. "Run…"

"W-at?" Neo's voice cracked.

His heart stung at the increase of fear he caused in her. Law's stomach lurched. He so badly wanted to take that word back. To pluck it back out of the air, rip it to shreds and sent it to be scattered on the winds, but he couldn't. He knew he couldn't. He struggled to force himself to speak again. "You have to…Neo,  _run_. You have to get out of here."

"No! I won't go! I won't leave you!" Neo shouted. More tears poured down her cheeks, making Law hurt even more for having to do this to her. "I won't do it! I won't!"

Law choked back his desire to get physically ill. He took a deep breath. With every last bit of strength he had inside of him, he choked out the most painful order he could possible give her. "Neo…"

"Don't! Don't say it!" Neo pleaded. She shook her head. She knew what he was going to do, what he was going to say. And she knew she couldn't disobey an order from him. "Law! Please! Don't!"

"Neo! I  _order_  you to  _run_!" Both flinched at his words. Both bit their bottom lips at his words. It had been spoken. It couldn't be taken back. Her orders were clear. He tightly shut his eyes. He couldn't look at her. He didn't want to  _see_  how much he had just hurt her. He  _knew_  how much this was hurting her. He could feel her pain so clearly now. And she knew how much this was hurting him. She could feel his pain so clearly now too. They could feel each other's pain through their bond.

Neo summoned her wind crystals. Covering her mouth with her hand to stop herself involuntary gagging, she wrapped her winds around her body and lifted herself into the air. She lifted herself away from her family. She lifted herself away from  _him_.

She got about fifty yards off of the beach when a familiar dizzy feeling entered into her senses. Everything began to become blurry. Through her blurry vision, she saw someone swiftly moving towards her. Before she could process anything that was going on and how to avoid it, something hard slammed into her chest. It knocked her back down to the beach.

Law felt a gasp of air getting knocked out of him when the creature slammed its elbow into Neo's chest. He gasped again when her body collided with the ground. Rage built up inside of his body. He forced himself out of his watery cell and stumbled towards her. He only got a few feet before a sharp pain stabbed through his head. His own vision began to blur before everything slowly started to fade away. His body crashed to the ground. Through his fading vision, he could see their shoes. Some were gathering around her, while some were gathering around him. If he could have found his voice, he would have let out another string of curses at them. But his voice was gone. He was too hurt to speak. He was too angry to speak. All he could do was helplessly watch as one of them picked Neo up as his vision slowly faded away into darkness.


	39. Kailen

Kailen

He was standing on the branch of one of her giant trees. Hidden from the eyes of the others down below on the beach he watched, as they were defeated. He couldn't help them. He knew nothing he could do would be enough to stop this. But she  _should_  have been able to stop it. So why didn't she? Why didn't she put a stop to this darkness already?

It was all so confusing. He wanted to go down there and save her. But he had no choice, but to stay right where he was and watch helplessly. His heart hurt like someone had placed a mountain on it. He watched as they trapped three of these pirates in a wave of water. He watched as she tried to free them from their watery prison. He watched as she turned to  _him_ , looking for answers that none of them apparently had. He watched as the two strongest in the group exchanged words that were obviously painful for both of them. He watched as she tried to escape. He watched as she was easily overpowered and knocked out. He watched as  _he_  tried to get to her before he was knocked out as well.

Now it was over. No…it had only just begun.  _They_  had her now. But he wasn't going to let them keep her like this. He was going to try and save her still. But he knew he couldn't do it alone. He needed help. He needed to know why she didn't utilize her crystals. He needed answered before he could try and figure out a plan to save her.

He watched as  _they_  picked her up. A couple of them turned back to the pirates. Summoning their crystals, they spread out a multicolored powder-sleeping powder no doubt-over them then left the island by using the use of wind crystals. Those of the wind took a hold of those who weren't of the wind. Soon the group, of about twenty plus her, disappeared into the distance. He sighed heavily. The smell of smoke and crackling of fire refilled his numb senses. In the mess below he had forgotten about the fire. The heat was obvious now. He turned back to the fire she had unintentionally set when creating her firewalls. He needed, wanted, it to be put out before he made his next move.

He summoned his earth crystals. Twisting together a ton of seaweed, he raised as much water out of the sea as he could. He guided the water over the burning forest and released it. He carefully poured the water out over the blaze, making sure it was out completely. Once the dark smoke began to fade away, he knew it was out and he could leave this place. He lifted a vine to himself and stepped onto it. As he lowered himself to the ground, he lowered the seaweed back into the ocean. He turned to look at the forest. He said softly, "I'm sorry I can't heal you right now. But, in time, you will be back to the glorious beautiful forest she turned you into."

He jumped off the vine once he was close enough to the ground. He patted the vine like it was his pet before sending it to lie back down on the ground where it was before he moved it. He quickly walked over to the unconscious pirates. He ran his eyes over them and their body sizes. He then scanned his eyes over their ship or submarine. The yellow sub that seemed to sit so sadly on the water's surface. Maybe it was just his imagination. How could it be possible that a sub could feel sad? He shook his head. It didn't matter. He had more important things to worry about.

He once again summoned his earth crystals. He spread his crystal's glow over their bodies. He didn't detect any serious injuries. He sighed, grateful for that at least.  _They_  didn't hurt them much, physically anyway. Mentally however…he shook his head. There was no time to think about that. His vines slowly wiggled out of the crystal's glow. He slid his vines under all of the pirates' bodies before lifting them all over, plus Law's sword, and onto the deck of the sub.

He grabbed a hold of the door and shoved it open. He walked inside first before using his vines to pull them all inside. Not knowing the layout of this sub, he laid them down just inside the door. He pulled the door closed then turned to inspect this place. Rushing down the stairs and through the halls, he found room after room but no way of controlling this massive piece of machinery yet.

After about twenty minutes of looking around, he found the control room on the bottom floor. His hopes were soon dashed when he looked over the controls of this sub. He had no clue how to work this type of ship, this submarine. He only had a little knowledge of sailing regular ships that he had picked up over the past twenty years. He released a frustrated growl as he ran his hand through his green hair. He turned back to the door and left the room. He ran back towards the door that he entered this sub from. He looked over the pirates before him. He had no clue how long they were going to be out. He had no clue if he was going to be able to use his abilities to wake them up any faster.

He was going to try, but first he had to get this sub sailing towards their homeland. He closed his eyes. His earth crystals appeared in the sub. He called up for seaweed to wrap around the sub. He used it to pull them out into the sea. Once far enough out, he called upon the fastest sea creatures he could find. Fifty sailfish answered his call. He then ripped the seaweed from their roots. He wrapped them around the sub in as many places as he could then wrapped the other end of the seaweed around the sailfish. "Please, take me back to Luminous. Take me  _home_."

Obeying his pleading command, the sailfish took off; pulling the sub like a horse would pull a carriage. He sighed again. "Thank you. Thank you all for your help."

He turned his attention back to the unconscious pirates. He walked over and sat down next to one of them. He reached out and wiped some of the powder off the pirate's face. Bring it up to his own eyes, he began to study the powder to try and figure out which one it was and if he could possible counter its effects.

…

Neo shifted when she started to wake up. Her entire body was hurting, but she couldn't remember why. Then she did. She and the crew had been attacked. With a gasp, she opened her eyes and shot up into a sitting position. She whimpered when the movement shot more pain through her body. She wrapped her arms around herself.

"So, you're finally awake."

Neo turned her eyes to her left. She flinched when she saw so many unfamiliar people staring at her. There were at least ten of them. They were so dark. Something about them radiated darkness. Their hair was dark shades of reds, oranges, greens, purples yellows, blues, and just about all colors in nature. Their eyes were almost black. The cold stares they were giving her sent a shiver up her spine. She trembled and scooted back from them until she hit something solid. All of this darkness was the same darkness she felt from that wave and from the elements when they got attacked. Her eyes widened. "The captain and crew. Wh-where are they?!"

"Not here," the one who spoke before said.

Neo's heart hammered. She tried to locate the one who spoke. The group of people surrounding her then all parted to give room for a short, half bald, old man with a long white tapered beard that fell to the middle of his chin. He wore tribal like robes, purple in color with an orange broach attached to the collar, and was carrying a wooden staff, that curled at the top. With in the curl sat a dark blue, almost black, orb.

Beside him was a tall young man with dark blue hair and an extremely bored expression on his face. He wore very regal looking clothes. His white button up shirt and tan pant legs were straight as can be. The clothes matched his expression very well.

They both walked up to her. She tried to scoot farther away from them but the tree kept her in place, its bark bit through her shirt. She glanced around the strangers, finally noticing they were in a forest. When the old man squatted down in front of her, she flinched at the eye contact she made with him then lowered her eyes to his chest. He hummed. "Interesting. You're not quite what I was expecting."

"Father, this is ridiculous," the clean pressed man said. "We should just kill her before she awakens to her full magic."

Neo flittered her eyes to him. Awaken? She wondered what he meant by awaken, but didn't ask. Her body trembled too hard for her to form any more sentences. She just wanted to locate Law and go to him. Her heart seized up and her breath hitched in her lungs when she couldn't find him. She couldn't sense him  _anywhere_.

The old man scoffed, causing Neo to jump. He said, "Nonsense, Tao. If she were going to awaken, then she would have done it all ready. She has to be the weakest royal we've ever had. Let's just proceed with the plan."

The old man stood up. He walked away with Tao following him. The group let the two pass by then turned back to Neo. They all held malicious grins on their faces. It made her shiver again. One female summoned a fire crystal. She shot a spark at Neo's bare feet. Neo jerked her feet back from the flame. The female Elemental chuckled. Her fire crystal flickered. She said," You better get to running. It's going to be a long day."

Neo did. She scrambled up to her feet and took off into the forest. She had no clue where she was. Or where she was going. All she knew was she wanted to get away from them. She wanted to go back to the crew, back to Law. She had to find them. But she didn't know where they were. She tried to feel out again to find where Law was. She wasn't able to. All she could feel was darkness.

Suddenly, her body jerked to a stop. She finally noticed her surroundings completely. She was on an unfamiliar island. The animals were hiding. The island itself appeared to be scared. But one thing on this island was familiar. Dark crystals. There were dark crystals coming up out of the ground just like in her dream. She walked in a stumbling circle. It wasn't just those people she felt that was dark. This entire island, the crystals, trees, flowers, animals, even the air and ground was emitting a darkness.

She shook her head. "No…I don't want this! I don't want to be here! Law, where are you?!"

Neo took off running again. She could feel their eyes watching her. She could feel them searching for her with their crystals. They were just carefully watching her, observing her. She tried to force them out of her head. She tried to focus on finding Law. "Law! Where are you?! Penguin! Shachi! Bepo! Everyone! Where are you?!"

Neo summoned her wind crystals. She wrapped the wind around her and took off into the air. She broke through the canopy of the forest. A gasp escaped her and she almost lost control of her winds. She really had no idea where she was.

This island definitely was not the island she was previously on. This island was way larger and had several buildings, houses, and one very tall building that was taller than the majority of the trees on the island. She didn't recognize it at all. She's never seen a building like it before. It had multiple points rising up towards the sky, but it also looked like multiple buildings were stuck together to form this large, unfamiliar structure. It was a dark purple color. And it was also emitting darkness.

"No…" Neo wheezed as she turned her body to look over the island. There were a group of mountains in the distance behind the largest building. And the sea was all around her even thought she could only see the water from one point at her current location. Her breaths became short and sharp. She knew, for sure, in that instance that Law wasn't going to be on this island. And he wasn't anywhere close by. The only plant life she could sense was on this island and in the sea nearby. If there was another island, it was out of her range of sensing it. She was completely separated from the crew. Probably by miles or even days. He was no longer with her. She was alone.

She shook her head, fighting back her tears. Gathering as much wind as she could, she shot herself towards the part of the sea she could see. Maybe she could get away from here and make her way back to Law. She was going to go find him and the crew, somehow.

Just as she flew out over the sandy beach, a blur shot up in front of her. It knocked her down to the hard ground. Air was forced out of her lungs from the impact as sand flew up around her at the contact of her body to the ground. The grainy sand crunched between her teeth when she bit down. She spit as much of it out as she could before she heard a guy say, "I guess, Master Atlas was right. She's not strong at all."

"This isn't going to be as much fun as I thought," another guy sighed.

"Maybe." A third one shrugged. "But it'll still be fun to watch her squirm."

"This is dangerous," the fourth one, a girl, said.

"Don't tell me you're going to agree with Tao." The first guy huffed. "If she was strong at all, she would easily be able to defend against us. She's nothing. She's weak."

"You serious think this is normal?" the girl asked. "She's a royal. She should not be this weak at all. She's not even trying to fight us. We should just kill her right now."

"You know Master Atlas wouldn't like that. Just go home if you're going to be to afraid to face her," the second guy said. "You're in the way here other wise."

"Fine." The girl stomped her feet as she walked away. "Tao is right. We should just kill her now and get it over with. Don't come complaining to me when she kicks your Elemental tails all over this island!"

Neo cracked open an eye just as the girl walked off from them. She wasn't sure, but she thought she only felt fire coming from the retreating girl. One of the guys stepped closer. He bent down with a dark chuckle. For a split second, Neo thought she only sensed the wind coming from him. His hand shot out towards her before she could figure out if what she was sensing was correct or if she was just imagining things. She flinched and screamed when he grabbed her arm. Her blood ran cold, imagines from her past flashed through her mind. The wind began to howl, dark clouds rolled in above. "No! Let go of me! Don't touch me!"

"Shut up!" he hissed. He pulled her to her feet then slammed her back against a palm tree. Her head spun from the impact. Nature when back to normal then. "You're not going to get off this island. If you think you found a chance to escape, you're wrong. So don't bother to even try to get away from us. You're trapped here until  _we_  decide you can go. And the only way you are going to leave this island is through death. Now…" He shoved Neo away from them. She stumbled to the ground. Her entire body ached and trembled from the abuse she was enduring. He continued talking then. He said, "Get going."

"No," she whispered.

"What was that?" one of the other guys demanded.

"I want to go home." Neo pushed up on her feet. Her bangs casted shadows over her eyes, as she turned to them. She forced her voice to remain calm and steady even thought she was so scared and wanted to just curl up in Law's arms again. "Where am I? Where's my family? What did you do to them?"

"Those humans you were with?" one of them asked. "Don't worry about them. They are no longer your concern."

"Why would you want to be with those weak humans anyway?" the third one asked. "They could do nothing for you. They're probably dead by now."

"No," Neo whispered. Her body shook more. But this time it was different. She felt something inside of her chest that she's never felt before. A strange, almost burning like feeling, began to build up inside of her.

The one who grabbed her started to walk up to her again. He reached out for her while saying, "I said, 'Get going'! I'm starting to get bored!"

Just before his hand could touch her, she summoned twenty fire crystals and screamed, as did the guy who tried to touch her. She flared up a firewall between herself and them. As she screamed at him, the fire closest to her crystals burned a whitish-blue while the fire farthest from her burned an orange-reddish color. "Stay away from me! You don't have Law's permission to touch me!"

Her outburst surprised the three guys as her fire towered over them. Neo turned and ran back into the forest. She didn't notice the damage she had done. The guy's hand was right in the way. He jerked back from the hot flames but not before they scorched his skin. The other guys shrieked and pulled back from the heat that almost touched their own skin and clothes. The one with the burnt hand cursed under his breath while using his wind crystals to cool the burn. "I guess she's a little more powerful than we first thought."

"It doesn't matter," the second guys said. "She's still not strong enough to beat all of us. We'll wear her down in no time at all. You better go get that hand check out by a healer."

The man cursed again. "Fine. Just take care of her. And don't kill her. You know that's not what the master wants."

"Yeah, we know," the remaining guys mumbled. They then separated. The two guys followed after Neo while the other one headed off in another direction to get his hand taken care of.

…

Law's chest throbbed. His head spun. His stomach lurched. Still, through all that, he somehow managed to notice that he was no longer outside on the beach. The smell of the warm sand and the salt of the sea were replaced with a very familiar metallic smell. He recognized that he was back on the sub. He had no clue how that happened. Last thing he could remember was Neo. His heart took a sharp beat.

"Neo!" Law bolted up from his spot on the floor. His head spun wildly from the sudden jerk of his body. He swayed while placing his right hand on his head while placing his left hand on the floor to steady himself.

"Easy, Captain," Shachi's voice said. "You've been out of it for hours."

"What?" Law looked up to his subordinate's face. Shachi was kneeling down beside him. Although the man's hat and sunglasses covered the majority of his features, the pirate captain could still easily tell how distraught the man was over what had just happened. Law's chest tightened again at the painful memories and words he had spoken to her. He grabbed his chest. His heart was striking his chest with sharp, short beats. His order for her to run didn't do anyone any good. She was now  _their_  prisoner. And who knows what they had planned for her? Were they going to kill her right off? No, if that was their plan they would have done it instead of taking her away from him. So what  _was_  their plans for her? What were they going to do to  _his little girl_?

Law's eyes shot back up when he remembered that all of his men, including him where knocked out. He quickly ran his eyes over the room. Everyone was still accounted for. Some looked to be waking up just like he just did. Some looked to have been more awake and were obviously feeling better than others. His eyes then landed on Penguin. The black and white hatted man was sitting away from them all. Leaning against the wall in a corner, Penguin had his legs pulled up to his chest and was hugging his knees, seemingly to be oblivious to the world around him.

Law gritted his teeth. He knew Penguin was hurting and scared for his little sister. He too was scared and hurt, but mostly he was angry. He was angry with himself for not being able to protect her. He was angry with  _them_  for attacking her, making her cry, and taking her from him. And they were going to pay dearly for that. He then realized he had to find them first. He pulled his feet under him and forced himself to stand up. He wobbled when he tried to take a few steps.

"Easy now, Captain," Shachi said carefully. He placed his hand on his captain's arm and steadied the man. "That sleeping powder isn't completely out of your system yet."

"Sleeping powder?" Law looked at his subordinate in confusion. "What sleeping powder? And how would you know about it when you were passed out like the rest of us?"

"Oh, um, he told me about it when I woke up." Shachi pointed to someone in the room. Law followed the man's gesture. His eyes widened when they landed on a familiar green haired, green-eyed man that didn't belong on his crew or his sub.

" _You!_ " Law hissed. Before anyone could say or do anything, he rushed forward with lightning fast reflexes. He grabbed the unfamiliar, yet familiar, man's shirt and pinned him against the wall. "You! You were at that island with that festival! Who the heck are you?! How do you know Neo?! Where is she?! What did you do with her?!  _Answer me!_ "

"I didn't do anything to her," he replied, his voice even and calm. A touch of fear flashed through his eyes, but vanished quickly. "I would never do anything to intentionally hurt her."

"Then  _why_  did you look so surprised to see her at that festival?! You better answer me! And answer me quickly before I kill you!" Law demanded, his eyes flashing with anger.

"I was surprised to see her because I haven't seen her in twenty years," He said calmly. "I couldn't believe that she was still alive. I mean I was hoping she was still alive. But after looking for her for so long…I was starting to lose hope. I was starting to think she  _was_  dead. But then…there she was. I was so shocked that I just turned and walked away."

"No way…" Law loosened his hold on the green haired man's shirt. He ran his eyes over the stranger's features. Suddenly, he got the same inhuman feeling from him that Neo gave off. "You can't be. You…you're Kailen, aren't you?"

"You know my name?" Kailen raised a confused eyebrow at the pirate captain.

"So, you really are her brother," Shachi said. His eyes roamed over the stranger, taking him in carefully.

"But how did you…" Kailen's voice drifted off as Law's hands dropped from his shirt. The Elemental barely registered that he was now free from the pirate's grip and fury.

"The Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh told us about you when we met with him on Amazon Lily," Shachi replied. All of the crew turned their eyes to Kailen.

"Silvers Rayleigh, huh? Yeah, I think I remember Shanks mentioning him before. He told me that Silvers Rayleigh would be an ally if I ever ran into him and needed help. That's good. I don't have to go over everything with you all then. But you can tell me something," Kailen said, looking over them all. "Tell me why she didn't use her solar crystal. She should have been able to easily purify those Dark Elementals."

"Solar crystal?" Law asked as his crew exchanged confused looks behind him. "What solar crystal?"

"She doesn't have a solar crystal," Bepo added.

"What are you talking about? Of course she does." Kailen ran his eyes over the pirates again. He quickly noted their confusion. "You don't know about it?"

"No," Shachi answered with a shake of his head.

"I don't understand. How could that possibly be? You all know about her other crystals, right?" Kailen asked. They all nodded. "This doesn't make any sense. If she's using her element crystals, she should easily be using her solar crystal."

"Perhaps you should explain what you are talking about to us," Law said. He crossed his arms and glared at Kailen.

"Well, what all did Silvers Rayleigh tell you?" Kailen inquired.

"He told us that Neo is an Elemental, that Red Haired Shanks is her godfather, he told us about you of course, that her people were after her for some reason, that she was born on Shanks ship, her parents died protecting her and you, he said that Red Haired was supposed to meet up with you and Neo after you took her and ran, but ever found either of you," Shachi quickly summoned up.

"Okay…well, he never found us because we were attacked by some Dark Elementals. I tried to keep her safe, but they were just too much for me to handle. I was trying to escape with her with the help of a giant bird. When the Dark Elementals attacked, I lost my grip on her." Kailen raised his hands and looked at them. It was clear to them all that his mind was drifting back to the point in time. "Her crystals must have protected her when she fell. I tried to find her, but never could, especially with all the Dark Elementals wondering around. I was only eight years old then. I knew I couldn't fight them all. So I didn't. I only hid from them while trying to look for her. I always hoped and prayed that someone good found her and took her in. I've been looking for her ever since. I never found her until I just happened to run into her back at that festival."

The crew flinched at his words when Kailen said he hoped and prayed someone good had taken her in. They all knew that didn't happen. Kailen didn't notice their flinching or the thick air that settled over the room. When no one said anything, Jean Bart spoke up. He asked, "If you knew that was her back at that festival, why didn't you say anything then?"

"I was kind of scared to." Kailen ran his hand through his hair. He then held his hand out to them. "I mean, what do you say to your little sister when you lost her for twenty years? I didn't know how she would react to me if I did choose to confront her with all of this. I  _was_  scared. So I pulled back. I wanted to observe you all. To see what kind of people she was with. I also wanted to speak with the old Elemental baker before deciding what to do."

"Elemental baker?!" Law asked. His eyes popped open in disbelief. "That woman was a…"

"That's right." Kailen nodded. "That baker woman you two were talking to is an Elemental too. She's also a good friend of Shanks. So she already knew who you were when she saw you two together."

"What?" Law's voice was flat. He should have known. He  _knew_  something was up with that woman with how she was acting towards them and with how comfortable Neo was with her. He gritted his teeth as he thought back to that time.  _Neo must have subconsciously sensed who that woman really was and knew she wasn't a threat to us._

"I spoke with her shortly after she left the festival. She said she received a letter from Shanks asking her to keep an eye out for you and your crew. He told her that his goddaughter was in the care of the Heart Pirates," Kailen explained. "Shanks has apparently been keeping a close eye on you all since you've been housing our princess."

"Your princess?!" the Heart Pirates, but for Law, shouted.

"Are you saying that Neo is a princess?!" Bepo shrieked.

"You didn't know?" Kailen blinked in disbelief. "The Dark King didn't tell you?"

"No," Law hissed lowly, but dangerously. He clenched his fists. "I knew he was keeping something from me."

"I thought he was just calling Neo a princess as a pet name or something like that. Or maybe because of how we all were treating her," Archer said. "I never would have guessed she was a real princess."

"She's just full of surprises," Conner said.

"Huh…well, it is possible that he  _didn't_  know," Kailen said thoughtfully. "I mean our people are a fairly deep secret from the rest of the world. Shanks and his crew are part of the small handful that knows about our people. And I'm not sure how much Shanks would choose to reveal to others. If he asked the Dark King to keep an eye out for us then it is possible that he might have known and just chose not to reveal that to you for whatever reason. I don't know though. I don't know how much Shanks trusts that man."

"So you and Neo are royalty?" Conner asked.

"No." Kailen shook his head. "I'm only Neo's adopted brother. My mother died when I was five from an incurable sickness. My dad left the island shortly after that and, as far as I know, never returned. He was never much of a dad to me anyway. Since my mom was a good friend with Neo's parents, she asked them to take care of me just before she died. But, even if I was her biological brother, I still wouldn't be a royal."

"What do you mean?" Shachi asked.

"Our royalty is chosen differently from how your human royalties are formed. On Luminous, a royal is an Elemental who is born with all four elemental crystals and the solar crystal," Kailen explained. "Only they have those five crystals, plus wings. And there's only one royal born at a time."

"Neo has wings?!" the crew shrieked again.

Kailen gave them a quizzical look. "She hasn't shown them to you?"

"We didn't know she had wings," Law said.

"So what's your element crystal then?" Shachi asked.

"I'm only an earth Elemental," Kailen replied. "Some Elementals are born with two or three elements in their arsenal, but it's pretty rare. Only one in about four hundred thousand has two crystals. And I'd say, about one in eight or nine hundred thousand has three elements. But  _only_  royals have all four element crystals, the solar crystal and wings."

"The element crystals are pretty self explanatory," Jean Bart said, "but what's the solar crystal for? What does it do?"

"It's to purify the darkness crystal," Kailen replied simply. "The solar crystal also has healing capabilities. Our earth crystals also have healing capabilities, but we have to study medicine and plants to be able to utilize the earth crystals healing properties while the healing magic of the solar crystal are automatic. If we don't study then we could accidentally use the wrong medication and hurt who we are trying to heal. Although, not all of us earth crystal users study to be healers."

"There's another crystal. Neo has another crystal. How many crystals do you people possess?!" Shachi slapped his hand to his head. He, like everyone else, was having difficulty processing all of this.

"Well, our island is actually filled with a lot of different types of crystals, but we only possess the elemental crystals, and the solar crystal for a royal, with in our existence. We're born with them." Kailen said with a shrug. "We're Elementals. That's just how it is. How we are."

"So who has the darkness crystal then?" Jean Bart asked, tilting his head slightly.

"No one does. Or no one is supposed to actually possess it. No one has ever actually seen the darkness crystal before. It's just a crystal that grows somewhere on our island because where there is light there is darkness. One can't exist without the other existing," Kailen explained. "But all the past times that the darkness crystal has appeared, it only casted its darkness over the island. Then the royal at the time would use the solar crystal to purify our island. Nothing like this has ever happened before."

"Are you saying that your people were ambushed by this darkness crystal?" Bepo questioned.

"I'm not really sure, but, yes, that seems to be how it happened. Or I assume that's how it happened," Kailen said with a sigh.

"You don't know?" Shachi asked.

"No, I don't. Like I just said, no one has ever seen the darkness crystal before. No one knows what it even looks like." Kailen ran his hand through his hair again. "If we only knew what it looked like, we might have been able to stop all of this from happening. Typically, when the darkness crystal starts to spread its darkness over our island, our people just start acting darker and more aggressive. And the royal of the time is usually a teenager or older. This is the first time that the darkness crystal has attacked an unborn royal. It might have been because shortly after Neo was conceive we all knew she was a royal."

"What do you mean by that?" Law demanded. He kneaded his eyebrows. "How could you possible know that?"

"It was pretty shocking to us all too. Elementals never find out what their child's element is until  _after_  the child is born. And they certainly don't use their element until at least three years of age," Kailen replied. He scratched his cheek then rubbed his hand over his forehead. "This is just too much."

"Are you saying that Neo used her solar crystal when she was conceived?" Shachi asked with a gasp on his lips.

"Yeah." Kailen nodded. He rubbed the back of his neck and shoulders with his hands, massaging the tension out that was growing there. "No one really knew why. The darkness must have been creeping up on us, somehow, without anyone realizing it. Or something like that. I just don't know."

An intense shush washed over the room. They all looked down at the floor. The Heart Pirates were having even more of a hard time trying to process all of this new information spinning in their heads. Things were a lot worse than they had thought.

"Betrayal," Law suddenly said through the thick tension in the room.

"What do you mean?" Kailen looked at him.

Law clenched his fists even tighter. He gritted his teeth before looking up at the green haired man. "Your story sounds like one of a betrayal. You said your people have never seen this darkness crystal before, right?"

"Right." Kailen drawled with a slow nodded.

"And you said that in the past all your royal whoever had to do was spread the glow of the solar crystal over your island to purify it, right?" Law continued.

"Right." Kailen nodded again. He held an unsure look in his eyes at Law's words, but that uncertainty was quickly replaced with realization. "Oh sweet crystals of Luminous! It  _had_  to be a betrayal!"

"What do you mean?" Bepo asked cautiously.

"While my people are more, uh, pure than you humans are, we are not immune to evil desires and some have left Luminous to live among humans for various reasons. It is possible that someone  _did_  decided to betray Luminous and sought out the darkness crystal in an attempt to do it. Or, maybe, it's possible that the darkness crystal sought out someone to do it's bidding, especially since Neo used her solar crystal at the time of conception. It must have known it couldn't defeat her." Kailen let out a frustrated growl. He rubbed his hands over his face. "It must have formulated a plan to try and catch us all off guard to kill her. It must have hidden its dark magic until it found a host strong enough to do its bidding. Or the person seeking it did all of this."

"You make it sound like these crystals are alive," Bepo said, his body involuntarily shivered. Feeling too tired to stand anymore; he sat back down on the floor and crossed his legs.

With a sigh, Kailen said, "They are, in a way. While our crystals are somewhat alive they can't move around on their own like we can. The darkness crystal would be stabilized on the island somewhere. It would need someone to pick it for it to be able to move." He knocked his head back against the wall. "But I can't think of a single person who would willingly betray our home and royal."

"It almost sounds like the crystal itself did in fact create this plan to ambush your people. But that doesn't necessarily mean it was a willing betrayal by an Elemental. The darkness crystal could have just taken someone over to do its bidding," Shachi said thoughtfully. He tapped his finger on his chin. "That's actually a very creepy thought. Who knew crystals could be so dangerous?"

"You might be right. That incident twenty years ago seemed too precise, too calculated. But I still don't have a clue who would have willingly let themselves be taken over by the crystal. Or how no one noticed someone being taken over. It's usually a pretty obvious occurrence." Kailen ran both his hands through his hair. "But…none of this explains why Neo didn't use her solar crystal to purify the Elementals who attacked you."

The crew fell completely silent. All their eyes went right to their captain. Law could feel their eyes on his back. He was clenching his fists so hard now that his nails were pierced through his skin. He could feel his warm blood running over his skin, but he ignored it. He swallowed hard. Forcing himself to speak, he said, "I…I think I know why she hasn't used her solar crystal or her wings."

Kailen blinked when Law obviously hesitated to speak. He asked, "And why's that?"

"Because she was…abused." Law forced that last word out of his mouth. He then proceeded to explain to Kailen what had happened to Neo before he found her.

Kailen's eyes widened in shock as Law told him what happened. His back slid down the wall of the sub when his knees gave out on him. He laced his fingers together and pressed his hands to his forehead while resting his elbows on his bend up knees. "So that's it. All of that abuse caused her to suppress her crystals and her wings. She must not even be aware of her solar crystal or her wings. Sweet mother of Luminous what have I done to her?!"

"You didn't do anything to her," Shachi said softly. Sympathy was dripping from his voice when he spoke. He felt sorry for Kailen. Kailen was obviously a good man and cared very much for Neo. He wanted to do or say something that would help, but didn't know what that should be.

"Yes, I did. I couldn't protect her. I was too weak. I should have protected her better. It's my fault she went through all of that," Kailen said with obvious pain dripping from his voice.

"No," Penguin suddenly said. Everyone's eyes, but for Kailen's, went to him when he finally broke his silence. He got up from his own spot on the wall and walked over to Kailen. He kneeled down in front of their guest. Placing his hand on the Elemental's shoulder, he said, "No, Kailen. This is not your fault."

"But it is.  _I_  was supposed to protect her. Shanks told me to protect her. I failed. She went through all of that pain…all that abuse because I was so weak," Kailen whispered.

"You were only a child then. You were outnumbered by a group of people who had been taken over by darkness," Penguin said with a bit of force. " _Adult_ Elementals and pirates couldn't even stop them. What chance did a kid have?  _None_  of this is  _your_  fault."

"But how can I face her? After all of this?" Kailen asked. He looked at Penguin with watery eyes. "She's going to hate me."

"No, she won't. Neo won't blame you for anything that's happened," Law said. Kailen looked up at him.

"He's right," Penguin said. Kailen dropped his eyes back down to Penguin. The pirate smiled. "Neo is not the type to blame someone for something like this. She'll understand that you did what you could to protect her. She'll need time to process this information, but she will love you for what you did and because you're her brother."

"I don't know. I just don't know." Kailen shook his head. He lowered his eyes to the floor.

"Well, we  _do_  know," Penguin said. He looked at his fellow crewmates before looking back at the Elemental. "We've had her with us long enough to know what she's like. She won't blame you at all. You'll see that when we finally rescue her."

"Rescue?" Kailen asked, bring his eyes back up to Penguin.

"That's why you brought us all into the sub and woke us up, right?" Bepo asked with a light smile. "You wanted our help in rescuing her."

"Yeah." Kailen nodded at the bear. "I do, but I'm not sure how we can."

"We'll figure it out," Penguin said with a light smile.

"This solar crystal…" Law started but then hesitated. Everyone turned their eyes back to him. Slowly, he forced his question out. "Is it why Neo was able to survive all of her suicide attempts? Because it healed her?"

"Yes." Kailen nodded. "Like I said before, in a way, our crystals are alive just like we are. And sometimes they do act on their own to protect their wielder. They worked together to keep her alive and somewhat nourished. If she didn't have them, she would have definitely died back then."

"She's extremely lucky then," Archer said.

"I don't know about that considering everything she's been through, but she's a lot stronger than you obviously know at this point," Kailen said.

"And that means?" Archer asked.

"I've been watching you all ever since I found her back at that festival. I noticed she was holding back when using her crystals. And with what you all have told me, it's now clear that she's not using her crystals to their full potential because of all the abuse she has suffered. But, even though she's holding back, she still has the means to defeat, or at least fend off, the Dark Elementals until we can get her to realize she possesses the solar crystal," Kailen said thoughtfully.

"How is that possible that she couldn't control the elements when the Dark Elementals were controlling them?" Shachi asked.

"I'm not really sure. She should be able to control them even though the darkness had control of them. The elements are still the elements. They're not good or evil. They can't be turned dark. The darkness is just blanketed over them to make them appear scarier than they really are. While she's not aware of the solar crystal, the solar crystal was still backing her up in those fights and all those years she was abused," Kailen said. "It was protecting her. The darkness probably just threw her for a loop since she's not use to it or even aware of its existence. She just needs to become aware of the solar crystal to actually use it. The same is true for her wings. She's a royal. She is, by far, the strongest Elemental alive because she has control over all of the elements instead of just one. She  _can_  survive this."

"No, it's not going to be that easy," Law said. Kailen raised a confused eyebrow at him. "She's neophobic. Even if she becomes aware of the solar crystal, or her wings, she's going to be afraid and hesitate to use them. I  _need_  to be beside her for her to do that. I'm the only one who can get her to use them."

Kailen didn't say anything. He just continued to stare up at Law, to study him. Law, in turn, stared back. He noticed at first Kailen's eyes showed no emotion whatsoever, but then his green eyes turned soft almost sad. After two minutes of staring passed between them, Law narrowed his eyebrows with a low growl. He stared to question Kailen about the staring, but Kailen started to speak before he could. He said flatly, "You are in love with her."

Law's body ticked as his face flushed.

Kailen sighed. With a wave of his hand, he stood up and said, "Don't worry about it. I pretty much already knew that from the way you two were always together, how you held hands and all. We can discuss  _that_  later. Right now, we have more pressing problems to deal with. We have to get to Luminous before they kill her."

"They're going to kill her?!" Bepo shrieked. He kicked his arms and flailed his arms wildly. "We can't let that happen! We have to get there!  _Now_!"

"How long will it take us to get there?" Jean Bart asked. "And how long were we all knocked out?"

"It'll take us about three days to finally reach Luminous at this speed. You all have been knocked out for about eight hours. I tried to wake you all up sooner, but I only have a few years of experience in healer training. Trying to counter the effects of the sleeping powder wasn't easy," Kailen said. He walked over to one of the portholes and looked out at the creatures. He looked at the giant sea king snakes that were now pulling the sub. "I've been using the fastest sea creatures I can call upon to pull us to Luminous. Once they get tired I call on some more. It's a lot faster than using your sub's engines."

Kailen turned back to the pirates. He said, "While I don't believe Neo is in an immediate dangers of being killed, we still need to get there as quickly as we can. If they wanted her dead then they would have done it instead of taken her back to Luminous. The darkness crystal must realized that something isn't right with her and her solar crystal and decided to take advantage of it."

"But why?" Penguin, now standing, asked. "If she holds the solar crystal then she's still a threat to it. Why take the chance of taking her hostage when she can purify it?"

"Who knows why evil does what it does?" Kailen shrugged. "It probably has a big ego. It probably thinks it can get away with anything. There's really no point in trying to figure that out. Right now, what we do need to figure out is how to get you all on Luminous and how to fight the Elementals. This is not going to be an easy fight."

"Neo has been disoriented before by some kind of powder," Shachi said. Law looked at his subordinate then over at Kailen. "Can you make some of that? I'm assuming it was the Dark Elementals who created it."

"What?" Kailen looked at Shachi confused. "What do you mean?"

Shachi quickly told him about the mercenaries who took Neo from them.

Kailen nodded. "Yes, I see. It was them then. They probably just had the mercenaries attack her like that to see what she was capable of doing before planning out their next move. It seems they have been aware of Neo's presence a lot longer than I thought."

"Then they have been spying on us for quiet a long time," Penguin growled. He gritted his teeth and punched a fist into the palm of his hand. "We didn't even know how much danger she was really in."

"Steady, Penguin," Shachi said calmly. "No point in beating ourselves up over what happened in the past. We need to stay focused on the here and now."

Penguin forced himself to relax. He nodded. "Right."

"Yeah, it's no surprise she didn't notice them. We Elementals are very good at blending in with nature. With practice, she'll be able to over come that and we won't be able to hide from her anymore," Kailen said. "As for the powder they used, I can't make that powder since my skill level isn't that high yet. I can, however, make a sleeping powdered."

"Then do it," Law hissed. His impatience was starting to take hold. His body was itching and twitching to get his hands on the ones who took his girl from him. He wanted to get to Luminous right this second. But he had no choice. He had to wait.

"I will, but I won't be able to make enough to take out everyone on the island," Kailen said with a sigh. "Most of their skill levels are beyond mind. Besides, there are far too many to take out."

"How many Elementals are there?" Bepo asked.

"Well, when I was on the island twenty years ago there was over nine hundred thousand," Kailen said. "I'm sure the numbers have grown since then."

"You mean Neo's kingdom holds about a million people?!" Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo shrieked.

"Probably. I never paid much attention to how many of us there were, especially since not all Elementals live on Luminous. But I'd say a million is a pretty good guess." Kailen nodded.

"Never mind that," Law hissed, gaining everyone's attention. They all flinched at the harsh storm brewing in their captain's eyes. The pirates knew that look very well. They knew their captain didn't care how many of them there were. He would kill each and every single one of them that he got his hands on. They committed the taboos of hurting, taking, and making Neo cry. "We need a map of Luminous. Bepo will help you construct one with Kailen. We'll also need to form a plan on how we are going to handle the Elementals when we get there. Also, Kailen we'll need to see what all you can do with you earth crystals. That means we have to spar with you and get to know you better."

"Of course." Kailen nodded. "I'll do whatever you need me to do."

"Good." Law nodded back. "Now get to it! All of you!"

"Aye aye, Captain!" the crew shouted and saluted.

Law nodded back at them. He then turned from them, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked away from them.

"Where's he going? I thought we had planning and training to do," Kailen asked. He pulled his eyes from the retreating captain's back and looked back over to the crew.

All eyes when to Penguin. Penguin returned their looks before looking at Kailen. He said, "It's best to just leave him alone right now. He's feeling extremely guilty that he couldn't protect her. He'll come back to us when he's ready to move forward. He'll want to be in on all of the planning anyway."

Kailen nodded. "He really is in love with her then."

"You have no idea how deep their connection really is," Penguin said softly with a gentle smile. "They've bonded on a very deep level."

"Bon-ded?!" When Kailen's voice wavered they all looked at him again. "Do you mean that…when they bonded…did she engulf him in a white glow?"

"Yes, she did." Penguin nodded. He tilted his head when the color drained from Kailen's face. "What's wrong?"

"You look sick," Bepo said. "Do you need to sit down?"

"N-no." Kailen shook his head. "I'm fine. Let's just get to work. I'll try to recall everything I can on how Luminous looks. Do you all have paper we can draw on?"

"Sure." Bepo waved for Kailen to follow him. "Just come with me. My navigation room is this way."

…

Law, with his hands still in his pockets, sauntered mindlessly down the halls of the sub. His entire body hurt. His mind was spinning too fast for him to even completely comprehend everything that he just heard. He really didn't want to think about that now anyway. All he could think about was her and how scared she would be.

The only thing he knew was he wanted to be with her again. He wanted to have her back by his side. He wanted to hold her, to touch her hair, to take her hand in his, to tell her everything was going to be fine. But he couldn't do that. He couldn't do any of that when they were miles, days apart. It hurt that he couldn't do anything. It hurt even more when he could feel all of her pain and fear, but couldn't reach her to tell her everything was going to be fine. That he was coming for her.

Law's body paused when he reached his…their room. He shadow covered eyes slowly turned to the door. He clenched his teeth. Forcing himself to take ahold of the door handle, he pushed it open. A cool wave of wind brushed across his skin when it opened. The click of the door being closed barely registered in his ears after he stepped inside. He pressed his back to the door and looked over his room with shadows still cast over his eyes. The only light that shone in his room was from the lights on the outside of the sub. It only gave a tiny beam of light that shot over to one certain corner of the room.

His eyes followed the beam until landing on the large stuff bear sitting in the corner of the dark room. Pain shot through his chest again. He pushed off the door and walked over to the bear. He clenched his hands while staring at the lifeless thing. His entire body started to shake. His anger reached its boiling point. He pulled back his right arm and slammed his fist into the wall of the sub just a few feet above the bear's head, dinting the wall.

Pulling back from the damage he just did, Law's fist was now red and throbbing. He didn't care. He didn't even really feel it. This pain was nothing compared to what Neo was going through. He pressed his back to the wall and slid down to the floor. He bent his legs up, crossed his arms over his knees, and hide his face in them. He was unaware that his body started to glow white as he whispered softly into the darkness. "Neo…I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. But I'll make it right. I will. I  _will_  come to you. I  _am_  coming for you. Just hold on. Just wait for me."

…

Neo was lying on her back, staring up at the dark crystal green ceiling above her. She wasn't sure how long she had been staring at the ceiling or how long she had been in this place. She didn't even know where she really was right now. The last thing she could recall was not being able to fight against them anymore. She was just too tired from fighting and running all day to fight anymore. She had collapsed by a stream, weak, hungry, and thirsty. Too weak to even form her crystals anymore. Her clothes were torn and dirty. Her skin was spotted with more cuts and bruises she had accumulated during the hours she was hunted. Law wasn't going to be happy about that, if she ever saw him again.

Her senses were turning dark, as they had gathered around her. She vaguely heard them talking about taking her somewhere before the world around her when black. When she woke up again, she was here, in some kind of prison cell. No one else was around now. All of the other cells were empty. Her only company was the light that was coming from dark yellow crystals hanging on the walls that gave off a nauseatingly yellowish green glow.

The quietness of the prison was interrupted by footsteps, laughing and talking. "I know. I can't believe she's this weak."

"I can't believe we're not allowed to kill her yet."

"Where would the fun in killing her now be? We can have lots of fun with her for now. So let her suffer."

"I suppose you're right. This is a lot more fun. It would be even more fun if we were allowed to bring those humans here. They're such weak creatures. It would have been fun to play with them a bit longer than we got to."

"Naw. They would be too easy to beat. You saw how easily they went down when we attacked them. They barely put up a fight against us. At least she's more of a challenge than humans, even though she's as weak as she is."

Neo didn't bother looking at them. There wasn't any point. They obviously weren't going to answer any of her questions, if she asked them. They just wanted to hurt her, to taunt her. She felt one of them pour their magic into the bars that separated them. She then heard a scraping of something on the crystal floor. "Eat up, brat. You'll need your strength to fight us again tomorrow."

The group laughed while they headed back out from wherever they came from. Once their talking and laughter had completely faded away, Neo turned her head to her left to see what they had given her. Laying a few feet from her was a tray with an apple, a small loaf of bread, and a cup of water. Her stomach turned. The mere thought of eating made her feel sick. She was too tired to eat. She rolled over onto her right side to get away from the nauseating food.

The hard crystal ground aggravated her bruises and cuts, but she ignored them. That pain didn't compare to the pain of being away from her family…from Law. She hated that she couldn't sense him anymore. She didn't know why. Maybe he was just too far away for her to sense him still. She wanted to believe that he was coming for her, but how could he? He, nor any of the crew, knew where this place was. They didn't know where she was. If they did try to find her, they could end up going in the wrong direction, therefore moving farther away from her. Her heart clenched with an icy grip.

Neo sniffled as a couple tears dripped from the corner of her eyes. She lifted her hand and touched Law's hat. At least she still had that with her. She lowered her hand back down and looked at his ring. She also had that with her. But they weren't a decent substitute for Law. They couldn't hold her like he could. They couldn't give her comfort like he could. She wanted  _him_.

She brushed her fingertips over the smooth texture of the ring. She closed her eyes, unaware that her body was starting to glow white again, and wished he were beside her again. "Law…please…I need you. Come find me."

_'Neo…' He placed his hand on her hair and stroked it tenderly._

Neo gasped when she heard him say her name and felt his hand on her hair. She sat up. She blinked when she saw him sitting there. Or some form of him. His body was glowing and transparent. She hesitated to reach for him, afraid that this was nothing but a dream. Her hand trembled before she placed it on his cheek. She felt him. "Law…you're here."

_Law reached up his hand and brushed away her tears. 'Neo, it'll be all right.'_

"Law." Tears streamed down her cheeks. She wanted to say more, but couldn't. "Law."

_Law looked over at the tray on the ground. He grabbed the apple off it and brought it up to her. 'Here. You need to eat.'_

"No." Neo shook her head, her voice finally returning to her. She shifted closer to him and curled into his chest. "I don't want to. I only want you."

_'I know you do. And I am coming for you.' He wrapped his arm around her waist, pressing her into him as much as he could. He then took a small bite out of the apple. He brought the started apple to her lips. 'Eat. You need your strength to get through this.'_

Neo sighed. She really didn't feel like eating, but did as she was told. She parted her lips and allowed him to feed her the apple; it was tasteless to her shot senses. He kissed her hair while she slowly chewed it.  _'Good girl.'_

They remained in silence until she finished the apple. She then whispered, "Law, I'm so scared. I don't know what to do. I can't handle this. I can't. I need you beside me. I'm scared."

_'I know your scared. But you are going to be fine. And you can handle this. You are a lot stronger than they are. You have all four element crystals while they only have one. A couple might have two or three of the elements, but you have all four and a solar crystal,' Law said._

"What?" Neo turned her eyes up to him. "What solar crystal? I don't understand."

_'I know. And I can't explain everything to you right now, but you can handle this. You will survive. I'll be there in a couple of days.'_

"But how? How do you know where I am? I can't sense you. You're too far away."

_'Your brother is showing us the way.'_

"Penguin?" Neo lifted off of Law's chest and looked at him better.

_'No, your other brother, Kailen. The one the Dark King told us about,' Law said. He stroked her cheek, his body fading from her sight. 'He was following us ever since we left that festival. He saw us there.'_

"I don't under-Law! You're fading!" Neo grabbed onto his shirt. More tears poured down her face as she begged him not to go. "Please! Don't go! Don't leave me!"

_'Neo, listen to me…you have to fight. You have to survive.' He ran his hands through her hair and pressed his lips to her forehead. 'Survive for me, okay?'_

"I can't," Neo whimpered. "I can't fight them. They're too strong. The darkness is too strong."

_'No, it's not. You are stronger than them. The Elementals aren't evil. You can still control them. All you have to do is become playful with the enemy. That's your developing battle style, remember? Remember how playful you were with those pirates? How you weren't scared because you didn't have to hurt them to win? That's all you have to do here. Ignore the darkness and just play with them for a couple of days, okay? I promise I'll be with you again then. Just live! Okay? Be playful. Become playful and survive! I order you to become playful and survive!'_

"Law!" Neo gasped. She reached for him as his body finally faded away from her. She snapped her eyes around the once again empty room. She was desperate to find him again, but he was no longer there. Panting, she pressed her right hand to her face. "Dream? Was that a dream?"

Neo dropped her hand to her lips when she tasted the apple in her mouth. She looked down to find only the core of the apple remained. She held up her hands and looked at them in confusion. Had she actually felt him? Was he really there, somehow? "What did…what did I just do?"

She lowered her hands to her lap. She tried to convince herself it was just a dream. After all, she still couldn't sense Law nearby anywhere. But it wasn't a dream. She knew that Law was somehow in this place with her. He had held her. She felt his touch. He fed her the apple she didn't even want. The flavor that she could now taste in her mouth was proof of that. She wouldn't have eaten it if he hadn't made her.

She looked down at the bread on the tray. Slowly, she reached out and picked it up. She pulled her knees up to her chest. With her left arm wrapped around her knees, she nibbled at the bread with her right hand. She sniffled and brushed away her remaining tears. "Be playful, huh? I can do that, I think. I can do that for you, Law. Just come find me like you promised. I don't want to be alone anymore."


	40. Playing Games

Playing Games

Law snapped his head up from his arms. He looked down at himself to see the white glow fading from his body. He blinked before raising his hands to look at them. "Was I just…did she just…?"

Law shook his head before scrambling to his feet. He jerked their bedroom door open. He didn't even bother closing it as he bolted through the doorway and down the hall. His boots thudded on the metal floor as he went. Guessing as to where the one he was searching for would be, Law went right down to Bepo's navigation room, taking three stairs at a time as he went, forgetting about his Devil Fruit power in the process. He passed through the open door and narrowed his eyebrows at Kailen. The Elemental and Bepo were hunched over the table in the middle of the room.

"I think this is right," Kailen hummed while dragging a pencil over the blank piece of paper on the table. "There's a huge cliff right here. No hope of getting on the island at all. Too many jagged rocks below it."

"Oh." Bepo, who heard and smelled the captain, looked up from the maps. "Captain, is something wrong?"

"I want you to tell me  _everything_  you know about her being able to bond with me through her magic," Law said, ignoring the bear.

Kailen remained silent. He stared at the captain before dropping his eyes back to the map he was working on with Bepo.

"Tell me!  _Now!_  What does this bonding entail?! Can Neo somehow pull me to where she is?" Law said.

Kailen looked back at Law.

Law's glare lightened up a bit when he saw Kailen was confused.

With a deep, slow breath, Kailen said, "I'll tell you what I know about your bond with her if you answer one question I have about your relationship with her."

"Fine. What is it?" Law asked with an irritated huff. He flexed his clenched hands.

Kailen swallowed before speaking. He locked eyes with Law then asked, very bluntly, "Did you have sex with her?"

Bepo's eyes about bugged out of their sockets. He clamped his paws over his muzzle to keep himself from making any kind of noise. He darted his eyes back and forth between the two other men in the room. When he was sure he wouldn't make a sound, he slowly lowered his paws from his mouth.

Law couldn't stop his entire face from flushing or his body from flinching.

Kailen narrowed his eyebrows and frowned at the pirate captain before him. He said, "Please, tell me the truth."

Bepo, though remaining quiet, could sense a strange, silent battle going on in the room between the two men as they continued to stare at each other intensely.

The captain shook his head. He said, "No. Neo is not ready for such intimacy. I have not touched her like that. And I have not let anyone else touch her like that either. No one has touched her like that at all. If they had, I would know. I'm a doctor. Plus, she would have told me by now."

Kailen relaxed. With an exhaled breath, he said, "That's good. I believe you're telling me the truth."

"Of course I'm telling you the truth!" Law growled. "I would never lie about something like that, especially with Neo involved!"

"I believe you, I believe you." Kailen raised his hands in a surrendering fashion. "I'll tell you everything I know about Elemental bonding, but I'm afraid it's not going to be much. In all of Elemental history there have been only two recorded bonding that has ever happened. Each time one of them was a royal. So our people believe that only royals are capable of bonding through their magic."

"Is it really that rare?" Bepo, finally relaxed enough to speak, asked.

"Yes." Kailen nodded.

"What happens during this bonding process?" Law asked, struggling to keep his voice calm. He was getting impatient again.

"The two bonded become closer on a different level than everyone else," Kailen said. He crossed his arms and tapped his finger on his elbow. He hummed before speaking again. "I'm not sure I can explain it clearly on  _how_  it actually happens, but from what I know both are engulfed in a pure white glow. After that they can feel each other's pain."

"Is that it?" Law blinked.

"Yes, that's it. Why?" Kailen asked. "Did something else happen?"

"I can feel her pain, but I can also sense where she is. She can sense me too. And I assume she can feel my pain as well, but that hasn't happened yet. And just a few minutes ago, I saw her," Law said.

"What?" Kailen's arms dropped to his side. He kneaded his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean you  _saw_  her?"

"I saw her. She's in some kind of greenish colored crystal cell or something," Law replied. "I was able to  _touch_  her. I felt her skin. I felt her tears."

"Sounds like she's in the palace dungeon then. But I'm confused. I still don't understand what you mean by being able to see and touch her," Kailen said with a light shake of his head.

"I'm not really sure either. I was just in my room. The next thing I know, I'm in that prison cell with her. They gave her an apple, bread, and water to drink. I fed her the apple while holding her in my arms," Law explained. He paused to look at his hands and remembered how it felt to hold her in his arms. He wanted her in his arms right now. He clenched his fists tightly. "I was  _there_ , but I wasn't. I was transparent and glowing."

"Sorry, but I've never heard of something like this happening." Kailen rubbed his fingers over his eyebrows. He then held his hand out towards Law. "Perhaps if you explain to me what happened when you two bonded?"

"Well, the first time it happened-" Law started.

"The  _first_  time?" Kailen gasped.

"Yes." Law nodded. He frowned at being interrupted. "We've bonded three times."

Kailen's jaw fell opened. His chin bobbed up and down a couple times while he tried to form words.

Bepo tilted his head at the green haired man's reactions. He asked, "I'm guessing from your reaction that no one has bonded three times before, right?"

"Of course they haven't!" Kailen shouted at the bear.

"I'm sorry." Bepo dropped his head. A grey aura fell over his shoulder.

"Huh?" Kailen blinked in confusion at the bear's apologetic reaction.

"Never mind him," Law said, bring Kailen's attention back to himself. "As I was saying, the first time it happened was not long after I found her. She still hadn't told us anything of what happened to her. One night she had a nightmare. When I woke her up from it, her eyes were glowing white. She engulfed us both in the white glow. That's when and how she revealed to me what happened to her. The second time happened when the Dark Elementals tried to drown her. We were in my room…"

Kailen frown and growled when Law revealed they were in his room.

Law released a growl of his own. He said, "I already said we haven't done anything. She sleeps in my room so I can watch over her. At first it was to keep control over her, since we couldn't trust her, but then it changed. She  _needs_  me to be with her because of her nightmares. She  _needs_  security when she sleeps so she doesn't get scared. Good grief! She's on a pirate ship with an all male crew! She was safest with me!"

"Okay, okay! Sorry!" Kailen waved his hand. "Please, just continue telling me your bonding stories."

"The second time also happened after the Dark King told us what he did. She was feeling insecure with everything that happened. The third time happened on her one year anniversary when I gave her my gift to her. I gave her a ring." Law paused when his heart seized up. His lungs tightened, cutting off his breathing. Kailen easily noticed the pain occurring in Law, but remained smart and silent about it. "Each time we both were aware of the bonding, but we've never really had a serious conversation about it. She's just as clueless about it as I am."

"Hmm." Kailen strummed his fingers on his thigh. His mind was repetitively going over what Law had just told him. "I could be wrong, since I'm just guessing, but it sounds like each time the bonding occurred was at a turning point in your relationship with her. I think that's how it happened with the others too. But the bonding should have only happened once. I don't know. One of the elders on Luminous might be able to make a better guess at this than I can. Although, I wouldn't get your hopes up for completely clear answers. Something's just don't have such answers. This just might be one of those things where we don't get a real answer."

"So to put it more simply, the captain and Neo were just meant to bond on such a deep level," Bepo surmised.

"I guess so," Kailen said softly. He went silent. His eyes remained on Law, carefully studying the man.

"Was there something else you wanted to say?" Law asked with a deep frown.

"No," Kailen drawled out.

Law once again narrowed his eyebrows at the green haired man. He sensed that Kailen wasn't being truthful.

Kailen rubbed the back of his neck while turning back to the map he and Bepo were working on. "It really doesn't matter right now anyway. When the time comes, we can discuss it more in-depth then. Right now we have more pressing problems to deal with. Most importantly is how I'm going to get you all on Luminous and how you're going to fight the Elementals. I know there is one weak spot in the island defenses. Here…" He pointed to the map. "There is a cove right here. It's on the northwest part of the island. The cove is surrounded by cliffs that are somewhere around a hundred and fifty, possible two hundred feet tall. I can easily lift you all onto the cliff with vines, but once were on Luminous everyone will know we're there. We'll have to move quickly. But I doubt you humans will be fast enough to out run the Elementals. That's where our main problem is. We need to get to Neo, fast. But I have no clue where she'll be on the island at the time."

"Once we get close enough to Luminous I should be able to sense her. I'll tell her to come to me through our bond," Law said. "She will do that anyway once she realizing I'm there."

"Right. I forgot you can sense each other. That'll work just fine. But she'll need to move fast. Once we are there, I'll lift you all onto the island. Then you'll need to quickly get her to use her solar crystal while we distract the Elementals the best we can," Kailen summoned up. "I'll try to explain to you how to tell her about the solar crystal. Hopefully she'll understand and summon it before anyone gets seriously hurt or dies."

"And how are we supposed to fight the Elementals?" Bepo asked.

"That's going to be extremely tricky. I'll know more once we start sparring with each other, but the best bet would be for you all to try and turn their crystals against each other," Kailen said. He then explained farther when Bepo blinked in confusion. "Like, if a fire crystal wielder attacks you, just jump in the path of a water crystal wielder. The water will put out the fire. But the easiest way is to just knock them out or disorient them somehow if you get the chance. That way we'll have less to deal with."

"Oh, right. That makes total sense." Bepo nodded rapidly.

"I'll make as much sleeping powder as I possibly can so that will help you all too," Kailen said strumming his fingers on the table.

"All right then," Law said with a light nod. "It seems we have a plan. Now the crew just needs to train with you."

"If I may, I think we should hold off on the training part until tomorrow," Kailen said cautiously.

"What for?" Bepo asked as Law growled dangerously.

"You all are still affected by the sleeping powder that they used on you. I don't want to end up hurting you, even by accident, before getting to Luminous," Kailen explained. "I really want you all to be able to focus a hundred percent when we spar. I can work on the sleeping powder tonight. And once we all have gotten some sleep, we can spar together."

"Captain?" Bepo asked. Both his and Kailen's eyes turned to Law. "Would that be all right? You're still the captain after all."

Law sighed. He closed his eyes and said, "That's fine. It'll upset Neo if I let you all train while not at a hundred percent. She won't like it if any of you get hurt. Spread those orders to the rest of the crew, Bepo. I'm going to go back to my room or something."

"Aye aye, Captain," Bepo said with a nod.

…

Neo awoke earlier than usual the next day. She wasn't sure why she did. Possibly because she was sleeping on unfamiliar ground, possibly because it was cooler in here than it would be in Law's room, she didn't have a blanket after all, possibly because Law wasn't with her. That was it.

Her heart felt like it was being stabbed multiple times with a knife when she woke up and Law wasn't there like he usually was. She never realized, until that moment, how use she was to waking up to him being beside her. He was always there when she woke up on the sub since he moved her into his room. Now, he wasn't. It hurt. It hurt a lot.

Tears pierced the back of her eyes. Closing her eyes, she shook her head and took a couple of slow, deep breaths.  _No more tears. I don't have to cry. Law is coming. He'll be here soon. In just a couple of days I'll be able to see him again. I'll be able to sense him again._

She opened her eyes when she sensed someone coming for her. She could feel, whoever was come, that one had control over a fire crystal and one a water crystal.  _I can do this. I can survive that long for Law. I will survive to be with the crew again. I will survive so I can be with him again._

While waiting for whoever was coming, Neo let her eyes roam over the room again. She let herself take careful notes of the place. She figured it was her training taking over. Her senses were trying to figure out if there was any escape routes from this cell or if there was anything else she could use as a weapon against these people.

There wasn't really anything. The only things there were the light crystals, the crystals of the bars holding her in, and the three crystal benches on each of the three walls of the cell. And they all were stabilized in place. The only thing she knew moved was the cell door, but that required a key, and a small section at the bottom left of the cell door. She wasn't sure why she noticed it. But she figured, after remembering the night before how that one guy fed his magic into it, that that's how they gave her that small tray of food. She didn't bother trying to see if her magic would open it. Even if she did try, the hole was too small for her to escape from. There was no reason to bother with it.

She didn't even have time to try anyway. She looked up with she felt the ones coming for her got even closer. She looked for the door they would be coming from, but didn't see one. All she saw, from where she was sitting, was a couple other cells and a smooth section of the wall. Just then, she felt magic being filtered into the smooth section of the wall. A door, shaped like the doors on the sub, appeared on the wall. Her eyebrows narrowed at it before the door shape vanished, leaving an opening in the wall.

Stepping through the now opened door was only one of the Elementals. There weren't two like she thought. And it was the one who was with the old man yesterday. The one who called the old man 'father'. And, if she remembered correctly, his name was Tao. She flinched when he looked in her direction. She continued to breathe slowly as he walked over to her cell. She could feel his intense gaze on her as she hugged her knees. She felt him feed his magic into the key before hearing a faint clicking sound followed by a low creaking. The cell door was now open. He hissed, "Get up! Time to go!"

Her heart jerked. She was only used to Law giving her orders. But she obeyed them anyway. She could easily sense that this guy was very powerful. She could sense both the fire and water elements coming from him without any effort. She then remembered Law telling her a couple might have more than one crystal. She also remembered him telling her she was the only one who had all four, plus another one. She wasn't sure. She was so upset last night that she couldn't remember everything he told her after he faded away. She never sensed another crystal within herself. She just didn't know.

She stood up. Fingering his ring for comfort, she walked towards the cell door. Her heart pounded faster and harder with each step she took towards this unfamiliar man. He scoffed when she exited the cell. Her entire body jerked when he pressed his hand to her shoulder and shoved her towards the door he entered from. She stumbled, but managed to regain her balance and keep herself from losing control despite wanting to lose control. Placing her fingers back on his ring to help keep herself calm, she continued to walk towards the door.

She passed through the door and paused. She wasn't sure where she should go. All she saw was more crystal walls. She felt him fed his magic into the wall again. Another door opened before her eyes just like the first one she saw. He said, "Don't even bother trying to think of an escape route. This dungeon is a maze. Unless you know which doors to actually open, you'll never get out of here. You'll be trapped until someone comes for you. And we have guards posted at the exit just on the off chance you might figure out a way to escape."

She didn't reply. She didn't know what she should or would say anyway. Instead, she quickly, but steadily, moved towards the door before he could touch her again. She heard him scoff behind her before hearing his footsteps following after her. She paused again when this door led them to another room just like the last one. It was obvious he spoke the truth to her. This place really was a maze and looked the same with every room and door they came to.

They passed through six doors before coming to a staircase. Neo's bare feet were silent on the crystal stairs. Tao's wasn't. His boots clunked heavily on the crystals underneath them. She wondered if he was walking so heavily as a reminder to her that he was there or if something else was causing him to walk like that. He was so stiff compared to how Law walked. Law's body posture was always so relaxed, so confident, and comforting to her. Her heart tightened again. She missed him even more. She bit her bottom lip to keep herself from crying.  _Just a couple days. He'll be here in just a couple of days._

A few more steps and they reached the top of the stairs. The door here was just like any other door she had seen before. The only difference was this door was a dark purple instead of the green in the prison cells. Two Elementals were standing on the other side of the door. She sensed they were an earth crystal and a fire crystal.

She flinched again when the doors opened on their own. No, they were opened by the one of the two guards she felt on the other side. Once the door was open, she walked through it. She could immediately feel the two guards staring smugly at her. She didn't bother looking at them. She didn't want see them or what they looked like. Instead, she looked around the hallway. This one was different that the ones below. On the right side of the hall was nothing but a wall. The left side of the hallway was lined with doors.

"Stop gawking!" Tao hissed.

She felt him reaching for her. Quickly, she began to walk again, avoiding being touched by him. They walked quietly down the long hallway then turned to the left. The turn led them to another hallway with more doors, a few tables, and then to a staircase at the end. When they got to the top of this staircase, she could sense so many Elementals, both inside this building and outside of it.

Their combined elements and darkness was becoming too much for her to handle. She was unable to focus on where Tao was leading her. The walls of this place faded away from her as she focused on Law's ring and his hat. She could still smell Law's scent on the spotted hat sitting on her head. It helped soothe her.

She was able to come back to her senses from focusing on his hat and ring. She realized they were outside now. It was time for her to be hunted again. Without prompting from the man who was walking with her or from anyone else, Neo walked down the stairs on the right side of the porch, on the left staircase were several Elementals watched her. She did her best to ignore them. She focused on a multistory building a few yards from the castle. She passed the building and stepped inside of the forest where more Elementals were waiting.

"Well, isn't she different today," a fire Elemental said with a light chuckle.

"Maybe this means she's going to put up more of a fight," a water Elemental said. "We should give her a sporting chase. Let her have a few minutes to get farther into the forest. How about that, Tao? You should join us today."

"I will not," Tao replied with a frown.

"Aw, come on! You're no fun at all," the fire Elemental laughed.

"Laugh if you want. But this isn't right. She's a danger to us all and yet here you all don't care. She can easily purify us from the darkness," Tao grumbled.

"Ugh! Come on, man! Are you still going on about that? You're starting to sound like a broken record." The fire Elemental crossed his arms and leaned against the railing of the palace porch.

"If you all want to play games with the light, then go right ahead," Tao hissed. "I have no interest in such silliness."

"Excuse me, Master Tao." Tao turned to the dark orange hair and eyed maid who addressed him. She had her hands collapsed in front of her white and black maid uniform. "Your father requests your presence at breakfast."

"Of course he does," Tao grumbled. He turned back into the castle doors. Ignoring everyone and everything, he marched back into the castle. Turning to the right, he stomped over to the dining hall. Eggs, biscuits, gravy, orange juice, and fresh fruit filled one end of the dinning hall's long rectangular table.

"About time, son," Atlas said through a mouthful of food. Tao silently scoffed at the deplorable table manners his father was showing. The old man had food particles in his beard. "Sit down and eat."

"You are far too relaxed about this, Father," Tao growled as he plopped down in a chair beside his father. A maid walked over and began to fill his plate for him.

"I am relaxed because there is nothing she can do to stop us." Atlas paused to pick up his chalice. He chugged down his drink then slammed the cup back on the table. "Twenty long years we have searched for her. Now she is here. Once she is defeated we can continue with the plan to cover this entire world with darkness. We'll be all powerful. No one will be able to stop us."

"World domination…seeking such power and control that fast is dangerous. You are far too over confident, Father," Tao grumbled, but his father didn't hear him. "A slower approach to the humans is needed. They can't be controlled by the darkness like our people can be."

"More drink!" Atlas bellowed out.

Tao sighed at being ignored. He picked up his fork and stabbed it into his eggs.

…

Neo picked up her pace a bit when she finally got about twenty yards into the forest. She darted her eyes around. Summoning her earth crystals, she started to make as much plant life grow up as she could. She started to create another large jungle like she did a few days ago. She twisted some vines together to create some nets. Once she had about ten nets woven together she scattered them down over the forest floor. Studying the ground as carefully, and quickly as she could, she covered the vine nets with dirt and leaves so they looked like the rest of the ground.

"She's that way!"

Neo looked up when she heard, and felt, some Elementals coming her way. Quickly, she turned and ran farther into the forest. As she ran, she kept her earth crystals out and summoned her water crystals. She worked them together. Pulling up dirt from the ground, she mixed water in the dirt to create mud.

She then used her earth crystals to create large leaves and placed a fair amount of mud on each of the leaves. She then folded and tied the leaves closed with very thin vines. She made sure the vines and leaves were thin enough so when she hit the Elementals with them they would bust open. She looked back the way she just came from when she heard a very unpleasant curse ringing through the air. "What the heck is this?!"

"Is this some kind of joke?!" A couple Elementals had fallen into her net traps. From their voices she could tell two of them were guys and one was a girl.

"Ah! Ha ha! I can't believe you two fell for that little trick!" One guy laughed.

"Shut up!" the two trapped cried. "Just get us down!"

"Get yourselves down! You can cut those vines with your water! Just shoot it fast enough!"

"You're such a jerk!" the girl screamed.

Neo felt a tiny smile pulling across her lips. She wasn't sure that would work on Elementals since they can sense nature. She was glad it worked. They apparently weren't looking out for tricks like that one. She took a deep breath and released it.  _Relax. Stay focused. Don't think about how it was successful. I still have a long way to go. Don't get over confident. Just stay calm and remember your training. Remember what Law said. Elements aren't good or evil. The darkness is just a blanket. Look past that. I've been doing it already. Wait…I wonder how good their hand to hand combat is. So far they seem to only use their crystals. And they obviously have more practice at them then I do. I might be able to use that combat training against them somehow. If they're more use to using their crystals than facing someone through physical means…I might be able to catch some of them off guard by attacking them without my crystals._

Neo nodded. The idea was worth a try. She started to run again. Pulling her mud bombs with her with the use of her wind crystals, she continued to make the forest grow. The Elementals that she sensed coming after her clearly weren't earth crystal users. She could hear and feel them struggling through her dense jungle. "What is this child thinking?!"

"What's the point of growing up the forest like this? I can easily burn these plants!"

Neo then sensed him flaring up his crystals and setting some of the forest on fire.

"Yeah, but if you get too out of control so will the blaze," the water guy said.

Neo sensed him using his water crystals to put out some of the fire. She now could clearly sense their fire and water abilities. She was getting use to how the darkness felt around them.

"She's just doing this to slow us down because we're not earth crystal users. It only works for her right now, but as soon as others join us tricks like these won't work," the fire Elemental said.

"Stop burning the forest! You want to hurt us too?!" the girl hissed.

"Oh shut up! You're water Elementals! Just put out the fire!"

"You made it!"

Neo took their arguing as an opportunity to attack them. Using her wind crystals, she lifted herself into the air. She remembered her sparring sessions with Jean Bart. She had become faster with her winds to the point she disappeared. She did that here. She flew herself around the Elementals that were after her.

"What's going on?" the fire Elemental asked when wind caused his fire to flicker. Loose leaves fell from the branches they were attached to. The three Elementals stood on guard, but it was obvious they couldn't follow Neo's movements.

Neo continued to fly around as fast as she could. She purposefully knocked more leaves off the surrounding trees. She needed as many distractions as she could possible manage. The three below her began to back into a circle. The fire Elemental burned some of the falling leaves. He hissed, "I don't know what you're planning, but it's not going to work!"

Neo connected to a vine. She had it slither across the ground. Once it was close enough to the three, she used it to knock them off their feet. When they started to fall, she snapped out more vines and wrapped them around their bodies. The fire Elemental growled again. He said, "Are you trying to make us angry?! I'm a  _fire_  Elemental! Attacking  _me_  with plants is futile!"

"And yet you still got trapped," the other guy said as he and the girl tried to use their water to cut through all the vines Neo had around them.

"Shut up!" the fire Elemental roared. His crystals flared up. A sharp hiss was heard and smoke filled the air as the flames disintegrated the vines. Just before he got free, Neo used her winds to throw her mud bombs at them. The thin leaves exploded on impact, covering their faces in mud. "What the heck?!"

The attack apparently caught them off guard. She slammed the two water crystal users against trees with the vines around their bodies, effectively knocking them out. She snapped more vines at the fire user. He once again growled at her. "Are you insane?! How many times do I have to say it?! I am a  _fire_ Elemental! You can't stop me with pla-"

Neo planted her feet, engulfed in wind, onto his back. She pushed him down and into the ground, knocking him out. She stepped off of him. She carefully inspected them to make sure they were still breathing. They were. She didn't kill them. She sighed with relief that she didn't kill them, but also because her attack worked. "I know it wouldn't work on you like that. But it did work as a nice distraction. You were too focused on the vines and getting angry that you didn't see or sense me coming from behind you. I am so sorry for knocking you out. I had to do it."

Neo jerked her eyes away from the ones she just took down when she sense more coming. She took off again into the forest, pulling her remaining mud bombs with her. She was feeling a bit more stable in fighting, but knew if too many attacked her at once she wouldn't stand a chance. She was going to have to be careful. Separating them and attacking them in smaller groups was the obvious thing to do. She just didn't know how long she could pull it off until they figured out that's what she was doing.

She sensed wind Elementals coming this time. She wouldn't be able to use the wind against them like she did the fire and water Elementals she just took out. She was going to have to figure out a different way to stop them. She then remembered getting knocked down onto the beach yesterday. She remembered how the sand flew up into her mouth. "Wait…maybe I  _can_  use the wind against them after all."

She focused on the sea. The closest beach was to her left. She hurried off in the direction of the sea. When she got there, she walked out to the middle of the beach and just waited for them. They arrived shortly after she did. She turned to them. She looked them over, but avoided eye contacted. There were ten of them. Three of them were wind Elementals. Four of them were water Elementals. And the other three were fire Elementals. All of them were a bit bigger than her in physical size. They were about the same sizes as the rest of the crew, but for Jean Bart.

She could handle that as long as she took out the wind Elementals first. Lucky for her, they were the ones to step forward first. One girl said, "We noticed you were using your wind crystals to take advantage of our three friends before."

"That trick won't work on us," another girl said. "We are the wind. And we're faster than you,  _Princess_."

The other two elementals, four boys, and three girls, chuckled. All four of the wind Elementals took to the air. Neo let her eyes linger on the remaining Elementals. Their body postures were in relaxed positions. She assumed they weren't going to attack her. Yet anyway. She knew they would jump in if she did succeed in taking out the four wind Elementals.

Her attention was pulled back to the wind Elementals when they started using their crystals. She quickly noticed they were keeping their winds under tight control and high above the sand. She took a slow deep breath. She then summoned her wind crystals and created the fastest wind she could possibly create. She scooped up the sand in her winds.

"What's sh-" Before the girl could finish her question Neo used her winds to blend in the sand with their winds. She then used her earth crystals to create sand geysers. The sand geysers caught the wind users off guard. They faltered in flying a bit to avoid getting hit by the geysers. She flew herself up to them and threw one of her mud bombs. Once she had one of their faces covered in mud, she slammed her wind-engulfed feet into their backs. She was able to take out three of them this way. But the fourth one caught on to what she was doing.

"You won't be taking me out that easy!" he cried as he dodged her attack. She quickly recovered from the missed hit and threw a punch at him. He dodged it too, but was clearly taken by surprise at the attack. Her assumptions were corrected. They weren't use to fighting hand to hand. She quickly took advantage of that. She threw a couple more punches. He dodged them awkwardly. "What the heck are yo-?"

Neo then did a roundhouse kick. Since he was bigger than she was, she wrapped her winds around herself and used them to strengthen her attack. Her foot collided with his head. She winced at the impact. For once she wished she had her shoes on. She pushed on through with the attack and sent him flying through the air. She intended on kicking him to the ground, but ended up kicking him into a tree. He's back collided with the bark and he crumpled to the ground. She gasped in shock. "Sorry."

"How did she…?" one of the remaining Elementals started to ask.

Neo didn't wait around to hear what he was going to say. She took off into the forest again. That last attack had drained her some. She needed to get some distance between her and the others before she attacked again.

As she flew, she barely sensed some vines coming up from below. She flipped her feet up over her head. She did move fast enough. One of the vines cut her already throbbing, from the kick, right ankle while another vine grabbed her left ankle. She was jerked downwards to fast for her to react. Her back collided with a tree limb. She recovered as quickly as she could. Summoning her fire crystals, she burned the vines around her before they jerked her downward again. She took off back into the air with the vines following close behind.

Panting and dodging, she summoned more earth crystals. She focused on the vines snapping at her. She felt the darkness within them, but forced herself to push past it and focus on the vines themselves. She had to get control over them to be able to escape. "There they are."

Neo's earth crystals started to glow. The vines snapped at her again. She threw out her hand at them. "I order you to stop!"

They did. She now had control over the vines instead of the Elementals on the ground. She could hear their surprised shouts, but they were too far below to understand clearly. She quickly tied the vines into a thick bow and took off again just as fireballs were hurled at her.

…

Neo panted hard as she leaned against a tree. Her little trick of separating and attacking smaller groups of Elementals was working. But they had caught on to her trick and were attacking her with more and more Elementals. She had been going at this for hours. Soon the day would be over and she would be back in her cell. She was ready for it to be over. She didn't have much strength left to fight.

She started to finger Law's ring again when she sensed more Elementals heading for her. She leaned her head back against the tree. She tried to summon her crystals. She couldn't. She knew it was over for the day. She didn't have anything left. She knew that they could sense that. She could feel their disappointment radiating from their bodies just like their elements and darkness. She was too tired to even figure out which Elemental had which element. She just wanted to sleep. The quicker she got to sleep, the quicker the next day would come and the quicker she'd be with Law again.

"Ah man! She's already done for the day!" an Elemental girl whined. "Just when she was starting to show some skilled and things were getting good!"

"Don't worry about it. We have plenty of time to play with her tomorrow," a guy said.

"Fine! But I want something for not being able to fight her today!" the girl hissed. Neo could feel the Elemental's eyes on her, but didn't bother looking up. "She seems to finger that ring and hat a lot."

Neo's eyes widened. She whispered, "No…"

"I think I'll take them as payment," the girl said. Neo tried to move when she heard her step towards her. She couldn't. She was too tired to move. She was too tired to form her crystals. The girl kneed down and picked up Neo's hand. She started to remove Law's ring from Neo's finger. "I'll be taking that."

"No!" Neo snapped. She curled her fingers, momentarily stopping the ring from being taken from her. Her heart pounded so hard if felt like it was pounding in her head too.

"Uncurl your fingers! I want that ring!" the girl hissed. Neo struggled against her. "Hey! Help me out here!"

"Fine," the boy said. He stepped forward. Grabbing Neo's arms, he easily pinned her arms to her sides.

"No! Don't touch me! Don't touch that!" Neo cried when the girl easily pried her fingers loose then. Her heart started pounded with sharp erratic beats against her chest as she watched the ring being slid off her finger. When the ring got past her knuckle, Neo felt something inside of her snap. A strange, unfamiliar emotion built up in her chest. The feeling raged like a wildfire. She felt her fire crystals appear around her. No, this felt different. She felt something similar to when she put her hand in the campfire that one time. She didn't pause to think about it. All she knew was Law's ring was going to be taken away from her. She felt her fire flare up hotter than very before as she screamed. "Don't touch that!"

The Elemental gasped and jerked back. They all paused and started at Neo as her body became engulfed in the fire. Her body  _became_  the fire. All of the Elementals stared in complete shock. They raised their arms as if it would block the heat that washed over their bodies. One of them cried out. He said, "Stop her! Do you hear me, fire Elementals?! Put her out!"

"We can't!" some of them shouted. They summoned their fire crystals. They tried to pull Neo's fire into their crystals, but wasn't able to. They tried to fight back with their fire, but Neo only pulled it into her fire making her blaze grow even more and become even hotter. They stumbled back when Neo's blaze grew hotter and hotter. The flame turned from reddish orange to blue when it got hot enough. None of them could believe what they were seeing. Neo shot out several fireballs from her body of fire. Some of the balls landed on the ground, others the trees, while some when right at the Elementals.

"Someone  _do_  something!" an Elemental shouted as she dodged one of the fireballs. Before they could, Neo's fire began to fade. Her fireballs became smaller and smaller.

"Wait! Don't bother wasting your time and magic," another one said. "That was all the magic she had left in her. Her flame is fading now. She can't do anything to us."

They all watched as her flame died down. As her fire faded her body became visible again and she collapsed to the ground in an unconscious slump. They all still stayed back. They were unsure if they should even approach her after what she just did. After a couple of intense minutes of just staring at her, one said, "We should inform Master Atlas of this immediately. Someone, take her back to the dungeon."

"I'm not going to do it. You do."

"No way. You do it."

"I don't want anywhere near her."

"Ugh! I'll take her then, you babies! She's passed out! She can't do anything to you!" a guy said. He walked over and kneed down beside Neo's body.

"Wait! I still want her ring and hat!" the girl from before said.

"Seriously? After what she just did when you tried to take the ring from her?" another girl asked.

"Who cares?" the girl snapped. "I still want them! She practically singed by hair!"

"You're too obsessed with your looks," the guy said as he reached for Neo's shoulders. The girl growled. "Just take them already! She should be out of it for a while, but I don't want to take the chance of her waking up while you're taking those away from her."

"Fine!" the girl snapped again. She snatched Law's hat off Neo's head then slipped his ring off her finger. "Take her! I'm going home! Someone go tell Master Atlas of this! He'll want to know her magic is growing!"

…

"What are you telling me this for?" Atlas asked, annoyance lacing his tone. He leaned back into the red cushion of the five points high back, black crystal throne. He propped his elbow up on the armrest and placed his chin in his hand. An annoyed and bored look played on his features. He smoothed out his robe with his free hand. A couple maids stood off the throne platform; ready to preform any orders they were given. "Royals have been known to take their crystals to the next level like that."

The small group of three Elementals stood quietly. They didn't know what to say anymore after telling Atlas and Tao of what Neo had just done. They didn't want to anger their master.

"Father, if she is able to do that while being so weak then it's only a matter of time before she realizes she has the solar crystal. Does the darkness really want to be purified?" Tao asked. He stood up from the other throne on the platform and faced his father.

"If you are so worried about her, then  _you_  face her tomorrow. The darkness is enjoying the chaos. It finds it rather amusing that this girl is causing such trouble by using her physical prowess against the mighty Elementals so easily." Atlas laughed. "Its ready to move on with our plan. Now that we have the girl in our grasped, we can move on to take over the human world."

"You're not taking this seriously," Tao said. "Not all humans are as weak as those we took the girl from. We still don't know  _everything_  on what humans are capable of. You remember that red haired pirate that came here occasionally? He was very strong the last time he was here. He managed to get the princess and her family off the island. And even when our forces attacked his ship, he and his crew gave us a hard time. That was twenty years ago. He's even stronger now. And he was very loyal to her parents. Imagine what he would do if he were to realize we have the princess now. Or do you doubt that she has his loyalty?"

"Hn." Atlas glared at his son. He grabbed his staff and stood up. The second he was on his feet, Atlas' body began to glow dark. He pointed the top of his staff at his son. The glow from his body flowed down the staff and out to Tao. Tao cried out and grabbed his head as the dark glow forced itself into his body. "I will no longer tolerate your tongue speaking out against me! I am in control of this island!  _That_ pirate hasn't been to this island in twenty years! He knows better than to mess with me! I command you to be silent now! Do you understand me, Tao?!"

"Y-yes, Father," Tao stuttered. The darkness lifted from his body and went back to Atlas. He gasped for air. A low sigh was on his lips as he straightened himself up.

"Good. I will hear nothing more on the subject from anyone." Atlas slammed his staff's end on the crystal floor. A loud crack was heard from it. The old man then walked down the three stairs of the platform to leave.

"Um, e-excuse me, M-Master Atlas?" The old man turned his attention to the timid little voice that trickled through the room. Hiding behind one of the maids in the room, was a little dark red haired girl. She peaked out her dark red eyes from behind the skirt of the maid. Atlas looked down at her. "A-are you sure w-we are safe?"

"Why of course, little one," Atlas cooed. He bend down and smiled at her. He beckoned her to come closer. "Don't be shy. Come here and tell me your name."

The little girl gulped before doing as she asked. Her maroon skirt swished as she took short, timid steps towards him. She tugged at the hem of her white shirt with one hand while tugging at her medium length tresses with her other hand. "T-Tandy."

"Well, Tandy, what is your concern today?" Atlas asked with his smile remaining on his lips.

"I'm…I'm not strong. I-I can't control my fire c-crystals very well. And t-that girl is the princess. S-she has the solar crystal. I'm s-scared. I-if I have to fight her, then I won't be able to win," the little girl stuttered.

"Don't worry, Tandy." Atlas placed his hand on the girl's head. He ruffled her hair. "We won't let that nasty solar crystal wielder hurt you. You are protected by the darkness crystal, myself, and my son. The darkness crystal won't betray its subjects. You're safe with me."

"Really?" The girl gasped happily.

"You sure are." Atlas laughed. He then picked the girl up and placed her on his shoulder. "How about we get you something to eat? I'm sure you're hungry now. It's getting late after all."


	41. Anger

Anger

"Room!" Law held out his hand. His Room spread over the training room. For the past several hours he had been watching Kailen spar against his crew. It was obvious that his crew had the advantage when it came to martial arts skills. But when Kailen used his crystals on them the Elemental was the superior being. Their fight against the Elementals was going to be a lot more difficult than they thought. But Kailen was helping them come up with ideas to try and stop the Elementals. And unlike Neo, Kailen didn't hold back, at least not much. There as a few times Kailen did hold back since he didn't want to hurt the pirates. Now it was time for him to see what he could do against Kailen's earth crystals. Something he's never done before with Neo. "You ready?"

"I am." Kailen nodded. His crystals began to glow just before thorns shot out of the shimmering aura.

Law watched as the thorns shot towards him. He swung his sword, slicing up multiple thorns but a few flew past his defenses. The thorns sliced across his left cheek. He brushed away the blood with his hand; not carrying it was there. Holding his sword back up, he charged at Kailen.

Kailen held out his hand. A crystal appeared over it. He touched the glow and pulled out a stone sword. He blocked Law's slice with it.

…

"Oh man," Shachi said as his eyes carefully watched the two battling. The room was warm and thick with sweat that all of the sparring had created during the day's training sessions. "The captain is really going at him, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Bepo said. He then sighed when his captain got hit by the thorns. "But it's obvious that the captain's not focusing like he usually does. Those thorns shouldn't have touched him. He should have wrapped."

"It's no surprise that's happening," Penguin sighed, slumping against the wall behind him. He slid down it until he was sitting on the floor. "He becomes so reckless when Neo is hurting and not by his side. He's just so frustrated with himself right now for losing her that he can't focus straight. If he were thinking clearly, this battle would have been over within seconds of starting. Also, it's clear that he doesn't want to hurt Kailen either. After all, he is our only way of getting to Neo and he's her brother."

"Yeah." Bepo and Shachi nodded their heads in agreement. Their captain was just not the same right now. All of the Heart Pirates could see that. And they all wisely remained silent about it. They knew their captain would be back to normal once Neo was back in his protective sights.

"And he didn't sleep last night either," Shachi added. "He probably won't sleep at all until Neo is back by his side."

"It'll be much longer after that if she's hurt," Penguin said with another sigh. "He won't sleep until he know she's out of all kinds of danger, no matter how minor or major it is."

Another round of head nods passed between the three friends. Law would set up his guard over Neo while she was recuperating from this ordeal. Penguin then said, "I just hope the captain get's some sleep before we get to Luminous for her sake, if nothing else. He'll need to focus completely when we get there."

…

Kailen gasped through soft pants as he continued with his sparring. His body was about to give out on him. He snapped out vines at Law only to have them sliced up in the pirate captain's Room yet again. The Elemental banished his crystals, signaling to Law that he surrendered and was at his end. He dropped to the floor, his legs stretched out in front of him. "Wow. I had no clue you were capable of something like this. Is this what they call a devil fruit power? Isn't that right?"

"Yes, it is," Law replied. His Room disappeared as he sheathed his sword.

"I've heard about you devil fruit users during my time among humans, but I've never seen one actually use their powers before," Kailen said through his panting. He brushed sweat off his forehead with the back of his arm. "It's incredible. Although, I don't believe those severing powers of yours will do much good against Elementals. Or can you severe through a person's magic and keep them from using it?"

"I doubt that I can. I've never tried though. The only magical being I've ever been around is Neo. And I will  _never_  use my powers to attack her. Not even through friendly sparring. All I can do with this particular ability is switch people bodies and personalities or divide their bodies up into piece," Law replied. He propped his sword on his shoulder and put his other hand in his pocket.

"Huh?" Kailen raised an eyebrow at the pirate.

"If I were to switch you with one of my subordinates you would no longer be able to control your crystals because you'd be in one of their bodies and they'd be in your body," Law explained. "Or I assume it would be the same as switching humans. Like I just said, I've never switched a magical being before. It might not work. You might still be able to use your crystals. I know they are apart of your very existence."

"Ah." Kailen nodded. "That makes sense. If you wanted to, you could experiment with me."

Law raised an eyebrow at the Elemental. He wasn't expecting that offer from someone he didn't really know.

Kailen shrugged. He then said, "It wouldn't hurt to know if I would be separated from my crystals if I'm in someone else's body. If it works then you could switch the Elementals on Luminous with each other or with your subordinates. That would take out a few of them at least."

"Humans controlling the elementals?" Conner questioned. "I'm not so sure about that. Sounds dangerous. People already cause enough damage with devil fruit powers. Can you imagine what would happen if they had the Elementals abilities?"

"It's worth a shot still if it'll help save Neo," Archer said. "I'll be the other test subject, Captain. If that's all right with you that is."

"Fine. We'll try it now." Law raised his hand again. "Room! Shambles!"

The crew watched as the Elemental and their fellow Archer got switched with each other. The two test subjects inspected their new bodies. Archer said, "This is crazy weird. I feel like  _I'm_  a plant. Or part of the planet or something. I'm not sure how to explain it. It feels really weird."

"That's a normal feeling. We Elementals are more connected to nature than humans. We  _are_  nature," Kailen said looking down at his own new body. "I feel a little bit different too, but I still feel connected to my crystals. And I still feel connected to nature."

"Go ahead then and see if you can still control them," Law said.

Kailen nodded. He turned to his own body. Kneading his borrowed body's eyebrows in focus, he summoned his earth crystals. He heard the crew gasp when his crystals appeared around both of their bodies. He moved the crystals around the room before slithering out vines from them. He then banished them. "Well, that settles it."

Law twisted his hand, putting the two back in their correct bodies with in a split second. He shoved his hand back into his pocket. "So you can't be separated from your crystals after all."

"At least not by devil fruit means," Kailen said. He looked at his body finding everything the same. "But there are other magical creatures in the world."

"There's more of you?!" the crew shouted.

Kailen nodded and said, "Yes, there are. And I'm not sure what kind of magic there is in the world, but someone might have the means to take away Neo's magic or mine. So make sure to keep an eye out for them during your travels. You never know who or what you might run into."

The crew nodded rapidly.

"That's all the required training we're going to go through," Law ordered as he headed for the door. "You all are free to train if you wish, but do not over do it."

"Aye aye, Captain!" the crew chorused.

Law then disappeared out of the room without another word or glance at anyone.

Penguin watched his hatless captain go. He wished there was something he could say to the man that would help. But he knew the best thing right now was to just give Law his space. If he were meant to say something to the captain, it would happen when the time was right.

"Hey, Kailen!" Archer called out, gaining Penguin's attention. The man was now sitting on a bench tossing one of the sleeping powder packets, that Kailen made the night before, up and down in his hand. "What exactly are these things made of?"

"Prunus cerasifera," Kailen replied while walking over to the man. The Elemental chuckled when the pirate tilted his head in confusion. "The simple name for it is cherry plum."

"Are you serious?!" Archer shrieked. He tossed around the packet between his hands like it was extremely hot before flinging it away from him. "I didn't think that flower was harmful!"

"It's actually not," Kailen said. He snatched the packet as it flipped through the air. "Careful with those though. I didn't make the leaf pouches very thick. We need them to rip open on contact. So they're very thin and will bust open easily."

"Right. Sorry," Archer apologized with a nod. He eyed the leafy packet in Kailen's hand carefully. It was about four inches in diameter with tiny little vines stitched through the leaves. It looked like such a harmless little packet.

"The cherry plum fragrance, in the human world, is use to help relax peoples minds and bodies. It actually doesn't put them to sleep itself," Kailen said as he laid the packet back down with the others. "For the flower to cause people to go to sleep, I have to ground up the flower petals with other naturally grown oils and infuse it with my magic."

"So that's how it's done, huh?" Bepo questioned while he curiously inspected the leaf pouches laying on a the bench. There were about twenty to thirty packets for each of them. "You've been busy."

"Of course I have to be extremely careful when making it. If I get the proportions wrong, it could easily kill the person who breathes it in," Kailen said very casually, too casually for the pirates. The entire crew shrieked and bolted away from him and the death packets. He blinked at their sudden outburst and movements. When he realized what he said, and how he said it so casually, he laughed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you all like that. I promise I was extra careful when making these. They're harmless. And even if they weren't, I'd easily be able to create the antidote for it. This sleeping powder is actually a very basic one. It's the first one an in-training healer creates. I successfully made my first batch when I was six years old."

"Wow. Six years old, huh?" Shachi asked. He carefully crept back toward Kailen with the rest of the crew following behind him. "You Elementals never fail to impress."

"So when do you think we'll reach Luminous?" Penguin asked. Tension fell among the crew once more.

"Well, at the speed we have been going, we'll arrive a bit sooner than I first thought. If I can keep finding all these fast sea creatures, we'll probably reach Luminous around lunch time tomorrow," Kailen said thoughtfully. "That's if nothing goes wrong between now and then."

"Still, that's three days of fighting complete strangers and two nights without the captain by her side." Bepo sighed with his shoulders slumping. "I really hope this doesn't cause a relapse for her."

"She'll be fine once the captain is with her again." Shachi patted the bear on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Bepo. She knows we're coming for her. She's a lot stronger now than she was when she was first brought to live with us. And with how the captain was able to talk to her you know she'll be all right."

"Yeah, I know." Bepo nodded. "I'm still worried though."

"You all really care about her, don't you?" Kailen questioned softly. He looked over all of the pirates. Their expressions were soft and full of worry.

"Of course we do," Penguin said. "In away, we raised her. She's come to mean a great deal to us all."

"I can easily see that. And that's why I feel I should go ahead and warn you…" Kailen paused. He bit his bottom lip before continuing with what he was saying. "…that my people are going to expect her to remain on Luminous once the darkness has been purified."

"That's  _not_  going to happen." Law's harsh voice caused all of them to whip around. None of them expected for him to still be lingering around the room. He was glaring right at Kailen. His eyes sharped with a streak of light of rage burning. "She's  _not_  staying on Luminous. Once we have her back, she's leaving with us."

"I figured as much. But others aren't going to be so understanding of letting her go. She's our princess after all. And even after she purifies the darkness she'll still be expected to preform other typical royal duties," Kailen said carefully.

"I don't care!" Law hissed. His grey eyes turned sharp with warning.

"Look, I understand that you all love her, especially  _you,_  Trafalgar Law. And I'm going to help you persuade the other Elementals to let her go with you." Kailen smiled when Law flinched at the truth of how he felt about Neo. "I'm just warning you that it's not going to be easy. Our people are very conservative. They like the way things are because they work for us. Certain changes can cause problems for our people. And this will be the first time that a royal won't be living on Luminous. It'll be a big change for us all. But I believe, that once my people get to know her and how connected she is to you all, they'll want her to be happy. After all, she hasn't live on Luminous at all after she was born. She won't be use to our customs."

"I never thought about them not wanting their princess to leave," Archer said in a hushed tone. The air in the room became stiff from his words. None of them expected this.

"We can discuss that later in more detail. Right now, there's a request that I must ask of you all," Kailen said in a serious tone. He waited until he knew he had their undivided attention before speaking again. "I know this is going to be a very difficult request for all of you, but  _please_ , do not kill any of the Elementals. With the exceptions of those who possibly betrayed our people, the Elementals are innocent in all of this. None of us  _want_  to be taken over by the darkness."

The Heart Pirates fell into deathly silent stance. Slowly, their eyes drew over to their captain. They knew they could keep a tight control on their emotions during this upcoming fight, but their captain was another story. Their captain had already killed to protect Neo. And they all knew he would do it again without hesitation and without thought. They also knew that their beloved Captain Trafalgar Law has already planned out multiple ways to torture then kill each and every single Elemental that hurt the one he loved.

Kailen's eyes were also on Law. The two men once again locked into a staring contest. Kailen swallowed. From the short time he has spend with these men he could already tell that this man, this Trafalgar Law was not a man to mess with. He knew how much Law cared for his sister just from the times he has seen them together. But this was still a request he had to make.

" _Fine_." Law delivered his words with venom dripping from every single syllable. If words could kill, everyone in the room would have died right there. " _But_ …if  _anyone_  tries to hurt or kill her in my presence, I  _will_   _kill_  them. And it won't matter if they did intend to betray your people or not."

Kailen carefully considered the man's words before slowly nodding in agreement. "Fair enough."

…

Law sighed deeply. He was sitting alone in the semi dark control room. Usually this room would be filled with tons of lights and beeping of the sub's controls. But with Kailen using sea creatures to pull them, the majority of the engines weren't being used. Only a few lights and a few beeps filled the room at the moment. It was early in the morning, around five thirty. In a few, but long, hours they would finally be at Luminous.

Law had hoped to find a quiet place to get some rest and relax his brain. But there wasn't anywhere he could go on this sub that didn't remind him of her. This room held the memory of her by his side before they arrived at Marineford and the memory of her sitting on his lap wearing one of her Amazon outfits. His heart tightened at that memory. Those outfits were the first ones she's worn that had been so revealing. She looked so different in them. So grown up, so mature yet still so innocent.

He closed his eyes and tried to feel out for her again. He still couldn't find her. He didn't like that he couldn't feel her anymore. He hissed mentally at himself. He should have tested this ability with Neo when he had the chance. He should have tested it to see how far they could be apart before their link was broken. He wondered if this was something they could train to get stronger with.

Law couldn't think clearly. He rubbed his hands over his face. He slid his hands up to his hair. He kept forgetting his hat wasn't there. She had it with her. With another sigh, he pushed himself to his feet. Although he didn't want too, he knew he needed to get some sleep. Even just a little bit. He wanted to be completely focused when they arrived at Luminous. He would sleep for her.

So he forced himself out of the control room and up to the medical bay. The halls of the sub were eerily quiet. He wasn't sure if his crew was asleep or not. He figured some were while others, like Penguin, might not be. But he didn't go check on them. They all knew they should get some rest before arriving there. They would be fine. Him, on the other hand, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep at all knowing she wasn't safe. He was going to need help.

Filtering through his medical supplies. He pulled out an all too familiar bottle. It was the same sedative he used on Neo. He gritted his teeth. Every single room seemed to hold a memory of her. He popped the lid off and chugged back a swig. He quickly recapped the bottle, placed it back into the cabinet, and then left the room. He paused in the hall when his body automatically turned towards the direction of his room, of their room. He didn't sleep in there. He couldn't do it, not without her.

His body turned back to the stairs. With his hands shoved in his pockets, he moved down the hall in a sluggish stride. No one was in the rec. room when he arrived. His heart seized up again at more memories of her. She learned how to read and write in this room. There was just nowhere he could go without more memories hammering his brain.

He forced himself forward. He paused again when he reached the couch. He could easily see her curled up on it with a book in her hands. He gritted his teeth. Tears pierced the back of his eyes. He rubbed his hand over his face again. Luckily, he could feel the sedative starting to take over. He wouldn't have to think for much longer. He sat down on the couch. Leaning his head back, he stared up at the ceiling as his eyes started to drift close. He whispered her name while drifting off. "Neo…"

…

Neo woke up. Instantly she could tell that something was wrong, something was missing. Pushing herself into a sitting position she noticed a burning sensation in her chest and stomach. Her bangs fell over her eyes, Law's hat no longer there to keep it in place. Lifting her hand she noticed Law's ring was missing. Her finger was cold where it use to lie. She remembered the girl. The one who wanted her ring and hat. The burning sensation became hotter. It scared her. Pulling her knees up, she wrapped her arms around them and buried her eyes. She tried to force her mind to not think about it, to not think about how she broken her promise to Law. But it wouldn't stop. It kept playing over and over in her head that they were gone. The only items she had of Law with her were now gone, in the hands of someone else. It hurt.

"Let's go, brat," a far off voice said to her.

Neo's movements were slow and automatic but some how she slowly lifted her head from her knees. Her bangs were still casting dark shadows over her tear stained eyes. She pushed herself to her feet then slowly walked towards the cell door. The disembodied voice spoke again to her. The voice said, "You didn't eat? They're not going to be happy about that. You need your strength to fight today. But if you want to be stubborn and stupid and not eat then that's your choice. Makes no difference to me. Let's get going then. It's gonna be a long day."

She was so engulfed by this unfamiliar emotion swirling around in her chest that she couldn't even tell if the person speaking to her was a boy or a girl. She just heard a distant mumble. If there was food inside of her cell she never noticed it.

"Let's get going," the voice said.

Neo remained ever silent, her feet somehow taking her where she needed to go. The walk through the castle was a solid blur to her. She didn't even register she that was outside or when she had gotten there. Nor did she register that a larger number of Elementals were waiting for her today.

The Elementals started to taunt her. "Well, let's get to it,  _Princess_!"

"Yeah! We're ready to have some fun today!"

"Get moving already!"

"I think she's scared. She knows she can't handle all of us."

"Get moving!" An earth Elemental male snapped a vine out at Neo. It hit the ground. A small cloud of dirt curled upward into the air at the impact.

"Hm?" Tao, who was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, immediately realized something was seriously different with her. But he couldn't figure out what it was.

The earth Elemental snapped another vine at Neo when she didn't even flinch. This vine hit Neo on her left upper arm. Stinging, her skin split open. But she didn't feel it. The Elemental laughed at the blood sliding down her arm. "I bet that one stung!"

"Or not. She's still not even moving," a wind Elemental female said.

"Well then, if she's going to do nothing but just stand there," another earth Elemental said as he stepped closer to Neo. He summoned three crystals. When they started to glow he summoned several vines and snapped them all at Neo at once. The Elementals wore confident smirks as the vines flew towards their target. Their smirks vanished when Neo's white glow swirled around her body, stopping the vines from hitting her. Then her earth crystals appeared and started to glow as well. The two glows emerged with each other as they swirled around her body. "Huh?"

"What's happening?"

"Is her white glow infusing with her crystals glow?"

"Give them back. I don't like this," Neo whispered to herself. Her bangs were still casting shadows over her eyes. Her head was so low her chin almost touched her chest. Her other crystals started to appear one by one after her earth crystals appeared to defend her. The white glow from her body began to weave in and out of the glow from all of her crystals. "Give them back. I don't like this."

"It doesn't matter what's going on! Attack her!" someone shouted. Twenty Elementals jumped in to form a circle around Neo. They all summoned their crystals. And, at the same time, they attacked her. Their elements flew at her, but didn't hit her. Their attacks only got absorbed by the glow she was emitting.

Murmurs and gasped passed through the Elementals when their attacks did nothing. Tao raised his narrowing eyebrows at the unexplained scene happening before him. More Elementals when on the attack. And just like before, their attacks did nothing but get absorbed into Neo's glow. Tao whispered, "What's going on inside of her head? Why is she just standing there? And how is it possible her crystals are able to defend her like  _that_? Her elements glow shouldn't be mixing like that. Is it because of her royal glow? Is she developing magic that no Elemental has had before? Or have the Elemental royals always had this ability but never the right moment to use it?"

Tao remained standing where he was. His eyes locked onto Neo. He waited to see what would happen next.

…

"I'm done with this," an Elemental said a few hours later. "She hasn't moved from that spot since this morning. It's almost like she's already dead or something."

"If she was dead she wouldn't still be glowing," another Elemental huffed. The two turned and headed away from the castle. "This is boring. I'm out of here."

"Hey, what's going on?" Neo's eyes snapped open at the sound of the familiar female Elemental's voice. It was the one who took Law's ring and hat from her. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing much," another girl answered. "She's just been standing there all morning. She won't move. She won't speak."

"Seriously?" the familiar female said. She placed her hand on her hip and inspected Neo. "What's with the weird glowing thing going on around her?"

"No one knows. She's been like that for hours. Hey, isn't that the hat you took from  _her_  yesterday?" the second female asked.

"Sure is. Spots are not my favorite, but it totally works for this hat," the girl giggled.

"You're not wearing the ring you too?"

"No," the girl said. "The little princess apparently has little fingers. The ring was far too small for me."

"Or you just have fat fingers."

"Shut up!"

Neo gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. The unfamiliar hot feeling started to grow again in her chest. She could feel a storm starting to brew both inside of her and in nature. The wind picked up. It blew her hair over her shoulders, covering her face. Waves started crashing on the shores as thunder began to rumble overhead. The temperature rose high then dropped low. Leaves and flower petals loosened from their plants and circled around Neo's body along with the wind. Neo whispered as she slowly raised her right hand into the air above her head. "Give them back."

"Hey, what's she doing?" an Elemental guy asked. The two girls looked at Neo. Before anyone else could do or say anything. Neo swiped her hand down through the air. A lightning bolt followed her movements and struck the ground right in front of the Elemental who took Law's ring and hat from her.

The girl shrieked and dodged the hit, just barely missing it.

Neo started to walk towards her. "Give them back."

"I think she said something," an Elemental said.

"Give them back!" Neo shouted. The elements reacted to her scream. The wind picked up even more. The storm above roared with more strength. Lightening flashed across the sky rapidly. A few streaks of lightening slipped down to Luminous and stuck the island. Her fire crystals flared up, creating fire tornadoes from her crystals and from the fire the lightening had created.

The flora of the island rapidly grew. Snapping its plant tendrils wildly at anything and everything it could, even Elementals. Vines wrapped around anything they could get a hold of while thorns shot out from flowers like roses and puncture everything they could. The loose leaves and flower petals flew through the air like razors. They cut everything they could touch.

The temperature started to dramatically rise and fall. The sun became scorching hot when the temperature rose. Then snow and ice fell from the sky when the temperature plummeted. Elementals all over the island jumped into the hectic scene and tried to put a stop the uncontrollable elements with their crystals but found it was beyond their abilities to stop or even control.

Neo took a couple more steps towards the one who took Law's ring and hat from her. One of each of her crystals zeroed in on the girl. The crystals elements snapped and hissed wildly at the girl.

The girl screamed as she tried to scramble back from Neo. "No! Stay away from me!"

The girl got up and tried to run. Neo dropped the temperature again. She dropped several large icicles around the girl, preventing her from running away. The girl turned and tried to run back the way she came. Neo flew over to her. Grabbing the girl's shirt, she pinned the girl to the ground.

"No! Let got of me!"

"Give them back!" Neo shouted. Her body trembled. Her crystals moved in closer to the girl's face. "I don't like this! Just give them back!"

"No! Don't kill me!" the girl begged.

Neo gasped. She loosened her hold on the girl below her. Her grey eyes taking in the scared girl beneath her before lifting to Law's hat. She started reaching for his hat. She was just about to touch it when a large amount of fire slammed into her body. Her crystals absorbed the brunt of the hit, but it was still strong enough to push her off the girl. She hit the ground and rolled to a stop.

"Get out of here! You're too weak to handle her!" Tao ordered the girl.

Through her hysterical cries, the girl nodded and scrambled to her feet. She took off without looking back.

"No! Give them back!" Neo demanded. Picking herself up off the ground, she raised her glazed eyes up to the Elemental running away. Her crystals went on the attack. The girl shrieked again and crossed her arms in front of her face as if it would protect her. Just before Neo could have the elements strike the girl, Tao blocked her with his fire and water.

"I said to get out of here!" Tao hissed at the girl.

"R-right!" the girl stuttered as she scrambled away.

"Stop it!" Neo cried. She used her winds to push against Tao. Tao tried to push back, but Neo was stronger. His feet slid across the dirt as she pushed against him. "Just give them back! I don't like this! I don't like this feeling! What's wrong with me?!"

"Grr…it's a good thing she's so unfocused. If she was focused, then there's no way any of us would be able to stop her," Tao said to himself over the howling of the winds she was creating. "But why is she reacting this way?"

"Tao, I think it's because Rina took the princess's ring and hat away from her," an Elemental said. He joined Tao. He used his fire to help Tao push against Neo. Their combined forces only pushed Neo back a couple inches.

"This is because of a silly ring and hat?" Tao looked at the man beside him. He growled and gritted his teeth. "We have to stop her now! Kill her!"

"But Master Atlas doesn't want-"

"I don't care! If we don't kill her now, she's going to kill us all!" Tao snapped. "Distract her!"

"Right!" The guy flared up his fire as much as he could. While Neo pushed back against the wall of fire, Tao used the distraction to sneak behind her. He summoned over a hundred water and fire crystals. Spinning the elements into sharp points, he fired them forward to skewer Neo. Neo just absorbed them into her crystals. It made her own attack stronger.

She pushed back the guy in front of her. The guy cried out as he was being pushed back. His cries were cut off when his back collided with the ice wall Neo had put up. Tao growled in frustration. His eyes wondered up to a castle window. Atlas was standing there, glaring out at Neo intensely before walking away. Tao scoffed, "I hope your happy, Father. It's going to be impossible to defeat her like this. Her defenses and attacks are far too powerful for anyone to handle. What are you going to do? There's only one way to defeat her now. Will the darkness use  _that_?"

"Enough! I don't like this! I don't want to feel this way anymore! Captain!" Neo shouted. Tao turned his attention back to her screams. Her white glow and crystal glow began to brighten even more. "Law! Help me!"

The ground beneath them began to quake in response to Neo's cries. It caused all the Elementals on the island to stop whatever activity they were doing. Those of earth crystals tried to band together and stop the shaking while others tried to prevent getting hit by the other elements that Neo was currently in control of. Even their combined magic was no match for Neo's. She cried out for him again. Her white glow rapidly spinning around her before shooting into the sky, dividing the dark clouds above. "Law!"

Her body snapped. She started lashing out erratically. Her fire burned so hot it turned blue. Her water boiled and froze. The wind started pulling up trees from their roots. The ground rumbled more as rock formations shot out of the cracking ground. She struck out at nature and Elementals a like. She even attacked the two nearby buildings. The buildings shook and rattled with each hit she did on them. The Elementals inside the buildings screamed and dove for cover. "Law!"

…

_'Law!'_

Law gasped as he was startled awake from his slumber by Neo's cries. He leaned forward while staring at his hands. His entire body was glowing again. Panting, he pressed his hand to his face. He could feel Neo's fury rolling around in his chest. "Neo, you need to calm down."

"Captain?" Bepo's voice asked. Law glanced up to see the bear cautiously poking his head into the rec. room. "What's wrong? You're glowing."

"It's Neo. She's…she's  _angry_ ," Law said in a hushed voice. His eyes were widened with the realization of what was going on inside of Neo. He just didn't know why it was happening.  _'Neo, can you hear me? Can you sense me?'_

"What?" Bepo blinked.

"Neo is actually angry, very angry. What the heck are they doing to her?!" Law clenched his teeth and fists when he couldn't reach her.  _'Neo? Can you hear me now? Answer me!'_  If he could sense her now, she should be able to sense him. Or that's how it should have been. Law knew that this was the first time Neo has ever gotten angry. She wouldn't know how to handle this emotion. "Where's Kailen?!"

"I think he's in the galley with Shachi and Penguin," Bepo said pointing down the hall. Law bolted up from the rec. room couch and out the door before Bepo could say or ask anything else. The bear just quickly followed after the frazzled captain.

The three men were sitting at the table with their drinks in hand when Law shot through the door. They didn't notice him until he slammed his hands down on the table. They all jumped. Shachi barely got the chance to speak. He asked, "Why are you glowing, Captain?"

"How much farther is it?!" Law demanded.

"About thirty five minutes I'd say," Kailen replied as he eyed the man's glowing body. "Are you connected to Neo right now?"

"Yes, but she's too angry to notice," Law hissed. He clenched his fists to the point his nails pierced his skin.

"What?!" Penguin shot up to his feet, knocking over his drink in the process. "What happened to her?! What are they doing to her?!"

"I don't know," Law answered through gritted teeth. "I can't get her to respond to me yet."

"Right. I can feel it now. The elements are really going wild out there. But I don't think she's out of control, yet, anyway." Kailen nodded as he stood up. "Keep trying to get a hold of her. If the elements get out of control, as I feel they are if she doesn't calm down soon, they could give us trouble while getting into the cove. I'll get more sea creatures to help pull us to Luminous faster. When you finally get a hold of her, have her head for the cove I told you about."

Law nodded. He closed his eyes and tried to get through to Neo.  _'Neo? Neo, I need you to hear me. I need you to focus on me. Please, listen to my voice. Calm down now. Everything is going to be fine. Please, answer me, Neo.'_

…

"I need them! I need  _him_! I can't do this! I don't want to do this!" Neo shouted as she continued to destroy everything she could lash out at. Fires burned the flora, the waves crashed upon the island, the wind ripped leaves of their branches, the earth shook apart causing rocks to tumble down from the mountains. Tears leaked down her cheeks but she didn't even feel them. She couldn't feel anything anymore but that one unfamiliar hot emotion that wouldn't leave her chest. Her body, her senses, all were numb but for that emotion. She raised her crystals to attack more Elementals. Wrapping her winds, she launched herself towards one of them. She grabbed him by his shirt and pinned him to a tree. All of her elements zeroed in on his head. Her body trembled violently. She screamed when she felt herself going in for the kill. The elements flew towards her captive. "I don't want to do this! Law, help me!"

_'Neo! Stop!'_

Neo paused. The elements froze mere centimeters from the guy's face. Her eyes popped open at Law's voice in her head. Her hand loosened on the Elemental's shirt before dropping from the fabric completely. Taking advantage of her pause, the Elemental quickly scurried away from her. The raging elements stalled. "Law? Law, where are you? I don't see you. I don't feel right. I don't like this feeling. I don't understand it. I'm losing control."

_'I know you don't understand. But it's okay. I'm almost there. I won't let you lose control. Can you feel me yet? I'm about thirty minutes away from you. Neo, release your anger.'_

"What? What do you mean? I don't understand."

_'This emotion that you're feeling right now is anger. You need to calm down before you lose control. You don't want to kill anyone, remember?'_

"I don't want to kill anyone," Neo parroted. The elements started to calm down as she did. The waves rolled back into the sea, the ground stopped shaking, the dark clouds turned back to white, and the flora shrunk back to their normal size. Her glowing remained strong, however. "Law, I need you. They…she took your ring and hat from me."

_'What?!'_

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to break my promise. She took them." Neo brushed her tears away with her hands, but more took their place. "I need you."

_'I know you do. I'm coming. You can feel me getting closer, right?'_

"Yes." Neo turned her eyes towards the north west side of the island. "I can feel you. You're here."

_'I am. We're going to dock at a cove that's on the northwest side of the island. I need you to come there. Come to me, Neo. Do you understand me?'_

"Yes, Law, I understand."

_'Good girl. Come to me now.'_

"Okay." Neo nodded. She rubbed the heel of her right hand in her right eye before taking a couple steps to the northwest. She got two steps when something sharp hit her hand. A whimper escaped her lips at the burning pain flaring across her hand.

_'Neo, what happened?! What hit your hand?!'_

Neo raised her hand to her face. A four-inch, thin dark brown thorn was sticking out of her left hand. She plucked it out. A small drop of purplish green liquid fell from the sharp end. "It's a thorn. It's leaking something. It's kind of purple and green."

_'Never mind that. Just get to the northwest cove. We'll be there soon.'_

"Okay." Neo dropped the thorn and started to run towards the cove, unaware of the puncture wound on her hand was turning her skin purplish green.

…

"About time," Tao grumbled as his father walked up beside him. "Does the darkness finally realize it's in over its head now?"

"Shut up!" Atlas hissed. He followed after Neo. "Let's just kill her and get it over with."

"Whatever you say." Tao followed him.

…

"I got through to her!" Law announced.

"Is she all right?" Penguin asked. Panic and concern dripped from his voice.

"She's angry because they took my ring and hat from her." Law clenched his fists. Anger filled his own chest at the thought. It was amazing that she hadn't completely flattened the island yet. "She's calmed down some now that I reached her. She's heading towards the cove right now."

"That's great!" Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo shouted.

"We'll get to see her soon!" Penguin nodded happily. "Just a little bit longer! We'll be back with our girl!"

"Yeah!" Shachi said with a smile of his own. Bepo was behind him with his own smile spread wide over his muzzle. "She knows we're coming now!"

"That's good. Depending on how fast she moves and what kind of trouble the Elementals cause her, we should be able t-" Kailen's voice jerked to a pause when he saw Law's left hand. The color drained from his face. "Y-your hand…"

"Hm?" Law looked down at the back of his hand. A transparent, tiny glowing green dot was on it. "Neo got hit by a thorn."

"Are you okay, Kailen? You don't look so good," Bepo said.

"Did she…was it leaking a purplish green liquid?" Kailen forced the words out of his mouth.

"Yes. Why?" Law asked. Panic started to settle over him as he and the other three sensed the sudden urgency in the aura Kailen was giving off.

"That…that thorn is from the deadliest plant on Luminous!" Kailen said. Panic hammered in the pirates' bodies and minds.

"What?!" Penguin shouted, after struggling to find his voice.

"Ack! Has the captain been poisoned as well?!" Bepo demanded. He jumped into the air, his arms, and legs flailing wildly.

"No, if he was being effected by the poison his skin would be turning a purplish green. I think that glow is only a result of their bond, like a warning light or something. The poison is from the Nightthorn Jessamine. A plant that only grows on Luminous." Kailen sat back down when he knees gave out on him. "Elementals don't like using this flower. It's  _only_  used as a last resort. The darkness must have decided Neo was too much to handle. The darkness must have finally decided to kill her."

"How long does it take to kill someone?" Law asked even though he didn't want to.

"It can kill a human in ten minutes. It can kill an Elemental in thirty minutes since we have stronger immune systems due to being connected to nature," Kailen explained. He brushed the back of his hand over his chin. "In Neo's case, since she's a royal, she has an hour at the most."

"Then we can still get to her!" Shachi pointed out.

"Possibly. It really all depends on her. She's been fighting a lot these past few days. Her crystals are no doubt weakened, at least a little bit, right now. And with how she just lashed out like she did...if she's too weak, then she won't be able to fight off the flower's poison as easily as she normally would if she hasn't been fighting," Kailen said.

Law's mind was sent reeling. His mind just didn't want to accept what Kailen had just said. But he couldn't deny it. He could feel that Neo was tired from using her crystals to fight, especially today, and her hand was burning at the thorn's entry point. Her anger, an emotion she wasn't familiar with, added with everything that happened these past few days, had drained her considerably. She got that way when she dealt with something that was emotionally stressful on her. Her defenses were now down. Soon she would want to do nothing but sleep.

Law's body shook with anger. He could feel the intense pain settling into the puncture she got on her hand. He could feel her body growing tired and achy from the poison that was flowing through her veins. He gritted his teeth and choked back an unhealthy stream of curses. No way he came this far just to lose her. That was something he refused to accept.


	42. Solar Crystal

Solar Crystal

Neo panted hard as she moved through the forest. Her vision bounced between being focused and unfocused. The trees and bushes blurred and slip into two before coming back into focus. Her body became heavier and heavier with each step she took. Her skin was clammy and hot. Sharp pains shot through her chest and lungs with every breath she took. But it was her hand that was hurting the most. It burned. She stumbled forward. Her crystals reacted to her stumble. A vine shot out in front of her and kept her from hitting the ground. She placed her hand on the vine and panted. "W-what's…wrong? It hurts…"

A sharp pain shot through her left hand. She whimpered at the discomfort. When the pain subsided she raised her hand up. Looking over the back of her left she found it was completely covered in a purplish green tint, her fingers swollen. Her eyes widened slightly when the color moved up her skin to her wrist. "W-what's…happening to…me? Law…it hurts…"

Her white and element glow around her flickered. She pushed off the vine and started walking again. She reached out for Law and tried to connect to him. She wanted to hear his voice. "Law? A-are…you still there? Don't leave me."

_'I'm still here, Neo.'_

"L-aw…it hurts…some…things wrong," Neo panted. She twitched when she heard Elementals shouting. "They're…coming."

_'I know, Neo. I can feel your pain. I'm almost there. Just keep coming to me. It'll be all right. Can you do that?'_

"Y-yes," Neo huffed. She forced her feet to move forward again.

_'Good girl.'_

"Law…hurry," Neo begged. "T-they're coming closer. I can't fight. I don't…want to fight…anymore."

_'I know you don't. Just keeping coming to me. I won't let you fight anymore today. I'll protect you now.'_

"Okay, Law. I…I'll try. My body f-feels funny."

_'I know-does. I'll t-ke ca-e of tat one we tether again.'_

"Law? I can't hear you." Neo looked up when Law's voice faded away from her. His presence was fading away from her too. She winced when more pain shot through her hand. Looking at it again she found the color was now passing her wrist. It was climbing farther up her arm. "Hav to…urry…"

She took another step. Pain shot through her back causing her to crumple to the ground. She curled up into a ball. "No…not…now. Have…to get…to Law…I won't…stop..."

Neo tried to focus on her wind crystals. She struggled to get them to obey her while trying to ignore the sharp pains shooting through her back and arm. After a minute of calling on the wind, her crystals finally appeared and began to glow for her. The wind wrapped around her body and lifted her into the air. Keeping herself only a few feet off the ground, she steadily flew herself towards the cove, towards her family, towards Law.

…

"How much longer?!" Law growled. He held up the back of his hand to them. The three men and bear in the room gasped at how far the glow was crawling up the captain's arm. "The pain is getting worse."

"We're almost there!" Kailen shouted while looking out the porthole in the room. "Five more minutes and we'll be at the cove. We're going to need the ship's engines working then. The sea creatures won't be able to go into the cover without having to push us back out to get out themselves."

"Bepo! Find Jean Bart and have him get the sub's engines ready to surface!" Law ordered.

"Right!" Bepo cried as he bolted for the door to fulfill his order.

"Hn." Law winced at the pain settling in Neo's back. "Not now. Not when she's this close."

"What's wrong, Captain?" Shachi asked.

"Neo's back is hurting again," Law replied.

"Her back?" Kailen blinked. "Oh, her wings must be trying to come out now."

"That causes back pain?" Penguin asked earning a nod from Kailen. "Would that be a lot of pain? To the point she passes out?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Kailen nodded again. "Sometimes a royal's wings do cause serious pain. But, in Neo's case, I'd say her suppressing her magic is what's causing her the most pain. She'll be fine once she visits the wing crystal."

"Another crystal," Shachi huffed. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Why am I not surprised? I really can't wait to see this place."

"Does everyone have the sleeping powder you've prepared?" Law asked, turning his attention back to Kailen.

"Yes, all but you, that is." Kailen looked at Law. He held out a couple packets to the pirate captain. "I have some for you too if you want them."

"I'll be too focused on Neo. I'll leave the Elementals up to my crew," Law said. He lifted his hand into the air. A Room appeared seconds before his sword dropped into his hand.

"I figured as much," Kailen said with a nod. He tucked the pouches into his pocket. "Still thought I'd ask."

"So how is the captain supposed to get Neo to notice her solar crystal?" Shachi asked. He shifted his position from the wall. He now had his arms bent up and was clenching and unclenching his hands in anticipation.

"I'm hoping his connection with her will pretty much do that on its own. She just needs to look past all the darkness that's around the island and inside of her from all of the abuse she has suffered. The solar crystal gives off its own source of light. But it can be over shadowed, in a way, by the sun itself. She should be able to sense it like her other crystals," Kailen said. "I'm not sure that makes any sense. But that's how it is."

"It'll be fine. She'll be fine," Law said. He raised his left arm and looked at it. His own body felt heavy from this poison even though it wasn't in his system. Neo was really hurting now. He knew only her determination to reach him was keeping her moving forward. But he had no idea how much longer that would last. He could feel her hand swelling and starting to pulse with the pain in it. He pushed his sleeve up farther. The glow was now almost up to his elbow. He gritted his teeth. He knew if she were attacked by the Elementals feeling like this she wouldn't be able to stand up to them. He hissed, "Are we there yet?!"

"Three minutes!" Kailen called out. He walked away from the porthole he was standing by.

"Let's get to it then!" Law shouted. He turned and led the way to the front door. He wanted to be ready to leave the second they surfaced. Reaching the door he looked over his gathering crew. They all stood ready to fight, all determined to get her back. Penguin was definitely the most ready next to himself. His subordinate kept twitching and shifting his weight from foot to foot as they waited.

Three agonizing minutes later, the sub's engines roared to life at the same time Kailen released the sea creatures. With in seconds, Jean Bart had the sub above the surface.

Law pushed the door open and they all stepped outside.

Kailen didn't hesitate. He immediately summoned his earth crystals and pulled down vines from the island. He didn't wait for Jean Bart to start pulling the crew towards the top of the cliff. He wrapped the vines around the pirates and pulled them to the island. Once the large man exited the sub, Kailen wrapped his remaining vines around him. Within seconds, Jean Bart was right beside them, being lifted to the top of the cliff.

"Which way is she?" Conner asked. They looked around the enlarged forest. "This place is huge. Looks like Neo has been busy here. Or does Luminous always look like this?"

"It didn't the last time I was here," Kailen replied, his eyes roamed over the over grown forest before him. "Her work is incredible. It's almost identical to that other forest she made."

"She's that way!" Law shouted before bolting off into the forest.

"Geez this place is extremely creepy," Bepo said with a shiver. He looked around the strangely darkened forest. It was like all of the colors of nature had been darkened a couple of shades. But it was the dark crystals jutting up from the ground that really made his fur stand on their ends. "There's so much darkness around here. I don't even smell any animals."

"I feel rather creeped out myself," Archer said as they ran. "What's with those dark crystals? They're not going to attack us, are they?"

"No, they won't attack. They're not that type of crystals. They're crystals that grown on Luminous. They've been taken over by the darkness too. And I'm not surprised you all can feel the darkness too with how thick it has spread its hold over this place. I can feel the darkness trying to enter into my own body. We better hurry as fast as we can. I don't want to turn on you all. As for the animals, just like the elements, they're not good or evil. They can't be taken over by the darkness at all," Kailen said. "Most likely they're hiding from the Elementals deep within the forests and in the caves in the mountains. Those that can fly or swim probably left the island. They all should return once the darkness is gone."

"The poor things must be completely freaked out by all of this," Bepo said, shivering again.

"Ah!" Law's scream made them all jerk to a stop. He dropped to his knees and grabbed a hold of his left arm.

"Captain!" Bepo cried. He kneed down next to Law. "What's wrong?"

"I-it's Neo. The poison is now up to her shoulder," Law reported through gasping breaths. "I can't believe how much this is hurting. S-she won't be able to handle this much longer!"

"The pain must get stronger the closer you two are," Kailen said. "That could be why it hurts so much."

Law growled. He peered into the forest. He said, "The Elementals are about to attack her! Room! Shambles!"

Law called upon a Room and warped them away from their current spot. When they reappeared in a different part of the forest, he warped them again and again and again. The crew exchanged concerned looks when they had the chance between warps, but no one said anything. They all knew he didn't care about anything right now but for getting to Neo as soon as he possibly could. "Room! Shambles!"

…

Neo gasped when her wind crystals gave out on her and she dropped to the forest floor. She landed on her feet, but didn't have enough strength to keep her balance. She fell forward. Her already swollen and sore hand hit the ground. She cried out from the pain that shot up to her neck. "Ah!"

"She's over there!" an Elemental cried out.

Neo pushed up on her uninjured hand. The glow around her was starting to fade as she struggled to get up. Her arm trembled under her weight. Out of habit, she placed her left hand on the ground to stabilize herself. When she put the weight of her body on her injured hand, an extremely sharp jolt of pain shot into her hand and up to her shoulder. She screamed at the pain and crashed to the ground. She curled into herself and whimpered. The pain was becoming unbearable. Her entire left arm was throbbing and hot.

"Finally," a wind Elemental said as she dropped down to the ground from the air. She was followed by several others. A couple hundred Elementals walked and flew themselves out of the shadows of the forest.

Neo winced at her pain while she tried to sit up and look at them. She got propped up on her right arm. Peering through her left eye, she watched as the Elementals summoned their crystals. She tried to summon her crystals again. It didn't work. She was too tired to fight anymore. This pain in her body was leaving her too unfocused. She couldn't defend herself. It was over.

"Die!" the wind Elemental said. They gathered their elements and fired them at her.

Neo shut her eyes and waited for the blow.

"No!" an unfamiliar voice cried out. Though she didn't look, she felt the ground rising up all around her. As she sensed the elements hitting the ground shield that protected her another, familiar, voice shouted. Just like it has before, his voice wrapped around her like a protective blanket.

"Room! Shambles!" Law warped his crew and Kailen to close enough to Neo just in time for Kailen to block part of the attack. Law then quickly warped them again. He exchanged them with a large amount of the Elementals. They disappeared away from Neo causing their already in progress attack to hit whatever he apparently warped them too. Although it wouldn't really do much, he still sliced up as many Elementals as he could to cause more confusion among them.

"L-Law…" Neo cracked opened her right eye. Her heart relaxed when she saw him. More pain shooting through her back and arm caused her to clench her eyes shut again. "Hn."

Taking advantage of all of the confusion, the Heart Pirates jumped right in to their attacks. They punched and kicked as many as they could unconscious before the Elementals realized what was going on. Once they came to their senses, the Elementals went on the offensive. They started firing their elements at the pirates.

"Hey! Looks like all that training with Neo did us some good!" Conner said as he dove out of the way of a fireball then did a handspring to avoid a vine. "We're a lot faster than before!"

"Yeah, but don't get over confident!" Archer said. He was jumping around with his fellow crewmate. They were effectively avoiding the Elementals attacks for the moment. "These people are way stronger than us!"

"Right!" Conner nodded. When they got the chance they dove in front of another Elemental like Kailen had suggested. The attack hit the unsuspecting Elemental.

"Hey!" the fire Elemental cried when his fire was put out by a water Elemental. "Don't attack me! Attack  _them_!"

"I am attacking  _them_! They just won't stop jumping around! It's not my fault they're slippery!" the water Elemental snapped.

Law turned to head for Neo. He paused when he spotted one of the Elementals wearing his hat. His anger built up inside of him. It was the one who not only took his hat from Neo, but also his ring. He charged right at the Elemental. Grabbing her neck, he made sure to hit her head against a tree to make her unable to use her crystals. He hissed, " _You're_  the one who caused her to almost lose control! Give me the ring and hat back!"

"Drop dead, hu-"

Law tightened his hold on the girl's throat, cutting off her words. His nails punctured into her skin. He pulled her forward only to slam her back against the tree as hard as he could. He heard her breath leave her body. "Where's the ring?! Give it back!  _Now!_ " he demanded. His eyes flashing with lightning and the threat of death. He slowly sliced his sword over her arm. The sharp smell of iron filled the air as did her screams. He sliced her arm again. "Where is it?! If you don't tell me right now, you're going to lose an arm!"

"P-po-get!" the Elemental squeaked.

Law could tell she knew she was in trouble without her crystals as her eyes filled with fear. Surrendering, she raised her hand and patted her pocket. He stuck his sword into the ground. He slipped his fingers into her from right hip pocket and pulled out the ring. He looked at it, to check for damage, and then quickly pocketed it before taking his hat back. Once his hat was on one of the two places where it belonged, he pulled his sword out of the ground. He pointed the tip of his sword to the girl's heart. He dug the sharp tip into her shirt then her flesh. She screamed.

"Trafalgar!" Kailen shouted. "It's not her fault! Remember the darkness crystal is in control!"

"I don't care!  _She_  hurt Neo!" Law snapped. He pulled his sword from the girl's chest and replaced it on another part of her body. This time it was her stomach. He dug the tip of his sword into her again. More blood poured out, staining her clothes, and her screams filled the air.

"And Neo needs your right now! Let the girl go!" Kailen pleaded with the enraged captain while simultaneously attacking and knocking out as many Elementals as he could. He grabbed three Elementals with his vines and tossed them against a tree, knocking them out. He wasn't sure the man would let go. "Please! Just let her go! Neo is the most important thing right now, right?! She  _needs_  you! Go to her!"

Law flinched. He gritted his teeth and growled darkly at the girl in his clutches. Lowering his sword from her bleeding body, he pulled her forward once again to slam her back against the tree, knocking her out completely.

Kailen sighed as Law stepped over the unconscious Elemental's body. He was grateful the captain didn't kill her.

"Neo!" Law called out. He ran right over to her. He lifted her into his arms and to his chest. His eyes locked onto her left arm. It looked a lot worse than he thought. Her hand and arm was now completely swollen. And the color was almost to the base of her neck. He lightly touched his fingers to her swollen ringless hand. He growled at the thought of his ring being taken away from her. "Neo?"

"Crap! The poison is moving faster than I thought it would!" Kailen cursed when he saw Neo's arm. He wrapped his vines around a couple Elementals and slammed their bodies together. He then called upon as much dirt as he could and dumped it on some fire Elementals. He called out more of his crystals. When they started to glow, the surrounding leaves on the trees began to quake in response. The leaves became engulfed in his glow and started plucking themselves off their branches. Kailen had them spin around himself, Neo and Law. They needed some cover while Law tried to get Neo to awaken her solar crystal. "Hurry! I don't know how much longer your crew can stand up to my people! We need the darkness purified!  _Now!_ "

"Right!" Law nodded. He tossed his crew a quick glance. Some of them were already using their sleeping powder on the Elementals. Others were still trying to dodge the attacks. Jean Bart was dealing with wind Elementals. They lifted him in the air while laughing in early victory. But they misjudged his size and brought him too close to their feet. He grabbed their ankles and slammed their bodies together. He dropped to his feet with a ground-shaking thud while the Elementals crumbled to the ground in unconscious heaps. Law turned his attention back to Neo. He cupped her cheek. "Neo? Neo, look at me."

Neo turned her head to his voice, but didn't open her eyes.

"Neo, I need you to look at me. Open your eyes. Do you hear me? That's an  _order_! Open your eyes!" Law said.

Neo's eyelids cracked open in response to his order. He allowed himself to sigh with relief. Her eyes glided up his familiar hoodie before settling on his worry grey orbs. She managed a weak smile. "L-Law…you're…here…"

"Yes, I'm here now. I've got you. And I need you to listen to me. Neo, you need to summon your solar crystal," Law said. He tried to keep his voice from becoming rushed. He needed to make sure she heard him clearly. "Do you understand? You have a fifth crystal. You need to summon it."

"I don't…it's not there…" Neo blinked slowly, tiredly.

"No, don't fall asleep, Neo," Law said when her eyelids started to drift close. "Neo, I  _order_  you to seek out your solar crystal."

Neo's eyes opened back up. He wasn't sure if she was trying to find the crystal or not. So he kept talking to her. "I know you are really tired right now. I know your hurting. But the crew needs your help. They're fighting the Elementals right now, but they can't stand up to them forever. The Elementals are too strong. You need to purify the darkness that's controlling them. Find it, Neo. Find your solar crystal. Protect the crew! Protect us, Neo!"

Neo's glazed eyes cleared a bit. "I…trying…I won't…let them…"

As Neo tried to speak, Law noticed a small yellow glow trying to form over her chest. After several seconds, the glow started to become clearer. The glow took shape of a crystal. This crystal was different from her others. It had five double terminated shaped crystals. The main crystal sat pointing straight up with the four others jutting out at a slight angle while smaller crystals formed the base. The crystal began to glow. The glow then radiated out from the crystal. Law noticed his arm didn't hurt as much. He also noticed that the Elementals attacks were starting to slow down.

"Huh?" An Elemental paused. She looked down at the human man beneath her that she was pinning down with her winds. Her winds stopped. "What…what happened?"

"It's working!" Archer shouted. "They're snapping out of the darkness's control! Neo's doing it!"

"Whoa…I feel so strange."

"I feel like a dark fog is lifting from my head."

"I think I'm starting to remember. We've been taken over the darkness."

"But how? How did this happen?"

The Heart Pirates stopped fighting when the Elementals pulled back from them. Some of the pirates remained in their defensive stances. Archer asked, "But where's the darkness crystal? Couldn't it still…?"

Before he could finish his question, the Elementals screamed and grabbed their heads. Their bodies became engulfed in a dark glow. Conner punched Archer on the arm and said, "Did you really have to ask that?"

"Sorry." Archer rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I got a little ahead of myself."

"How dare you humans interfere?!" Atlas's voice boomed over the air. The pirates looked around for the source of the voice before the man and his son walked out of the shadows. "This is an  _Elemental_  affair. You have no right to interfere! Leave this place right now!"

"I have every right to interfere!" Law snapped back. "It  _became_  my business when you attacked and took her from me!"

"What do you care? She's not even human. She's just a pathetically weak Elemental," Atlas asked in such a nonchalant tone that it made Law want to rip out his voice box, shred it into a million pieces then shove it back down his throat.

"She's not weak!" Law snapped back. "You have no idea how strong she really is! She's going to purify all of this darkness! And then I'm going to kill whichever one of you betrayed her!"

"Which ever one?" Atlas smirked. "That would be me."

Law's eyebrow twitched. He pressed Neo to his chest. His blade glinting as he pointed it to the old man. "Well, nice of you to reveal that piece of information to me. I won't have to waste my time hunting you down then. I can just kill you right here and now."

"L-Law…" Neo squeaked. Even though her voice was low and weak, Law could easily hear and feel her fear.

"It's all right, Neo. I'm not leaving you. You just focus on the solar crystal and purifying the darkness." Law tightened his hold on her. His eyes dropped to the solar crystal hovering over her chest. He raised his eyes and glared at Atlas. "I'll handle  _him_."

"You'll handle me?" Atlas smirked. His body became more engulfed in the darkness. His eyes turned pure black as the darkness flowed out over the Elementals bodies. The Elementals tried to fight against being turned evil again, but couldn't fight it off. The darkness filtered into their bodies and mixed with the still lingering darkness inside of them.

"Oh crap!" Conner cursed. "They're turning dark again!"

The Elementals started attacking again. One of them hit him with a geyser of water. His body slammed against a tree. He coughed out blood before passing out. The rest of the crew began to dodge the Elementals attacks again. One by one, they started to get knocked out. Some had sleeping powder remaining. They threw them at the Elementals, but quickly ran out.

Law's eyes widened. His crew couldn't take much more of this kind of battle. He looked down at Neo. She was still focusing on the solar crystals, but the light from it was being over taken by the radiating darkness. "Neo, you have to try harder."

"She won't get the chance to do that," Tao said. He stalked up to Neo and Law.

"Stay away from her!" Law pointed his sword at Tao.

"She dies now!" Tao cried. He summoned his element crystals.

Law gasped when the Elemental man called for a hundred fire and a hundred water crystals. Tao wasted no time in firing at Law and Neo.

"Room! Shambles!" Law shouted. He only managed to separate a small section of Tao's attack and warp it away from them. There was nothing he could do to stop this attack.

"No! I will not allow you to hurt her anymore!"

Law heard Kailen shout out just before the ground rose up around him and Neo. It enclosed around them, shielding them from Tao's attack.

…

"Kailen," Tao said. He stopped his attack, but kept his crystals out. "I'm not surprised to see you still alive. You were rather strong as a child."

"I guess it was too much to hope that you had died years ago too," Atlas sighed. He stroked his beard, his dark eyes piercing through Kailen. "You and your sister are such an annoying duo. If only I succeeded in killing her years ago, things wouldn't be in such of a mess as they are now."

" _You?!_  You're the one who betrayed Neo?!" Kailen gasped. "Why?! You always supported the Elemental royals!"

"Why?" Atlas laughed. "It should be obvious. I want power. After my son was born he shown he is a water  _and_ a fire Elemental. He was very gifted. He should have been a royal. Why should all of our royals only have all of the elements and solar crystal? That's when I sought out the darkness crystal. I was going to lift my son to the top of the world. We were going to be in complete control of everything."

"And you just had to attack an unborn baby to do that!" Kailen hissed. His crystals flashed with anger. He pulled two large rocks out of the ground and tried to smash Atlas with them.

Atlas summoned his own water crystals. He pushed back against the rocks, but Kailen was much younger and much stronger. When Atlas realized that, he ordered his son to help him. "Tao! Protect your father!"

"Right!" Tao jumped in front of his dad. He used his fire and water crystals to push the rocks away from Atlas. He then fired at Kailen. Kailen rose up the ground in front of him. Before he could react again, Tao appeared to his left and slammed his fist into Kailen's cheek. He sent the earth Elemental flying. It caused Kailen to lose control and drop the shield around Neo and Law.

…

Dirt particles fell from their protective shield from all the hits that occurred on the outside. Law used his body to cover Neo's. He checked on her when the attacks let up. He could feel her growing weaker. The light from the solar crystal was fading away with each passing second. He cupped her cheek and turned her eyes to him. "Neo, fight it. You have to purify the darkness."

"I can't," Neo whispered weakly. "Tired…"

"Yes, you can," Law insisted. "I know you're tired. It's almost over. All you have to do is purify the darkness. Then we can get out of here. The crew wants you back.  _I_  want you back."

Law growled when the shield around them dropped back to its original state. He looked to see the majority of his crew had been defeated and Kailen was on the ground.

The Elemental was struggling to get up. Kailen looked at Tao. He asked, "And what about you, Tao?"

"What about me?" Tao tilted his head and considered Kailen.

"I remember you. You always had a strong sense of justice. You were excited when we learned a new royal was going to be born," Kailen said. He noticed Tao's body flinch. "You didn't betray Neo. Did you? This wasn't your choice, was it? Your father caused you to become dark, didn't he?"

"I didn't-"

"That won't help you," Atlas said, cutting Tao off. He pointed his staff at Kailen. The darkness flowed down the staff and over to Kailen. "The darkness is in control over everyone here. And soon it will be in control of you too."

"Ah!" Kailen cried out when the darkness engulfed his body.

"Oh great!" Shachi cried out. He dodged a fireball. "The darkness is now taking over Kailen!"

"We are so in over our heads!" Bepo shouted. He was running around the forest, trying to avoid getting hit by several attacking Elementals.

"We have t-" Penguin was cut off when an Elemental slammed him into a tree.

"Penguin!" Shachi and Bepo cried out. Before they could help their friend, Elementals had them pinned as well.

Neo turned her head when she heard Shachi and Bepo cry out Penguin's name. She watched as her brothers get attacked and pinned to the ground. She looked to see all of her crew; her family was being over taken by the Elementals, even Jean Bart was being taken down by them. She lightly shook her head. "No…"

"Neo?" Law looked down at her when she spoke. He noticed the solar crystal starting to get brighter. He jerked his head up when he saw someone walking up to them from the corner of his eye. It was Tao. He still had a couple hundred of his crystals out. A thick dark aura was flowing around his body.

"Kill them both, son," Atlas said with a wave of his staff free hand. "I grow tired of this."

"Yes, Father," Tao said obediently. He started to stalk back over to Neo and Law.

"No! Tao, stop!" Kailen shouted through the darkness. He struggled to push himself up onto his arms. "You don't want to hurt her! She's a royal! You're loyal to her!"

"Hn." Tao halted.

"Attack! Do not disobey the darkness!" Atlas ordered. He forced more darkness into Tao. "Attack, son!"

Tao continued forward. He stood over Law and Neo. He looked down to Law while bringing his crystals in for his attack. He said through the darkness, "I'm sorry."

Law growled. He raised his sword, to do what he wasn't sure. He didn't have any attack that could help anyone here. He wasn't sure he could escape with Neo and his crew either. There were just far too many Elementals. They were just far too strong for mere humans, even one with a devil fruit, to handle.

And he still had the poison in her arm to deal with. He didn't know if he could take it out of her without causing more harm. Or worse. He could kill her trying to take it out without knowledge of it. He was on the verge of hopelessness with Neo's solar crystal flared up. Law looked down to see that the solar crystal looked like a miniature sun hovering above her chest.

Neo shook her head. Through her labored pants, she said, "No…I won't lose them…" She then cried out, "I won't lose them! I won't let you kill my family!"

The solar crystal reacted to her cries and her will. Its glow flared up. She sent radiating waves of the solar crystal over the entire island. The yellow glow clashed with the dark glow around the Elementals bodies. The darkness in the trees, plants, rocks, crystals, and everyone else on the island, started to fade away.

The Elementals pulled back from their attempted lethal blows to the Heart Pirates. The darkness faded away from them completely. All of their hair and eye colors lightened up. Some cheered at being free while others stood around in a hazy confusion. "We're free! We're finally free!"

"I feel so good again!"

"I feel a bit fuzzy. But the darkness is gone."

"Our princess has set us free!"

"They're back to normal?" Bepo asked. He blinked several times before crashing to the ground in exhaustion and relief. "They're back to normal. And we're still alive."

"No!" Atlas cried out. He looked at the crystal sitting in the curl at the top of his staff. The crystal's dark glow faded. Soon the crystal was a pale grey. "How could this have happened?! I was so close! I have the darkness crystal! Our plan was fool proof! You wretched little princess! This is all your fault! You're going to pay for that with your life one way or another!" He shrieked as he raised his staff over his head. He charged forward, the pointed end of his staff ready to be plunged into Neo's chest.

Law clenched the hilt of his sword so hard it bit into his skin. His eyes glinted with a violent storm at the enraged Elemental's threat to Neo. When he got close enough, Law raised his sword.

Atlas was so angry that he didn't notice the blade in front of him. He ran right into the blade. It pierced through his heart. He coughed up blood, his eyes wide and wild with desperation and hate. "No! I was so close! So…close…" The old man's voice faded off. His arms shook above his head. The staff fell to the ground with a low thud. Law jerked his sword from the old dying man's body. Atlas crumpled to the ground. "So…clos…"

Tao dropped to his knees. He placed his hand on his face. "Oh, Father…"

Kailen watched Law kill Atlas in slight disbelief before pulling himself up off the ground. With his right hand on his ribs, he walked over and looked down at the staff. He asked, "So, that's the darkness crystal, huh?"

"Yes." Tao nodded. "My father never carried around that staff until…well…"

"I never expected the darkness crystal to look so…innocent," Jean Bart said as he and the Heart Pirates, those that were conscious, started to make their way over to Neo and Law. They eyed the innocent looking round orb in the staff.

"Neo!" Penguin called out as he ran over to his little sister. He dropped to his knees.

Neo didn't look at him, Law, or anyone else. The solar crystal flickered before fading away. Her body went limp in Law's hold.

"Neo!" Penguin touched her cheek. "Please, be okay!"

"Neo?" Law dropped his sword on the ground. He placed his fingers to the pulse in her neck. He barely felt it. "Her pulse is fading!"

"Captain! You have to do something!" Bepo shrieked.

Law gritted his teeth. His heart and head pounded loudly in his body. He couldn't think. The poison in her arm had worked its way up to her chin. Even if he could think clearly he wouldn't know what to do for her. This was a poison he was unfamiliar with. He knew he still had to try. He raised his hand to form a Room. But before he got to create it, an unfamiliar hand moved in towards the injured girl in his arms. He grabbed the person's wrist and squeezed it as hard as he could. He hissed, "Don't you dare touch her!"

"If I don't touch her, she'll  _die_!" the owner of the hand said.

Law looked up to see a short, plump woman with deep green hair, streaked with grey. She wore glasses perched on her nose and a white lab coat over brown trousers and a button up maroon shirt. If she felt Law squeezing her wrist, she showed no signs of it. "I am a healer. I need to act fast to counteract the poison."

" _You people_  are the cause of all this!" Law hissed. He glared at her as hard as he could. She flinched, but didn't move away from him. "I won't allow you to touch her anymore!"

"Captain," Penguin whispered softly.

"You have to let me help her!" the woman hissed back. "If I don't, the poison is going to enter into her heart! Once it does that she'll die instantly! And she's to exhausted to use the solar crystal's healing ability! Go ahead and looked under her shirt! The poison is almost to her heart! Tell me,  _human_ , do  _you_  have the means to counter a poison that comes from a flower that  _only_  grows on this island?! Do you have the means to heal a  _magical_  creature?!"

Law flinched at her words. He didn't. He couldn't even stop Neo's back pain.

"Trafalgar Law!" Kailen said urgently. "Madam Healer Zinnia is the best healer we have on Luminous.  _Please_ , let her help the princess."

"Captain, please!" Penguin pleaded. Law let his eyes drift over to his subordinate. "Please?"

Law dropped his eyes back to Neo when she whimpered at the pain wracking her weakened body. With a deep breath, he looked back at the healer. In a tight voice, he said, "Fine. You maybe help her. But I am  _not_  leaving her side. And  _anything_  you do to her, that I don't understand, you  _will_  explain it to me."

"Fine." The healer nodded. She summoned her earth crystals. She floated five at Neo's chest and ten at Neo's left hand and arm. Her crystals began to glow. Through the glow thorns appeared. They grew until their points pricked Neo's skin.

Neo whimpered again at the pain and nudged into Law's chest.

Law glared at the healer. Before he could threaten her, she said, "This is emergency, on the spot, treatment! Pain is inevitable! Someone, get Selene to meet me at my ward! I need two wind Elementals to fly us there immediately!"

"Yes, ma'am!" a group of Elementals chorused.

"You all stay here and help the crew," Law ordered his few conscious subordinates. His eye then drifted to Penguin. "You can come with us."

"Thank you, Captain." Penguin nodded gratefully.

The two wind Elementals wrapped their winds around the small group. They paused to look at Kailen.

"Go ahead. I'll check on the pirate crew then be right there," Kailen said. The wind Elementals nodded then immediately took into the air with their four passengers.

Law tightened his hold on her to make sure she didn't slip from his arms.


	43. Healers

Healers

"You okay?" Kailen asked. He knelt down beside Shachi and summoned ten of his earth crystals. Running his eyes over Shachi's body, he engulfed the pirate in his crystal's glow. "I'm not picking up any serious injuries through my crystals. You appear to only have a few bruises."

"Yeah, I think I'm okay," Shachi replied with his left hand rubbing his pounding head while holding his hat in his right. He returned his hat to his head then looked around at the mess before him. "Where did they take Neo and the captain? And where's Penguin?"

"Healer Zinnia had two wind Elementals fly the princess and your captain to her ward," Kailen reported. "Penguin went with them as well."

"Ah, I should have known Penguin went with them. But you didn't follow too?" Shachi asked.

"I thought it would be better if I stayed behind to check on you all." Kailen tossed a glance at the other pirates. More of the Heart Pirates had woken up, but eight of them were still unconscious. Other earth Elementals, with more advanced healing talent than him, were gathered around the pirates. They had their own earth crystals out. Some were checking for injuries while others were already healing some of the wounds they had obtained in their battle. He brought his eyes back to Shachi. "I feel I'll only be in the way if I went with them. Besides, Madam Healer Zinnia is the best healer we have on Luminous right now. The princess is in good hands. She'll be fine."

"I'll take your word for that since I don't know her. At the moment I'm just glad that Penguin went with them. He's the buffer the captain needs around when Neo is involved," Shachi said as he stood up. "But we should get there as soon as we can. I'm still worried about Neo and the captain. Can we go check on them soon?"

"Of course." Kailen nodded while standing up as well. He once again turned his attention to the other pirates and Elementals in the area. "How are the other pirates? Are there any serious injuries?"

"Minor medical treatment is needed and is currently being administered as we speak. A week of rest for all of them is suggested. Other than that, they are fine," a healer Elemental reported to Kailen.

"This one has a minor fracture in his spine," another one said. She had ten crystals out pointed right to the pirate's back. "It'll be best for Healer Zinnia to take a look at him. I'm not comfortable with spine injuries."

"Fractured spine," Jean Bart said. He was sitting with his legs cross while an earth Elemental had his left arm engulfed in his glow. "That's serious, isn't it?"

"Will he be all right?" Bepo asked. The bear was leaning over his injured crewmate. "This is going to upset Neo when she wakes up."

"He'll be fine. Healer Zinnia will be able to fix him right up. He'll be back on his feet in a week," the Elemental said. She then looked around the surrounding area. She summoned one of her earth crystals near one of the pinkish crystals jutting out of the forest floor. It started to glow at the same time her earth crystal began to glow. The pink crystal's shape then morphed. It turned into a liquid form and slithered under the injured pirate. The majority of the crystal solidified under the pirate. Then part of the crystal became liquid again. It flowed up around the pirate's body, securing the man in place. "Now all we have to do is flying him to Madam Healer Zinnia's ward."

"I'm glad. " Bepo smiled with a nod. "Neo will be happy we all are fine."

"If I wasn't so worried about Neo, I would be completely impressed by what you just did," Archer said. He poked at the crystal to see if it really was solid again. It was. "I get the feeling this place is going to hold some surprises for us. How is this possible?"

"All of our crystals within us are connect to these crystals growing out of the ground," the Elemental said. "We can change their shape into anything we want."

"Interesting," Archer said.

"We should get going now," Kailen then said. "Also, have the castle cooks prepare a meal for the pirates."

"Right!" a couple Elementals said with nods.

"They sure are obedient to you," Shachi noted.

"Yeah." Kailen rubbed the back of his neck, a light pink hue rose on his cheeks. "That's only because I'm the brother of a royal. Now that the darkness is gone, they will be serving her with undying loyalty."

"Feels kinda weird. Fighting for our lives then getting served by those who were trying to kill us," Shachi said while shaking his head.

"The captain and Neo are the ones who are going to have a harder time adjusting to this. We need to get to them as soon as possible," Bepo said. "You know how the captain is going to be. Penguin might need backup."

"Yeah." Shachi nodded. "Let's get going."

"Let's go then," Kailen said. The wind Elementals wrapped their winds around the pirates and lifted them off the ground. All of the pirates, the ones who were conscious, remained quiet and anxious during their flight to the healer's ward.

…

The trip to the healer's ward was nothing but a blur for Law. The whole world around him was completely out of focus. The only thing he noticed was Neo. And she was getting worse. Sweat was beading on her hot forehead. He could easily feel her fever through their bond and his hoodie. She kept whimpering from the pain in her sleep, tossing her head this way and that. Each whimper that left her lips cut deep into his core. It made him feel so useless. She was hurting and he couldn't do anything to stop it. He growled, "Are we there yet?! She's getting worse!"

"We're almost there!" one of the wind Elementals said.

Penguin looked at his captain then down at Neo. He remained silent. A sense of hopelessness was threatening to settle into his chest. He wanted to say something but knew there was nothing he could say to make this better. Then some caught his attention. Pulling his eyes away from his captain and Neo he saw the tan colored castle. For a second he thought they were going to it but the wind Elementals veered to their right. There was another building near the castle. He studied the two floors, crystal green building as the Elementals placed them on the ground.

"Hurry! Bring her inside!" the healer ordered. She ran for the double doors of the two level building and jerked them open.

Law, with Neo panting hard in his arms, followed after her. He didn't bother looking around when they entered into the building. He just followed the healer woman through the waiting room, down a hall, and into a room.

The healer pointed to the only bed that was in the room while moving over to a cabinet. "Lay her down there."

Law laid Neo down on the bed. He stroked her hair while hold her right, uninjured hand. Neo whined again in her sleep. She rolled her head around in discomfort. He pressed his forehead to hers when she turned to him. Her hot breath fanned over his skin. "Hold on, Neo. You're going to be fine. I won't let you die."

"Madam! You called for me?" a voice said.

Law's eyes remained locked onto Neo when a new voice entered the room.

…

Penguin continued to follow his captain and sister. He rushed after them and entered into the room. He stood off to the side as his captain laid Neo down on the bed. Only when a new voice speak did he left his eyes to them. It was a woman. She was tall, slender, and very curvy with light crystal green eyes. Her light green hair had just as many curves as her body. She was wearing a tight black dress that Penguin was sure was inappropriate for someone in the doctor field. If things weren't so bad with Neo, he would be drooling all over himself at how beautiful this woman was. But he was too worried about his sister to care about any other woman.

…

"Yes. I need you to help assist me," Healer Zinnia said. She moved back over to Neo.

Law glared at her for getting so close then noticed she was carrying two strange tube like objects that he didn't recognize and two needles that were glowing with some kind of liquid. He demanded, "What are those?!"

"They're going to help the princess," Healer Zinnia said. "They are basically the Elemental version of a human IV. We're going to attach these to her skin. Crystal needles then will pierce into her skin and veins to let the antidote in from the IV like tubes. Are you all right with that? Or are you going to bite my head off again?"

"Just do it." Law frowned. He then let his eyes drop back down to Neo. He watched her carefully. His doctor side was battling his protective side. He wanted to keep his eyes on Neo's face, but also wanted to watch what these two strange women were doing to his girl to make sure they didn't hurt her. He ended up bouncing his eyes between the three. His eyes then went to Selene when she moved closer. He gave her a warning glare but she didn't seem to notice, or cared. All she did was blush when she looked at him.

In a flirty voice, she said, "My good sir, we're going to have to remove the princess's shirt. I'm afraid you and your friend over there are going to have to leave the room."

"I'm not leaving Neo's side," Law hissed.

"I'm afraid that-" Selene started.

"I'm not leaving! If her shirt needs to come off then I'll take it off!" Law snapped. He gave the woman another glare before turning his attention back to Neo. Lifting her up, he found it was going to be impossible to take her shirt off the normal way. Neo wasn't strong enough to sit up on her own. So he formed his Room and warped it off. Laying her back down his eyes caught the color of the poison. It was up to her neck and close to her heart. If the poison wasn't already in her heart it was about to be. "What the heck does this poison do to a person?!"

"The poison weakens a person's immune system while attacking blood cells. It also causes an extremely high fever," Selene answered. Her eyes wondered over Law's body while she mindlessly hovered one of her crystals against Neo's forehead. "And speaking of which…her fever is climbing. It's almost up to 108."

Law barely heard her answer as he continued to stare at Neo's discolored skin.

The young healer's crystal vanished from their sights. She jumped when Healer Zinnia cleared her throat. "Madam?"

"Drop drooling! You're working here!" Healer Zinnia ordered.

"Yes, Madam," Selene said with a sigh. She took one of the funny looking items that Healer Zinnia brought out. It was an oval shape, thin crystal tube like device with thin thorn like points on the bottom. The young woman placed it over Neo's chest. She looked at the older healer beside her. "Her fever, Madam?"

"The fever is a secondary concern. She's too weak for it to affect her crystals at this point anyway," Healer Zinnia said as she worked with her own device. This one was shaped similar to a hand and wrist. It too was made of thin crystal tubes with thin thorn like points on the bottom of it. She placed it over Neo's hand where the poison had entered. She looked up at Selene. The two women shared a nod.

Law was about to question their actions. He was halted when they practically slammed the devices into Neo's skin causing her to cry out in pain at the treatment. He hissed, "Do you have to hurt her?!"

"Yes! This poison also causes the skin to tighten up!" Healer Zinnia hissed back. She pulled a light orange crystal from her pocket. Placing it under Neo's wrist, she summoned one of her crystals. When her crystal started to glow so did the light orange crystal. Orange crystal turned into a liquid form and spread out under Neo's wrist, palm, and fingers. It somehow remained in place when the healer pulled away from it. "If you're going to just keep yelling at me, get out of my ward! I don't have time for this!"

"I told you already! I'm  _not_  leaving her side!" Law snapped back. "And I told you, you  _will_  explain to me what you're doing to her!"

"I  _have_  been explaining it!" the healer shouted with exasperation.

"Then tell me  _before_  you do it!" Law demanded. "I won't tolerate this kind of abusive treatment for her!"

"This isn't  _abusive_  treatment! This is  _necessary_  treatment!" Healer Zinnia roared.

…

Penguin carefully, and quietly, observed the scene before him. He mentally sighed. He and the others were right. Their beloved captain has already brought out the claws to protect Neo, even from those who were clearly no longer a threat and just wanted to help their girl. He opened his mouth. He was going to try, even though it was dangerous, to get his captain to calm down. But before he, or anyone else could speak, Neo released a sudden harsh gasp then stopped breathing. He rushed closer to the bed. "Neo?! What happened to her?!"

"She stopped breath!" Selene informed them, even though it wasn't necessary.

"Forcing in the antidote! We're not losing her!" Healer Zinnia shouted. She grabbed both of the glowing needles. She handed one to Selene. They stuck them into the devices on Neo's arm and chest at the same time. As they pushed in the antidote, the tubes glow grew brighter. "Selene, stimulate her heart! The poison must be leaking into it!"

"What?! No! You have to help her!" Penguin said. "Please! You can't let her die!"

Law's body froze. The two women and Penguin's voices faded away from his ears as their bodies faded away from his eyes. The only two that remained in the room was himself and Neo. He could feel it. Her life was slipping away from her body. Her life was slipping away from  _him_. His brain shut off. His breathing stopped. His heart stopped beating.

A small amount of reality seeped back into Law's blank mind when he realized his heart literally wasn't beating. Mindlessly, he raised one of his hands to his neck. He pressed his fingers to where his pulse should have been. It wasn't there. His heart really was no longer beating. Just as his hand started to slide away from his pulseless neck, a beat throbbed beneath his fingers. One beat. Two beats. Three beats.

"She's breathing again! Heart rate is rising!" a distant voice said through the darkness that surrounded him. "We've got her back!"

"Good now, Selene," another distance voice said. "Let's get the rest of the equipment set up. I do  _not_  want that happening again."

"Captain?" a third, familiar, voice asked. His voice started to become stronger in Law's ears with each word he spoke. "Captain? Captain, she's fine now. Can you hear me? She's going to be fine."

"What?" The lights and colors of the room started to reappear in Law's eyes. Looking up he stared at Penguin's face.

"She's fine now," Penguin said again.

Law could only swallow and nod.

"Are you all right, Captain? You look pale," Penguin said.

"I'm fine. I was just…" Law lowered his eyes back down to Neo. Although still in pain, she was alive. She was still alive. She was still with him. He brought her uninjured hand up to his lips and placed a light kiss on the back of her hand. "I'm fine."

…

"Is this it?" Bepo asked when they finally landed in front of the ward. The conscious pirates took in the two crystal buildings nearby. "Wow! Even your buildings are made of crystals."

"Of course they are," a female wind Elemental said. She ran her hand through her light bluish grey hair. "Just about everything here is."

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Bepo bowed his head.

"Uh?" The wind Elemental blinked. "Sorry for what?"

"Ignore him. He's always like that. He's just-" Shachi started. He was cut off when the Elemental shrieked. Turning around he found a teenager with long red hair taking Bepo in.

"He's so cute!" The Elemental's cheeks turned pink. She moved closer to Bepo. Bouncing around, she inspected the gloomy bear. "I didn't know bears could talk like that! How is it possible he can talk like us?! Too cute! So cute!"

"You people never seen a mink before?" Jean Bart asked.

"A mink? Oh, so that's what he is," another male wind Elemental said, inspecting the bear from a respectable distance. "And no. We pretty much stay on the island. But Shanks and his crew has brought us books and other stuff from the human world. So we're not completely ignorant about other cultures."

"That's nice. Which room will Neo be in?" Shachi asked looking up at the windows of the building.

"She should be in one of the rooms on the bottom floor right next to Healer Zinnia's room. Healer Zinnia lives in this place when she has a seriously injured patient. She'll definitely want to be near the princess while she in her current state," Kailen explained as he led the way into the building.

"I don't think I'm going to fit in there," Jean Bart said while pointing to the small doors.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Kailen said. He summoned one of his crystals. As they started to glow so did the doors to the building. Right before the pirates' eyes, the two doors grew large enough for Jean Bart to easily clear. The pirates gasped. "We can easily change the size of anything that's made of crystals."

"Interesting," Shachi mumbled. He shook his head. "I can be fascinated later. I really want to go see how Neo's doing."

"If you're feeling fine enough to," Kailen said. He eyed the pirate's body. "It might be best if you rest for a while."

"I've already told you that I'm fine. I only need to see how our girl is doing. I can rest later," Shachi said. He looked over his shoulder at his wounded crewmates. "Besides, they're worse than I am. They should be taken care of first."

"Right." Kailen nodded. He signaled for his fellow Elementals to take the injured pirates into the ward. "Who's all coming with me?"

"I am," Shachi said, even though he already stated it.

"Me too," Bepo said, stepping away from the Elemental woman who was still gushing over his cuteness.

"I think I'll stay with the crew to make sure they're all right when they wake up," Jean Bart said. "I'm sure Neo needs her rest right now. I'll see her later when she's feeling better."

"We'll go with Jean Bart," Conner said.

Archer nodded in agreement.

"All right." Shachi waved at his crewmates as they stepped inside the building. He took a quick look around. This place looked pretty much the same as any other hospital he's seen before. The only differences was this place was made of crystals and had vines and flowers growing over the walls and from the ceiling.

"The healers like having stimulating plants and flowers inside their wards," Kailen answered the unasked question. "It helps keep patients and guests calm while also helping to heal the injured. All rooms in all the wards on Luminous are like this."

Shachi and Bepo nodded. They proceeded to follow Kailen quietly through the flora-decorated building. He led them through the waiting room of the ward and down a quiet hallway. Eventually, they started to hear voices coming from one of the rooms. Kailen stepped up to it and knocked softly a couple times.

…

"Get her hooked up to the heart monitor," Healer Zinnia ordered Selene. "I'll get the princess a gown."

"Yes, ma'am." Selene nodded.

Penguin remained silent as the two women stepped away from them. He eyed his captain and Neo before looking back to the Elementals. The older woman went to a small closet next to a door that he assumed was the bathroom. The younger woman stepped to a cabinet next to the bed. On top of the cabinet was a small box that looked to him like something similar to the heart monitoring equipment his captain had on the sub. The only difference was there were no wires coming from the box so he wasn't sure what it was. For all he knew it was just a box.

"What are those?" he asked when Selene pulled out four smooth, oval shaped greenish blue patch like crystals from a small drawer in the cabinet.

"They're crystals that are going to monitor the princess's vital signs," Selene answered. She stepped back over to the bed.

Law released a warning growl when he noticed the woman getting closer again.

Selene, however, didn't take it as a threat. Her cheeks just flushed a light red and gave the pirate captain a flirtatious smile. "Don't worry. This won't hurt her at all. Watch."

Penguin rolled his hidden eyes. This woman's desperation was pathetic.

Selene placed them on Neo's chest around the crystal tubes. She then summoned one of her crystals. The crystal started to glow. The glow flowed out over to the crystals on Neo's chest then started to glow themselves.

Next thing Penguin knew the box on the cabinet also started to glow and beep. It lit up with numbers and lines that jumped with each beep of Neo's heart.

"I activate the crystal patches with my own crystal's glow. They then monitor the princess's vital signs and send that information back to this little box here. It also sends the report to the healer's crystals that engulfed the patches in their glow. Both Madam Zinnia and me will be monitoring the princess very closely from now on," Selene said.

"Oh." Penguin nodded even though it was obvious the woman was talking directly to Law not him or anyone else.

Law didn't notice. He attention was still locked onto Neo, totally oblivious to the woman's obvious crush on him.

A couple soft knocks then came from the door.

"Just one moment," Healer Zinnia said. She rushed back over to Neo with a long white gown in her hands. She was pulling down the zipper in the front of it.

Law glared at her when she got close to Neo.

Healer Zinnia glared back before tossing him the shirt. "Fine! You put it on her! Just make sure the zipper is in the front!"

Law easily snatched the shirt from the air. He then carefully slipped the sleeve of the shirt over Neo's injured hand and arm. Guilt hit him when Neo whimpered at the movement. He tried to move her more gently.

"Perhaps an extra set of hands would help," Selene suggested.

"That's a good idea. I'll help," Penguin quickly said as he stepped forward. He caught a glimpse of Selene's disappointed expression. He made the right move. She was only trying to get closer to Law. He wasn't going to allow that at all. "Let me help, Captain."

Law only nodded. He allowed Penguin to take the shirt from his hand. He gave Neo his full attention. Together they pulled the shirt onto her body without causing more pain for her. He gently lifted her up so Penguin could pull the gown down over her thighs. He then laid her back on the bed.

Penguin zipped the gown up. He paused when he got to the crystal tube on her chest. After a quick examination of the size of the gown, he realized it was loose enough that it wouldn't cause any problems for the strange device. He zipped it up a little more, but left half of the crystal tubing exposed. He then heard Kailen's voice ask, "How is she, Madam Healer?"

"She's critical, but stable," Healer Zinnia replied.

"That's great!" Shachi exclaimed as he and Bepo made their way into the room.

"Hey now!" Healer Zinnia exclaimed. "She's stable, but that doesn't mean she needs the extra stress of a lot of people in here!"

The pirates didn't hear her, or they ignored her, as they made their way over to Neo and company. Bepo cautiously examined the glowing devices on Neo's arm and under her shirt. He blinked before asking, "What are those? They're not hurting her, are they?"

"What is with you people? We're not hurting her now," Healer Zinnia asked. She placed her hands on her hips in a huff.

"No, they're not," Penguin replied, ignoring the woman. He then quickly explained to his crewmates what the devices were so they wouldn't worry about them.

"Ah, poor baby," Bepo then cooed softly. He inched closer to the bed.

Penguin watched him. It was obvious the bear wanted to touch Neo, but was afraid of hurting the already injured girl.

"Hey, how's the captain doing?" Shachi leaned closer to Penguin so they could whisper. Although Shachi didn't think it was really necessary. It was obvious that Neo had the majority of Law's attention right now. He wasn't even sure the captain knew they had entered the room since they weren't strangers or a possible threat to her.

"As expected," Penguin replied. He looked up at the captain. Law's eyes were down on Neo and he was holding her hand again. "He doesn't want anyone, but for us, anywhere near her. Once the crew is feeling better, it'll be best if we set up guard on this room and outside. The captain will freak out if anyone outside of us, Kailen and these two healers come anywhere near her in this state."

Shachi nodded. "Those would be the captain's order's anyway. I'll be sure to spread the word to the crew."

"How are they doing, anyway?" Penguin asked.

"Minor injuries mostly," Shachi reported. "One has a fractured spine, but they said some healer could fix that and he'd be up and around in a week."

"That's good to hear. Neo will be happy no one got any serious injuries." Penguin released a small sigh of relief.

"Also, the Elementals are preparing us something to eat," Shachi added. "I'm going to stand guard out in the hall first. I won't let them come in here."

"Right." Penguin nodded. "We'll need to bring the captain something to eat too. Though I doubt he'll eat it."

Shachi nodded with a sigh. The two then let their eyes drift back over to Neo, Law, and Bepo.

Bepo had inched even closer to Neo. He was bent down at his knees. His paws were gently laying on the edge of the bed. And he was talking softly to her. He said, "Hey, Princess. That kind of sounds funny, doesn't it? But you are one. It's kind of cute for you. We're right here, you know? We're waiting for you to wake back up. The captain's right here too. He's right by your side. You'll be all right. I just know you will."

"All right, that's enough visiting time for today," Healer Zinnia said, finally gathering everyone's attention. She had her hands still on her hips and was sending them a disapproving frown. "The princess needs her rest."

"We'll come see you later," Bepo said to Neo before standing up. He, Shachi, and Penguin started for the door, but only out of respect for Neo. They really didn't care what the healer wanted.

"That includes  _you_  too," Healer Zinnia hissed at Law. "Get out!"

The three pirates exiting the room flinched to a stop. They slowly turned to see what their captain would do. With his harshest glare beaming in his eyes, Law turned to her. Venom dripped from his voice. He said, "I'm  _not_  leaving her."

"Oh, yes you-"

"Madam Healer!" Kailen's voice cut hers off. She turned to him. He spoke in a tone that left no room for arguing. "I would like a word with you and Selene out in the hall! It's about the princess! And as the princess's brother I expect you to listen to me!"

"Oh, very well," Healer Zinnia huffed. She stomped over to the door. She paused to turn back and called for Selene. "Selene! Let's go!"

"Right!" Selene jumped from her heart-eyed stare at Law.

Shachi watched the woman before turning to Penguin. Shaking his head he said, "Well, she's  _not_  going to cause trouble at all."

Penguin too shook his head with a shrug of his shoulders. The three pirates then followed the three Elementals out into the hall, closing the door behind them.

"All right, Kailen. What is it you wanted to tell us?" Healer Zinnia asked. She crossed her arms and gave the young man an impatient look.

Kailen didn't answer right away. He looked over at the three pirates with him. They looked at him before exchanging glances between themselves. They knew what he was asking.

Penguin sighed. He said, "It'll probably be for the best if we did go ahead and tell them."

"Will you just tell us? If you have forgotten, I have a very ill patient to attend to. I don't have time for these silly games of yours," Healer Zinnia said with an exasperated huff.

"Go ahead, Penguin," Kailen said. "They need to know."

"All right." Penguin nodded. He turned his hidden eyes to the two women. With a deep breath, he told them everything about Neo's past. "And that's why it's best if you just let the captain stay by her side."

"We don't intend any disrespect for you all or your culture," Shachi said, "its just…Neo really needs the captain to be by her side. She's not comfortable with strangers at all on a normal day without time to adjust to them. And with what happened with the darkness crystal and you all…"

"It's going to take her some time to adjust to the fact that you all aren't going to hurt her anymore," Bepo finished up.

"That's so sad." Selene sniffled while brushing away a tear from the corner of her eye.

"I see," Healer Zinnia said. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was tapping her finger on her arm. "I suppose I can be a bit more understanding and tolerant of the princess's situation. But this is not going to go over well with the rest of the Elementals. We have rules and customs, you know."

"We understand that," Shachi said with a nod. "We'll do whatever we can to make this transition more smoothly for us all."

"I can start spreading the word over the island tomorrow, if that's all right with you all," Kailen offered. "Unless your captain would prefer it to be done another way."

"No, it'll be best if an Elemental delivers this news. We can help if need be," Penguin said. "It's important that they understand how Neo is."

"It's not going to be easy. Elementals are use to their royals being in the limelight. They'll want to crown her as the princess she is and expect her to be crown queen one day," Kailen said. "And expect them to start sending her get well gifts soon. And trying to see her for themselves."

"This is not going to be easy," Shachi sighed.

Bepo and Penguin nodded in agreement.

"Well, I'm going to go over to the castle now," Kailen said.

"You're leaving?" Shachi asked. "What about Neo?"

"I know she'll be fine with Madam Healer Zinnia here," Kailen said. "I need to have the castle staff get rooms ready for you all."

"We're staying right here," Penguin said. "We'll sleep outside if we have to."

"You can't sleep outside when it rains," Kailen said. "And you'll do Neo no good if you get sick. I'm sure she'll want you to sleep inside. Besides a rain storm is moving in."

"He's got a point," Bepo said.

"Fine," Penguin said.

"I'll come back when the rooms are ready and show you around the castle," Kailen said.

The pirates remained out in the hall for the next two hours. Occasionally, Penguin would peak into the room to see if anything changed, but nothing ever did. Neo remained in critical condition while Law remained by her side. He was just coming back out of the room when Kailen finally came walking back down the hall.

"Anything news?" Kailen asked when he reached the pirates.

"No, Neo's the same," Shachi said.

"Well, I can show you around the castle now," Kailen said. "You ready?"

"Just give me a minute to let the captain know where we're going," Penguin said before entering back into the room. He walked over to the bed. His eyes went to Neo first before looking up at his captain. "We're going over to the castle for a while. They've set up rooms for us to sleep in. We're also going to have someone outside of the room keeping watch so no one comes in." Knowing Law wouldn't answer him, he left the room. "Let's go."

The pirates followed Kailen out of the building. They gathered up a few more crewmembers that were in the lobby and headed over to the castle, note how several Elementals were already gathering around the ward. The Elemental lead them up to the stairs. There were two of them. They slip to their left and right, leading up to the round porch and the two large double doors. Stepping inside, they were greeted by a large room decorated and another set of stairs. The stairs went up to a landing that split off to two more staircases. The foyer branched off into two wings and was decorated with organic shaped crystals and paintings.

"This way," Kailen said. He headed up the first flight of stairs then turned to go up the ones on his right. A few Elemental maids wandered through the halls, giving the pirates curious looks before going on about their business. More sculptures decorated this floor. There were also landscape paintings hanging on the walls between the many doors. "You all can sleep in these rooms here but for this one." He stopped at one of the double doors. "This is Neo's room. I figured you all would want to be near her."

"We do." Shachi nodded.

"I'll show you where the dinning room is." Kailen walked away from the rooms. "The food should be ready by now."

They walked back down the stairs and turned to their left. Walking down the hall they found more sculptures, paintings, and plants. Kailen turned into one of the many doors. A long rectangular table sat in the middle of the room. At the far end of the room maids were coming in and out of a door carrying trays of vegetables, fruits, and fish. They laid them on the table and headed back through the door.

"Sorry for the meal being mostly fruits and vegetables," Kailen said as he sat down. "We don't typically eat meat since we're so close to nature."

"Make sense," Bepo said sitting down.

The rest of the pirates sat down. Silence fell over them as they started picking at the food that had been brought to them.

"Is there anything else you need?" an orange haired Elemental asked.

"No, I think we're fine," Kailen said.

"Very well. Feel free to call for me if you need anything. My name is Topaz," Topaz said. She bowed then left the room.

"I'm going to go back to the hospital now," Penguin said a little while later. "I'm going to sleep in the room with Neo."

"You're not going to sleep here?" Archer asked.

"No," Penguin said. "I'm too worried about Neo. I want to be close incase something happens."

"You do what you need to, Penguin," Conner said.

"I'll tell the others there's food for them here." Penguin nodded, picked up a plate of food and a cup of water before leaving the castle. More Elementals has gathered at the ward. And like Kailen said, some were holding gifts. Ignoring them he went inside and found two of his crewmates were guarding the door like they had planned. He told them about the food then turned to the door. Entering back into Neo's room he found his captain was still with Neo. No surprise there. He walked the food and water over to the small dresser on the left side of the bed. "Captain, I brought you something to eat. You really should eat it. You're going to need the energy."

Law didn't respond.

Penguin should have known his captain wouldn't. So without a word he flicked the light off and curled up in a corner to try and get some rest himself.

…

Law sighed softly. His eyes were still locked onto Neo's sleeping form like they had been the majority of the time since she was brought into this place. And he had no idea how long that had been. The only time he let his eyes wonder from her was when he looked over at the heart monitor to check what her vitals signs were. Each time he checked they were still hovering dangerously low. Threatening to drop lower. Threatening to put her into a coma. Or worse…die. An icy cold grip would grab his heart each time he thought that.

He was now sitting on the bed with her, on her right side just like he would be if they were in their room on the sub. He knew she was use to him being on her right side so that's where he made sure he was. He refused to move from that spot. He refused to eat what food someone, probably Penguin, brought him. It sat abandon and cold on a small crystal dresser near the bed. He barely noticed it in the dark room.

He wasn't even sure who all came to check on Neo that day. He knew, or he was sure, that all of his crew came to check on her at some point, unless they were injured and couldn't come at the time. He vaguely remembered hearing Penguin telling him that the crew was keeping on guard outside and at the room's door. He knew that would have been his orders anyway if he were coherent enough to give orders. He was glad they knew him well enough to come to that decision on their own. He didn't want  _anyone_  near Neo.

He grudgingly let the two healer women do their job only because he had no clue how to help her. But he watched them like a hawk when they got near her. He scrutinized their every move when they were in the room and especially when they came near Neo. The only other one who spent a lot of time in the room was Penguin.

That was acceptable. After all, next to him, Penguin was the closest to Neo. Though he didn't look to see, he was sure Penguin was still in the room, somewhere. He knew the man wouldn't get too far away with Neo like this. Most likely curled up in a corner trying to sleep or just silently watching over Neo from a distance while worrying about her.

Law's heart skipped a beat when the heart monitor's beeping dropped. He relaxed when it came back up and Neo's heartbeat became steady again. With a raspy sigh, he ran his eyes over the two IV like items attacked to her body. They were glowing softly with a soft green hue in the moonlit room. His eyes paused on the smooth crystals on her chest around the tubing. They were somehow monitoring her heartbeat, but he couldn't recall how he knew that.

He gently ran his fingers over her skin just above the oval crystal tubing on her chest. He trailed his fingers to her left swollen arm and down to her ringless finger. His heart seized up. It wasn't right that his ring wasn't on her finger anymore. It wasn't right that he couldn't put his ring back on her finger.

Sighing again, Law forced himself not to think about that. She'll be wearing his ring again as soon as the swelling went down. He brought his attention to her discolored skin. The antidote had stopped the poison from spreading to her heart, but it wasn't getting rid of it yet. It was still a high risk to her life. She could still die. Law gritted his teeth. He leaned down to her and pressed his forehead to hers. Moving his hand up to her blue hair, he gently clenched her soft tresses in his hand. "You are not going to die. You are going to live. Do you hear me, Neo? I am  _ordering_  you to live. There's still something important I need to tell you. So live. Live for me."

Law slowly closed his eyes. Keeping his forehead touching hers, he breathed in her familiar sweet scent that he missed so much, allowing it to calm him down as much as it could. He clenched his teeth as two warm teardrops dripped from his eyes and fell onto the soft skin of her cheeks. "I  _won't_  lose someone else that I love."


	44. Protectors

Protectors

"We've been here for almost two weeks and I still can't get over how just about everything here is made of crystals," Archer said while twirling his silver colored crystal fork in his between his fingers. He lowered his hand and looked over the dinning room. A few maids were gathering up the empty dishes to take back to the kitchen. "I can't get over living in a castle either. This is just so opposite of living on the sub. It's weird."

"Yeah. I miss eating with Neo the most," Conner said with a low sigh. He mindlessly jammed his fork into his mashed potatoes while one of the castle maids cleared an empty plate from the table.

"I miss her food. Don't get me wrong, this Elemental food is wonderful," Jean Bart said. They all mumbled their agreements. "It's just not the same. I guess I'm just use to eating what Neo cooks for us. Or maybe it's the way she flavors the food."

A couple Elemental maids and butlers frowned at the pirates revealing their princess cooks for them. One of them mumbled, "This is an outrage. It's not proper for a princess to cook."

"Hey! She-" Shachi hissed.

"Let it go, Shachi," Archer said, cutting the other man off. The maid wandered into the kitchen without another word to the pirates. "Remember, their culture is different from ours. Royalty doesn't typically do normal everyday stuff. And we're only guests here. Let's try to avoid arguments for Neo's sake. You know she'll want us to behave."

"Yeah, I know, I know," Shachi grumbled. He slumped in his chair and crossed his arms. "I'm just really missing her. I feel like there's a huge hole in my very soul without her around."

"We all feel that way," Archer said. "I've become so accustom of hearing her laughter. The bells are so beautiful. I miss it."

"Speaking of our little princess, Penguin, are you going to take the captain something to eat?" Jean Bart asked.

Penguin, who had been sitting quietly, looked at the man. He parted his lips to answer, but before he could form one, Bepo spoke up.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to take it to him this time," Bepo said looking at the hatted man.

"That's fine," Penguin replied. He propped his elbow upon the table and rested his hand in the palm of his hand with a gloomy expression on his face. "You've been pretty worried about the captain since you're the closest thing to a best friend he has besides Neo. It'll do you both some good to spend time together. Even if the captain won't speak."

"Hey, at least the poison is leaving her system," Shachi said, trying to cheer up his gloomy friend. "That's a good thing."

"Didn't the healer say it should be out of her system soon?" Conner asked. When he voiced that question, all of the Elementals in the room paused to hear what the answer would be. It didn't matter where the pirates were, whenever they mentioned Neo the Elementals would stop whatever they were doing and wait for the answer.

"Yeah." Penguin nodded. "She said it should be out of her system within the next week. But her fever is still high and she contracted an infection. They can't get her fever to come down yet. So she has no idea when Neo's going to wake up. She also said that if Neo's fever would just come down then her solar crystal would be able to help heal her body. Apparently, her body is still too weak to use her crystals."

Satisfied with the information, the Elementals turned from the pirates and went about their business. Things fell quiet between the pirates for a few minutes after that. Jean Bart then asked, "Where's Kailen? I haven't seen him since breakfast. Actually, he hasn't been around much these last few weeks."

"He's running around Luminous with delegates to try and answer all of the remaining questions and concerns about Neo," Shachi answered. "Apparently some of them are still having issues with the idea of their princess leaving Luminous once she's healed. I wonder who told them about that."

"It might have been Selene," Bepo said. "We've all been too worried about Neo to speak about that. She and the other healer were the only ones close when we had that conversation. Unless someone else was hiding close by."

"It doesn't matter," Archer said. "They would have found out anyway. Better to just get it out in the open."

"Let's just hope things smooth over soon," Conner said with a low huff.

"Things will go a lot easier once Neo is awake," Archer said. "We're all still on edge with her being sick."

"Yeah." A round of agreements passed through the pirates and even some of the Elementals who were still lingering around the dinning room.

"Well, I should take the captain his dinner now," Bepo said while standing up from his chair.

"I have it right here," Topaz said, holding out a dome covered tray to the bear.

Penguin looked up at the fire Elemental. While he didn't want to get attached to anyone here, he had to admit that he liked this Elemental. She wasn't as pushy as the others seemed to be. She gave him the impression she wouldn't care if her princess did decide to stay with them on the Polar Tang.

"Thanks, Topaz," Bepo said with a nod as he took the tray from her.

"Please, give my well wishes to the princess," Topaz said with a sweet smile.

"I will," Bepo replied with a nod and smile of his own. The bear then regarded his crewmates one last time before leaving the castle. Stepping outside he was greeted with the moon hanging low on the horizon. It wasn't a full moon but it was still big enough for him to see the sub. A few days after Neo had been taken to the ward they had finally moved it. They wanted to sleep in their own beds but the sub was too far away from the ward. So they had been bouncing back and forth between sleeping in the castle and sleeping just outside of the ward, under Neo's window.

Turning from the sub, he entered into the ward and walked down the growing familiar hall. Like always two of the crew was still standing guard at Neo's room. He nodded to them then entered into the room. Countless flower scents met his nose each time he came into the room. The Elementals have been sending apology and get well flowers, stuffed animals, homemade gifts, and cards to their sick princess. The room was filled with them so much so that most of the gifts had to be moved into the castle. Yet more came each day.

Bepo looked around the room. Healer Zinnia was sitting at a desk she had formed from crystals. She regarded the bear with a quick glance before turning her eyes to the paper she was writing on. If the healer wasn't tending to other patients she was in here keeping a close eye on Neo. During the first week the healer didn't leave the ward. Then in the second week she felt Neo was stable enough for her to wander farther away.

The bear drew his eyes to the other side of the room. A bed had been created for Law to use. But he knew the captain would never use it. When Law did lie down, it was right beside Neo on her right side as if they were in their room on the sub. Occasionally he or another member of the crew would catch him with his eyes closed, but they knew he wasn't sleeping at all. Law always opened his eyes when someone came in the room. If the tired captain did sleep, it was only for a few minutes then he would wake right back up and watch Neo.

"Everything's still stable, Madam." Bepo heard Selene say. He looked to see her checking on the crystal tubes on Neo's body and the discoloration that still was on Neo's arm. The tubes were dimming from almost being empty of the antidote.

Selene picked up a needle. She uncapped it and stuck it into the crystal tubing on Neo's chest. The glow from the tubing grew brighter again as the antidote filled it up. She recapped the needle before picking up another one. She pierced the tubing on Neo's hand, causing its glow to brighten too.

Bepo still wasn't sure how that tubing actually worked, but it did. The antidote was steadily flowing into Neo's veins. He growled deeply in his throat when Selene looked up from the device and gave Law a flirtatious smile. She batted her eyelashes even though Law never took his eyes off Neo.

Selene then said, "Don't worry, Mister Trafalgar. She'll be fine soon. You should get some rest yourself."

Bepo rolled his eyes. This woman was oblivious to how Law felt about Neo. His eyes pulled over to Healer Zinnia when the older woman spoke. She said, "That'll be all for now, Selene. You may go to dinner."

"Yes, Madam," Selene said with a small frown as she looked at the older woman. Her smile returned when she looked back at Law. "You've been in this room for days. Why don't you join me for dinner?"

Law didn't respond. Bepo took that as his cue to step in. He walked over to them. He gave the woman a disapproving frown while holding out the tray to her. "The captain will eat when he wants to. Besides, I brought him dinner."

"Fine." Selene frowned again. She then turned and headed for the door. She paused to look at Healer Zinnia. "Madam, would you like me to send you something to eat?"

"Mmm." Healer Zinnia looked over at Neo then back at Selene. "No, I'll get myself something in a little while."

"Very well, Madam." Selene nodded then exited the room.

Bepo watched her go before turning back to Law and Neo. His eyes dropped down to the sleeping girl's arm. The poison had receded to just below her elbow now. The swelling had also gone down, but not enough yet for Law to put his ring back on her finger. He then looked over at the dresser beside the bed. The lunch tray Penguin brought earlier was still there with the meal uncovered and untouched. He sat the tray down beside the uneaten lunch with a low sigh. He turned his eyes to study his captain for a few minutes before speaking. He said, "Captain, you really should eat more. A couple of bites from your meals every other day isn't doing you any good."

Law heard him, but only nodded in response.

Bepo then sat down in one of the chairs someone had created for them to use. He felt like spending sometime with Neo and his captain, even if it was in silence. About fifteen minutes of silence passed before the healer got up from her desk.

Law tensed up when she checked on Neo before leaving to find herself some dinner.

Bepo said, "She's gone now, Captain. You can relax again."

Law nodded. Both his and Bepo's heart rate rose up in a slight panic when Neo kneaded her eyebrows and whined.

Bepo shot to his feet. He asked, "Is she all right, Captain? Do I need to get the healer?"

"She's fine, Bepo. It's just a bad dream," Law replied while pushing off his shoes. He laid down beside her and brushed her bangs away from her face as he whispered softly to her. "Shh…it's all right, Neo. I'm right here. You're safe."

Neo turned her head towards him in response when he spoke to her. She relaxed with a low sigh.

Law propped up on his elbow. Resting his head in his hand, he watched her sleep. He brushed the tips of his fingers over her bangs again before tracing them over her cheek and down to her arm. He made his way down her hand to gently rubbed his fingertips over her ringless finger. Anger flared back up in his chest. Each time he looked or touched her ringless finger he thought about all she had endured here. He still wanted to hurt them even thought it wasn't their fault.

Bepo watched his captain in silence. Feeling a bit awkward about seeing his captain like this, so vulnerable looking, he looked around the room. His eyes landed on a basin of water. It had a white washcloth lying over the side of it. He dipped the tip of his paw into it. He then said, "This water is warm. How about I get some fresh water?"

Law slowly nodded.

Bepo picked up the basin and walked over to the bathroom. After dumping out the old water, he filled it up with fresh, cold water then returned it to the table. He dipped the washcloth into the water, wrung it out, and gently placed it on Neo's burning forehead. He was about to move away from the bed with he heard Law speak.

"She's just like Lami," Law whispered softly with obvious regret in his voice.

"Your sister?" Bepo asked carefully.

"I couldn't save her either," Law replied. "I couldn't do anything to save my sister. And now I can't do anything to save Neo. She just looks so fragile lying here, so helpless and scared. I can feel how much it hurts through our bond and just from looking at her. This shouldn't have happened. I was supposed to protect her. I failed her. I'm just too weak. I couldn't do anything. And I still can't do anything to protect her."

"Don't talk like that, Captain. You couldn't do anything because you're not familiar with the local plant life here. You know that. And that  _can_  change," Bepo said. "Once Neo is better, you can study the plants here. You can also study Elemental biology so you can take better care of her in the future. You're a doctor after all, right? And you're  _still_  Neo's doctor. Nothing will ever change that."

"Yeah, I am a doctor." Law nodded. A tiny smile came to his lips when Neo rolled onto her side and snuggled into his chest. The fingers of her right hand curled around the fabric of his hoodie. He picked up the washcloth and dabbed it gently on her cheek. "And I'm  _still_  Neo's doctor. Nothing will ever change that."

…

_Neo moaned softly before opening her eyes to nothing but white. With heaviness holding her body down, she struggled to push herself up into a sitting position. Her arms wobbled but she managed to do it. She slumped forward; panted hard at how much effort it took to just sit up. She looked around at the whiteness surrounding her. "Where…am I?"_

_She raised her fingers to her forehead to find sweat was beading there and her skin was hot. She whimpered and grabbed her upper left arm when pain shot through it. After the pain subsided, she gently lifted up her arm to see what caused the pain. Nothing was there. She noticed a tense, stuffy feeling in her chest. She rubbed her fingers over the white gown she was wearing. She looked down, but found nothing was there either. "I don't understand."_

_Neo pulled her eyes from her body and looked around at her surroundings. She wasn't sure what she was looking for. All she knew was she wanted to see something or someone. While looking around, she noticed that this place not only lacked color, it also lacked any kind of smell and temperature. It wasn't hot, but it wasn't cold either. Light and darkness, somehow, was also missing from this place._

_She placed her hands on the white floor and pushed herself to her feet. Once up, she wobbled a few times before finding her balance. She looked around again. "Where am I? Why am I here?"_

_She had to force herself to move. With each step she took, her body became heavier and heavier as if she was trying to wade through wet sand. She was only able to manage a few steps before her knees buckled under her. She dropped back to the white floor panting harder than she was before. She slumped forward to her hands. Her arms wobbled under her weight before giving out on her just like her legs did. She slid her hands across the white floor and laid down._

_She whimpered at the pain the hard floor caused in her body and curled herself into a ball. She felt like crying, but her tears wouldn't come. She whispered softly, "I don't like this. I don't understand. Where am I? Why am I alone? I don't want to be alone anymore. Someone, please, help me."_

_Her eyelids slowly fell over her blue eyes as she succumbed to her tiredness and fell asleep._

…

_A gentle hand stroking over her hair pulled Neo from her slumber. Through the heaviness that was still in her body, she managed to notice that she wasn't in the same position she had fallen asleep in. Her head was laying on something fairly soft rather than the hard white floor. She turned her head up to see who was with her. She looked up into the reddish-brown eyes of a blonde haired man. He asked gently, "Are you awake now?"_

_"Yes." Struggling through the tiredness plaguing her body, Neo pushed up on her hands. Once up she looked at the man again. He was wearing a simple dark blue shirt and jeans. A soft expression graced his features as he looked down at her. "Who are you?"_

_"You can call me Corazon," he replied._

_"Corazon," Neo repeated. She swallowed before placing her hand on her head. "That sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?" She placed her hand back down on the ground and looked around again. She was still in the strange white place as before. She brought her eyes back to him. Making eye contact, she asked, "Where am I?"_

_"Mmm." He hummed while giving her a sympathetic look. "That's kind of a hard question to answer."_

_"My body hurts. Why?" She looked at the palms of her hands before resting them in her lap. "What happened to me?"_

_"You were in a fight," the man said gently. "Do you not remember?"_

_"No, I-" Neo dropped her eyes to her lap. She stopped talking when she noticed her left hand. She raised it up. Tilting her head, she stared at her fingers. "Something's missing."_

_"Yes, I know it is," Corazon said with a light nod. "But it's all right. He has it."_

_"He?" Neo lowered her hand back down as she looked at the man again. "Wait…I know who. He's something to me. He's my captain. He's Law."_

_"That's right." Corazon nodded. "Are you remembering now?"_

_"I think so." Neo looked around the white space again before stopping her eyes on the man with her. "I was fighting. And Law, I mean, the captain was coming for me."_

_Corazon chuckled lightly. He said, "You can call him Law around me. He won't mind at all."_

_"Why? Who are you? You seem familiar somehow." Neo scanned her eyes over his face._

_"I'm not important," he said with a small sparkle in his eyes. "You don't have to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you. Law would kill me, so to speak, if I did."_

_"I'm not scared. I don't know why. I feel so confused." Neo looked down at her legs. She tried to process why she wasn't sacred, but couldn't do it. She looked at Corazon. "I want to go back to Law. Can I see him now?"_

_"I'm sorry. You can't do that right now," Corazon said with a touch of sadness in his voice. Suddenly, the white area around them dimmed into a dark grey._

_"What's happening? Something's wrong with Law. His heart's not beating. He's scared. He's never scared. Why does he feel like this? I don't like it." Tears came to Neo's eyes. She wrapped her arms around her body. "I want to go to him. I don't like him feeling like this. He feels tired too. What's happening to him?"_

_"He'll be all right. You're the one who needs to rest," Corazon said. Placing his hand on her head, he gently guided her to his lap again. "Lay down here now."_

_"I want to see him. I want to see Law," Neo cried softly. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I need him."_

_"I'm sorry. I know you want to see him. You just can't do that right now," Corazon replied gently. He started stroking her hair again. "Right now, you need to get better. Then you'll be able to see him. I promise."_

_"He's going to be angry with me," Neo said with a sniffle._

_"Why do you think that?" Corazon asked._

_"I disobeyed him. His ring…" Neo fingered her ringless hand. "They took it. They took it away from me. I promised him I would never take it off."_

_"You didn't take it off so you didn't disobey him. He'll understand that you didn't willingly take his ring off," Corazon said comfortingly while he continued to stroke her hair._

_"I'm scared," Neo admitted. "Something's happening to me, isn't it?"_

_"Yes, it is. You're very sick right now. And I know you're scared. But you don't have to be. I'm not going to leave your side. I'll be right here with you the entire time." The room slowly turned back into the white room it was before. "See that? You're going to be just fine, Neo."_

_"You know my name," Neo said as she drifted off to sleep._

_"I do." Corazon nodded. "I know a lot about you. I've been watching over you for a very long time."_

_"But…who," Neo said as her eyelids slid closed, "…are you?"_

_"I'm just someone who's here to watch over Law's precious love," Corazon said even though she had already fallen into a deep sleep. He chuckled lightly. "You sure have done a number on that hot headed little brat. I never would have guessed a girl like you would soften him up so much. But you are good for him. The only thing left for you two to do is for him to admit his feelings to you and for him to explain your feelings about him. It'll happen. Just you wait. It won't be long now before he tells you everything. For now, you just rest easy. I'll protect you until you are ready to return to his side."_

…

_Neo bolted up with a gasp. Placing her hand on her face, she panted. "Law…"_

_"Did you have a bad dream?" Corazon questioned._

_"Yeah." Neo nodded. She flinched slightly when he put his on her head and pulled her to his side. She started to reach for his shirt, but stopped. He wasn't Law. Her hand dropped to her lap._

_"This is how he does it, right?" Corazon asked, questioning the way he was holding her._

_"Yeah." Neo nodded again. The two sat in quiet comfort for several minutes. Or she thought it was several minutes. In this strange place with no way to tell the time, she didn't have a clue as to how much time had actually passed since she first woke up in here._

_"You seem to be feeling better," Corazon then said._

_"I guess so." She paused to think about how her body felt. It still felt heavy. Her forehead was still hot. But she did feel better than she did when she first woke up. She tilted her eyes to his. "Does that mean I can go see Law? And the crew? I miss them."_

_"I believe it might. I think that thing is here to help." Corazon nodded towards Neo's body. She followed his gaze. The yellow multi-pointed crystal was hovering near her and radiating its glow over her body. She shifted, but didn't say anything about the crystal. "They're missing you too. But I'm sure you already know that."_

_She nodded and pulled her eyes back to him, she carefully scanned her eyes over his features. She tilted her head and asked again, "Who are you?"_

_"Why do you want to know?" Corazon asked._

_"Because…you're someone important. You're very important to Law," Neo said. Her eyes still glided over his features. She was sure she knew who he was. He was someone she could trust. He was someone Law trusted._

_"You're the one who's important to Law," Corazon said._

_"You saved him, didn't you?" Neo asked. Corazon just smiled. She parted her lips to speak again, but stopped when multiple scents filtered into her nose and a distant beeping entered into her ears. She turned her eyes from the man. The whiteness surrounding her was starting to blur and fade away from her eyes. "I smell flowers. And I hear something beeping. What's happening?"_

_"You're waking up," Corazon answered._

_"What?" Neo jerked her eyes back to him. "Come with me!"_

_"I can't do that." Corazon smiled sadly. "I would like to, but I can't."_

_"But he will want to see you. You're him, aren't you? You're the one who gave Law his life. You're Corazon. The Cora that gave him his heart back." Neo reached up and took his face in her hands. "Please, come with me. I want you to come."_

_"Don't worry, Neo. My job in protecting you is over. You're in Law's hands now." Corazon took a hold of her wrists. He smiled while he began to fade away from her eyes. "Be patient with him. He's going to tell you how he feels soon. He'll also explain your feelings for him to you. All you have to do is ask him."_

_"No! Don't go! I don't want you to go!" Neo insisted. "You're really that Corazon, aren't you?"_

_"That's right." Corazon nodded with a light chuckle. "I am the Corazon who gave Law his life. Or I use to be."_

_"But I don-" Neo was silenced by Corazon placed his finger over her lips._

_"Tell the brat I said, 'Hi'. And if he has trouble believing that you met me, tell him that he stabbed me in the back when he was just a kid," Corazon said._

_"He stabbed you?" Neo asked when his finger faded away from her lips._

_"Yes." Corazon nodded again. His body faded even more from her sight. "He probably didn't tell you that because you weren't ready to hear it. But it's okay. He'll tell you everything about himself soon enough. All his secrets will be your secrets. Take very good care of our boy, Neo. See you around."_

_"Corazon! Wait!" Neo reached out to grab him again, but he was gone. The whiteness around her faded away just like he did. Soon everything was black._

…

Neo opened her eyes to the sounds of a beep beeping in sync with her heart and a green ceiling above her. Her nose twitched in annoyance at the many fragrance of flowers floating about the air. They made her stomach churn. Trying to ignore the smells, she stared up at the unfamiliar crystal green ceiling and tried to figure out where she was. The sub walls were a grayish blue not green. She laid her eyelids over her blue orbs.

Breathing slowly, she let her eyes linger closed for a few seconds before opening them up again. Her entire body jerked when she saw an older woman with green and grey streaked hair and glasses looking down at her. The woman smiled and said, "Welcome back, Princess. Looks like your fever has come down enough for your solar crystal to help heal you. How are you feeling?"

"No! Stay away from me!" Neo screamed. Her body turned ice cold. The beating in the room sped up rapidly as she bolted up and flung herself away from the Elemental. She unknowingly fell off the bed she was on and into what should have been a familiar touch. Half hanging off the bed, she struggled against the familiar hands holding her under her arms. "Get away from me! I don't want to fight anymore! I want to go home! I want my family! I want Law!"

"Neo, I'm right here," Law said. He struggled to keep her from hitting the floor as he worked to get her back on the bed and claim her hysteria. It still surprised him how someone with such a petite body could be so strong. "Calm down, Neo. It's okay."

"No! I want Law!" Neo screamed hysterically. "I want Law! I want Law!"

"I'm here. I've got you now," Law said, finally getting her back on the bed. He sat down as she continued to struggle against him and tried to get a better hold on her, physically and mentally. But it was very clear to him that she was far too hysterical to listen so he pulled out his captain tone to regain control over her. "Neo, I  _order_  you to settle down."

Her body jerked to a pause. Panting hard, her glazed eyes locked on to his.

Law could tell she wasn't quite fully awake and was confused. "It's okay, Neo. I'm right here. I'm here now."

Slowly, her electric blue eyes came back into focus. She reached up with a trembling hand and touched her fingertips to his cheek. "Law…you're here."

"Yes." Law nodded. He placed his hand over hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm here."

She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his neck. She brought her hands up to his shirt. She clenched a hold of the fabric with her right hand and tried to do the same with her left. "Law, I was so scared."

"I know you were. I'm so sorry you went through that, but its over now. And it's not going to happen again." Law wrapped his arms around her. He rubbed his hand soothingly over her back. "I've got you now. I'm right here, okay? You're safe."

She nodded against him while continuing to try and clench a hold of his shirt with her left hand. When she realized she couldn't, she pulled back from him. The beeping of the monitor sped up again when she noticed the unfamiliar glowing thing on her hand. "No! Get it off!"

Neo grabbed for the device. Before she could rip it off, Law grabbed her hand. He said, "Don't do that, Neo. It's okay. It's  _not_  hurting you."

"What?" Neo turned her eyes back to his.

"It's a device that's helping to fight the poison that's in your system, Princess. You also have one on your chest."

Neo turned her eyes to the unfamiliar voice that spoke. She jerked when the Elemental took a few steps closer to her and Law. "No! Stay away!" she cried as she pushed herself farther into Law's chest. "Captain! Keep her away!"

"Princess, there's no ne-" Healer Zinnia started.

"Get back!" Law hissed at the woman. He sent her the harshest glare he possible could manage. The woman flinched and took a few steps back. "You're scaring her!"

Once he got his point across to the Elemental, Law turned his attention back to Neo. He tightened his hold on her to try and stop her violent trembling. He rubbed her back while speaking softly to her. He said, "Shh…it's okay, Neo. They're not going to hurt you anymore. That woman is what these people call a healer. She's actually been helping you. Do you remember that thorn that hit your hand?"

Neo nodded.

Law slowly pulled away from her. He gently took a hold of her left arm, just below her elbow. She followed his lead and looked down at her hand. Her heart rate started to speed up again when she saw the discoloration. He pulled her back into his arms. "It's okay, Neo. These devices on your skin are just delivering the antidote to get rid of the poison. It's not hurting you at all. Do you understand?"

She nodded again. She then stuttered, "T-they t-took your ring and hat. I-I broke my p-promise. I-I didn't mean to disobey you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"No, Neo." Law shook his head. He gave her a light squeeze. "You didn't break your promise or disobey me. I know they took it and my hat from you. It wasn't your fault. I got them back."

Neo pulled from his chest. She noticed his hat on his head before looking into his eyes. She pleaded to him with her eyes and words. "C-could I have it back? Please?"

"When the swelling in your hand goes down," Law said regrettably. Her eyes dropped to her left hand. He gently brushed his fingertips over the back of her fingers like he was showing her the swelling. His chest tightened when it was clear she didn't like his response. Tears leaked from the corner of her eyes. He cupped her cheeks with both of his hands. Brushing away her tears with his thumbs, he said, "Please don't cry. I promise I will return my ring to your finger as soon as the swelling goes down. It'll only hurt you if I put it on now. Do you understand? I don't want you in more pain than you already are."

Upon mentioning the comment about the ring, Law could feel the healer glaring at him. He choose to ignore her.

The healer scoffed when she realized she was purposefully being ignored. She grumbled to herself while walking back over to her desk and chair. She said, "That better be just a  _friendship_  ring."

"I understand." Neo nodded lightly. She carefully glanced around the room again. She noticed her solar crystal hovering near her body and all of the gifts, but didn't completely register them in her mind. Her eyes then landed on the Elemental in the room. She flinched and tucked herself back into Law's chest. Then she realized something else was missing. She looked back up at him then searched the room again with her eyes. "The crew! Captain, they were fighting! They-"

"Are safe," Law said, cutting her panic off. "You purified the darkness crystal when you saw them fighting. The Elementals are no longer a threat to you."

"What?" Neo lightly shook her head. "I don't understand."

"I know you don't. And I promise I'll explain everything to you soon." Law cupped her cheek again. "Right now, you need to lay down and get some more rest. Your fever has gone down, but its still in the hundreds."

"I…I want to see them," Neo said. She tried to crawl off the bed, but Law wouldn't let her. He tightened his hold on her, keeping her in place.

"No, Neo. You need to stay in bed." When she brought her tear filled eyes up to him he flinched at the sad look she gave him. "You'll see them soon. I promise. Lay down now."

He gently guided her back down to her pillow. She clenched her hold on his shirt tighter. "No! I don't want to leave you again!"

"You're not. You're just going to go back to sleep." Law brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek. "I promise I'll be right here when you wake up."

"You'll stay with me?" Neo asked in a pleading voice.

"Of course I will." Law nodded.

Neo relaxed against her pillow. She swallowed, noticing her mouth and throat was very dry. "Captain, I'm thirsty. Could I have some water?"

"Of course." Law nodded. He reached for the glass that Penguin brought to him earlier. With the glass in one hand, he gently lifted Neo's head with his other. He allowed her a couple of sips before taking it back. "That'll do for now. I don't want you to get sick."

"Will you lay with me?" Neo asked while he returned the cup to the tray and her head to the pillow. Her eyes pleaded with him as her voice did. "Please, Captain? I want you near me."

"Princess, it's not proper for a man to-"

"Of course I will," Law said, cutting off and ignoring the healer. He then pushed his boots off with his feet and laid down beside her, making sure to stay on her right side. He heard the healer huffed in agitation, but didn't say anymore on the subject.

Neo rolled onto her side. She snuggled the best she could into his chest without bumping the strange glowing device on her hand.

Still feeling how weak she was, Law put his arm around her and tucked her gently into him. He knew she really needed to be near him right now. He placed a kiss into her hair. Let his nose linger in her blue tresses, he let himself be intoxicated by her scent.

She whispered, "Law?"

"Mhm?"

"I saw him."

"Who?" Law asked, not pulling away from her.

"Corazon."

Law couldn't help but pull back from her then. He kneaded his eyebrows in confusion.

Neo turned her sleep filled eyes up to him. As she spoke, she drifted off to sleep. "He was with me. He said that you would know it was him when I told you that he said you stabbed him in the back when you were only a kid. He told me to tell you he said, 'Hi'. He also said that you loved me, that your love for me is different from the crew's. He said that you would tell me how it's different and about my feelings for you. I just have to ask."

Law didn't get a chance to respond to her. Her eyelids closed. She snuggled into his chest and was finally back asleep. He was left awake and confused. He never did tell her that he had stabbed Corazon before. And he knew that she would never lie or make up something like that. No way it could just be a coincident and she dreamed it either. He wondered if it was really possible that Corazon was somehow with her during this whole ordeal. He wondered if the man he loved was really looking out for Neo. And for how long the man had been doing that. After all it was because of Corazon that he brought Neo to the sub.


	45. Walls

Walls

Neo shifted on the bed when she started to wake up. She rolled over onto her back before opening her eyes to the soft sounds of beeping and fragrance of the still present flowers. She blinked at the green ceiling before lowering her eyes to Law when she was awake enough to sense him beside her. When she locked eyes with him they both shared a smile. "Hey."

"Hey, yourself, little girl," Law said. He reached up and placed his hand on her forehead before moving it down to her cheek. "Looks like your fever is finally gone. How are you feeling?"

"Tired," she replied softly, leaning into his hand. He brushed his thumb over her skin in response to her move. "My body still hurts little, but I feel a bit better than I did."

"That's good. Your get better faster since your solar crystal is helping your recovery." Law nodded. She pulled her eyes from him and looked at the crystal hovering beside her left arm, its glow steadily radiating over her body. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I think so. I was in a fight. And this thing…" Neo raised her left hand. Her eyes locked onto the discoloration on the back of her hand. It made her stomach churn. She could only look at the strange color and device for a few seconds before lowering her hand back down. "You said this thing and the one on my chest is helping me. You're here. The crew's here too. And my solar crystal is this one hovering beside me, right?"

"That's correct." Law nodded. His eyes flittered to the crystal then back to her. He pulled his hand away from her face as they fell into silence.

Neo's eyes roamed over his features. She was studying him. With a low sigh, she slowly sat up.

"Hey, easy now, you're still recovering." He grabbed her shoulders to steady her when she swayed.

With a few pants, she lifted her right hand up and touched her fingertips to the corner of his eye. Her eyebrows turned up with concern. "Law, how long?"

Law flinched. He could tell instantly she knew he wasn't sleeping with her in the condition she was in. He placed his hand over hers and gave it a gently squeeze. Sighing, he said, "Two weeks."

"Law, I don't like it when y-"

"Well, look who's finally gracing the land of the living with her presence."

Neo flinched at the unfamiliar, unexpected voice and dove into Law's chest.

Law wrapped his arms around her and shot a glare at the young healer over his shoulder.

Selene just smiled at the man unaware of what trouble her presence caused. She closed the door and walked closer to the bed. "I'm so glad you are feeling better, Princess. Madam Healer Zinnia should be here soon. In the mean time, let me take a look at you. I need to check on the progress of the antidote."

"No!" Neo shrieked. "Keep her away!"

"It's okay, Neo. I wouldn't let her near you," Law whispered to the frighten girl. He then glared again at Selene. "Back off, will ya? She just woke up. She doesn't need  _you_  getting so close to her right now."

"Oh, you're so sweet and protective of her. She's like a little sister to you, huh?" Selene pressed her fingers to her lips and giggled.

Law's glare dropped off his face. He just stared at her in disbelief. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"I suppose it'll be fine to let her-"

"Hey, Captain, I brought y-" Selene was cut off when the door open and Penguin stepped in. His own voice broke off when he saw Neo was sitting up and in Law's arms.

Neo peeked over Law's shoulder. Her eyes smiled when she saw him. "Penguin."

Dropping the tray, Penguin called for his two crewmates who were standing guard by the door before running to Neo. "Hey! Archer! Conner! She's awake! Neo's awake again!"

"She is?!" the pirates said from the hall. The two crewmates then entered into the room. Somehow their feet missed the tray Penguin dropped as they rushed by it.

Selene frowned at the pirates' brash entrance and the abandon tray on the floor. She walked back over to the door. She leaned out and signaled for someone to come over to her. A water Elemental walked over to her. Selene said, "Get someone to clean this mess up. Then have one of the maids bring the princess and Mister Trafalgar some lunch. And be sure it's a light meal for the princess. Madam Healer Zinnia won't want her eating a lot to start with. So make it some broth and bread. Also, inform Madam that the princess is awake and the pirates are all in here."

"Yes, ma'am." The water Elemental nodded then took off to fulfill her orders.

"Penguin! Archer! Conner!" Neo called back tiredly, but happily.

"Neo! You're finally awake again!" Penguin shouted. Once close enough, he threw his arms around her and his captain since Law was still holding her.

Neo returned the embrace the best she could with how tired she was and with the devices still attached to her skin.

Law frowned at having her taken away from him, but reluctantly let his subordinate hug her.

"I was so happy when the captain said you woke up yesterday, but now you're  _really_  awake!" Penguin said.

"We're happy too!" Archer said as he and Conner joined in on the hug.

"Don't ever scare us like that again!" Conner said.

"I'm sorry," Neo said.

"Careful, guys," Law ordered. "She's still healing and tired."

"Right, right," Penguin said as they pulled back from their hug. He kissed then cupped her cheek. His hidden eyes darting all over her face like he was refreshing his memory of how she looked.

"It's good to see you, kid," Conner said. He reached out and ruffled her hair.

"You had us so worried," Archer said. He took his turn in ruffling up her hair when Conner was done.

"I'm sorry I worried you all." Neo's eyebrows turned up. She looked around the room before looking back at them. "Where's the rest of the crew? They are here, right?"

"They're just outside the ward. They've remained close to you the entire time," Penguin replied. "Would you like to see them now?"

"Yes!" Neo nodded. She then looked at Law. "May I, Captain? Please? I feel better. And I really want to see them."

"Princess, it's against the ward's customs to let so many p-" Selene started.

"Of course you can." Law nodded. He then nodded at one of his subordinates.

Archer nodded back before walking over to the window. The Heart Pirate flipped the lock on the window then pushed it open. Leaning out, he shouted, "Hey, guys! She's awake! And she wants to see us all!"

Neo smiled again when she heard the crew cheer. Seconds later, a thundering wave of their boots pounding just outside the room was heard. The crew then busted into the room with Shachi and Bepo in the lead. Bepo, who had flowers stuck in his boiler suit and fur, jumped into the air and cried out, "Neo! You're awake!"

"Bepo! Shachi! Jean Bart! Everyone!" Neo cried happily. The crew gathered around her and Law. They took turned hugging, kissing, and ruffling her hair. They all started talking at once to the point she couldn't tell who was saying what.

"It is so good to see you feeling better!"

"We were so worried about you!"

"We're living in an actual castle! Has the captain told you about that yet?"

"And they actually have the Red Haired Pirates jolly roger flying on the castle! They finally put it back up a few days ago!"

"Is it going to be much longer before she can leave the ward?"

"Is the poison almost gone?"

"Is that your solar crystal?"

"All right, everyone," Law called to them. They obediently turned to their captain. "Settled down now. She's getting better, but that doesn't mean she needs to be bombarded with a lot of talk and questions. Her body is still weak."

"Aye aye, Captain! We'll settle down for Neo!" the crew cheered just as loudly as ever.

Law sighed. He knew he should have known better than to try and stop his crew from being so loud and happy about Neo's health returning. It wasn't possible.

"It's all right. I'm just happy to see you all again," Neo said tiredly. She leaned into Law's chest with a sigh. Her eyes locked onto Bepo's fur, small flowers of all colors were stuck in it. "I'm glad you all are unharmed and safe. But, uh, Bepo? Why do you have flowers all over you?"

"I'm sorry." Bepo dropped his head. His shoulders became shrouded in a grey aura.

"What are you apologizing for?!" Shachi and Penguin shouted. "She just asked you a simple question!"

"I'm sorry," Bepo said again.

"Stop doing that!" Shachi and Penguin shrieked.

Neo snuggled into Law's chest with a chiming giggled on her lips.

Law smiled. He chest grew warm at hearing the sound of her sweet bell filled laugh. He really missed it.

"The Elementals apparently never seen a mink before," Conner answered for the bear. "The kids, especially, really love Bepo. They can't stop gushing over him. Some have asked him to come to their homes for a sleep over. A couple even want him to stay on Luminous."

"No!" Neo slightly pouted, tears appeared in the corner of her eyes. Her heart raced, causing the beeping to become loud again. She turned her pout up to Law making him blush. "Bepo's my mink. They can't have him."

"Wait to go, Mister Sensitivity," Archer said.

"Oops. Sorry, Neo," Conner said with a nervous chuckle. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I shouldn't have told you that. I should have known it would upset you."

"Don't worry, Neo," Law said with a tender stroke of her hair. "They're not keeping Bepo. He'll leave with us when we finally leave this place."

"That's right." Bepo nodded. His white furry cheeks turned pink. He pointed to himself then said, "I'm your mink. I stay with you."

"Yeah, I'm glad. How are you all doing?" Neo looked over her crew again. She carefully ran her eyes over each and every one of them, counting them like she always did after a fight. She scanned their bodies for bruises, cuts, and anything else that shouldn't have been on them. They looked just fine and healthy as ever to her. "They're not hurting you all or anything, are they? You…we are safe here, right? Are you eating? And sleeping?"

"Yes, Neo," Penguin said with a light chuckle. He pecked her cheek again. "They're not hurting us at all. And our sleeping and eating habits will get a lot better now that you're awake. As stated before, we've actually been staying in the castle. They have plenty of rooms and food to accommodate us there."

"Castle?" Neo tilted her head. She then looked to Law. "What's a castle? It sounds familiar."

"It's just a very large building," Law answered. "Typically, it's where royalty live. They're mentioned in some of your books. I guess this is the first time you've actually seen one."

"Royalty?" Neo asked.

"Kings, queens, princes….princesses," Law said. Both he and the crew stiffened up when he said the word 'princesses'. They carefully watched Neo's reaction. For several seconds all she did was stare at Law. Her brain turned with this new information for about a minute.

"Princess," Neo said softly. Her eyebrows kneaded as her eyes pulled over to the door.

The crew's own eyes followed her gaze. Selene was still standing there, silently watching them interacting with Neo. The woman had her arms crossed over her chest and was leaning against the wall.

Neo flinched when she saw the Elemental was still there and watching her. She leaned back into Law for comfort. Her voice lowered now that she was more conscious of a stranger being present in the room. "They called me that before. That woman over there, the other one I saw when I woke up before and when they were chasing me. Why? What does it mean, Captain?"

Law didn't answer her right away. He just tightened his arms around her and glanced over at his crew. They all were concerned about how Neo was going to handle the complete truth about her heritage. He rubbed his hand over her back. With a deep breath, he told her everything about what happened just like he promised.

Neo lightly shook her head when Law was finished talking. Her eyes ran over all of the gifts in the room before she returned them to him. "I'm not sure I understand."

"I know it's hard for you to understand, but that's okay. You can take all the time you need to adjust and understand this. It's quite a lot to take in, especially with the way  _they_  treated you." Law shot a glare over to the Elemental in the room.

Selene was in a daze while she stared back at Law. The crew's shoulders slumped in disbelief. It was becoming very apparent that the woman didn't understand what a glare meant.

"There's something wrong with her," Conner whispered.

"Totally." Archer nodded in agreement. "How can she possibly be so blind to how Neo and the captain feel about each other?"

"I'm more worried about how Neo's going to react when she finally notices how Selene looks at the captain and how she tries to flirt with him," Shachi said.

"Why? The captain will put an end to it the second it upsets Neo," Conner said.

"I know that," Shachi replied with a nod. "The real problem is Neo's never really seen other women around the captain before. When it has happened, she's always been distracted by something else or was to naive to understand what the woman's actions meant. Now she's more aware that she has a different type of feelings for the captain then she does us. She's going to get jealous. And she's never dealt with that emotion before."

"She's never been angry before either," Penguin pointed out when he slipped over to them to join their hushed conversation. "The captain will explain those emotions to her when she asks about them. She'll be all right. The captain will protect her like always. But I am a bit concerned about the captain."

"How so?" Bepo questioned.

"Haven't you noticed?" Penguin looked at his crewmates. He sighed when they gave him a clueless look. "You idiots. You all know how protective the captain is towards Neo, especially when she's been hurt or is confused or scared. The captain is all ready putting up walls around her."

The crew pulled their eyes from Penguin. At the same time, they all looked over at Neo and Law. Their captain was just pulling his harsh glare from Selene. It faded away completely when his eyes returned to Neo. He started talking to her again. They knew it was about the information that he just gave her. He was talking her through it. They also knew that Penguin was right. They easily recognized that invisible wall their captain always put up around Neo in times like this. They looked back at Penguin.

"Whether we like it or not, the Elementals are apart of Neo's life now. This is where she's from." Penguin sighed. "And since we're here…"

"We need to let her learn about this place," Shachi finished.

"Right." Penguin nodded. "They obviously have a very strict culture and customs here. We're pirates. We're use to being free and doing what we want. But we are not going to be able to do that here. We're going to have to give in a little and let Neo learn about this place  _without_  us, especially the captain, putting up barriers between her and her heritage."

"She has questioned where she's from," Bepo recalled.

"Yeah, she has questioned it before. I remember that," Archer said. "I have to admit, if I didn't know anything about myself or where I come from then one day found out where I did come from, I'd want to learn as much about my heritage as I could. Neo must have a huge black hole inside of her from not knowing who she really is. This could fill that up."

"Exactly." Penguin nodded. "It could also help her confidence too."

"The captain's going to have the hardest time doing this though. He might need some intervention," Shachi said. Once again all of their Heart Pirates eyes zoomed in on Penguin.

"Ack! Why are you all looking at me like that?!" Penguin demanded.

"You're the one who volunteered to intervene," they all said while pointing at the black and white hatted man.

"I didn't not!" Penguin snapped.

"Face it, Pen O' Buddy," Shachi said while placing his arm around Penguin's shoulders. "When it comes to the captain and Neo, you are the  _only one_  who can push the boundaries the captain had set up for her. You're the only one who's going to get the captain to see that he needs to stop being so overprotective of her, at least for a while."

"You all just want him to kill me," Penguin said accusingly.

"Of course not!" Shachi said with a fake offensive tone in his voice. "Neo loves you. The captain won't kill you just because of that."

"You are the only one for the job," Bepo said.

"Thanks a lot!" Penguin frowned.

"I'm sorry." Bepo bowed his head and became shrouded in a depressive aura once again.

"Stop going that!" Penguin demanded. He then sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll talk to the captain about this, but not right now. Let's just see how things play out first. Maybe the Elementals will be more open to Neo and the captain's relationship when they learn the two are bonded."

"Speaking of which," Jean Bart said. "Why hasn't Kailen told them about the bond yet?"

"I've been meaning to ask him about that," Shachi said. "But he hasn't been around much lately. Which is very odd. I mean I know he's trying to smooth things out with the Elementals and us. But you'd think he'd come see his sister now that she's getting better. They did inform him of her waking up yesterday. She's going to want to meet him soon."

"Well, considering how the Elementals are acting right now regarding Neo and the captain, it's probably best that they don't know about it," Bepo said. "It might cause more problems."

"Cause problems how?" Conner asked. "You don't think they have a way to break their bond, do you?"

A panicked and intense pause fell over the group. None of them ever thought of that before. It could make things worse. Penguin hummed while crossing his arms over his chest. He then said, "I don't think they have a way of doing that."

"What makes you so sure?" Shachi asked.

"Because they are Elementals, creatures who can control the elements. None of the elements can break a bond like they have. If the Elementals had other abilities, Kailen would have warned us about it  _before_  we arrived on Luminous. And he's already made it clear that he supports Neo and the captain. He  _wants_ Neo to be happy," Penguin pointed out. "I'm pretty sure he remained quiet about the bond for another reason. We all should keep quiet about it too. At least until we speak with Kailen again and get his reason for this. We've all been on edge with Neo being sick. Now that she's better things will surely settle down and it'll all work out."

"What in name of Luminous are you all doing in here?!" Healer Zinnia shrieked.

"Or maybe not," Conner mumbled. They all turned their eyes to the irate woman. With her hands on her hips, her green eyes bore holes into the men. Beside her was Topaz who was holding a tray in her hands with a larger lid than the previous ones had. The smells from the lunch tray covered the flower fragrances in the room. It held fish, mashed potatoes, green beans, ginger broth, and bread.

Healer Zinnia proceeded to walk into the room while Topaz remained respectfully by the door. The healer pointed to the pirates then to the door. "How many times do I have to say it before it sinks into your thick pirate heads? We have  _rules_  that you need to respect and follow! The princess needs to  _rest_! Visiting hours are  _over_! Time for you all to  _get ou_ t!"

"Captain, I don't want them to go." Neo pouted as she looked up at Law with puppy eyes.

With a gentle squeeze and stroke to her hair, he smiled. "Of course you don't. They don't have to go unless you want them to or I order them to. They're staying right here with you."

"Thank you, Captain." Neo smiled happily.

"And another wall goes up," Penguin mumbled in a hushed voice. He looked over at Topaz. She was still waiting by the door with a light smile on her lips while quietly observing how Law was with Neo. A smile formed on his lips as well. He was really starting to like this Elemental. He got the feeling just from the few interactions that they had with her, that she wasn't going to be pushing for Neo to stay on Luminous. And with how she was quietly observing Neo and his captain right now, he knew for sure she obviously saw the deep connection between the two.

"Ugh!" Healer Zinnia threw her arms up in the air. "Fine! Stay! But keep it down! Let me check on the antidote then I'm out of here! I've got other patients to see! I don't have time for this!"

"Good," Law grumbled. Neo whined and hid her face in Law's chest when she felt the Elemental get closer. He rubbed his hand over her back again. "It's okay, Neo. She's not going to hurt you. She just needs to check on those devices and the antidote. I'm right here, okay?"

Neo nodded through her trembling.

Law then took her left arm and gently held it out to the healer.

Neo flinched when the woman touched her hand.

Law growled deeply in his throat at the woman.

Healer Zinnia glared at him then rolled her eyes. She adjusted her glasses and looked back down at Neo's hand. The discoloration was now about two inches long and an inch wide across Neo's hand. "Well, it looks like with the help of your solar crystal, the poison is now leaving your system a lot faster than I thought it was going to."

"How much longer does Neo have to wear that thing? And how much longer does she have to stay in the ward?" Bepo asked curiously.

"Well, I'd say about three more days of the antidote would suffice. I'll take these off then. You'll still need to take it easy for a couple of weeks, but you can move into the castle for that. You'll be more comfortable in there. It's going to take a while for your strength to come back, Princess. A couple days after the tubes come off, I'll start you on minor exercises to help build up your strength again. I'll just fill these tubes back up then I want you to eat some lunch," Healer Zinnia said. She then shot a glare at the pirates over her shoulders "From now on I want the princess to remain calm and relaxed. That means no getting her excited until she's back to a hundred percent."

"Hey, you don't have to tell us twice," Archer said pointing to himself with his thumb. "We love Neo. We'll do whatever it takes to help her get back to one hundred percent."

"Yeah, right. Yet here you are still in this room and being loud," the healer grumbled. She stepped away from Neo to grab a couple needles; she filled them with the antidote then walked back over to the bed. Neo flinched again when she got close. "Don't worry, Princess. This won't hurt a bit."

Neo turned her eyes into Law's neck while the healer inserted the antidote into the tubes. She clenched her eyes shut tightly until she sensed the Elemental walk away from her. Law leaned down and whispered into her ear. "It's over now. She's gone."

Neo tilted her eyes up to his.

He smiled sweetly at her and tucked her hair behind her ear. He asked, "Think you can eat a little for me?"

"I think so," Neo answered.

"That's so sweet," Selene cooed. The crew sent her disapproving glares and frowns, which she didn't see due to the fantasies rolling around in her head. She then grabbed the tray out of Topaz's hands and walked towards Neo and Law. "I have your lunch right her-"

"I'll take that," Penguin said while snatching the tray from the woman's hands. He quickly walked it the bed and placed the tray down on the near by table.

Selene frowned at being interrupted in her quest to get closer to Law. Her frown quickly morphed into a smile. She continued to walk over to the bed. "Let me fix the table and bed for you, Princess," she said with her eyes sparkling at Law. She summoned a crystal. Its glow engulfed both the table and the bed. The table extended out so it hovered beside the bed at the same time the head of the bed began to rise.

"Captain! What's happening?!" Neo grasped a hold of Law's shirt and started trembling when the bed rose.

Law tightened his hold on her while sending a sharp glare at Selene. He hissed, "Stop doing that! You can't just do things like that without letting her about them! You're scaring her!"

"So protective." Selene giggled.

Law clenched his teeth and growled. "Stop doing that."

"There is something seriously wrong with her," Conner said as they continued to stare at the woman. "Can we go throw her in the sea and get it over with? Maybe the cold water will clear her head. Or wake her up from her dreamland."

"I'm afraid Mistress Selene has always been like that," Topaz said. The crew turned their eyes to her. She had taken a couple steps farther into the room, but was still staying a respectful distance away from Neo. "When she develops a crush on a man, she loses all sense of reality. She warps things to fit into her fantasies. The last man she had a crush on was married. She kept insisting that his wife was his sister. Right now, if I had to guess, I'd say she views the princess as a little sister to your captain or possible as his child."

"His child?!" The crew blinked rapidly and in disbelief. They bounced their eyes between the two Elementals.

"So, how did this previous guy finally get rid of her stalking?" Shachi asked.

"I'm afraid he didn't do anything. They just put up with it until she gave up on her own," Topaz replied with a sympathetic smile. She collapsed her hands in front of her.

"The captain's not going to do that," Bepo said, tossing the man a glance. "He can be a patient man, but he won't put up with such nonsense. He'll tell her off eventually."

"That's probably exactly what she needs." Topaz giggled.

"Right now, she needs to  _leave_ ," Conner said just as Selene stepped closer to Law and reached out for him. He elbowed Archer then they bolted right over to the intrusive woman. They grabbed her under her armpits. "We're sorry."

"But it's time for you to  _go_ ," Archer said. "That you for stopping by. If you get the feeling to return here, don't."

"Hey! Let me go!" Selene demanded as they pulled her over to the door.

"Sorry! The princess needs to rest! Healer Zinnia's orders! Goodbye!" the two pirates shouted as they threw her out the door then slammed it in her face. They both leaned against the door with big grins and shook each other's hands in a 'mission accomplished' way. Incoherent mumbles came from the other side of the door accompanied by pounding knocks.

"Why did they do that?" Neo asked. She blinked a couple times while looking at the two men blocking the door.

"They were just removing a pest from the room. It's nothing for you to concern yourself with. If you've calmed down enough, leaned back against the bed now," Law said. Neo looked at him then looked over her shoulder at the raised bed.

"If I may, Princess," Topaz said softly.

Neo turned her eyes to the Elemental. She leaned back into Law a bit, but kept her eyes on the woman.

Noticing Neo wasn't as uncomfortable with Topaz as she was with the other two women, the crew and Law remained silent and observed the situation before them. Neo's eyes cautiously roamed over Topaz before nodding. Topaz smiled at the given permission. "All Mistress Selene did was raise the head of the bed. This will allow you to lean against it comfortably while eating your lunch. You can put it back down in the position it was before with your crystals. All you have to do is summon a crystal and engulf its glow over the bed and want the bed to return to its original state."

"Oh," Neo mumbled softly. She looked again over her shoulder at the bed then looked back at Topaz. "Um, th-thank you."

"It was my pleasure, Princess. Now, is there anything else I can get you and your family?" Topaz asked.

"Uh, are you all hungry? Do you need anything?" Neo asked the crew.

"No, we all ready ate," Penguin answered. "We're good."

"We're fine," Neo said to Topaz. "Uh, thank you."

"Very well then, Princess. Please, do not hesitate to summon me if you need anything," Topaz said with a low curtsy. She flashed them all a friendly smiled before turning to the door. Archer and Conner opened it up for her. "Thank you."

"About time!" Selene shouted as she tried to reenter the room.

"Sorry, Mistress Selene, you have done enough for today," Topaz said as she grabbed the other woman by the back of her collar and drug her away from the room. "You have other patients that could benefit from your time and skills."

"Hey! Let me go! I still have work to do in there!" Selene's complaints faded away as she was being dragged farther down the hall like a spoil child who wasn't getting their way.

"Wow. Topaz is a lot stronger than she looked," Archer said as he and everyone else, but Law and Neo, hung out of the door to watch her pull Selene away from the room. "She's, what? Probably a few inches taller than Neo? While Selene is about as tall as the captain is."

"Who cares? Just as long as she no longer around Neo and the captain," Shachi said. The others nodded in agreement then pulled themselves back into the room and closed the door. They all scattered around the room. Some sat down on the floor, a couple remained standing while letting Penguin and Shachi take the two chairs in the room.

"Lean back now," Law ordered softly. He grabbed the pillow and put it in a better position for her before guiding her back against it.

"There she is," a whispered voice said.

"I can't believe it. She's so pretty."

"So that's what she looks like."

"Hm?" The crew and Neo turned their eyes to the hushed voices. About ten Elementals had their heads stuck into the open and forgotten window.

"Captain," Neo whimpered. She jumped back into Law's arms just as Archer leaped over to the window.

"Sorry, but peaking hours are over!" Archer shouted while pushing them back out the window. He slammed it shut, locked it then pulled the curtain closed. "I'm sorry about that, Neo. I guess I forgot to close the window."

"It's okay," Neo said with a relaxing sigh. "They just startled me."

She turned her eyes to Law. He scanned his eyes over hers before nodded. She leaned back against her pillow while he removed the lid from the tray. As the smell suggested it was fish, mash potatoes, green beans, ginger broth, and a small loaf of bread. Law glared at the bread causing Neo to giggle. He sent her a playful glare before setting the lid down. The pirate crew then settled down into small talk while Law fed Neo and himself.

While he knew the bread and broth was meant her for, he still couldn't help himself slipping her a couple bites of the fish and vegetables. He didn't give her much of them and only fed her as much of the broth as she could handle. And that was a little under half. When she couldn't eat anymore, she leaned back against the pillow with a tired sigh. "I can't eat anymore, Captain."

"That's fine. You've had enough for right now." Law nodded. "You just rest now. Would you like to put the bed back down?"

"Yeah. I'm kinda tired." Neo summoned a crystal and did as Topaz explained. The bed responded to her crystals glow. It lowered back down then stopped glowing. She drifted off to asleep to the comforting sounds of the crew's voices.

…

Neo opened her eyes. Looking up at the green ceiling she gasped slightly and sat up in bed. She looked around the room. The moonlight was peaking through the curtain. It gave her enough light for her to easily make out all of the gifts in the room. She sighed as Law sat up beside her. "Neo? Are you all right? Did you have a bad dream?"

"No, it wasn't a dream," Neo replied. He stroked her hair before cupping her cheek. "I just woke up for some reason and forgot where I was. I'm okay though."

"Let's lay back down then," Law said.

She nodded and did as he wanted her to. She laid down on her back while he laid on his left side to observe her. A small smile pulled across her lips. She turned her eyes to him and said, "Today was kind of like the first time I woke up on the sub."

"What do you mean?" Law asked.

"I was scared then too. You also fed me broth and bread for my first meal," she said.

"Hm…I suppose there are some similarities," Law said with a light hum of realization. "But I say this time was better. I didn't have to force feed you."

The two shared a low laughed before settling back down. Neo rolled onto her side. She tucked her right hand under her pillow while laying her left hand on the bed between them. "Law, can I ask you something?"

"You know you can," Law said with a smile. He reached out and lightly flicked her nose, making her cheeks tint pink. "What is it?"

"Before you arrived here on Luminous," Neo said. She bit her bottom lip before continuing. "I felt something strange in my chest."

"Yeah." Law nodded slightly. "I know. I felt it too."

"What was it? I didn't like it. It really scared me." Neo's eyebrows turned up.

"You were angry," Law said after a pause.

"Angry?" Neo kneaded her eyebrows. He knew she was confused.

"It's a very strong feeling of or showing annoyance, displeasure or hostility. You got that way because they took my ring and hat from you," Law explained. He glided his fingertips over her bangs before trailing them down her left arm. She tensed at his touch. A small smile pulled at the corner of his lips. He felt like it had been years since he was able to touch her and make her tense like that. "Those were the only things you had with you that reminded you of me and they gave you comfort. When  _they_  took them away from you, you became angry."

"So it was normal for me to feel like that?"

"It was."

"I don't want to ever feel that way again. I felt like I was losing control of my crystals again." Neo slipped her hand from underneath her pillow. She grasped onto Law's hoodie. "I really thought I was going to lose control."

"But you didn't. You don't have to feel bad anymore over that. You were able to keep your crystals under control. I know it didn't feel like it, but you did just fine. Anger can be a very powerful emotion. Sometimes it's so powerful that it destroys a person." Neo's eyes flashed with worry. Law chuckled lightly. He lifted her hand off his hoodie and placed a light kiss on her fingers. The heart monitor sped up to match both Law and Neo's fluttering hearts. The beeping slowed down as he continued to talk. "It's all right, Neo. Your anger will never destroy you. It's an emotion that you're not going to feel very often. And it's an emotion, like them all, you can control. You can learn to focus that anger when you feel it and turn it into a weapon that'll strengthen your attacks."

"I understand. But I still don't ever want to feel that way again," Neo said honestly.

"I know you don't want to, but it's an emotion that we all have. You'll feel it again at some point in the future. Just remember what I said, it will never destroy you. If it ever looks like it's going to do that, I won't let it," Law said. He tightened his hold on her hand. "I'll stop it before it can. Okay?"

"Okay." Neo smiled at him, making his heart beat rise even more.

"You ready to go back to sleep now?" Law asked, giving her hand another squeeze.

"Yes." Neo nodded. Law returned the nod. He released her hand so she could tuck it back under her pillow. He watched as she drifted off in to peaceful sleep. While watching her, his eyes drifted down to her lips. Hesitantly, he reached up and lightly brushed his fingertips over them. They were just as soft as ever under his gentle touch. And soon they would be his to kiss. He already had a plan on how he was going to kiss her. He knew it was going to be a scary experience for her at first and he wanted to be sure he could ease her into the relationship change as gently as he possible could. Now if he could only figure out how to get her away from the prying eyes of everyone else to execute his plan.


	46. Wings

Wings

Neo sighed to the beeping of her heart monitor and tapped her solar crystal. Her room was rather empty with the exception of the gifts that the Elementals kept sending her. Her crew, but for Law, was away from the ward. She noticed they were starting to spend more time away from her. She didn't mind. They always came back to her as if they could sense her wanting them near. For now they were out getting to know the people of this island.

"Feeling bored?" Law asked when she sighed again.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "When can I leave this room? I miss the sub."

"You can't leave for a few more days," Law said flipping to the next page of an Elemental medical book he managed to acquire.

With another sigh, she leaned her head against Law's shoulder. "You really finding that interesting?"  
"I am," Law said. "It's surprising how our human bodies aren't much different from Elemental bodies."

"That's a good thing?" Neo glanced up at him.

"It is." Law looked at her and smiled.

"I wish I could get into reading medical books," Neo said. "But I still don't understand all those big words."

"Don't worry about it," Law said. "You won't be bored for long."

"What do you say that?" Neo asked before a couple knocks came on the door.

"Come on in," Law said.

"How's it going?" Penguin stepped inside with a bag in hand.

"Hey, Penguin," Neo said. "I thought you were off with the others."

"I had to run a little errand for the captain." Penguin waved the bag. He walked over and placed it on the bed. "We thought you would get bored. So the captain sent me after these."

Neo leaned up as Penguin unzipped the bag. She gasped when he showed her what was inside. He had brought her several of her books. "My books!"

"This should keep you busy for a while," Penguin said. "Once you finish reading them I can take them back to the sub and get you some more."

"Thanks, Penguin! Thanks, Captain!" Neo grabbed a book. Settling back against her pillow and Law, she rested the book on her knees and started reading.

Penguin chuckled. "We should have got those the second she woke up. I don't even think she notices we're still here."

Law smiled. Penguin was right, in a way. He knew Neo would notice if he left the room. But she didn't have to worry about that since he wasn't going anywhere without her.

Neo spent the rest of the morning completely engulfed in her books to the point she didn't even notice when the crew had returned. Her eyes never left her book until she heard a knock on the door and sensed a couple Elementals. Looking up she found Law was no longer beside her. She sensed him in the bathroom. She turned her eyes to the crew. Some of them were also reading while a few were taking naps. Bepo was sprawled out on the floor, still covered in small flowers and with a soft snore emitting from his nose. Turning her eyes back to the door she wondered who would be coming in at this point. No Elemental but for the two healers came in to this room.

The two Elementals were a water and an earth. Then without an invitation to come in, the door opened. The Elementals stepped inside. One of them was as tall, if not an inch or two taller, than Law. She was the water Elemental. Her dark blue hair was pulled up high on her head in a tight bun. She was wearing a grey and black dress that went high on her neck and fell over her wrists and feet. Her hands were covered with light grey gloves and had a small brown book folded in them. Wrinkles accompanied her tight lip frown as her blue eyes peered down her pointed nose and roamed over the pirates with a slight touch of distain for the men in them.

Behind her was a shorter woman and earth Elemental. She was the same height as Neo and a lot plumper. She had her coral colored hair cut in a short bobbed style. Rounded glasses were perched upon her nose. She was dressed in a simple white button up shirt and tan pants. Her eyes kept darting nervously around the room like she didn't know where she was supposed to look. Her hands fiddled nonstop with a notebook and pencil in her hands. She had something flat and long draped over her shoulders with numbers on it that Neo didn't recognize.

"Princess Neo." Neo drew her eyes to the tall woman, who was now bowing to her. "Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Madam Prudence. I am the castellan of this castle. It is an honor to finally meet you. This is Beatrice. She has come to take your measurements so we may proceed in getting your royal attire created. Your coronation of being crowned our princess is fast approaching. We have a lot of work to do before then. If you will, please stand up and we'll get right to it."

"Penguin?" The beeping of the heart monitor increased. Neo turned her worried eyes to Penguin just as he stood up and walked over to her.

The crew tensed up and locked their eyes on the two women. Those asleep quickly woke up from their nap.

"It's okay, Neo," Penguin said. He sat down beside and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his comforting embrace.

"Please, Princess," Prudence said walking closer to the bed. "We don't have all day now."

"No! Stay away! Captain!" Neo cried. She tucked herself farther into Penguin's arms. Her heart and the monitor beeped wildly.

The rest of the crew stepped forward. They created a barrier between Neo and the two Elementals. Bepo bared his fangs with a low growl.

"This isn't necessary," Prudence said while scanning her eyes over the pirates. A small amount of concern flickered into her eyes, but quickly vanished. "All we're going to do is take her measurements, and go over some ground rules of the castle and what the princess is expected to do for the upcoming coronation. We all ready have the princess's room and Mister Trafalgar's room prepared for them to move into once the princess is released from the ward."

"Our rooms?" Neo asked softly. She turned her panicked eyes up to Penguin. "They're going to separate me and the captain?"

"Of course not," Penguin assured her. He looked down at her with a smile. "The captain won't allow that to happen. He knows you need him beside you when you sleep because of your nightmares. He'll still sleep with you."

"Do not be silly," Prudence huffed. "It is highly improper for a young woman to share a bed with a man while out of wedlock. I assure you that his room is just down the halls from yours, Princess. Now stand up, please. We have a lot of work to do in preparation for the up and coming ceremony."

"No!" Neo shout. She turned her face into Penguin's chest as much as she could in an attempt to get away from the Elementals. "I don't want to! Go away!"

"Princess, you're being unreasonable," Prudence said with a shake of her head. "This is not how a princess should act."

"She wasn't raised as a  _princess_. She was raised as a  _pirate_." They all turned their eyes to Law when he made his presence known. His intense steel colored eyes were locked onto the two women. His lips turned down in a disapproving frown of them upsetting Neo. "And she said, 'No'. She doesn't want to be fitted to any dress. And Neo and I will  _not_  be separated.  _If_  she does move into the castle then  _I will_  be going with her. And  _I will_  be sleeping in the  _same room_."

"Mister Trafalgar, it is improper for a man and woman to share a bed out of wedlock. There will be no more discussion on that subject." Prudence turned to Law. Her expression hardened. "Right now the princess needs to be measured so that the royal tailor can proceed with getting the royal clothes prepared."

"Neo has her own clothes back on the ship," Law pointed out. "And as soon as the devices are taken off of her, she'll be wearing  _those_. She doesn't need clothes that she all ready has."

"These aren't just any ordinary clothes, Mister Trafalgar." Prudence frowned. "These are clothes that a princess  _needs_. She should be dressed in regal dresses, not some everyday commoner clothes. And her hair should b-"

"No." Law said flatly. Noting Beatrice shifting uncomfortably behind the brazen woman. "You've upset her enough!  _Get out!_ "

"We are not leaving until we get her measurements! That is how it is on Luminous!" Prudence insisted. "Now, stand up, Princess. The sooner we get this done the sooner we can get on with it."

Law growled dangerously at the woman.

Neo peaked over at him. "Captain…"

"Fine. If you want her measurements…" Law stalked up to the two women. He grabbed the book and pencil Beatrice was holding, causing the woman to flinch. Jerking it open, he scribbled down Neo's measurements and height before slamming it shut and shoving it back into the shorter woman's hands. "There! Now you have them!  _So get out!_ "

"Ah!" Prudence gasped. Her face flushed upon the realization of Law knowing such intimate details. "You cad! H-how do you know of such a thing?! Have you had improper relations with her?!"

"Geez! What's wrong with you people? Just because a man knows something like that about a woman doesn't mean he's having sex with her," Law scoffed. "I'm a  _doctor_. And I have been her doctor for over a year. It's natural for me to know things like this about her. And I'll continue looking at her body as long as she's in my care."

"Oh my!" Prudence grasped, her kneels buckled under her, and she fell backwards.

"Madam Prudence!" Beatrice cried. She threw out her hands to catch the taller woman.

The pirates bit back their chuckles at how ridiculous it looked for the shorter woman trying to hold up the taller one.

Beatrice awkwardly held Prudence to her shoulder while trying to fan her with her book. She then summoned a couple of her earth crystals and tried to use some vines to hold her up. "Madam Prudence? Are you all right? Please, say something! Oh, dear."

"What is going on in here?!" Healer Zinnia demanded as she brushed through the opened door. She placed her hands on her hips and looked over the current situation. Her eyes landed on the two women in the room. Her eyebrows bent in confusion. "Prudence? What are  _you_  doing here?"

Prudence, coming to, regained her footing. Composing herself, she brushed off her dress like the episode she had caused it to get dirty. She then turned her eyes to Healer Zinnia. She said, "I was informed that the princess was awake. I took the liberty of summoning Beatrice so we could get the princess's measurements and proceed with getting her royal attire created for her princess coronation."

"Oh for the love of…" Healer Zinnia rubbed her hand over her face in exasperation. She readjusted her glasses then pointed her finger accusingly at Prudence. "You have got to be kidding me! The princess was poisoned by the  _deadliest_  plant on Luminous, to which she's still recovering from. There is no way she can even think about any coronation right now. She can't even stand on her feet yet. How in all of creation did you think she would be able to stand long enough to have her measurements taken?!"

"Healer Zinnia, I am the castle-"

"Castellan! I know! I am very well of your standing at the castle! And the responsibilities that comes with being castellan, but I have  _not_  released the princess yet! She is not well enough to handle all of the stress that's going to come with being a royal here!" Healer Zinnia said with forced control. Prudence opened her mouth again to protest, but the healer didn't give her a chance. "I know all about the traditions here! But she does not! Throwing this on her at this point and time is highly unwise! It will only stress her out! And that is something I am trying to avoid! I will not allow this to go on any longer! I insist that you two leave immediately before I call the guards!"

Prudence huffed at the harsh treatment from the healer. Beatrice tapped the taller woman on the elbow. Timidly, she said, "It's all right, Madam Prudence. Mister Trafalgar gave me what I came for. We can go now."

Prudence scoffed. She closed her eyes tightly. When she reopened them, she looked over at Neo. She said, "Very well then. I shall hold off on my duties until you are feeling better, Princess. Until that time, I bit you a good day."

Prudence then spun on her heels and left the room without another glance at anyone. Beatrice gave Neo a hesitant curtsy before rushing after the other woman.

Neo lifted up from Penguin once she felt the two women far enough down the hall. Just as her eyes locked onto Law's a sharp pain shot through her back. She collapsed forward. "Ah!"

"Neo!" Penguin shouted.

Law winced at the pain in his own back while rushing over to her. He sat down beside her. Penguin relinquished his hold on Neo so his captain could take care of her. Law quietly called to her. "Neo?"

"I'm okay," Neo said through soft pants. Her solar crystal's glow became brighter.

Law rolled his shoulders. The pain was going away faster than before thanks to the solar crystal's help. But he still didn't like that she had to have this back pain at all. His eyes drifted over to the healer. He looked up to find the healer was carefully inspecting Neo from the door. When she met his eyes, she nodded.

"Well, I really didn't want the princess to leave the room this quick, but she needs to visit the wing crystal," Healer Zinnia said. "It's the only way her back will stop hurting."

"Captain, I don't want to," Neo said. She turned her watery eyes to him.

"Neo, you have to. I don't want you in pain over something that can easily be fixed." Law brushed his thumb over her cheek. "Do you understand?"

"Yes." Neo nodded. She leaned into Law's embrace.

"When are we going?" Law asked the healer when he turned his eyes back to her.

"Well, I'd really like the princess to take a nap before we go after that little episode with Prudence." Healer Zinnia glared at the door before turning back to the pirates. "We'll go in two hours."

Law nodded in acceptance to the woman's words.

Healer Zinnia nodded back before leaving the room to prepare for the departure.

Law turned his attention to his crew and said, "All right, you all can stay if you want, but I want you to keep it down while Neo takes a nap."

"Aye aye, Captain," they chorused.

"We should probably just go," Conner suggested. "Our crew is not known for being quiet."

"I'm getting a bit stiff sitting around here. I think I'm going to go for a walk," Archer said. He stood up from the floor and stretched out his back, his spine cracking a few times. Then he walked over to Neo to peck her cheek. "We'll see you later. Get some rest now."

"Okay," Neo said with a reluctant sigh and pout. The rest of the crew bid her a good nap and promised to see her later before they exited the room.

"They're not going far," Law said with a light chuckle.

"I know." Neo placed her book on the table. "But I still don't want them to go."

"I know. How about I take a nap with you?" Law offered.

"Really?" Neo turned back to face him. Her eyes shimmered with excitement that he was going to nap with her.

He nodded with a smile. He kicked off his shoes while she lowered the bed back down with a crystal. "You're going to lay with me."

"Okay."

Law then laid down on the pillow. He held up his left arm for Neo to come to him.

She followed his silent order and tucked herself into his side. She placed her immobile left hand on his chest. She said, "I'm not going to able to sleep, you know?"

"Oh, yes you will," Law said with confidence. She tilted her eyes up to him. Her eyebrows kneaded in a playful question of what he was talking about. "I'm ordering you to take a nap. And I'm going to rub your back. That'll help get you to sleep. It has before."

"I suppose so." Neo smiled. She tilted her chin back down and snuggled into the familiarity of his chest. Law slipped his right hand to her back. She tensed at his touch, but relaxed after a few rubs. He smiled when he felt her body relaxing almost immediately after he started working her back. "Law?"

"Hm?"

"I'm very glad you're here with me," Neo said sleepily and with a small yawn.

"I'm glad I'm here too," Law whispered back to her. He placed a light kiss into her hair just as she drifted off. He pulled his hat down over his eyes before closing them and drifting off to sleep with her.

…

"So, how exactly are you going to get Neo out of here?" Penguin asked.

Neo looked over at her brother. He was peaking through the curtain in her wardroom. Someone had leaked out that she was being brought out of the ward to go visit the wing crystal. He, Shachi, and Bepo had returning to the ward to see if they could go with them. They had a difficult time wading through all the Elemental to get back into the ward. A small army of guards had to be placed at the front entrance to keep the Elementals from entering the building. But it didn't stop them from swarming to get a good look at their princess.

"It looks like the entire population of Luminous is out there," Shachi said peaking through the other side of the curtain.

"Is this going to cause serious problems?" Bepo asked. He was watching Penguin and Shachi then turned his eyes to Neo.

She was sitting on the bed, hugging her knees to her chest. Law was standing beside her with his sword tied to his back. If Neo was leaving the ward, there was no way he was leaving it behind. He had his left arm crossed over his chest and his right arm bend up with his thumb and index finger cupping his chin in thought.

"It'll be fine," Healer Zinnia said. They all looked at her when she entered the room. She walked to the foot of the bed and regarded Neo.

Neo flittered her eyes to the woman before returning her blue orbs to the bed.

Law carefully watched Neo. Since she didn't flinch at the presence of the woman, he knew she was starting to feel more comfortable around her, at least, as long as the healer stayed at a distance. He knew she still had issues with strangers getting close and touching her.

"We're going to go out the back way. So far no one is back there. Well, no one's back there  _yet_. I've had some guards slip around to the back of the ward. When we're ready to leave, those guards at the front and the back are going to cause a distraction so we can slip away relatively unnoticed." Healer Zinnia paused. She took in the three pirates near the window. "Let me guess…you're wanting to come along, too?"

The three turned their sheepish expressions at the woman.

Healer Zinnia sighed. "Fine. You all can come along as well."

"You're not going to fight us on this?" Shachi asked, despite jumping for joy on the inside.

"No." Healer Zinnia shook her head. "I no longer care. Just as long as the princess is getting the rest she needs. Let's get going now. The two wind Elementals I summoned are waiting for us outback. They're two of the strongest wind Elementals on the island. So if the masses decide to follow us they'll easily be able to keep them at a distance with their winds. Hopefully that won't be necessary."

"Right." The three subordinates nodded.

"You ready?" Law asked Neo. He reached out and stroked her hair.

Neo turned her eyes to him. It was easy for them all to see that she wasn't. She nodded anyway. He stepped closer to the bed. Knowing that this trip was going to be a nervous one for her, he purposefully picked her up with her left arm pressing against his chest. This way she could grasp on to his hoodie with her right hand. She rested her head on his shoulder as he whispered softly to her. "It's going to be just fine. I'm right here with you. Penguin, Shachi and Bepo are here too."

She nodded in understanding.

Law then turned to head for the door. He paused when he noticed Healer Zinnia carefully taking him and Neo in. The woman turned away before Law could figure out what exactly she was looking for. Healer Zinnia then said, "Let's go. I don't want the princess out of bed any longer than she has to be."

Without another word, the pirates followed after her. They were surprised, even though they shouldn't have been, when they stepped out into the hall. Elementals were sticking their heads out of their own wardrooms in hopes of getting a glance at their princess. They talked and whispered as they passed the rooms. "That's her."

"She's the princess."

"She's beautiful."

"Eek! I don't believe I'm actually seeing her! She saved us from the darkness!"

Neo whimpered softly. She grabbed a hold of Law's hoodie. Closing her eyes, she turned her face into his shoulder in an attempt to get away from the prying eyes.

Law shot his subordinates a silent order. They nodded in understanding before forming a circle around Neo and Law, blocking them as much as they could with their bodies.

Healer Zinnia led them to the main entrance then turned towards another hall. The pirates took a quick glimpse at the front doors. Several guards were outside trying to keep back the crowd from entering the building. They pulled their eyes from the crowd and back to the hall. Seconds later, they arrived at the back doors of the ward. The healer signaled for them to wait. She cracked opened the door and peered out. "How's everything?"

"A few Elementals are attempting to hide in the forest." The pirates heard someone say. "Otherwise, it's safe for the princess to come out now. Better get going before more decide to come to this side of the ward."

"All right," Healer Zinnia said. She turned back and looked to someone down the hall. She nodded at the person. The pirates looked to see an Elemental they weren't familiar with. She had shoulder length orange hair. She nodded back then nodded to someone else over her own shoulder. "Let's go!"

Shachi, Bepo, and Penguin startled when the healer shouted at them. They shouted back, "Right!"

The group then bolted outside. Just as their feet hit the grass, they were engulfed in strong winds. A second later, they were in the air, moving away from the ward. They looked around to see two male wind Elementals were flying them and, down below, fire was spinning around the ward. Shachi asked, "What are they doing?"

"Creating a distraction," Healer Zinnia replied.

"How exactly is this going to keep them from following us?" Penguin asked. His eyes still locked on the ground below them. As they passed over the castle, he noticed a hedge maze behind it. In the middle of it was a fountain. Castle workers were bustling about the maze and fountain. He assumed they were trimming the hedges. He wasn't sure since they were so high up, but he thought he saw crystals shimmering beside them.

Healer Zinnia smirked. "Oh, don't worry about that. I might have fed out some new information on where the princess is going."

"Where did you say she was going?" Bepo asked.

"To see Prudence," Healer Zinnia replied. A wicked smile pulled across her lips.

"That woman who was so insistent on Neo getting measured?" Shachi questioned. "Why would you do that?"

"That woman is always so arrogant. She got a big head when she got the job as a castellan about thirty years ago," Healer Zinnia explained with a brightening grin. "Maybe this will help the swelling go down."

"So how long will it take us to fly to…uh…where is it we're going exactly?" Penguin asked. He looked around again. He found they were flying in the directions of the mountains that stood behind the castle. It looked like they were several miles away from them. "Are we going to those mountains?"

"Yes, that's where we're going. The wing crystal is in the tallest one," Healer Zinnia replied.

"We're going  _there_?" Bepo asked. "That's miles away."

"Don't worry," One of the wind Elementals said. "We'll have you there in minutes."

"I'm sorry." Bepo bowed his head in a grey depressing aura. The Elementals gave Bepo a questioning look, but didn't say anything.

"Just as long as it's a smooth flight and Neo doesn't get jostled," Law said. He looked down to check on her. She had finally pulled her eyes from his shoulder. She cautiously looked around before turning her eyes up to his. He gave her a gentle, encouraging smile. She smiled back before resting her head against him.

"Do not worry," the other wind Elemental said. "We'll make this a very smooth journey for the princess. And we'll keep calm and keep our distance so we don't upset her."

…

"Well, that  _was_  a short trip," Shachi exclaimed as the wind Elementals lowered them down to the ground, right in front of a cave. The Elementals just smiled in response.

"You two wait out here," Healer Zinnia said. "We won't be long."

"Yes, ma'am." They nodded.

The small group then followed the woman through the mouth of the cave.

"Wow!" Shachi, Bepo, and Penguin exclaimed at the sight before them.

Neo looked around. The entire cave walls, ceiling, and floor were solid sheets of sparkling light blue crystals.

Law kneaded his eyebrows at the crystals in concern. Looking down, he rubbed the bottom of his boot over the floor to test if it was slippery or not. He didn't want slip and hurt his precious cargo. Luckily, it wasn't slick at all.

"Let's go," Healer Zinnia beckoned.

The group then proceeded into the cave. They all, including Neo, looked around in curiosity. The farther they got into the cave more crystals began to appear on the walls. They were just like Neo's crystals. They were all different shapes, colors, and sizes, jutting out from the walls, ceiling, and floor. A couple of them were glowing softly, lighting up their path. Other cave tunnels also appeared in the crystal walls, but the healer stuck to the one they were on.

Soon she led the pirate group into a circular room. The three pirate subordinates gasped in amazement. Right in the middle of the room was a large butterfly shape wings, hovering a foot of the ground and sparkling white crystal. Embedded in the middle of the wings was a yellow crystal in the same shape as Neo's solar crystal. Roughly ten feet from the wing crystal were four other, even larger crystals. One was green, one a dark blue, one a light blue, and the fourth was red. It was obvious to the pirates those crystals represented the element crystals.

The wing crystal then started to give off a warm cobalt glow. The glow shifted in place with fluid motions before it floated over and pierced painlessly into Neo's chest. She blinked at her glowing chest then raised her eyes to Law. She asked, "What's it doing?"

"It's reacting to you because you're a royal," Healer Zinnia responded in a very soft voice. The pirates looked at her. She wore a very soft expression on her face as well. "This place is the most important and special place on all of Luminous. Our people believe this is where our story actually started. There are many stories surrounding the creation of our people and island. But there are two that are the most popular. One of them says that the wing crystal here was really a star. The legend says that the wing crystal was floating around in space until one day it came across this planet and decided to make its home here. So it came down and created Luminous. But it was sad for it was all alone. It decided to create its own children. The first one born was a royal. The crystal loved the child so much that it created more and more until it had filled the island with Elementals. The second legend says that it was God who created the crystal. And that he created the Elementals for the specific reason for taking care of the elements. But the humans started to treat the Elementals very badly. They wanting control over them and turned them into slaves. A royal created Luminous and hide it behind a magical veil so that all Elementals could live here in peace away from the humans."

"So which is true?" Penguin asked when the healer stopped talking.

"No one knows for sure." The healer shrugged. "The one thing we do know is that this island is protected from humans finding it. So a lot of Elementals lean more towards the second one as being truer than the first. But, like human history, a lot of pieces are missing. We may never know the truth."

"So, how does this work?" Shachi then asked. He was pointing at the wing shaped crystal. "Does it just happen automatically? Or what?"

"All the princess has to do is place her hand on it. The crystal will do the rest." Healer Zinnia looked over at Neo and Law. She studied the position he was holding the princess in. His arm was around her back where her wings were going to come out. "It will be best if the princess was standing. It shouldn't take long for her wings to come out. Do you think you can do that, Princess?"

"I think so." Neo kicked her feet a couple of times. She then looked up at Law. "Will you stay beside me?"

Law nodded. He then walked her over to the crystal. He sat her down on her feet, but kept his arm around her waist. She looked at him again. He gave her another nod of assurance. She pulled her eyes back over to the crystal. Hesitantly, she reached out and placed her hand on the crystal. The glow on her chest flowed over to her hand. The glow then began to wrap around her wrist. It made its way up her arm until the glow had her entire body engulfed. It then gathered between her shoulder blades. Neo looked over her shoulder.

The glow extended into two swallowtail shaped wings. The crew gasped at the display of seeing the wings being created from the glow. Her wing color was a blue ombre. The ends of her wings were navy blue and faded into lighter shades of blue as it move in towards her back. The wings faded off into transparency where they attached between Neo's shoulder blades. The fact Neo was wearing a gown didn't seem to matter. The wings went right through the fabric like it wasn't even there.

"Wow! Their beautiful!" Penguin exclaimed as he and the other two crewmates stared at Neo's wings.

"She looks so magical now," Shachi whispered. "It's incredible."

"Captain," Neo said as her legs wobbled. She pulled her hand away from the crystal and turned into him.

"I've got you," Law said. He slipped his arm back under her knees and picked her up. She rested her head back on his shoulder with a tried sigh.

"Let me take a quick look at those," the healer said. She stepped up behind Neo.

Law gave Neo a comforting squeeze when she stiffened up at the woman being so close.

The healer hummed while inspecting the wings. "It looks like everything is just fine."

"She'll be able to use them while wearing her shirts?" Bepo asked curiously. He stepped closer to them to get a better look at Neo's wings. He sniffed the air to see if they had a smell to them. They didn't have their own smell. They just smelled like Neo. "It won't hurt her, will it?"

"No, her wings are created from magic. Clothes won't bother them at all," the healer said. She gently ran a finger over one of the wings. "Her wings are actually a lot like her crystals. She can wear them or not. All she has to do is will them away to hide them. And if they happened to get ripped or damaged, they'll grow back. In that way, they're also kind of like hair. It won't hurt her at all if they get damaged."

"Well, that's good to hear," Penguin said with a low sigh. "Never thought of wings as an accessory, however. It's incredible."

"Why don't you give them a little flitter, Princess?" Healer Zinnia asked. She straightened up and waited.

"Do I have to?" Neo asked Law when she looked up at him.

"Not if you don't want to," Law replied back.

Healer Zinnia sighed when Neo banished her wings from her back. She placed her hands on her hips. "Look, I understand that the princess gets scared when it comes to new things, but she has to use her wings at some point. If she doesn't her back will ache after a while. And if she goes for prolonged periods of times without using them, they'll get weak. It's the exact same as exercising your legs and arms. You do know what happens when someone sits around for too long without moving, right?"

"Of course I do. I'm a doctor after all," Law replied. He frowned at the healer. "If Neo doesn't want to use her wings right now then she doesn't have to."

"And another wall goes up," Penguin mumbled as he watched Law turned away from them all and headed back to the cave entrance.

Healer Zinnia released a frustrated sigh. She rubbed her neck then turned to the remaining three pirates. "Look, I can understand how much you all care about her, especially with the past that she has to deal with, but if you all don't start letting the princess learn about this culture then the Elementals might take her by force."

"We won't give her up without a fight," Shachi said with a deep frown.

"A fight is exactly what I'm trying to prevent." The healer narrowed her eyebrows. "Don't you remember what happened a couple weeks ago? My people just about  _killed_  you all. If things keep going like they are right now, they might very well see keeping the princess from them as an act of war. I can easily see the princess will defend you all. And she  _is_  the strongest Elemental alive because she's a royal. I can also tell that she won't kill anyone. If she didn't have a problem with that, she would have done it when we were chasing her under the influence of the darkness crystal. But…if you all do manage to escape from Luminous with her help all you people will do is nothing but run for the rest of your lives. The Elementals will try to get her back, again. Do you really want her life to be like that? Constant running? Hasn't she all ready done that enough before she came to live with you all?"

The three crewmates exchanged looks.

Healer Zinnia dropped her hands from her hips. "I know you all love her very much. Although, I'm still unsure what exactly the type of relationship your captain has with her, but that's beside the point right now. Personally, I'm not asking you to give her up. All I'm asking is for you all to back off a bit. At least let my people get to know her. Let her get to know us."

Shachi and Bepo turned to Penguin. Shachi said, "Penguin, I think the time to talk to the captain has come. None of us want Neo to live with the Elementals chasing her again. Once was more than enough."

"Yeah." Penguin nodded. "I'll talk to him tonight when Neo has fallen asleep."

…

The trip back to the ward was quiet. Law knew he had put his foot down. But he wasn't quite so sure if it would stay that way for long. Someone was going to say something about the way he was acting. He didn't care. He would do anything to protect the one he loved more than anything in the world.

Once they were back in the ward he took Neo back to her room. Only a few Elementals peeked out of their rooms. This time they didn't bother Neo as much. She was too exhausted from the trip to even notice. It was obvious she was going to sleep again when they got back in the room.

Reaching the room, Law sat down on the bed, kicked off his shoes, and held her against his chest. Her body went limp on his. He was slowly dancing his fingers through her hair when a light tap at the door caused him to look up from her. Not wanting to risk waking her up by using his voice, he carefully removed her from his chest. She shifted from the movement. He stroked her hair to make sure she wasn't going to wake up. He then got up to see who was at the door. He raised an eyebrow when he cracked the door open. "Penguin? Is something wrong?"

"No, not really." Penguin tapped his fist against his thigh. "There's just something that I wanted to talk to you about."

The two men looked down the hall when they heard two of the ward workers voices. The two women were walking down the hall towards them. Law signaled for Penguin to enter into the room. He closed the door then looked at his subordinate. "Well? What is it?"

"Well, it's about Neo," Penguin said cautiously.

"What about her?" Law asked. He tossed a glance back over at the girl to make sure she was still asleep.

"I…I think you should stop being so protective of her and let Neo learn about this culture!" Penguin rambled quickly. His body became stiff as he waited for his captain to make sense of what he just said. He felt sweat dripping down his temple while Law quietly studied him with danger flashing in his steel eyes.

"No," Law replied flatly.

"Captain, I-"

"No!" Law repeated a little louder than he had intended. Neo whined in her sleep at the noise. He turned and walked back over to her. Her hand was roaming over the bed, looking for him. He placed his hand back on her hair. She settled down in response to his touch. "It's all right, Neo. I'm still here."

Penguin sighed. He walked over to the bed as well. Keeping his voice as low as he could, he said, "Captain, I don't mean any disrespect. And I certainly don't mean to tell you what to do, but…"

"But what?" Law asked when his subordinate didn't continue.

Penguin took a deep breath. He slowly released it before telling his captain what he really wanted to say. "Captain, you're coddling her."

"What?" Law looked at the man standing beside the bed.

"Let me ask you this…if Neo had gotten her wings while on the sub, would you have her use them or would you be doing what you are now?" Penguin asked. He remained silence while Law silently muddled over his words. "I know you love her."

Law shot Penguin a warning glance.

Penguin flinched, but stood his ground. He knew he had to say this to the captain. "Hey, we all know it. Get use to it. Despite that, we both know that Neo has questioned where she's from and who she really is. Well, we have the opportunity to learn about that now. This might be the  _only_  chance that we all have to learn about who she really is and where she's really from. And she won't do that if you keeping telling her she doesn't have to. You know she'll listen to  _you_  over everyone else. Do you really want to keep this all from her just because you're feeling guilty that you couldn't protect her?"

"I'm not feeling guilt," Law said with a deep frown. But he knew he was wrong. Penguin was right. He was feeling guilty for not being able to protect her like he thought he should have.

"Yes, you are, Captain. You're letting your guilt control the situation here. Neo's not upset with you. She doesn't blame you for what happened here." Penguin paused to give Law a moment to think about what he was saying. He opened his mouth to continue, but stopped with Law started speaking.

"You're right," Law said with a sigh.

"Captain?" Penguin asked, a little bit shock at his captain admitting he was wrong.

"I'm not doing her any favors by coddling her," Law admitted. He stroked Neo's hair again before looking up at his subordinate. "Thanks, Penguin."

"Uh, sure thing?" Penguin said with uncertainty in his voice. He stayed a few minutes longer before finally leaving to get some rest himself.

Before getting the door open, Law called out to him. "Penguin?"

"Yes, Captain?" Penguin turned back away from the door.

"Whenever you feel like I'm getting too protective of Neo, you have permission to bring it to my attention," Law said. He looked right at Penguin. If the man's hat weren't over his eyes, Law would have been looking right into his eyes. "I won't punish you for it."

"If that's what you want, Captain," Penguin said, slightly confused.

"It is. Sometimes even captains need to be shown that they are making a mistake," Law said in a low voice. His eyes dropped down to Neo's sleeping form. "And I might need an occasional kick in the pants when it comes to her."

"Hey, don't worry about it, Captain. We're all behind you a hundred percent. We've got  _both_  your backs." Penguin flashed Law a grin before finally leaving the room.

Law chuckled before settling down himself for the night. He knew his crew had his and Neo's back. He only needed to let them show that more often.


	47. Law's Guilt

Law's Guilt

Law brushed a strand of hair away from Neo's face. It was early, about five thirty in the morning. He was on the verge of waking her up. Part of him really didn't want to wake her up since she was so worn out from yesterday's exercises. The healer had finally said it was okay for her to start working on building her strength up. Neo was started off slow. She only did some leg lifts and pushed her feet against his hands.

But he really needed to discuss something important with her. He couldn't do that if the healer and Selene were in and out of the room all day long. His crew he could easily order out, but not those women. And that talk was what Penguin had said to him before. The man's words keep running over and over again in his mind. He couldn't say how right Penguin was. This was Neo's only chance to learn about who she really is. It would help her in a lot of ways. And he was keeping her from that. She wouldn't do it without him telling her that she needed to.

Five more minutes past by before Law was able to bring himself to wake her up. "Neo?" He stroked her hair, causing her to shift under his touch. "Neo, wake up for me now."

"Hm?" Neo opened her eyes. She looked up at him with a slow blink. Incoherently, she mumbled, "Law? I don't get up yet. I'm still sleepy now. Tired."

"I'm sorry. I know you're use to waking up on your own and not getting up so early," Law said. He slipped his hand down to her back and rubbed it as an apology for disturbing her. She tensed and shifted under his touch, closing her eyes. "But I wanted you to have a shower so we can talk before anyone comes in."

"Oh. Okay." Neo sat up, rubbing her eye.

Law kept his hand on her. As she moved, his hand slid over her body and came to rest on her hip. Getting off the bed, he slipped his arms around her. When he lifted her off the bed, she nuzzled her nose against his neck. He couldn't help but chuckle. His heart raced at the sleep-induced affection she was giving him. He carried her over to the bathroom.

While he closed the door with his foot, he realized how grateful he was for this shower. With the IV devices on her skin she didn't need to soak in a bath. The shower had a small bench in it so her weakened legs wouldn't be a problem at this point. And the showerhead was connected to a long crystal tube for easy movability.

Law sat her down on the crystal bench. He unzipped her gown, pulling it down off her right arm first so he would have more room to slip it over her left hand. "Put your arms around my neck."

Like always Neo did as she was told without question. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Being as careful as he could be he lifted her up then pulled the gown out from under her. He tossed it away from them and slipped her undergarment off her before sitting her back down. He then grabbed the showerhead. Pointing it away from her, he turned on the water. When he got it to the right temperature, he proceeded to wet her body down. His heart leaped when she smiled and closed her eyes in enjoyment of the hot water running over her tired body. Law chuckled again. "You haven't had a shower in quiet a while. I bet it feels good."

"It does," Neo admitted. "I've really missed being in the water."

"Once you get your strength back you can go swimming." Law reached for the shampoo. Popping open the lid the smell of morning glories filled the room. He was ready for the scent since he had taken showers in here before. Squirting a good amount in his palm he worked the silky foam into her hair. It was clear she loved the smell of it as she took in a deep breath and her smile brightened. It made him wonder if the Elementals had added something in it to make them feel good. Despite that he could tell that she was glad he was helping her. Their bond reflected her tiredness into his body. He was glad it didn't affect him much. But he would gladly take it all away from her if he could.

It took him twenty minutes to get her shower completed, mostly because of her hair. He had no idea how much she really had until he rinsed out the suds. But also because he didn't want to rough her up as he washed her off. Now she was growing more and more tired.

Turning off the water, he reached over to the towel rack and grabbed a towel. He wiped down her skin before wrapping a fresh, dry towel around her body. He pulled her back into his arms and left the bathroom. He placed her back on the bed before digging through the bag of clothes he had ordered Bepo to bring shortly after Neo had finally woken up. He had thought of asking Penguin to get them but knew Bepo was the better choice. While Penguin would never do anything to disgrace Neo, Law still knew Penguin's head would go in the gutter if he went through Neo's underwear.

Neo was drying her hair with her wind and fire crystals when he stood back up. He was grateful she had the ability to do that. She would never have to go to bed or spend minutes to hours in cold weather with wet hair. He helped her into her undergarments before walking over to the small closet where the ward gowns were kept.

Once he had her gown on her, he grabbed her hairbrush. Sitting behind her, he brushed out her hair with slow smooth strokes. While sitting there, his mind drifted back to Penguin's words. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't get himself to find the right words to start this conversation.

"Law, is something wrong?"

Law jumped from his thoughts. She was glancing back at him from over her shoulder. His eyes locked onto her hair as he continued to brush it. "No, nothing's wrong. Why do you asked?"

"Well, my hair is fine, but you keep brushing it."

Law paused.

"And there's something coming from you. I'm not sure what it is, but I don't like it. You also said that you wanted to talk to me, but you haven't said anything since I've been up."

"I'm sorry. It's just…" Law lowered the brush from her hair. Penguin's words found him once more. This should be this difficult. Still he had to be careful with his words. He didn't want her to misunderstand him or get upset with him. With a deep sigh, he placed the hairbrush on the bed, kicked off his shoes then, shifting to the center of the bed, he crossed his legs while facing her. "Turn around here and look at me."

Neo moved herself farther onto the bed. She mimicked Law's position and placed her hands in her lap.

Law reached out and took her hands in his. He brushed his left thumb over her right hand while brushing his right thumb just over her left fingers. His eyes locked onto the device on top of her hand and the one on the bottom of her hand. Then he looked at her skin. The discoloration was just about gone. She soon shouldn't have to wear them anymore. Pulling his eyes from the device, he looked at her. "Neo, I need to apologize to you."

"What for?" Neo tilted her head.

"I haven't been doing you any favors by being so protective of you," Law admitted.

"But I like how protective you are of me. You make me feel safe," Neo said.

"I know." Law lifted her right hand up to his lips. He placed a gentle kiss on her hand; her skin was still warm from her shower. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips when the beeping of the heart monitor increased. "And I'll always protect you to the best of my ability. But, here lately, I've been  _too_  protective of you. So much so that I've build an entire fortress around you."

"What do you mean? I don't understand." Neo's eyebrows kneaded to back that statement up.

"I've been building up walls around you because I…because I feel guilty that you got hurt." He dropped his eyes from hers. He couldn't hold his gaze on her anymore. Her eyes were far too trusting of him and so innocent.

"Guilty?"

"I feel like it's my fault that I couldn't protect you when the Elementals attacked us." Law gritted his teeth. He wanted to look back up at her, but couldn't bring himself to do it. "I'm so sorry, Neo."

"You're going to make me use my wings and interact with the Elementals," Neo whispered.

Law looked up. She had summoned her wings. He watched as she unfolded them as far as they could go before folding them back down against her back. He nodded. He tightened his hold on her right hand as if she would disappear if he let go, guilt hammered into his very soul. "I am."

"Okay."

"Huh?" Law jerked his eyes up to hers. Confusion and shock swirled in his brain. That wasn't something he expecting her to easily agree with. Sure he had easy control over her, but he still expected her to resist a little bit.

"Law, I don't blame you for what happened. I know it's not your fault," Neo said.

Law carefully took her in. She looked as calm as ever. No fear in her eyes. No signs of tears. There was only her typical trust of him. She  _knew_  he would never do anything to intentionally hurt her. He swallowed.

"It's not their fault either, the Elementals. I know you would have protected me if you could have. But they're just stronger because they have control over nature, right? And they were under the control of the darkness crystal then. If I understand correctly how that works, then it's just something that happens. It's something that's just part of their lives. And pain is also part of life, right?" Neo said.

"It is." Law nodded.

"Law, I understand that during certain times I'm going to get hurt. But I no longer  _get hurt_  because I'm  _different_. You and the crew stopped that. You also stopped me from hurting myself. I'm still nervous about all of this, but I know I can get through this as long as the crew and you are by my side. And you are by my side, right? You're not going to leave me because we're here at this place now, right?" Neo said.

"I am by your side, Neo. And I'm never ever going to leave you. Your home is the sub, with the crew and with  _me_. I am, however, going to back off a little bit and let you get to know the Elementals better. If I'm not so  _on guard_  around you it should help smooth things over with them. Maybe they'll understand how much you need to be with me to survive and become more accepting of you leaving Luminous." Law released her left hand. He ran his fingers through her hair. With his hand behind her head, he pulled her close to him and pressed their foreheads together. He smiled when the beeping in the room increased a bit more than before. "I will be right by your side while you learn about this place. I am always going to be by your side. Understand?"

"Y-yes," Neo said. Her chest tightened up and her breathing became harder. Her eyes ran rapidly over Law's features as much as she could with how close they were. She swallowed before speaking again. "L-Law?"

"Yes?"

"Why…why do you make me feel so-"

"What the heck is going on?! What's wrong with the princess?!" The healer's panicked voice boomed into the room at the same time the door flew opened and hit the wall with a loud bang.

Both Neo and Law jumped at the sudden loud noise. Law then growled at the interruption. He glared while Neo looked curiously and cautiously at the panicked woman. Her hair was sticking out all over the place. Her green shirt was half tucked into her jeans and her white lab coat was only hanging on her left arm. It was obvious she wasn't quite ready to face the day yet.

The healer paused. She blinked in confusion at the two pirates calmly sitting on the bed staring back at her. "What the…the princess's heart rate spiked twice! I thought something was wrong! She looks just fine! What the heck did you do to her?!"

"I didn't do anything." Law frowned. "But  _you_  interrupted a very important conversation and moment we were having. She was about to ask me about her…"

"Ask what?" the healer questioned when Law's voice trailed off.

"It doesn't matter now," Law grumbled.

"Fine." The healer huffed. She started to fix her disheveled look to make herself more presentable. "Well, as long as you're awake now, Princess, we might as well get you into the shower. I think you're strong enough to handle one."

"She's all ready had one," Law said with a devilish smirk.

Healer Zinnia paused again. Her eyes drew over to the bathroom. The door was still open and Neo's previous gown was lying crumpled on the floor where Law had tossed it. Her face went completely white. Her jaw dropped opened. For several seconds, all she could do was stand there and stare. With trembling jerks, she shot her eyes back over to the pirates. She raised her hand and pointed a finger accusingly at Law. "Y-y-you! Cad! You horrible! Despicable! Pirate! H-h-how d-dare you give the princess a shower! That's just…I can't even…I think I'm gonna…uh…"

Healer Zinnia's eyes rolled in the back of her head. Her body went limp as she crashed to the floor in an unconscious heap.

"Captain! Neo! We brought you breakfast! And we're going to eat with you today!" Shachi's voice cried happily. Two seconds later, the man appeared in the door way with the rest of the crew behind him. They all paused and looked at the woman on the floor.

"She fell asleep?" Neo asked.

Law bit his lip in a desperate attempt to keep himself from laughing at Neo's innocence. At the current moment Neo wouldn't understand  _why_  exactly the healer  _feel asleep_.

"What happened to her?" Conner asked questioned, the rest of the crew gathered behind him to peek into the room.

Archer kneeled down to check and see if the woman was breathing or not. "Well, she's still alive." He pulled a marker from his pocket. "Can I draw a mustache on her face?"

"Don't be mean," Neo said.

"Yes, ma'am." Archer put the marker away.

"Did something happen, Captain?" Shachi asked eyeing the healer.

"It's nothing," Law replied casually with a smirk. A familiar sadistic spark was glinting in their captain's eyes. "She just received a bit of a cultural shock."

The rest of the crew skirted around the unconscious woman as they entered into the room with their breakfast in hand. Law could tell they weren't sure if they wanted to know what really happened or not.

Penguin and Bepo sat the extra trays they were carrying down on the table for Neo and Law.

Neo tugged on Law's sleeve. She asked, "Captain? Why didn't she want you to give me a shower? Is there something wrong with you helping me? You've helped me before with bathing and getting dressed."

Neo's curiosity and innocence gave the crew the answer anyway. The crew about choked on their food. One of them was taking a drink of his milk and shot it out of his nose when she asked that question. Jean Bart had to pound his chest to make the food go down.

Oblivious to the crew's reactions, Neo kept her innocent eyes on Law and waited for his answer.

Law felt his cheeks grow warm at the same time he felt every single one of his subordinates turning their eyes to him. None of them ever thought about Neo not understanding why it would be improper, most of the time, for a man to give a woman a shower. None of them had ever addressed something like that since their captain was a doctor. It was normal for doctors to look at people naked.

Law took a deep breath before answering her. "No, Neo, there's absolutely nothing wrong with  _me_  helping you. I'm your doctor after all. I'm always here to help you when you need me. Eat your breakfast now."

"Okay." Neo nodded with a smile. She shifted back on the bed while summoning a crystal to lift the head of it. Once set Penguin placed her tray on her lap. "Thank you."

Law felt a huge wave of relief wash over him when she accepted the answer he gave her. His mind ran over this current situation a couple of times while he started eating. Showering and nudity was something else he had strict control over on the sub. Neo bathed in his private bathroom and he has helped her a few times when she was hurt and when she didn't know how to put on a bra. And the crew was never allowed to run around in the nude.

Without much thought on the subject, they had just fallen into a routine with her. It was natural for Neo. With the exception of himself, none of the crew has ever seen her naked while she's never seen them naked, not even him. He never thought about the possibility of her not knowing the physical difference between a man and a woman. And he should have with how her past was. That was something else she was uneducated about. And that was something he was going to have to correct. Soon.

…

Neo walked with small, quiet steps around the room with Law by her side. A couple days had passed since the shower issue. No one had brought it up since. Now she was finally strong enough to stand on her own two feet so something like that would never happen again. Though she was still grateful that Law stayed just outside the open door of the bathroom when she showered.

With nothing else to look at, she let her eyes roam over the flowers and gifts. More had been brought to her room, but were quickly sent to the palace on Healer Zinnia's orders. Some of the older flowers had been removed and replaced with newer ones. This refreshed the room with more flower scents, but within a couple of hours, Neo didn't notice them anymore.

Neo pulled her eyes from the flowers and looked over at the two Elementals in the room. Healer Zinnia was sitting at her desk. The healer had a variety of flowers and tools scattered about the desk that she didn't recognize. The woman was mixing together ingredients for something while watching she walked around the room. Selene was also in the room. The younger Elemental was leaning against the wall by the door. She was also watching Neo walking around the room, but she didn't feel the woman's eyes on her.

A strange feeling built up in Neo's chest when she realized that Selene was looking at Law. Her eyebrows and lips tugged down on her skin when she realized that. She didn't get to think much on the hot feeling bubbling up in her chest when Law had tapped her shoulder. She turned her eyes to him. He asked, "Would you like to try your wings?"

"Uh." Neo's eyebrows turned up then. She glanced over at the healer unsure if the woman was going to argue with Law or not.

"If you're feeling fine, I don't see why not," Healer Zinnia said. She pushed her glasses up higher on her nose. Her eyebrows narrowed into a glare when Law looked at her. Still upset over him giving Neo a shower, the healer automatically glared at him when she saw him. Law would just return the look with a smirk. As far as he could tell, the healer never mentioned what he had done to anyone else. "Your heart beat is staying right where it should be. So go ahead if you want to, Princess."

"I guess I can try," Neo replied. She looked back at Law. He nodded in response. She then looked over her shoulder and summoned her wings, giving them a few flaps. Returning her eyes to Law, she held out her hands to him. She knew he would understand her meaning. And like in her crystal training, he held her hands for comfort. Or he held her left hand the best he could with the device still on it. She was more than ready to have it and the one on her chest removed.

Neo began to move her wings. She tested them with a few flicks and flutters before speeding up the movement. They all waited patiently for her to increase her wing speed. After a minute of flapping, Neo's feet rose off the floor. The beeping from the heart monitor rose as well.

"You're doing fine, Neo," Law said giving her right hand a comforting squeeze.

Neo turned to Healer Zinnia who was watching them carefully. She watched as the healer she sent another glare at the pirate captain's back before turning her eyes back to her work. She looked back at Law in time to see him smirking back at the healer. Then Selene caught her eye again. The younger woman was still staring at Law, her eyes roaming over his body. Heat flared up in her chest. Before she could do anything Law's voice pulled her back to him.

"How are you feeling?" Law asked.

Neo wondered if he had sensed that strange feeling in her chest. If he did, he didn't mention it. "Okay. It's a bit different from using my wind crystals to fly, but I think I'm going to be okay with them."

"You'll get use to them the more you use them, Princess," Healer Zinnia said. She twisted the cap on the green jar she was holding. Picking up a second blue jar, she stood up and walked over to the two pirates. "That'll be enough for today. I don't want you to over do it. Here, I have something for you."

Neo fluttered her wings until her feet touched the cool ward floor. She folded her wing against her back and looked at the two jars the healer was holding. She asked, "What are those?"

"A couple of healing creams. The green jar is for your wings. Like I said before, if you go prolonged periods of times without using them, your back will hurt. This cream will help with that. When that happens just rub this on your back where your wings meet your skin. I get the feeling that you might get into situations where you won't be using your wings a lot of the time." Healer Zinnia shot Law another glare. "I know you pirates can get into sticky situations. And most humans don't know we exist. With how protective your captain and crew is of you, I'm sure you'll avoid using them quiet a bit. The blue jar is for the cuts you have on your body."

Neo flinched. The healer meant her suicide attempts. She stepped closer to Law and leaned against his arm. Vulnerability flowed through her. She could feel Law's glare at the healer radiating off of him.

Healer Zinnia returned the glare with one of her own before speaking again. She said, "I know those bother you to a point. This cream will help fade them from the eye. Eventually, they'll fade away completely or the majority will. A couple of the more deep cuts might remain slightly visible. Also,  _Mister Trafalgar_ …"

Law eyebrows rose in slight curiosity when she addressed him with a stiff, forced tone.

Healer Zinnia held out a small stack of papers to him. "Since you are so insistence on taking our precious princess with you."

"Huh?" Law took the papers.

Neo peeked over at them. It appeared to be a schedule of some sort with a list of books to start reading. She looked up to find Law giving the healer a confused look.

"Oh, don't give me that look. I know you were going to do it anyway once you gotten your hands on our medical books. You've already read one that I'm aware of. So I all ready had several medical books moved into the castle library. You can start reading them whenever you feel like it. However, reading books can only take you so far, so I will be helping you at certain points in time as well. You will be accompanying me around the ward when I visit patients when the princess feels comfortable enough for you to leave her side. You'll only be here for an hour to start with. That time will increase when the princess is comfortable with it. I've also appointed other willing healers to assist you in your book studying at the castle," Healer Zinnia said. She then gave Law a pointed look. "I am going to be leaving our princess in your hands. You maybe a doctor, but you know nothing of Elemental biology, sicknesses, and medications. And I expect you to learn everything you can about that while you're here. The princess will be permitted to sit in with you during your sessions because she'll need to learn about the flowers and herbs we use to make our medications. Since she's never trained as a healer, you're going to be the one mixing up the proportions. I hope you find this acceptable, Princess."

"You're giving the captain permission to take care of me?" Neo blinked.

Law scoffed at the idea of being  _given permission_  to take care of her. He was going to do it anyway. He has been doing that for over a year. He certainly didn't need this woman's permission to take care of the one he loved. But it was going to help their situation and he was going to get to study what he needed to take care of Neo so he willingly remained quiet.

"I suppose I am," the healer said with a sigh. "But don't get too excited now. You two still have a long ways to go in getting the rest of Luminous to accept that you're not going to be living here."

"But this is good, right?" Neo asked. She looked up at Law. He nodded in answer. She smiled and hugged him. "Captain! I'm so glad!"

Law chuckled as he wrapped his left arm around her and stroked her hair with his right hand while Neo snuggled into his chest. He looked up when he felt the healer's gaze zooming in on them. He was going to glare at her again, but didn't when he noticed a small look of questioning appeared on the woman's face. He saw that she was starting to see how deep his relationship with Neo really was. Law asked, "Is there something wrong, healer woman?"

"No, everything is just fine. Let me check your hand, Princess." The healer shook her head.

Neo held out her hand to the woman.

The healer placed her fingers under the plate on Neo's hand. She shifted her glasses while looking at Neo's skin. The discoloration was completely gone. She summoned a crystal and beamed its glow down on Neo's hand. She smiled and nodded in acceptance when her inspection concluded the poison was completely gone. "Perfect. The antidote has done its job. These things can be removed right now. Go ahead and sit back down on the bed."

Healer Zinnia walked away from the two.

Neo looked up at Law before he leaned down and scooped her up into his arms. He walked her over to then sat her down on the bed before sitting beside her on her right side.

Selene walked over at that point. With a smile pointed right at Law, she said, "You did very well with your first flight using your wings, Princess. I'm glad you're finally getting better. You'll be able to leave this ward soon. I'm also sad. I won't be able to see you as often, Mister Trafalgar. I've fairly busy with my duties in helping Madam, but I'll be able to come visit you two occasionally while you're staying in the castle."

Neo blinked a couple times at the woman then she pulled her eyes to Law. Law didn't seem to notice Selene was talking to him. His eyes remained on her. She looked back at the woman. That odd hot feeling came back to her chest causing her to frown.

Selene then said, "I know! Since the princess is obviously feeling better, how about we have dinner together tonight? You're probably tired of being cooped up in this room all the time."

"No!" Neo shouted and grabbed onto Law's arm. The heart monitor shrieked in beat with her panicking heart. "The captain stays with me!"

"Of course I'm staying with you. Calm down now. There's no reason here for you to be upset. I'm not leaving you ever." Law pressed his lips to her hair while rubbing his hand over hers. He leaned down to her ear. "I'm still here. Relax now."

Neo nodded. The beeping slowed down.

"All right, Selene, you'll be removing the device on  _the princess's hand_ ," Healer Zinnia said while walking back over to them. She then grumbled quietly to herself. "I need a new assistant. I'm beginning to think she only wants to become a healer to meet men."

"Oh." Selene frowned, but obediently stepped away from Law. "Yes, ma'am."

"Now, Princess, the removal will be quick, but this is going to sting a little bit," Healer Zinnia said with sympathy. The two women placed their hands over the devices. "Are you ready?"

Neo nodded. She turned her eyes into Law's shoulder just before the two women jerked the devices from her skin. She whimpered at the stinging shooting through her skin.

Law tightened his hold on her hand and pressed his lips into her hair again. He felt a light sting running through his skin as well, but he knew it hurt more for her. Softly, he said, "It's okay, Neo. It's over. You did good."

"Your fingers and wrist are going to be a stiff from not being used for so long. But don't worry. You can easily work that stiffness out in a day or two. I'm sure your captain will gladly help you with that tonight. Here." Healer Zinnia pulled out a small tube of ointment from her pocket and handed it to Law as Selene walked away with the devices in her hands. "This will help with the stinging and will help fade away the dots left behind by the tube's needles. I'm still going to leave the heart monitoring crystals on for a while longer. This is just as a precaution. Once you get more of your strength built back up, I'll remove them too. Get some rest now, Princess. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Th-thank you," Neo said.

Law nodded in acceptance to the healer's words. He took the tube from her. Once the two women were out of the room, he twisted off the tube's cap. Spearmint filled the air when the cap was off. He squirted some of the ointment onto his fingers then rubbed it onto her skin where the little dots were on her chest.

"Law, I'm scared," Neo whispered.

"About what?" Law questioned. He zipped her gown back up then moved on to medicating her hand.

"I'm glad that those things were taken off, but then that means I'm closer to leaving this place. They want us to sleep in different rooms." Neo turned her watering eyes up to him. "I can't. I don't want to sleep without you near me. I don't want to wake up from a nightmare without you there."

"Don't worry, Neo." Law recapped the small tube and pocketed it. He gave her a gentle smile while taking her left hand in his. He slowly worked his skilled fingers over her stiff ones and on the underside of her wrist. "I have no intentions on letting you sleep alone again."

"But you said that you were going to back off from protecting me so much," Neo said with confusion in her eyes and voice.

"True." Law nodded. "But that was from the Elementals, not nightmares. Me backing off doesn't mean I can't still sleep with you. We've already spent two nights without sleeping beside each other. I'm  _not_  going to let us go through that again. And I'm  _not_  going to let  _you_  go through that again."

"I don't understand." Neo tilted her head. "How can we sleep together if they won't let us?"

"I'm going to walk you to your room when it's time to go to bed. I'll go to the room they've prepared for me, but  _only_  for a little while. Remember you can still sense and talk to me through our bond. I won't be going anywhere. Once everyone in the castle has settled down, I'll warp myself into your room," Law explained. "See? You're not going to be alone. I promise you won't."

"And that's okay?" Neo asked. "They won't get upset?"

"Of course it's okay. They won't even know. Besides, you don't have to do what they want you to do," Law said.

"I don't?" Neo asked.

"No, if they want you to do something that you really don't want to do then you don't have to do it. And I'll be right there to back you up," Law said. He pulled his right hand from her wrist and ran his fingers through her hair. "You're going to move at your speed just like you always have. That's something  _they're_  just going to have to accept."

"I just don't want to upset anyone," Neo admitted. "I really don't believe they are bad people."

"I know you don't. But it's more  _important_  that they don't upset  _you_ ," Law said. He reached into his pocket. When he pulled his hand back out, he opened his palm up to show her what he had. It was his ring.

Neo's eyes lit up when she saw it. Her chest grew warm when he lifted her hand up and slipped the warm band back onto her finger.

Law ran his thumb over her finger and ring before lifting her hand to his lips. "Does that make this better?"

"Yes." Neo nodded with a bright smile. "It makes it a lot better."

"Let's work on your wrist and fingers now," Law said. "Try and move them a bit."

Neo tried to wiggle her wrist and fingers but they remained stiff. "It won't move. And it hurts bit."

"That's fine," Law said working her wrist and fingers again. "The pain shouldn't last long."

Neo's eyes locked onto his ring. There were no words to tell him how happy she was to have it back on. Her finger felt so bare without it. Now it was like she was complete. Her eyes lifted up to his. She smiled when her eyes meet his. Never again would his ring leave her finger. She would make sure of that.


	48. Castle

Castle

"Uh." Neo blinked multiple times in curiosity at the white shoes lying on the floor. She was squatting down beside them with her arms wrapped around her knees. They were shoes that she had never seen before with a strange stem on the back of the sole and pointed toes. They had been brought by earlier that morning by the Elemental Beatrice along with the snow-white sundress she was currently, and reluctantly, wearing. It was part of her getting to know her culture. She looked over her shoulder at Law. He was standing a few feet behind her. She pointed at the odd looking shoes. "Hey, Captain, what are those? They have a stalk growing out of them."

Law didn't answer. He only stood there with his hat over his eyes and a dusting of pink over his cheeks.

"They're not a stalk, Princess," Healer Zinnia replied.

Neo watched as the healer walked closer to her and Law. The woman paused right beside the pirate. Healer Zinnia's eyes were on Law's frozen form as she shook her head.

"They're heels," Healer Zinnia said turning her attention to Neo.

"Heels?" Neo stood up. She turned to the two. The sparkling sequin flowers, decorating the bodice, shimmered in the light as she moved. This dress was slightly longer than the blue one Penguin got her for her one year anniversary with the pirates. The hem fell to her knees. But that didn't keep Law's eyes from wandering down to the bottom of the dress to which she was aware of, but didn't understand. "What are heels?"

"They're shoes that woman wears with dresses. Do you not have dresses on your pirate ship?" the healer asked.

"I have one. It was a gift from Penguin. He got it for me for my one year anniversary with them. But I only have a pair of sandals and a pair of boots. I don't like wearing shoes. They hurt my feet," Neo answered. "I usually only where clothes that I can train in. That's the way the captain wants it. He allows me to wear the one Penguin got me thought. He looked like this too when I worn that one."

"I see." The healer gave Law a suspicious look. She pulled her eyes away from the dumbfounded man and dropped her eyes to the silver ring on Neo's hand. She narrowed her eyebrows at it, but remained silent about it. Instead she said, "Well, at least he's done you well in that regard. It wouldn't have been good for you to wear suggestive clothing with how innocent you are. Anyway, I suggest you not where those heels. You're not stable enough on your legs to handle them, especially if you not use to wearing shoes."

"Um, I guess so. Is that all right, Captain?" Neo looked at Law. She tilted her head when he didn't answer her. Worry settled in her chest. "Captain? Are you upset about me wearing this dress?"

Healer Zinnia turned her attention back to Law. He was still staring at Neo. The healer rolled her eyes. She brought her right hand in front of Law's face and snapped her fingers as loudly as she could. "Hey! Snap out of it!"

"What?" Law asked. His hat rose back up, revealing his eyes.

"It's amazing how much effect she has on you. And she's not even aware of it," the healer mumbled. She sighed before raising her voice so they could hear her. "It's about time for her to leave the ward. Now, I know you're feeling better, but I still want you to take it easy. Only walk for about fifteen minutes a day. Increase that time when you've gotten stable with walking that long. But it probably a waste of time telling you this considering this pirate isn't going to leave your-"

Law stepped closer to Neo.

"You're not upset, are you?" Neo asked again.

"No, not at all. It's fine that you want to wear the dress." Law smiled taking her hands in his. Both of them didn't even notice the healer  _was_  talking to them. He made Neo's body tense, her cheeks flush and her heart race while making circles on her fingers with his thumbs. "You look very pretty in it. How are your legs?"

"A bit tired," Neo answered.

Law nodded. He released her hands and picked her up. She rested her head on his shoulder with a content sigh, her heart pounding.

"Hey! You're not even listening to me!" Healer Zinnia growled. She pointed at the shrieking heart monitor. "And you're not supposed to be getting her excited! Stop that! Do you even hear that beeping?!"

"Did you say something?" Law asked, tossing a smirk over his shoulder at the healer.

"Never mind." Healer Zinnia sighed. "By the way, where's the rest of your crew? I figured they'd be here since the princess is leaving the ward."

"They're waiting for us in the castle all ready," Law answered. He turned to the woman. "I didn't want to bring anymore attention to Neo leaving the ward than necessary."

"Yeah." Healer Zinnia nodded. She glanced over to the window. Through the thin light blue curtains, she could see shadows of Elementals moving across it. She brought her eyes back to the pirates. "So, how exactly are you getting the princess out of here without her being seen?"

"I'll warp her to the palace with my devil fruit powers," Law replied. When the healer gave him a confused look, he quickly explained to her what he meant. Neo lifted her eyes up to his. He could easily tell that she was asking if he was going to tell the Elemental about the weakness of devil fruits. Wisely, he left out the weakness of a devil fruit. He gave her a gentle squeeze. She nodded in understanding and relief. Neither of them trusted the Elementals enough to reveal that little secret if Shanks hadn't already told them about it. And, through a little covert mission Law gave to his crew, they come to the conclusion that if the Elementals knew of devil fruit users and their weakness they didn't reveal it. So for now, that secret was safe.

"Well, I guess it's time for you to go then," Healer Zinnia said with a smile. "I'm glad I got to know you a bit here, Princess. You're a very sweet young woman."

"Uh, thank you," Neo replied. "And you're a very nice person. I'm sorry I was so scared of you."

"No apology is necessary, Princess. I completely understand. I would have reacted the same way if I were in your shoes." Healer Zinnia said.

"What's going to happen to all of these presents?" Neo asked while looking around the room. "There's no way we can have all of these on the sub."

"Don't worry about them. More gifts for you have all ready been delivered to the castle. I'm sure you don't need all of these under foot too. I'll take care of them. The flowers can be used for ointments and creams. And the toys can be giving to kids at the orphanages. You two go on now. I'll see you later," Healer Zinnia said with a wave.

Law nodded. He then formed a Room and warped them out of the ward. "Room. Shambles."

"Wow. That must be a handle little trick to have." Healer Zinnia blinked in amazement at Law's powers. She placed her hands on her hips. A smirk pulled across her lips. She chuckled lightly. "How is it possible such a naive, sweet little girl has such a strong presence and ability to soften up such a harsh man? I never thought that I'd support a relationship like theirs, but here I am. She's changed my mind in such a short amount of time. It's going to be interesting for sure how things turn out here. I wonder what she's going to do if she has to confront the Elementals so she can leave this place?"

…

"Neo!" The crew cheered when she and Law appeared in the castle. A smile erupted on her lips when they gathered around them. Bepo rubbed his muzzle against Neo's cheek, causing her to giggle and squeal. Looking at him she found her mink was once again covered in flowers.

"Hi, everyone!" Neo said. She rubbed her hand in Bepo's fur, knocking off some flowers in the process. After she mentally counted all of her crewmembers, to make sure they all were present and accounted for, she allowed herself to look around the room. Her eyes widened with sparkling glee. The smell of the room became noticeable. It had grown to be one of her favorite smells in the world. Books. There was floor to ceiling bookshelves covering the walls and the columns. Ladders and landings were long the shelves for those who couldn't fly. She squealed happily and threw her arms around Law's neck. He had warped them to the castle library. "So many books! There's so many books in here!"

Law chuckled. "I thought warping here would make the transition smoother for you."

"You are the best, Captain!" Neo squealed. She pulled her eyes away from the books long enough to kiss his cheek. After pulling away from his now red cheeks, she looked back over the books, unaware of the crews' faces were turning away in their desperation not to chuckle and tease their red-faced captain. In a feeble attempt, she started counting the books. "Look at how many books there are! There's got to be thousands of books in here! I can't even count them all!"

Her eyes landed on one of the tall windows in the room. Several Elementals were trying to peak inside. She tensed and jumped in Law's arms. Tucking her head down against him she hoped they didn't see her anymore. She jumped again when a vaguely familiar, yet unexpected voice spoke up. "They can't see you, Princess."

Neo turned her eyes from Law to see that Topaz had walked into the room. The orange haired Elemental had her head down in a bow. She straightened up and smiled at Neo. Topaz said, "I apologize for startling you. I just wanted to inform you that I have darkened all the windows with my crystals so that no one can look in. You have complete privacy from those on the outside of the castle."

"They can't see me?" Neo asked receiving a nod from the maid. She turned her eyes back to the window. After a few seconds it was obvious, the Elementals grew disappointed over not being able to see into the castle and left. She relaxed then looked at Law. "And I can take my time in observing them, right?"

"Of course you can." Law nodded. "You'll go out and greet them when you're ready. I don't want you around a lot of people right now anyway. You've got to focus on getting your strength built back up. We'll worry about meeting the Elementals later."

"I wonder what my godfather saw in these people," Neo said.

Law nodded in agreement.

"Your godfather?" Topaz asked. The pirates turned their eyes to her. "I was not aware you had a godfather. May I ask who that is?"

"Red Haired Shanks," Neo replied. Her hold on Law's neck tightened. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything about that.

"I see," Topaz replied with a light nod. Her orange eyes gained an excited sparkle in them. "And he is aware that you are living with this pirate crew?"

Neo nodded.

Law narrowed his eyebrows.

Neo glanced up at him when she felt him tense. His eyes were locked onto Topaz, studying the woman carefully.

"Is there a problem with that?" Bepo asked.

"No, there's no problem. But it might be a solution. May I ask a small favor of you and your family, Princess?" Topaz said.

Neo looked to Law. When he nodded she gave the Elemental permission to speak. "What favor?"

"Please, try not mention your godfather to anyone else," Topaz said, shocking them all.

"What? Why?" Penguin asked.

"I was still a child when he came here, but our people are very fond and trusting of Shanks. Revealing him as the princess's godfather might come in handy if it's revealed at the right time," Topaz said.

"Ahem." Neo flinched at the sounds of someone clearing their voice. The entire crew turned to see Prudence standing in the library with two other maids. One maid was a head shorter than Prudence with light blue hair, a water wielder, and the other maid was a couple inches shorter with light brown hair, an earth wielder. Both maids had their hair pulled back in tight buns on her heads. Both wearing the traditional black and white maids outfits with their hands folded neatly in front of them. All three Elementals curtsied to Neo.

Neo tightened her hold on Law in discomfort at the bowing.

Prudence narrowed her eyebrows in contempt at Law holding Neo and glared when she straightened up from her curtsy. The woman then shooed Topaz out of the room with a flick of her hand. "That will be all, Topaz. You may leave now. Princess, permit me to introduce your ladies in waiting…Lyra and Medina."

Prudence waved her hand at the blue haired woman before the one with the brown haired woman while Topaz obediently left the room after bowing to Neo again. Prudence continued, "They will be attending your needs now that you have moved into the castle. They will help you dress in the mornings, change dresses for meal times and for when you go out to address the public…"

"Changing clothes multiple times a day is nonsense," Conner said with a laugh. "We'd have a ton of laundry to do. We'd have to recruit an octopus or two to keep up with it all!"

"Sure. Why not?" Archer said. "Neo already tried to keep one as a pet before. It could earn its keep doing our clothes."

The entire crew laughed at the mental image of an octopus doing laundry on the sub their crewmate supplied. Even Neo laughed with them while Law cracked a smile. Neo turned to Law with a bright smile. She said, "Can we, Captain? I'll easily be able to keep it under control."

Easily catching her joking tone, Law laughed. "Sure thing, Neo. If it'll make you happy, we'll add an octopus to the crew."

The crew laughed even harder. The two maids looked on in disapproval. Prudence released a sigh before addressing Neo again. In a stiff tone, she said, "Princess,  _please_ , this is not the time for jokes. I have rules that I need to inform you of. You have a lot of work to do now that you are out of the ward."

"The only thing she has to do now is getting her strength back up," Law said with a dark tone. "I will not have you bombarding her with a lot of ridiculous rules and customs."

"Mister Trafalgar, I am well aware of the princess's condition. Madam Healer Zinnia gave me an earful on that subject yesterday. But just because the princess is still healing doesn't mean she can't start on learning about our customs. I assure you I will not overload the princess. Your concerns are not needed here. Now, first order of business…" Prudence started. She opened the book she was carrying.

Neo gave Law and unsure look.

Before he could say anything to her, Prudence started talking again with a pointed glare at Law. "…is your room. I've all ready ordered a couple guards to stand outside of it to ensure that no trespassers will be entering at night, that includes your pirate friends. If you need anything at all you can summon them and they will take care of it. Next, all of your royal clothing has been placed in your closet in the-"

"Hey! We should check out your room together! It's huge! The entire crew can fit in there easily! Topaz showed us it earlier when we first came to sleep in this place!" Archer said, cutting off the annoying woman. "You not only have a bed in the shape of a circle, you also have a bed build into the wall beside one of the windows!"

"Captain?" Neo looked up at Law again. "Can the crew show us around?"

"If you're feeling up to it, I suppose it'll be all right," Law replied with a nod. "You're not tired are you?"

"No." Neo shook her head. "I'm not."

"Princess, please, this isn't ho-" Prudence folded her book and rested it against her dress. Before she could finish her sentence the pirates had all ready exited the room with exciting chatter. She pressed her fingers to her forehead. "This is a disaster."

…

Neo tightened her arms around Law's neck when they exited the library. A couple Elementals maids and butlers were in the long hallway dusting crystals tables, shelves, and statues. Those of wind and earth elements were using their magic to dust in the higher up places. They looked up at her, bowed in respect before returning to their duties without a word to her. She blinked in slight curiosity at them before tucking her nose into Law's neck. "Why do they keep doing that?"

"Bowing is a form of respect that people give their royalty," Law explained.

"I feel funny when they do that," Neo said honestly.

"You're just not use to people giving you so much attention and respect," Law said. He glanced at a couple more castle workers bowing to Neo. He tightened his arms around her in a gentle squeeze to let her know everything was all right. He loosened his hold when he felt her relax.

Neo peaked out from Law's neck. She inspected the crystal walls and doors as they passed. Most rooms appeared to have only a table and chairs inside of them. One she could see had a deck, chair, and a few books on the wall opposite of the door. She had no clue what any of the rooms were for.

"You had issues on the sub when we praised you for doing something good," Penguin said. He took a couple steps to catch up to Neo and Law.

Neo looked at him from over Law's shoulder. "I did?"

"Remember when you first started cooking? You weren't comfortable when we told you that you did a good job," Penguin said.

"I guess I forgot about that. I did feel awkward at times like that. But that doesn't bother me now," Neo replied looking over her crew as they walked behind them. They smiled at back at her. "I just got use to you all."

"It's the same here," Bepo said, plucking flowers out of his fur. "You'll get use to it over time."

"But not too much," Neo said looking at Law again. "I'm not staying here."

"Of course you're not," Law replied with a smile.

The crew exchanged chuckles and glances before they turned their attention back to the castle. They had reached the main foyer. Neo ran her eyes over the room. A large staircase was to their left, opposite of the two large doors she used to go outside when the Elementals were chasing her, another long hall was in front of them. It looked exactly the same as the one they had just walked down. Maids and butlers were cleaning it too.

"Down that hall is the dinning room where we've been eating. All the rooms here are very big. I'm not sure if they changed the size to fix Jean Bart of it they're normally like that." Shachi pointed down the new hallway.

Part of her was curious as to where her family had been eating without her. But a bigger part of her didn't want to see any more people.

As if sensing her desires, the crew then turned to their left to head up the grand staircase. Several steps up, the stairs split off to the left and to the right. Conner said, "Our rooms are to the right. More rooms are towards the left, but those are typically for visiting delegates and other important Elementals. There are even more stairs and more rooms farther up, but we haven't explored the castle all that much."

Neo's eyes roamed over the crystal halls while the crew chatted on about their rooms, how they all looked the same, and how living in a castle was a huge adjustment from living in the sub. The walls were decorated in large to small paintings. And just about all of the paintings were of nature. Some had Elementals in them. The crew told her that they were portraits of previous royals. She couldn't help but asked, "You all aren't upset about having to stay here, are you?"

"Of course we're not," Penguin replied with an encouraging smile. He squeezed her shoulder. "Since you've been better, we've actually been spending a bit more time with some Elementals. They were impressed with how we were able to stand up to them with our physical attacks. They want us to teach them how to fight like that."

"You're going to train with them?" Neo asked. She turned to Law. "Did you know about this?"

"No, I didn't." Law blinked in disbelief that he actually didn't know something about his crew.

The crew chuckled at their shocked captain.

"Don't worry, Captain. We were going to talk to you about this before actually doing it," Shachi said with a huge grin. "We'd never do anything to disobey our captain. And we certainly wouldn't do anything to upset Neo. If either of you two don't want us to do this, then we won't do it."

"Hm." Law mulled over this development for a couple minutes. He then looked over his crew. "I suppose it would be fine. You all still need to train and you're going to have a lot of time on your hands now that I'm studying Elemental medicine and Neo's going to be fairly busy in her own recovery and training."

"Training?" Neo blinked.

"In turning your body into the elements," Law replied. "We're also gonna have to work on this bond of ours. You were able to pull me to you that one time. We need to see if you can do it again and see if you can send yourself to me. I would prefer to speak to someone about this, but this might have to be a trail and error training since Kailen said nothing like this has happened before."

"Hey, we're finally to your room," Penguin said.

Neo pulled her eyes from Law and looked at the two large doors before them. They were crystal white, but for the silver door handles and the light blue frame. Two guards were standing there like Prudence had said. They bowed to Neo without a word before pushing the doors open. The crew walked in. They scattered around the room while she looked it over.

There was a large circle shaped bed with a clear canopy drapes pulled back with a light orange sash, it had several pillows laying at the head of the bed and a light blue blanket draped over the thick mattress. Matching nightstands stood on both sides of the bed with a flower shaped lamp on each one. Just beyond the bed was a tall window just like the ones in the library. The curtains on it were light blue to match the bedspread. A little ways from the window was a large changing screen decorated with elaborate flower patterns. Near the screen was a cushioned stool and a three-mirrored vanity with an assortment of brushes, combs, and makeup containers nearly arranged on the shiny crystal vanity top. On the other wall to their right was another window. This one had a bed large enough to fit five people comfortably. It was decorated in smaller, pastel colored pillows.

Law carried her over to the bay window so she could glance out of it. She was about to question why he did this, but knew why when she saw the sub. He said, "I had them move the sub to that beach so you could see it when looking out the window."

"Thanks, Captain." Neo looked at him with a smile in her eyes and on her lips. She then caught a glimpse of two the doors she didn't see when they entered the room. They were to the left of the main doors of the room. "What are those doors?"

"It's to your own private bathroom," Shachi said as he and Penguin opened the doors. They allowed Law to walk Neo in first before following after them. Neo's eyes widened. A small gasp left her lips when she saw the large circle shape tub embedded in the floor.

Shachi pointed to a circle shaped showerhead hanging from the ceiling. "Topaz says that's like a gentle waterfall."

"Wow!" Neo exclaimed. Her eyes dropped back down to the tub.

"I think she's more impressed with the tub than anything else," Bepo said with a chuckle.

"It looks like a mini ocean inside, but its kind of big," Neo said. She tightened her hold on Law again. She continued to inspect the room. Another, smaller, changing screen and vanity was in the room, along with two more doors. "This entire place is big. I don't really like it no matter how impressive it is. And where do those doors lead to?"

"That's your closet," Archer replied. He pulled opened the doors to reveal over thirty white dresses of all lengths and styles. Matching shoes were lined up underneath them.

"They're all white?" Neo asked. She tilted her head and inspected the gowns then inspected the white shoes that accompanied them on the floor. "Why are they all white?"

"Yeah, we were going to ask Topaz about that, but she got called away before we could," Archer said. He looked over the dresses again before closing the doors. "I'm sure, if there is a reason for it, we'll know soon enough."

"This place is just too big." Neo shook her head and snuggled back into the comforting feeling of Law. "I don't like it. The bed's not even up against a wall."

"Don't worry, Neo. Remember, I'm not letting you sleep in here alone," Law said in a hushed tone just incase someone outside their crew was nearby and listening. He had no idea how thick or thin the walls of this place was. The two guards outside could be listening in on them for all they knew.

"So what do we do now?" Neo asked.

"We can do anything you want," Law said. "We have a lot of time before dinner is served."

"When will I be able to cook for you all again?" Neo asked.

"When you're able to stand on your feet for more than a few minutes," Law said. "Feeling up for some exercises?"

"I guess so," Neo said. "What would you like me to do?"

"Just walk around the room until you feel tired," Law said placing her down on the floor.

Neo nodded. She walked around the bathroom for a few moments, inspecting it close up before heading out into the bedroom.

Law stayed close by her in case she got tired and need to be picked up.

Ten minutes passed before Neo's body grew tired. She didn't even have to say anything. Law picked her up and sat down with her on the bay window. Her eyes locked onto the sub. "It will be fine sitting there, right?"  
"Of course it will," Law said. "No one other than Red Hair's crew comes to this island."

"Even if someone did manage to find this place the sea creatures would alert the Elementals to them," Penguin said. He sat down at the opposite side of the bay window while the rest of the crew scattered around the room. "Besides, we take turns going back and forth from the sub."

"That's good to hear," Neo said.

"Sleep if you need to," Law said.

"I'm okay right now," Neo said.

Law nodded.

The crew remained around the room until Neo's two maids came to alert her that dinner was served. Once again in Law's arms, the crew took Neo down to the dinning hall. Everything in this place seemed to be large. And the dinning room table was no exception. There was more than enough room for her entire crew. It was filled with several dishes, mostly vegetables and fruits but some fish dishes had been lain out as well. All the chairs were even big, easily fitting Jean Bart. But only one stood taller than the rest. It was at the head of the table, near a door where the sounds of clattering dishes were coming from.

"Why is that chair bigger than the rest?" Neo asked.

"That would be where you sit, Princess," an unwanted voice said.

"What's she doing here?" Conner asked when Prudence swept into the room.

"I am here to continue going over the rules of the castle," Prudence said opening her book. "Now if you will please listen."

"Do I have to sit there? You always sit at the head of the table," Neo said.

"No, you don't have to sit there if you don't want to," Law said.

"I want you to sit there," Neo said. "And, if it's all right, I would like to sit on your lap."

"Of course it's fine." Law walked to the chair and sat down with her.

"Princess, that is highly improper," Prudence said.

Neo and the pirates ignored her. They started filling their plates and chatted about the food. Their rudeness didn't stop Prudence though. The woman, with a frustrated growl, continued to read from her book.

"Breakfast is always served promptly at six o'clock in the morning, lunch is always served promptly at noon and dinner is always served promptly at six o'clock, the princess will be required to wear the appropriate attire to each meal and to all the events that the princess shall be attending," Prudence said in a monotone that was boring everyone in the dinning hall.

The pirates kept exchanging eye-rolling glances or pretend like they were gagging themselves at all the rules Prudence kept going over. Each time Neo caught them doing that, she would giggle then receive a disapproving glare from Prudence. Neo would then tuck herself into Law who would glare back at Prudence.

The older woman eyed Neo sitting in Law's lap. "And the princess  _will_  sit in her  _own_  chair from now on."

Neo looked down at both her and Law's laps.

"I can let it slide this time, but tomorrow you  _will_  sit in your own chair," Prudence said and returned her eyes to her book. "You are not a child after all. After dinner you'll be picking out color samples for the up coming… _Princess_ , are you listening?"

Neo jumped when Prudence's voice once again took on a disapproving tone.

"No, I'm not," Neo replied honestly, but quietly. She narrowed her eyebrows slightly, staring at Law's chest. "I don't want to listen to rules anymore."

"Princess, this is necessary," Prudence said. "You have to-"

"No," Law snapped.

"Mister Trafalgar, it is very rude of you to interrupt-"

"It's very rude of  _you_  to ignore what your  _princess_  wants," Law said with a smirk. Prudence flinched. He laid down his fork then held up his hand.

Neo blinked at him curiously when a familiar circling smoke appeared under his palm.

"It's also very rude of you to interrupted her meal. Now, time for you to go," Law said.

"Mister Trafal-"

"Room! Shambles!" The entire crew laughed at the perplexed look Prudence had on her face to Law's Room before she vanished from the dinning hall.

"Where did you send her?" Neo asked.

"Just for a little swim. Maybe the cool fountain water in the garden will cool her off." Law shrugged with a devilish grin.

"There's a fountain back there?" Neo asked.

"There is," Penguin said. "I saw it when we went to the mountains."

"I'd like to see it one day," Neo said.

"When you're stronger we'll take a walk around the gardens," Law said.

Neo nodded in acceptance to his words.

After dinner finished the pirates headed back upstairs for the night. The stress of the day was finally wearing Neo down. While being carried down the hall, the crew said their goodnights to her and disappeared into their rooms. They reached her room. Medina and Lyra stood at the bathroom door.

"Princess, we are here to help you dress for bed," Medina said with a bow.

"No." Neo wrapped her arms around Law's neck and hid from them.

"Neo will not be requiring your assistance to help her dress," Law said. "So leave before you get booted out like your head maid or whatever her name is."

Medina and Lyra paled. They stepped aside, letting the two pirates enter into the bathroom.

"Well, looks like news really does travel fast," Law said with a chuckle. Though he knew they would be reporting this to Prudence later. Sitting her down on her feet, he closed the doors then helped her into her own nightclothes that had been brought up from the sub.

Neo sighed when he picked her back up.

The two maids waited impatiently by the doors while Law carried Neo over to the large bed. He couldn't help but smirked at them before sitting Neo down on her bed. He wasn't surprised one bit when she refused to release him.

She whispered, "Don't go."

"It's okay, Neo. I won't be separated from you for long. Remember my promise. I will return to you soon. We're still connected. You can feel me just like I can feel you. And we can still speak to each other through our bond," Law whispered back to her. He rubbed his hand gently over her back until she loosened her hold on him. When she loosened it enough for him to pull back, he cupped her cheek. "Climb into bed now."

"Okay." Neo nodded. She scooted back onto the bed, her eyes never leaving him.

Law pulled the blanket over her legs.

Her hand grabbed the front of his hoodie. She didn't want him to go. Both knew that. Both felt the pain swirling inside of their chests on having to separate, even for a short amount of time. He ran his finger through her hair before taking off his hat and placing it on her head. She smiled at the gesture. His scent swirled around her nose. He smiled back before forcing himself to walk away from her. Her fingers slid from his hoodie as he went. She kept her eyes locked on him as he walked over to the door, walked through the door, and disappeared from her sight. The second he was out of her sight she focused on feeling out where he was. She locked onto him as he made his way down the hall and into his assigned room.

"Goodnight, Princess," the two maids chorused.

Neo didn't hear them. She was too focused on keeping trace of where Law was. She didn't even notice the lights being shut off and the two soldiers closing the doors for the night. The moonlight flooded into the room through the cracks in the curtains. It created a ton of shadows into every nook and crack that she didn't notice when the lights were on. Her eyes wondered over the shadow and moonlit room. A cool air settled into the large space, the blanket doing nothing to keep it away. She wrapped her arms around herself. She glanced at the lamp on the nightstand closest to her. She wondered if she should turn it on while her eyes drifted over to the door. She easily sensed the two Elementals guarding the doors, one a wind Elemental and the other a fire Elemental. She wondered if they would be able to hear her if she called out for Law. She wondered if she had to actually  _speak_  with her voice to talk to him. She decided to try it and see what would happen.

_'Law? Can you hear me?'_

_'Yes, I can hear you. Is something wrong?'_

_'No…I was just trying something.'_

_'Trying what?'_

_'When I spoke to you for the first time through our bond, I did it with my voice like you were physically with me. I was wondering if I could talk to you without using my voice.'_

_'And did it work?'_

_'Yes. I'm not using my voice. How is this possible? I mean I'm glad I can do this. Those guards won't be able to hear me talking to you. I was concerned about that.'_

_'Well, you did very well in testing this theory. I'm glad you thought of it. We'll be able to talk in secret then since, right now, I'm not using my voice either, and I was before. This will come in handle later on when we're around enemies.'_

_'Thanks, Law. When are you coming back? I really don't like being alone in here. It's too open and kind of creepy.'_  Neo looked around the shadowy room again. She pulled down Law's hat over her eyes to hide from the shadows.

_'It won't be long now, just a couple more minutes.'_

_'Okay. Do you think the crew's asleep yet?'_

_'I'm sure some of them are. A couple are probably reading or doing some winding down exercises before turning in for the night.'_  The two then went quiet.

Neo picked at the blanket covering her legs. When Law's presence came closer, she peaked out from underneath his hat. His yellow hoodie and spotted jeans was the first thing she saw. Before he could say anything to her, she summoned a couple wind crystals and flew into his chest. Her arms wrapped around his neck at the same time her legs around his hips. With his sword attached to his back, his arms immediately wrapped around her waist. He chuckled lightly as she clung to him like a child. "Neo, I wasn't gone all that long, now was I?"

"Yes!" Neo replied, tightening her hold on him like she was never going to let him go.

Law chuckled.

Her lips curled into a pout. "That was too long. Don't ever wait that long again."

"I'm sorry. I wanted to make sure those annoying maids were gone." He walked over to the bed. "Come on." He pat then rubbed her back in an attempt to get her to release him. "Time to go to bed now. You can let go. I'm not going anywhere until morning."

"Promise?" Neo asked even thought he all ready promised this before.

"I promise," Law reassured her. He patently waited for her to loosen up her grip. About twenty seconds later, she did. He placed her back on the bed. While she was moving to her side of the bed, he undid his sword from his back, leaned it up against the wall by the head of the bed so it could easily be reached if needed, then kicked off his boots before crawling into bed with her. He smiled at her through the moonlight. "Happy now?"

"Yes." Neo nodded with a sweet smile on her lips.

"Good." Law nodded back. He tickled her behind her ear. She giggled softly so they wouldn't get caught. He then plucked his hat off her head and dropped it onto the nightstand. "It's time to sleep now."

"Okay," Neo agreed with a relaxing sigh. She closed her eyes for a while before opening them back up. Law all ready had his eyes closed, but she knew he wasn't sleep yet. "Law?"

"Hm?"

"There's something I've been wanting to ask you."

"What's that?" Law reopened his eyes. He propped up on his elbow and waited for her to continued.

She stared down at the sheets before raising her eyes to him. "It's about what happened when I was sick."

Law raised an eyebrow at her.

"I told you that I met Corazon there."

Law's eyes rose on his forehead. Carefully, he asked, "What about it?"

"Did you really stab him?" Neo asked.

"I did." Law nodded in honesty. "I didn't tell you that…I haven't told you a lot about my past because you weren't ready to hear it."

"That's okay. I know you handle me with care. And if I wasn't or if I'm not ready to hear it, I know you'll wait until I am. But…I was just wondering…if he told me something that really did happen, does that mean he was really looking out for me while I was sick?" Neo asked. She looked directly into Law's eyes as he mulled over her words. "Was he really there?"

"Well…no one really knows what happens when a person dies," Law said carefully. "And I'm not sure I can actually give you a real answer to whether or not Cora was with you or if he had anything to do with me finding you."

"Finding me? What do you mean?" Neo asked curiously.

"When I first found you…" Law hesitated. With a hard swallow he continued. He felt like he should tell her about this. "I wasn't going to take you back to the sub."

"You weren't going to take me with you?" Neo asked. A hint of hurt was clearly present in her tone and eyes.

With his heart now aching, Law reached out and ran his hand through her hair before cupping her cheek. "I'm a pirate, Neo. It's not typically in our nature to help people. But then I saw Cora. He was kneeling beside you. When he looked at me, it was like he was telling me to take you with me. So I did. And I have seen him a couple more times after that since you've been on the sub. I have no idea if he really was telling me what to do or if I was just seeing things at the time, but…" Law shifted closer to her. He pressed his forehead to hers, making her tense and both of them blush. "…I am very glad that I did bring you onto the sub. You are a very important part of my life and of the crew's life now. Nothing with ever change that. Do you understand me?"

"I do," Neo whispered back. A pause passed between them before she spoke up again. "If it's all right…I'd like to think that he really was watching out for me. That he brought me to you somehow. Is that all right? Do you think he would mind if I thought that?"

Law's eyes widened slight before he smiled sweetly at her. He brushed his thumb over her cheek before replying. "I think Cora would be honored if you thought of him like that. And…I'm glad he was there to keep an eye on you when I could be there. Now, you go to sleep. It's getting late."

"Yes, Law." Neo nodded. She snuggled back down into her pillow and closed her eyes.

Law closed his own eyes, but only for a short while. He couldn't stop himself from watching her sleep and thinking about what she had said. He shifted even closer to her and trailed his fingertips through her blue tresses. A smile formed on her face before she tucked herself into his chest. His heartbeat went wild at her sleep-induced actions. After a minute, he relaxed and enjoyed how close she was to him now. He brought a strand of her hair up to his lips. He placed a light kiss on it before whispering softly, "I like to think he was watching too."


	49. Kiss

Kiss

Neo exhaled her breath slow and steady. Her eyes here locked down on the book in her hands but her mind was locked onto Law. He was in the ward with Healer Zinnia while she was curled up in one corner of the library couches, her legs crossed over Penguin's lap. They had been in the library for two hours now. And during that time she barely read an entire page of the book. She was too busy following Law's moves over at the ward.

Law was currently in his second week of studying and visiting the ward as a student of Healer Zinnia. The first week Law only went for an hour before returning to her side. He only started going for two hours this week since she had told him she would be fine with him being gone for two hours. Though there were plenty of times when she second-guessed her decision.

But the entire crew made sure to stay with her during the first week then started to wonder off during the second week, but still stayed close to the castle just incase. Penguin was the one who never left her side while Law was busy with his ward visits. He would always sit with Neo in the library either reading or quietly observing the Elementals through the darkened windows as they wondered around in front of the castle.

"You know, if you really want him to come back, he will. You can just call him," Penguin said.

Neo jumped at his unexpected voice.

"Sorry." Penguin squeezed her ankle. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay. And I know I could call him back." Neo sighed to herself. She stretched out her legs before sitting up and placing her bare feet down on the floor. "I just don't want to bother him. This is only his second week that he's been visiting the ward with Healer Zinnia. I know he wants to learn everything he can about their medical treatments so he can take care of me. He can't do that if I keep bugging him because I don't like that he's not near me."

"You're not bugging him," Penguin assured her. He moved closer to her. Slipping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her to his side. "He knows that you're not comfortable when he's not with you, especially after what happened here. You haven't had enough time yet to adjust, but you're getting there. That's why Healer Zinnia is only having him see a couple patients at a time. So you can adjust to him taking time away from you. But he'll always come running back if you really need him. Besides, isn't his time about up today?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm adjusting to it a little bit." Neo nodded. "And, yes, he should be about done. So I can wait for him to return. I know he's not that far from me right now. And, if I really needed him, I could call him or even pull him to me. He would warp right to me if I asked."

"Speaking of which, when are you two going to start training with that bond thing of yours?" Penguin asked.

"I'm not sure. Even thought I'm getting stronger, and I can walk on my own longer, the captain still wants me to take it easy. Healer Zinnia's hasn't even taken these patches off yet. I'm not sure what she's waiting for." Neo looked down at her chest. The oval shape heart monitoring patches were still attached to her skin. Two of them were peaking out from the collar of her simple black tank top. She let her eyes drift down to the grey sweat pants she was also wear. She was glad that Bepo had brought her some of her own clothes. They were more comfortable than the dresses the Elementals wanted her to wear and smelled of the sub. She adjusted her tank strap before looking back up at Penguin. "I don't think she wants me to train just yet either. She said that when I start training by body on how to turn into the elementals I'll be drained of my magic and energy until I get use to the transforming and get stronger with doing it."

"Yeah, that's a good idea then. None of us will like it if our favorite girl gets hurt again." Penguin nodded. He draped his left arm over the back of the couch while keeping his other arm around Neo. "I'm just glad you've finally gotten a break from Prudence's incessant talk about the princess coronation."

"Princess!" Both pirates cringed when Prudence's voice rang through the castle library.

"Spoke to soon," Penguin grumbled. He slumped into the couch and glared at the woman when she entered into the library with a tail of maids and butlers carrying samples of fabric, candle holders, dishes and other various items that he figured was going to be use at Neo's 'suppose to be upcoming coronation'. "When are they going to get the hint that you're not staying here?"

"I'm surprised she hasn't come sooner since the captain isn't here right now," Neo whispered to her brother. A smile pulled over her lips at how nervous the woman was around him now. "She seems to be more wary of him since he warped her into that fountain the other night."

Penguin chuckled at the memory of Prudence disappearing from the dinning room. While they didn't see for the rest of the evening, they could easy see how she looked all wet. He leaned closer to Neo. Whispering, he said, "The Elementals do seem to be less pushy after he did that. But don't worry. I'll be more than happy to throw her back into that fountain since the captain isn't here to do it."

Neo giggled, her bells chiming in the otherwise quiet room. She was going to respond to him, but didn't get the chance as Prudence stepped over to the couch. She shifted uncomfortably when the woman bowed to her.

Prudence then straightened up and frowned at the clothes Neo was wearing. With forced tolerance, she said, "Princess, your ladies maids have informed me that you are refusing to wear your dresses. This is highly improper. You must…"

Prudence voice vanished from Neo's ears as her mind drifted back to this morning. Like every morning since they had moved into the castle, Neo's two maids always had a dress picked out before she even got up. For whatever reason they entered into her room every single morning. Luckily, Law always managed to be gone before they arrived. But it still made her nervous to have them so close.

And the dresses they chose looked heavy to Neo. And were far too fancy for her comfort. For a few days, she stuck with wearing the smaller, more comfortable sundresses like the one she worn after leaving the ward. But eventually got where she didn't even want to wear them. She was just too used to her comfortable  _commoner_  clothes. So she went back to wearing them instead. And if her maids tried to force her to wear a dress she just ran out into the hall or room where Law was always waiting for her. The maids immediately backed off then with a simple glare from him. She often wished to have his gift for glaring so she could get the Elementals to back off.

"I don't want to wear those dresses," Neo replied under her breath when her ears reregistered Prudence continued rants about the rules of the castle. She slumped down into the couch and Penguin's hold, wishing she could turn into the wind and disappear.

"Princess, a proper lady does not  _slump_ ," Prudence said with exasperation. "Up, up, now. Sit straight."

"No," Neo said flatly. She felt Penguin's curious eyes on her from the unusual rebellious tone in her voice. Her eyebrows were narrowed and her lips were tilted down in a slight frown. She was even a bit surprised but held her tone and facial expression. "The captain said I don't have to do anything I don't want to. And I don't want to."

"The  _captain_  is not a citizen of Luminous. And he is certainly not one who would know how a lady should act," Prudence replied in a matter of fact tone. "He is a  _pirate_. He is one of the worst that the human race has to-"

"Stop it!" Neo shouted, catching everyone, even Penguin, off guard. She shot to her feet. The book she was holding fell to the floor with a thump. Her crystals appeared in the room. They began to glow, but didn't pulse with their element. The Elementals took a few steps back. Prudence's eyes flickered back and forth between her and the crystals. Penguin didn't even flinch. "Don't you dare talk about him, or any of my family, like tha-uh."

"Neo?" Penguin asked. "What is it? Something wrong?"

"He's coming back to the castle, Penguin," Neo said. Her crystals and fury faded away. She turned her eyes to Penguin. "I want to see him."

"You go on then," Penguin said with an encouraging nod.

Neo nodded back while rubbing the heel of her right hand into her eye. She then ran out of the room without another word to anyone, leaving Penguin behind to pick up the book she dropped. Dashing through the door she found a few maids in the hall dusting again. They bowed to her. She ignored them and continued on towards the foyer. Her legs ached. She slowed down to a walk before her head spun. Stepping over to one of the tables, she placed her hand on it to steady herself. Her chest heaved up and down as she gathered her breath. She forced herself to take slow, deep breaths. She didn't want to give the healer any reason to come over here.

"Hey, are you okay?" Penguin asked coming to her side. "You're not sick, are you? Do I need to get the captain? Or maybe the healer?"

" I'm fine, Penguin," Neo replied. She tossed a look back over her shoulder, expecting to see Prudence following after her. "I'm just feeling a bit drained with all these Elementals trying to tell me what I should do or not do and wear or not wear. And I'm not strong enough to run yet. I just over did it a bit, I guess. I was, or am, in a hurry to get to the captain."

"Yeah, I can tell that your energy drops when one of these Elementals tries to tell you what to do. It's getting too much for you. You're stressed out. Do you need me to carry you?" Penguin asked. He offered her his arm.

"Could you just walk with me?" Neo asked. She gladly accepted his help.

"Sure thing." Penguin smiled. He then turned and escorted her down the hall. The closer they got to the main entrance of the castle, they could clearly make out Selene's voice talking to Law, but couldn't make out what she was saying yet. The two exchanged looks. "What's  _she_  doing here?"

"Maybe Healer Zinnia sent her to check on me?" Neo offered. A bubbling pool of heat appeared in her stomach. Unsure of why it was there, she ignored it.

"Maybe," Penguin replied. He narrowed his hidden eyebrows in doubt.

"You okay, Penguin?" Neo said. "The energy around you has changed."

"I'm fine," Penguin said. "Say, how are you feeling right now other than tired?"

"I'm feeling okay," Neo said.

"Any other emotions or anything that's unfamiliar to you?" Penguin asked.

"I felt a bit odd hearing Selene with the captain," Neo said.

"As I thought," Penguin said.

"What do you mean?" Neo tilted her head.

"Maybe we should wait until the captain comes to us," Penguin said.

"I don't want to wait," Neo said. "He's been gone long enough."

"Okay," Penguin said. He swallowed before they started walking down the hall again.

The bubbling heat reappeared when Neo heard Selene's giggle. Unaware, she gritted her teeth. The foyer came into view. And so did Law and Selene. Her eyes widened, her hands grasped onto Penguin's arm, her nails dug into his sleeve, when they finally reached the main entrance of the castle. Selene was standing close to Law, too close. The bubbling heat flared up into a blaze. Her head spun. Her heart clenched. Her confusion rose. She didn't want Selene near Law. "What…what's she doing? Why is she so close to the captain? Penguin, I don't understand."

Penguin glanced over at Neo at the same time Law sensed her rising confusion and anger.

Tears burned Neo's eyes when Selene placed her hand on Law's cheek, turning his eyes away from her. Her fingernails dug harder into Penguin's sleeve.

"Neo, calm down," Penguin said. "She's nothing to the captain."

Neo didn't hear him. Her eyes were locked onto Law and Selene. Her brain didn't register Law ripping Selene's hand off his face and his angry glare at the young healer. Selene moved closer to Law, her lips moving towards his as her eyelids fluttered closed. Neo snapped. Her wind crystals appeared, pushing a gale through the hall. "No! Don't touch him!"

The winds wrapped around Selene and flung her body down the other hall. Everyone paused when the woman's startled scream erupted through the air before she was silenced by hitting the hard floor. Her body rolled to a stop near a crystal statue.

While a couple maids ran over to check on the unconscious woman, Law pulled his eyes over to Neo and Penguin.

Neo was staring in shock, and in confusion, at what she had just done. Her hands dropped from Penguin's arm. She stumbled back a few steps. Her crystals and wind faded. She had attacked someone.

Penguin spoke to her softly. "It's okay, Neo. You didn't do anything wrong. It's all right."

"Neo," Law said. He quickly walked over to her. When close enough, he reached out for her.

"No! Stay away!" Neo shouted just before Law could touch her. Pulling her wind crystals back out, she wrapped her winds around herself. She flew up the stairs and disappeared down the hall towards her room. Law called out for her but she didn't slow down. Reaching her room, she threw open the doors, entered, slammed them shut, then curled up on bay window.

…

"Neo! Wait!" Law called for her when she flew towards the stairs. Deciding it would take to long to run up all the stairs and down the long hall, he formed a Room and warped to Neo's bedroom. Just as he appeared in the hall, Neo entered into the room and slammed the doors shut. He rushed over to the doors. He grabbed the handle, but paused. Her confusion was swirling around inside of her and inside of him. Releasing the door handle, he turned and he pressed his back against the door with a sigh. This moment could have been prevented if he had been paying more attention to her.

"Captain?" Penguin asked when he ran up to the black haired man a minute later. "Why haven't you gone inside yet? Neo needs you right now."

"I'm just giving her a minute to calm down. Remember, this is the first time she's seen me around another woman like that, especially one so persistent. She's just confused. And she knows I'm here," Law replied. He dropped his head back to the door with another sigh. "I should have known better than to let Selene follow me into the castle. I didn't think she was going to try and kiss me though. I should have put a stop to her advances when they first started."

"When they first started you were too focused on Neo." Penguin pointed out. "Now you're still focused on her. You've barely noticed Selene at all."

"I know." Law nodded. "And that was a mistake. I should have been more careful about this whole thing. But I didn't think she would actually attack that woman like this."

"Oh, well…she might not have if she wasn't all ready upset," Penguin said.

"What do you mean? I didn't feel her getting upset." Law looked over at his subordinate with a perplexed expression on his face. "I know she's feeling stressed out, but…"

"Well, she was starting to. Prudence came into the library a few minutes ago. She was bombarding Neo again with all the ridiculous rules they have here. And was going to start in on the coronation again. She brought a small army with her that were carrying a bunch of fabrics and junk. Neo was getting upset, but then she felt you coming back to the castle," Penguin explained. "She didn't have time to really get upset yet."

"Until she saw what that woman tried to do," Law concluded.

"I think all of this is finally getting too much for her. She's stressed out to the point that she actually yelled at the Elementals in the library. It was amazing. But, on top of that, she now has to deal with being jealous of Selene. Two things she's never dealt with before," Penguin said.

"And it doesn't help that she's been inside for so long," Law added.

"What does being inside have to do with anything?" Penguin asked.

"It's something the healer woman has recently informed me of. You know how Neo and the Elementals are connected to nature?" Law asked.

"Yeah." Penguin nodded.

"Well, it turns out that if Elementals spend an excess amount of time indoors they'll start getting stressed out, use their crystals improperly, become irritable and, in extreme cases, develop skin irritations and indulge in over eating sugar. That's what happened to one of her patients today. She developed a skin irritations because she's been spending weeks inside working on a new clothing line or some such nonsense."

"Neo's been living in the sub!" Penguin shrieked.

"Calm down," Law ordered. "I all ready discussed her living in the sub with the healer. We've been keeping Neo in nature enough and have been preventing that from happening. And since Neo is a royal, if for some reason we can't spend time off the sub, she can just create a small forest inside the sub that will suffice until we can surface."

"Oh…thank goodness." Penguin sighed with relief as his shoulders slumped. "I was worried there for a second that we did something that would hurt her. By the way, Captain."

"What is it?" Law asked.

"When we were in the library and Neo was starting to get upset, I couldn't help but noticed that the Elementals were scared of her," Penguin said. He continued when Law raised a confused eyebrow at him. "I know. It seems unlikely considering how gentle she is, but she  _is_  a royal after all. She has all the elements and the solar crystal. I think the reason, or my theory is, they are being so pushy to get her to accept and stay here is because she's as meek as she is. They're trying to influence her before she really realizes that she has the power to put a stop to them. They clearly were backing off when she got upset and started to summon her crystals just now in the library. And they do remember what she did when they were under the influence of the darkness crystal. All of them combined can't stop her."

"I'm not surprised considering they haven't tried to kick us off this island yet," Law said. He shoved his sword free hand into his pocket. "It's obvious that would be the solution to get them to back off. I really don't want to put Neo through that thought, but I might have too if they keep pushing her like this."

"There might not be another choice, Captain. You know she'll pick us over them. It's really only a matter of time before that happens, anyway. And, right now, you can control when that happens," Penguin said. "Wouldn't that be better than just letting the Elementals continue with their ideas that she's going to stay here?"

Law tapped his finger on his sword in consideration. He then pushed off the door and turned to it. "All right. I'm going to prepare Neo to confront the Elementals about this. It's time they realize  _and accept_  that she's  _not_  staying here."

"And how are you going to do that, Captain? Neo doesn't like confrontation. And she'll have to do this to practically the  _entire population_  of Luminous," Penguin pointed out.

"Don't worry about that." Law shot his subordinate a mischievous grin. "I know exactly what needs to be done here. It's time I put my plan into action. I'm going to take Neo outside for a while. Try to keep everyone away from us for as long as you can."

"What?! How the heck am I supposed to do that?! And what plan?! What are you planning?!" Penguin shrieked.

Law didn't reply to his ranting subordinate as he opened the door and entered into the room.

"Hey! Don't ignore me here! Captain!"

Law quietly closed the door, muffling out the rants of Penguin. His eyes automatically went to the bay window since that where he sensed she was. He sighed when he saw her. She was hugging her legs to her chest and hiding her face in her knees. She now had her wings out and they were drooping flat against her back. He could feel her heart aching and the confusion of what happened downstairs that was plaguing her mind. Walking over to her, he tied his sword onto his back. He didn't feel secure enough on this island yet to leave it behind, especially if Neo was going to be with him.

Once close enough, Law sat down on the edge of the window bed with her. He waited a few seconds before reaching out and placing his hand on her hair. She lightly flinched at his touch, but didn't pull away from him. After a few comforting strokes, he beckoned her. "Come here."

Obediently, Neo released her legs. With her bang covering her eyes, she moved over to Law and curled up in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, careful not to hit her wings, while she laid her head on his shoulder and clenched a hold of his hoodie. They sat there a few minutes before he finally spoke up. "You know, you've been inside for quiet a while now. I think some fresh air would do you some good. Would you like for me to take you outside?"

A short paused passed between the two again before Neo nodded against him. "I want to go outside. I just don't feel like being around anyone outside of the crew yet."

"That's fine. They won't bother you. I won't let them," Law replied. He stood up with her in his arms before forming a Room. He warped them to the backside of the castle then quickly warped them again into the forest. The pirate captain stood still for a moment to see if anyone had followed them. When he concluded that they weren't being followed, he proceeded to walk Neo into the forest.

As he walked through the foliage, he carefully looked and listened for any signs of the Elementals following them. There didn't appear to be anyone following them. All he could hear and see were the wildlife. Most of them stopped and looked at them. With the sun starting to set, he figured the Elementals might be getting ready for supper or settling their kids down for the night or other such business. Even if they were being followed, Neo would be able to sense them easily enough. She would inform him and he would warp them away to another part of the island.

Law glanced down at her. She had finally let her eyes be seen again by him. He quickly noted that she was growing tired. Things got a bit too emotional for her today. He needed to enact his plan before she decided she wanted to take a nap and fall asleep on him. Plus, if she took a nap now she might not sleep later tonight. And he didn't want her staying up all night.

…

"Oh man," Penguin grumbled to himself as he walked down the steps of the castle porch. "How am I supposed to stop anyone from going after them? What's the captain thinking? What are the plans that he was talking about anyway?"

"Hey, Penguin, what's up?" Shachi called.

Penguin looked up to see his crewmates had returned from their explorations of the day.

"You look a bit frazzle. Where are Neo and the captain?" Archer said.

"I'm not sure," Penguin replied. He looked up at the castle. Neo's room was on the right side when facing it. Knowing they weren't there, he dropped his eyes back to his friends. "There was a bit of an incident with Prudence and then Selene tried to kiss the captain."

"What?!" the crew shouted.

"Don't worry about it." Penguin waved his hands at them. "The captain is handling everything right now. He took Neo outside. I'm not sure where they went, but I'm sure everything's going to be fine."

"Well, that's good. The captain always knows how to handle Neo correctly," Bepo said with a smile and nod. "Everything will be just fine."

"Hey, there's Kailen!" Shachi cried when Kailen rounded the castle. He waved to their Elemental friend while rushing over to him. "We haven't seen you in a while. What's up, man? Where have you been?"

"Sorry." Kailen chuckled. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I've been busy with trying to get the Elementals to understand that Neo's not going to stay here. It's not going very well as you might be able to guess. I've also been trying to find an elder Elemental who can give you all more information on the bond-"

"He's a dead man!" The pirates and Elemental turned towards the ward when they hear Healer Zinnia's scream pierce through the crystal walls. Two seconds later, the irate woman was stomping over to them. "That's it! Where is she?!"

"Where's who?" Kailen asked.

"The princess! I've told you pirates a thousand times that the princess needs to remain calm!" Healer Zinnia said. She pointed at the earth crystal hovering beside her. A line bounced over it wildly. "She's remained calm until now! Her heart rate is off the charts! Where is she?! What's is that despicable pirate captain of yours doing to her?! I know he's with her! She's not in the castle either!"

"Why don't you just sense out where she is?" Conner asked.

"Maybe she's too upset to do that," Archer said.

"Just tell me!" Healer Zinnia said.

"Penguin?" Shachi asked as the entire crew turned their accusing eyes to him.

"What are you looking at me like  _that_  for?! I don't know where they went! Or what the captain is doing to her!" Penguin shrieked waving his hands.

"Wait," Jean Bart said. "If he took her somewhere alone, does that mean he's going to-"

"Oh, you better not be saying what I think you're saying! He better not be desecrating her virtue! Where did he go?! Never mind! I can sense her easily enough now!" Healer Zinnia growled. She turned her eyes to the forest. She scanned over it until she found the direction Neo and Law were in. When she found it, she bolted in that direction without another word to the pirates.

"I was just going to ask if he was planning on kissing her," Jean Bart finished with complete confusion lacing his tone and expression.

"We better go after her," Kailen said while he started to follow after the woman. "We might need to play buffers to them."

"What's going on?" Shachi asked as they followed after Kailen and the healer. "What did she mean about Neo's virtue? You've mentioned something similar about that before as well."

"Yeah, well, let's not jump to conclusions just yet. But it might be time to tell you all anyway," Kailen said.

The crew exchanged confused glances.

…

"I'm sorry, Law," Neo whispered.

"Sorry for what?" Law questioned even though he all ready knew the answer.

"I attacked Selene." Neo tightened her hold on his hoodie. Her body began to tremble against his. Tears bubbled up in the corner of her eyes before falling down her cheeks. "I…I didn't mean to do it. It just happened. There was this new feeling in my chest. I don't know why. I was a bit upset because of Prudence, but when I saw Selene touch you I just…I don't know. I didn't like it. I don't want her to touch you. I don't want her anywhere near you. I wanted to hurt her. I don't understand. I'm just so confused. What's wrong with me?"

"There's nothing wrong with you. You were just jealous," Law said.

"Jealous?" Neo lifted up from his chest. She looked directly into his eyes. Her confusion was easy to spot. "What do you mean?"

"Well…" Law stopped walking when they came to a small clearing in the forest. He lowered her feet to the ground. She kept her eyes locked with his while he changed her position. He reached up and brushed away her tears. "You were envious of how close she was to me. You didn't like it because of the feelings you have for me."

"I still don't understand." Neo lowered her eyes from him in an attempt to process his words. When she couldn't, she lifted her gaze back to his. "I know you said before I was attracted to you, but I have feelings for you all. I love you and the crew."

"Yes, you do have feelings for us all," Law said. He ran his fingers through her hair before brushing them against her bare arms. He smirked when she tensed and shivered under his touch. "But the love you feel for the crew is different from the love you feel for me."

"It's different?" Neo asked. She narrowed her eyebrows slightly.

Law nodded in response to her. He continued to run his fingers over her arms then slid them down and laced them through hers. Her fingers automatically curled around his in response. Both their heartbeats increased slightly. He pressed his forehead to hers with a low sigh.

Her narrowed eyebrows loosened up as her chest tightened when he brushed his nose against her. "My chest is hurting again. And it's hard to breath. Why? Why does this keep happening when I'm with you? Why doesn't this happen when I'm with one of the crew? Why is my love for you different? Why do you always make me feel so…so funny?"

Law smiled. She had finally asked him what he has been waiting for her to. Sighing contently, he closed his eyes and tightened his hold on her hands. "You feel this way because our love for each other is a romantic love."

"Romantic love? I don't understand," Neo whispered.

"I know you don't. And I think I have a way of making this a bit more clear for you to understand. Think about how you feel when Penguin or one of the other crew kisses you," Law said.

She nodded and did as she was told.

"How does that make you feel?"

"Well, I feel good. I guess. Why? What does-" Neo's body stiffened and her wings shot straight out when Law pressed his lips to her cheek. Her heart fluttered and her stomach flipped wildly inside of her at the unexpected kiss.

"Do you feel like you are now?" Law pulled back to see her reaction. She was staring blankly at him with wide eyes. He smiled when all she could do was shake her head ever so slightly. "That's because you don't have romantic feelings for them. Do you understand now?"

Law waited patiently for her to regain her senses and her voice. He watched as her chin bobbed up and down slightly while she tried to form words.

"S-sort of…n-not really…k-kinda…I'm not sure."

Law hummed. "That's okay. It'll take a little more time for you to completely understand what you're feeling. A lot of people have trouble with these feelings. I'll help you the best I can while you're learning about your feelings for me. But, for now, I want you to close your eyes for me."

"Why?"

Law chuckled when Neo gave him a cute but confused look at his odd request. He rubbed his thumbs in nervous circles over her hands while his eyes dropped to her lips. Heart pounding, stomach spinning, he forced himself to lift his eyes back to hers. "There's something that I want to give you."

"You got me a present?" Neo asked. A cool breeze weaved through the trees, making the leaves shuffle at the disruption. She shivered. A couple strands of her hair drifted carelessly over her face before lying back down on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I got you a present. Close your eyes for me now." Law nodded with a smile. He pulled his right hand from hers. Placing his fingertips just over her eyebrows, he gently brushed his fingers over her eyelids, guiding them closed. With a calming deep breath, he then placed both hands on her hips, earning another tense from her. "Now, this might be a little scary for you, but I promise it's not going to hurt you at all. Okay?"

"Okay." Neo nodded and obediently kept her eyes closed. She felt him move closer to her, but kept her eyes closed like he wanted. She twitched when she felt his warm breath flow over face. She felt him pause for some reason before he moved even closer to her.

Suddenly, unfamiliar warmth and tingle entered her body. It started at both her lips and her chest then spread out over her entire body and soul. Her eyes shot open. She found Law had his lips pressed to hers. Her wings started to flitter wildly at the strange action her captain was preforming on her. They created a light breeze around the two pirates, shifting the loose ends of their clothing and hair.

Law pulled back at that point. He didn't want to terrify her with their first kiss. He chuckled and smiled at her wide-eyed expression and when her wings lifted her feet off the ground an inch. Tightening his hold on her hips, he pulled her feet back to the ground. "Well, if I get this kind of reaction from a basic kiss, I can't wait to see what you do when I start giving you other types of kisses."

Neo's eyelids blinked rapidly in response.

He watched in amusement as she started to come back to reality and processed what he had just said.

Her squeaky voice asked, "O-other kisses?"

"Mhmm. There are many different types of kisses,  _my_  sweet, naive, little princess." Law nodded, taking hold of her left hand and lifting it to his face. He smiled at the sight of his ring on her finger before placing a kiss on it and her fingers. Slowly, he trailed kisses up her arm while speaking to her. "And, in time, I will teach you each and every single one of them. _ **"**_

Law placed a gentle kiss on her shoulder before placing one on her neck, hitting a sensitive spot without even trying.

Neo squeaked and tensed at another unfamiliar sensation washing through her body caused by his lips. Her wings flittered fast and started to lift her off the ground again. He placed his hands back on her hips, anchoring her to the ground.

He said, "You are my love now, Neo. That means I am the  _only_  man who's allowed to kiss your lips. And that's an order, love. I  _order_  you to  _never_  let another man kiss you on the lips. That includes the crew. Do you understand me?"

He pulled away slightly so he could see her response since she wasn't going to be able to voice it at this point. He smiled when she nodded. His smile faded and his eyebrows rose when he heard an unfortunate ruckus coming towards them. He huffed, "It seems we are about to get interrupted. I was hoping to talk to you some more about this and the Elementals. But I guess that can wait until a little later. For now, let's have a little fun with them, shall we?"

Law didn't give her the time to process or respond to his words. He pressed his lips to hers again just before  _they_  busted through the forest.

Healer Zinnia gasped sharply. She pointed accusingly at Law, but couldn't get her words to come out of her mouth.

The rest of the group then stepped out of the bushes. Kailen just smiled in acceptance to the tender scene before them while the crew cheered and whistled sharply when they saw their captain kissing Neo.

"Yeah!"

"About time!"

"The captain and Neo are officially a couple!"

"So, ya  _finally_  put the moves on her, eh, Captain?" Shachi asked when the crew cheers finally died down.

Law broke the kiss and smirked at the group while Neo remained staring wide-eyed, unaware, and unresponsive to the newly arrived group.

"How dare you!" Healer Zinnia then shrieked upon finding her voice. She marched up to Neo and Law. Pointing her finger accusingly at the pirate captain. "How dare you kiss her?! Only a man who is betrothed to a woman should kiss her!"

"Well," Law said with a devilish grin. He lifted Neo's left hand up and flashed the woman his ring. "She  _is_  wearing  _my ring_."

Healer Zinnia gasped again. Her face turned white. "Y-you didn't! Tell me you haven't had sex with her!"

"What is with you people? All I said was she is wearing my ring." Law lowered Neo's hand back down. He wrapped his arms around her protectively, and possessively, and pulled her into his chest. "That's the second time it's been brought up. I haven't slept with her like that. And I don't plan on sleeping with her like that for a while still. She's not ready for such a relationship."

"Fine! Then you give me your word on your life that you haven't had sexual relations with her!" Healer Zinnia demanded.

Law growled impatiently at the woman.

"The captain would never treat Neo like that," Penguin answered. He walked closer to the captain and Neo. "The captain really does love her. He would never ever take advantage of her naivety like that."

"He didn't seem to have issues with using her naivety in giving her  _that ring_!" Healer Zinnia hissed. She glared daggers at the pirate captain. "I'm not blind to the fact that she's as naive as she is. It's understandable with how she has grown up.  _But_ , she doesn't have a clue what that ring means, does she?! Did you propose to her without her knowing it?! Are you two  _engaged_?!"

"This ring can mean whatever she wants it to," Law said with a deep frown. "Like I said, I will  _never_  take advantage of her. I will always explain something if she doesn't understand it. And I will explain the meaning of a ring  _when_  she  _asks_  me about it. Right now, it's just a present I got for her. And, yes, I also got it for her to protect her from the advances of other men. If they see her wearing  _my ring_ , they would assume that she was off limits and leave her alone."

"I suppose that makes sense," Healer Zinnia slightly agreed with him on that last part. She then glared at him again. "But that still doesn't excuse your bad manners in giving her such an intimate gift! You are a grown man! You have experience in the world! The princess does not! How dare you?!"

"Hush up, woman," Law snapped back. "Everything I have done for her was to  _protect her_. I will not feel guilty just because  _your culture_  is different from ours."

"It's not  _that_  different!" Healer Zinnia snapped. "No  _civilized_  living being would approve of this!"

"Well, I'm a  _pirate_." Law smirked. "I do what I want."

"Grr! You really are a cad!" Healer Zinnia growled. Her crystals then appeared. They began to glow brightly, like they were hissing at the captain as well. Around them, the forest began to shift in response to the irate Elemental. The pirates looked at the forest, but remained calm. They knew she wouldn't hurt them, especially with Neo right there. She was just venting anger. "So help me! If you impregnate the princess out of wedlock, I'll hunt you down and castrate you myself!"

"I guess that means it's possible for the captain to get Neo pregnant. I never thought that the captain and Neo might not be able to have se-Ouch!" Shachi noted before Penguin's fist slammed down on his head. "What the heck was that for?!"

"You better not have thought about them doing  _that_!" Penguin ranted. His arms and legs flailing wildly as Bepo grabbed him and pulled him a few steps away from Shachi. "The rest of you better not have been thinking about that either!"

"Easy, Penguin. We all probably thought about it at some point," Bepo said.

"Not you too!" Penguin snapped at the bear.

"I'm sorry." Bepo dropped his hands to his side in a depressed slump.

"Will you stop shouting?!" Shachi demanded. "It's only natural for us to be curious! Neo's not human after all! Elementals might not reproduce like humans do! Especially  _with_  a human! The captain and Neo might not be able to have kids!"

"That doesn't give any of you the right to think about such an act!" Penguin screeched.

"Oh boy. This could go on for  _hours_ ," Jean Bart said with a sweat drop running down his head. He turned from the two arguing pairs and looked to Kailen. "You wanna tell us now what the big deal is with whether or not the captain is having intimate relations with Neo?"

Kailen ran his eyes over the two arguing pairs before turning his eyes back to the rest of the crew. He said, "For the record, we Elementals reproduce just like humans do. So he can technically have intimate relations with her if he wanted. Is just that, well, a royal's purity is linked to the solar crystal. If your captain was to take away her purity before they were married, she would lose over half of her magic and be severely weakened."

The crew gasped in shock. Those arguing, somehow, managed to hear what the earth Elemental had said. They looked at him. Penguin said, "So that's why you freaked out like you did on the sub."

"Yes." Kailen nodded. "I was worried that it might have all ready happened. I was so relieved that it didn't. If it had, Neo might not have been able to defeated the darkness crystal."

"Why? Has that happened before?" Conner asked.

"Yes, it has happened before. It was after the darkness was purified, but still, the royal of the time lost over half of his magic. We're not sure exactly why it happens. Some have theorized it has something to do with the fact that light is pure and an Elemental, or human, is considered pure until their innocence is taken away through marital intercourse. No one has ever tested this theory because it would weaken a royal and Luminous's defenses," Kailen explained with a shrug. "That's just how it is for royals. I suppose it's just one of those 'We all have our crosses to bear' kind of things. That's also why all of Neo's clothes here are white. It's a symbolic representation of her purity. Once she married her wardrobe would have different colors added to it. I'm kind of surprised no one has explained this to you all yet."

"Yeah, well, we've all been kinda distracted lately. Is that also why you were so concerned and shocked about the captain and Neo bonding?" Bepo asked.

Law looked at his bear subordinate then at the Elemental.

"That was part of it. But mostly I was concerned about how the rest of the Elementals would react to it," Kailen replied.

"Bonding? What bonding?" Healer Zinnia questioned.

"Uh, oops," Shachi and Penguin said at the same time. They looked at each other.

"We never did mention that when we were telling her and Selene of Neo's past, did we?" Shachi asked.

"I guess we didn't," Penguin replied while recalling that time in the ward.

"Kailen?!" Healer Zinnia whipped her eyes to him. "What are they talking about?!"

"Neo is bonded with Trafalgar Law," Kailen replied simply. "They've bonded three times."

Healer Zinnia's arms went slack by her sides. Her eyes ricocheted from Kailen then to Neo and Law. She did this several times before stopping her eyes on the bonded couple. Neo was still stiff against Law's chest with his arms still protective and possessively around her. The healer crossed her arms and said, "Well, that explains a lot then. I knew  _something_  was different with your relationship, but I never would have guessed it was possible to bond with a human, let alone bond  _three_  times."

"What's the big deal with you people being so shocked at the bonding thing?" Conner asked.

Kailen and Healer Zinnia exchanged looks. She shrugged. "Might as well tell them."

Kailen nodded. He then answered the question. "Well, no one has really been able to confirm it, but the royal that I mentioned to you all before, the one who bonded with another Elemental? They died when they were separated for too long. I didn't tell you this earlier because no one ever knew for sure what happened or if it's actually true. But the story goes the two families didn't approve of their relationship. The girl's family took her and left Luminous. After she died they came back to Luminous to find he, her bonded, had died as well. They told everyone that she had gotten a human illness and died therefore ending the life of her bonded at the same time, but some doubt that as true. They believed it was the separation is what killed them."

The crew gasped. Law tightened his hold on Neo even more. He looked down to see if she had come back to her sense yet. She hadn't. At the moment, he was thankful she was still in a catatonic state. He didn't want to stress her out even more with this news.

"You mentioned something about an elder Elemental who can give you more information on the bond before we all ran out here," Bepo said looking at Kailen.

"I was looking for someone who could give us some clarity on this story and the bonding process. Someone who could tell us if it was true or if the story had gotten twisted around as it passed down the generations. I think I found someone who can do that," Kailen replied. "But he's not very well. He's one of the oldest living Elementals. I was hoping to set up a meeting between you all when both he and the princess were feeling better."

"Then do it," Law said. They all turned their eyes to him. A look of determination was in his eyes. "I want to know if it's true or not."

"Right." Kailen nodded.

Healer Zinnia took a deep breath and let it out as slowly as possible. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at each and every one of the pirates. "So, any more surprises you all have hidden that you'd like to share?"

"Well, I don't know if you'd consider this as a surprise, but Red Haired Shanks is Neo's godfather," Archer said with a childlike smile.

"You have got to be kidding me." Healer Zinnia's arms once again hung limp at her sides.

"It's true," Kailen replied. "I was there. He was looking out for both of us during the attack. And when we were separated, he kept looking for us both."

"Okay…I'm going home. I can't take anymore surprises today," Healer Zinnia announced. She waded her way back through the bushes. She paused to glare back at Law. "Just no more getting her  _excited_ like  _that_  until I take off the patches. I don't want to have a heart attack again. After they're off, you can kiss her to your heart's content. And you better keep your word on keeping the princess pure until you wed. Or it's  _snip, snip_  for you,  _pirate_!"

"I will keep my word." Law nodded. He tangled his hand in Neo's hair and lightly clenched it. "I won't do anything that will intentionally hurt her like that."


	50. Relationship

Relationship

Law watched as his navigator blinked multiple times in curiosity, and in slight worry. The bear had moved closer to him and Neo. Bepo was inspecting Neo who was still in a catatonic state. He then looked at his captain and asked, "Captain, is she all right? She's not moving."

"She'll be fine. She's just going to need a little time to get use to me kissing her," Law replied. He pulled back to inspect her stunned expression then leaned down and pressed a kiss into her hair. He then gave every single one of his crew a pointed look. "And absolutely no teasing her until she's gotten use to this change."

"Aye Aye, Captain!" the crew chirped.

"Does this mean you two are actually an official couple now?" Archer asked.

"Well, I still want to talk to her about this so I know she understands what this change in our relationship means," Law said. He stroked his hand over her hair. "And as long as she understand it and wants it, then yes, we are an official couple."

"That's great!" Archer smiled. "And it's about time!"

"That is great. Isn't it, Kailen?" Shachi turned to find that their Elemental friend was missing, again. "Kailen? Where did he go? He was just here a second ago."

"I guess he's still feeling guilty about what happened years ago," Jean Bart said. He looked around the forest then turned his eyes back to his captain. "He might need a little  _help_  in confronting what happened and in finally meeting his sister. Neo will definitely want to talk to him before we leave Luminous."

Law nodded in agreement. "We'll get them together when she asks to see him."

"We should probably head back to the castle now," Penguin said, noting the setting sun's rays falling lower between the leaves. "If not, they might come looking for her. Prudence is probably having a heart attack right now."

"It's dinner time, anyway," Shachi added. His eyes locked onto Neo. Her body was still stiff like she would never move again. "What are you going to do about her, Captain? It's going to raise questions if she returns to the castle in that kind of state."

Law chuckled. He knew their first kiss was going to be a shock to her, but he didn't think it would put her in a catatonic state. He clenched her hair a couple times and tilted his head. "Hm…maybe I over did it a bit."

"What exactly did you do to her?" Bepo asked. "You did nothing but kiss her, right?"

"Yes, Bepo," Law replied with a bright grin. "All I did was kiss her."

"I get the feeling it wasn't just one simple kiss on the lips. The captain did something more," Conner said while they all started to head back to the castle. The crew mumbled their agreements with humorous chuckles.

"You're probably right," Archer said. He put his hands behind his head and walked along their blazed out trail they made on the way in. "Maybe they'll tell us one day."

"Coming, Captain?" Shachi asked. He turned around and looked back at Neo and Law.

Penguin paused to hear their captain's answer.

"Yeah." Law nodded. He inspected Neo once more before looking up at his crew. "You all go on ahead. I'm going to see if I can snap her out of this."

"All right." Shachi waved to him and continued to follow his crewmates.

Penguin lingered a few seconds longer than Shachi before finally following after him with a huge smile on his face.

"Hm." Law hummed while staring at Neo's blank expression. He chuckled again. Perhaps he did go a tad bit to far in trailing kisses up her arm and to her neck. He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers. "Neo? Come back to me now. Squeeze my hands if you can hear me."

Law slid his hands back into her. She immediately squeezed his hands, refusing to loosen them up. He then said, "Take a couple deep breaths for me."

Again, she obeyed him. A couple deep breaths got her to blink her eyelids. He watched patiently as her beautiful electric blue eyes came back into focus. He pulled back so she could see him better. She blinked a few more times then looked around before bring her eyes back to his. She stuttered, "Y-you…Y-y-you j-just…"

"Kissed you," Law finished for her.

"Kissed me on the…" Neo's voice trailed of as her hand lifted up to her face. She touched her fingertips to her lips. Her face flushed. She dropped her fingers from her lips and tucked her face into Law's chest, clutching a hold of his hoodie.

"Are you all right?" Law asked quietly. He wrapped his left arm back around her shoulders while placing his right hand on her lower back, giving her smooth stroke to help calm her down.

"Yes." Neo nodded against him. She pulled back and smiled at him. "I'm still a bit confused, but I-uh…"

"What's is it?" Law asked with slight alarm in his voice when Neo's eyes widened a bit.

She tucked herself back into Law. She whispered, "Elementals are near by. They're watching us. Can we go back to the castle? I don't want to be near them right now."

"Yes, we can go back." While Law pulled back from her a bit, she banished her wings from her back so he could carrying her easier. He slipped his arm under her knees and lifted her up. "It's time for dinner, anyway."

Neo wrapped her arms around him and hid her eyes in his neck.

He knew she didn't want to be seen by the Elementals so he used his powers and warped them back to the castle as fast as he could. He warped her into the library. He gave her a few minutes of peace before walking her to the dinning hall. They were met by delicious smells of the fish dishes and fresh fruit. The crew was all ready there and sitting at the table. They were chatting among themselves. They all glanced up at the two entering the room.

Penguin got up and walked over to them. He leaned in close so they could talk privately. He said, "We haven't said a word about the kiss. We'll let you two reveal that when you feel like it. But there is a bit of a problem."

"What is it?" Law asked. His eyebrow narrowed slightly.

Neo looked at Penguin with concern shimmering in her eyes.

"It's nothing major. Its just…people are question Healer Zinnia's outburst at the ward and how she went running off into the forest," Penguin replied. "They've been questioning if Neo's all right or if she was hurt again. The castle workers have been snooping around us since we got back to the castle even though we said she was fine. And as you can see…" He paused and looked to a small group of maids peaking in one of the dinning hall doors. They jumped when they realized they've been spotted then quickly scurried off. "…they all keep hanging around."

"Just ignore them," Law said with mischief shining in his eyes. He looked down at Neo at the same time she looked up at him. "It's none of their business what happened in the woods. We don't have to tell them anything. Okay, Neo?"

Neo nodded with pink cheeks.

Law nodded back then the small group sat down at the table. He once again took the seat at the head of the table with Neo in his lap. A maid then walked over. She frowned in disapprove of their princess still sitting on  _his_  lap. Her eyes then flittered to Neo and filled with concern. The woman didn't say anything. She just filled their two plates, poured them some juice then walked away.

The pirate crew settled back down into peaceful chatter while they ate. Like their captain ordered, they didn't tease Neo. They didn't even mention the kiss. Mostly because of the Elementals that kept  _hanging around_  but also to let Neo adjust and processed what happened.

Neo ate quietly. She picked at the fruits and vegetables on her plate. Occasionally, she would glance at Law. He would meet her gaze with a soft smile. Her cheeks would flush and her lips would pull into a smile at the memory of the kiss. Heart strumming, she'd quickly look back down at her food.

…

"Where are we going now, Captain?" Neo asked while Law carried her down the hall. A few servants were still lingering around but most had already gone home for the night.

"To the library," Law replied casually. He glanced at the girl in his arms then over at a couple maids who were standing in the hall,  _trying_  to look busy and failing. He frowned at them. They flinched when they realized he knew they were trying to snoop and figure out the reason for the healer's outburst earlier. He sighed to himself.  _I was hoping to talk to Neo about our kiss, but it looks like I might not be able to until everyone goes to bed. Everywhere I try to take her there are more Elementals._

_'We could just talk through our bond.'_

Law glanced down at her.  _'I suppose so, but that could also give us away. Sitting together, but not speaking would set them off. Besides, even if we did speak like this about what happened earlier they would still interrupt us. We can wait and talk later when everyone else is asleep. Unless you really want to talk about it right now. How are you feeling about it?'_

_'I'm still a bit confused. I can wait though. I just want to be with you right now. We don't have to talk about it until later.'_

_'All right. Just remember we can talk about it at any time you want. I'll dismember them with my powers if I have too.'_  Law smiled when he hear Neo giggled through their bond. Her bell chiming giggles still set his heart thumping. He was glad he could hear that through their bond. He'd miss it if he couldn't.

_'I thought you weren't going to cause anymore problems with them.'_

_'Yeah, but you will always come first. Whatever you want, I will get it for you. I will make it happen. All you have to do is say so.'_  Law's heart thumped harder when she giggled again and wrapped her arms around his neck. She nuzzled her nose into his skin, about pushing him over the edge. His heart pounded so hard it practically cut off his breathing. He loved how she made him feel. And he loved her.

Law sat down on the couch. He grabbed the book off the end table that Neo had been reading. He handed it to her.

Neo gladly took it from him. She opened it and settled into his chest. She held the book to where they both could read it. They quietly read together while ignoring the snooping glances of the Elementals until it was time to get ready for bed.

"Princess," Medina said entering the room. "Your bath is ready. Shall I escort you to your room?"

"That won't be necessary." Law placed Neo's book down. Picking her up, he carried her out of the room, down the hall, up the stairs, and then into Neo's room. He could hear the water still running from the bath.

"Don't go," Neo said when he sat her down on her feet.

"It won't be for long." Law placed his hat on her head. "Call if you need me."

Neo nodded. She watched him go before forcing herself into the bathroom. Stepping behind the changing wall, she stripped of her clothes. When the two maids had their backs turn, she slipped into the tub. The water was nice. The bubbles smelled like lavender. It relaxed her muscles that she didn't even notice were tense. Placing Law's hat on the floor close to her, she ducked under the water, wetting her hair before leaning back to enjoy the bath for a while.

Neo sighed. She shifted in the hot she glanced over at her two ladies maids. They kept walking around the large bathroom, straightening this or that, shifting this or that. She had no clue why they were even bothering trying to and look like they were doing their duties. She knew they weren't. She still might not be as socially aware as everyone else, but she did know something changed today between her and Law. And she knew these two maids of hers were just trying to find out what had happened like everyone else outside of the crew.

Neo looked to her right. Law's hat was still sitting beside her and the tub where she had placed it. He always made sure to give her his hat before leaving the room. It turned into a continuous promise that he was going to be coming back to her as soon as the castle quieted down. And he always did. It also helped her quell her anxiety about being separated from him. She sighed again when the two maids looked over at her again before they looked away. She ran her fingers over his hat for encouragement, the fuzz smooth under her slightly wrinkled skin. The maids were staring at her once more. She could feel them, waiting for her to speak to them. Well, she had something to say to them. And it had nothing to do with what happened with the healer. She drew in a deep breath and released it as slowly as she could. She pictured Law using his strong tone to intimidate people. While she didn't really want to intimidate them she wanted them to get that impression. Then summoning her  _inner Law and supposed royal authority_ , she did her best to glare harshly at them. She either wanted to be alone or with Law. "That will be all. You may  _leave_  now."

"But, Princess, we haven't-" Lyra started.

"You've all ready straightened up everything in this bathroom a dozen times. And you've all ready turned down the covers. All you're doing is trying to get me to tell you what happened earlier. Nothing happened. Now  _leave!_ " Neo just about shouted. She was taken aback by her own, out of place, authoritative tone coming from her mouth. Lyra and Medina were also shock by the mini outburst. She could easily see their minds automatically going back to earlier that day when she turned her crystals on Selene. So she added, "Leave right now or I'll have the captain come back and kick you out with his devil fruit powers."

"As you wish, Princess," the two maids chorused, their faces pale. They bowed then scurried out of the room as quickly as they could.

_'Neo, are you all right? I felt you get a bit upset.'_

_'I'm all right, Law.'_  Neo replied through her mind. She didn't feel like using her voice, even thought she knew she was alone now.  _'I just got annoyed at those two maids, Lyra and Medina. They kept looking at me like I was easily going to tell them what happened. If I were going to tell any Elemental it would be Topaz. I actually like her. She's different from the others.'_

_'I'm not surprised you feel at ease enough to talk to her. She's a lot calmer than the others. When others are calm like that you feel more relaxed too.'_

_'I kind of wish she was around more. At least more than Lyra and Medina.'_

_'Well, you're their princess. If you want her around, then you have the right to make that decision.'_

_'I suppose so. It did feel a bit good telling those two to get out of here. But it still felt a bit awkward.'_

Law chuckled.  _'You're just not use to giving orders. You're naturally gentle. And you're use to the crew doing what you ask without contradiction. But I think you might be coming a bit more out of your shell and voicing how you feel.'_

 _'I guess so.'_  Neo leaned back against the tub and looked up at the ceiling.

_'Don't spend too much time in the bath now.'_

_'I won't. You are coming later, right?'_

_'You know I am. We'll be able to talk then. Are you ready for that?'_

_'I am.'_  Neo nodded to herself. A smile formed on her lips at the memory of the kiss. She raised her fingers back to her lips and touched them. Her heart raced in her chest. She took a couple relaxing breaths to relax her heart. She vaguely remembered Law telling her something about  _others_  coming when he kissed her. She figured the  _others_  surely included Healer Zinnia since the woman was still monitoring her vital signs. She wished she could remember everything that happened in the forest, but the kiss really shocked her. She only could remember the crew, Healer Zinnia and another voice talking about a couple things and Law's lips on her own. And in a little while she would finally be able to ask him about them.

Neo forced herself to stand up, the water rolled off her skin. She loved the bath, but was anxious in getting it over with and getting to be with Law again. Using her water crystals, she quickly washed the soap from her body and hair. She then unplugged the drain in the tub and climbed out of the massive bath. She wrapped a fluffy towel around her body then plucked Law's hat up. Summoning her fire and wind crystals, she dried her hair and dug through her clothes. She paused to glance over at a silk nightgown that one of the maids had left out for her. It was hanging on a little hook on the wall. And it was, of course, white in color. It had very thin straps and would come down to her knees.

She didn't like it. She had run her hand over it earlier. The fabric was too cool to the touch. She once again, silently, thanked Penguin for bring her own, familiar clothes to the castle. She pulled out Law's blue hoodie that she had come to wear often. She pressed it to her nose. It still smelled like him. Smiling, she finally got herself to get dressed. She ran her brush through her hair before sitting it back down with the rest of her clothes. She then left the bathroom with Law's hat on her head.

After clicking on the lamp beside the bed, she walked over and shut off the main lights. She eyed the door. Two guards, like always, were post outside her room. They were a water and a wind wielders tonight. She wondered how many guards this place had and why they even had people designated as guards when they all had pretty much the same ability over the elements.  _'Law?'_

_'Yes?'_

_'Why does this place have guards if they all have the ability to protect themselves with their crystals?'_  Neo walked over to the bed. She sat down, pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged them. She rested her chin on her knees while listening intently to Law's reply.

_'For order and protection. Just like human skills, not all Elementals are going to have the same skills and strengths as those around them. Let's say that someone did attack this island. Children and the elderly won't be as strong as an adult in their twenties or thirties. They would need someone to help them fight or help them escape if the situation called for it. That would mean that they would need someone to help them while others fought off the enemy. Also, they would need protection in the case that a riot broke out on Luminous between the Elementals. That's pretty much what happened when the darkness crystal attacked this place. Not all Elementals had been taken over by it, so they most likely tried to stop the Dark Elementals while helping your parents escape before being turned dark themselves.'_

_'Oh…that makes sense.'_

_'And, I'm not completely sure yet since I haven't asked, but I don't believe there is a royal all the time on Luminous. I believe a royal is only born when this island needs the solar crystal. That would mean that Luminous's defenses are a lot weaker when a royal isn't here and they would need structure and a plan in case of being attacked.'_

_'I never thought of that before. I wonder how many royals this place has had.'_

_'We'll know eventually. I'm sure they've kept track of that since the first royal. Or they'll, at the very least, have an educated guess.'_

Neo smiled when she felt Law's presence closer to her. She looked up to see him standing beside the bed. He smiled back at her before leaning his sword up against the nightstand and wall. She scooted over when he sat down on the bed to take off his shoes. Once off, he slid back on the bed and turned to her. They both sat with their legs crossed up under them. "Hi."

"Hi," Neo whispered back with a smile.

Law held her gaze for several, quiet, minutes before reaching back and shutting off the lamp. "Don't want them to think there's something wrong in here," he answered her unasked question.

Neo nodded. The two focused their eyes on each other again through the now moonlit room. Coolness settled in the dark space. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination or if it did get cooler in the room. It did make Neo glad she put on his hoodie. She bit her bottom lip. Like always, Law was waiting for  _her_  to ask him what happened today. She asked, "Our relationship changed today, didn't it? It's been changing for a while now, hasn't it?"

"It did. And it has." Law nodded. "But  _only_ if  _you_  want it to change. If you were to say yes, then we would now be in a romantic relationship. You would be my girlfriend and I would be your boyfriend."

"But you're the captain. Why not just order me to say yes?" Neo asked.

"Because if I were to do that then I would have a negative control over you. And I  _won't_  control you like that,  _ever_. I don't want to be in a romantic relationship with you where I make all the decisions just because I  _can_  control you. We have to make this  _together_." Law reached out and took her hands in his. "I might have control over you, but that's  _only_  when you need me to help you regain control over yourself or when you need to move out of danger."

"What would change from how we were before?" Neo asked.

"Well, I'll be holding your hand more, hugging you more and, most importantly, I would be kissing you more," Law replied. " _A lot more_."

"Kissing? Like you did today in the forest?" Pulling her right hand from his, Neo pressed a finger to her lips, her mind automatically recalling his lips on hers. Her cheeks flushed at the memory as her heart slammed against her chest. Law nodded and leaned in closer to her. She looked back at him when she saw him moving. "Like you're going to do right now?"

"I want to kiss you right now, but…" Law paused in moving closer to her. He tapped the top of the crystal patch still poking out of her collar. "…I don't want that healer woman finding out that I'm sleeping in here with you. You don't want that either, right? You better calm your heartbeat before she comes running in here to check on you again."

Neo nodded. Closing her eyes, she started taking deep slow breaths. After a minute, she finally got her heartbeat to slow back down to its normal pace. She opened her eyes and looked back at Law with a guilty and disappointed look on her face.

He tapped her chest again with chuckled then said, "Don't worry, love. As soon as these things come off I'll kiss you plenty of times. I have to work on getting you over stiffening up as much as you did today. It won't be much fun if my  _girlfriend_  never kisses me back."

"Girlfriend," Neo parroted. "That's what I would be to you now?"

"Yes." Law nodded. "And I would be your boyfriend. But  _only_  if you say yes."

Law went quiet then to give her time to think about his words. He reclaimed her hand in his and waited patiently.

She studied his eyes and words before looking down at their connected hands. She then raised her eyes back up to his. "Yes. I want this. I don't completely understand how things will change, but I know you will help me with that. I want that. I want to know more about these feelings I have for you. And I can't do that if things don't change between us, right? This  _is_  a good change, right?"

"Yes to both of those questions." Law nodded. "It's a good change, but it'll also be a tough change. Our relationship will be about  _us_  as a couple. No longer two separate individuals, but a united pair."

"That kind of sounds like the crew," Neo said causing Law tilted his head. "I mean if the crew doesn't work as one then things can get really bad, right? Our crew's successes have happened because they work together to get the mission done. Just like you all did when you came to rescue me. If you all had argued then you all might not have gotten to Luminous at all. You all also listened to Kailen. If you didn't listen to him you wouldn't have found this place either."

Law smiled. She understood this a bit better than she even realized. "That's right."

"I like this," Neo then said. "It feels right."

"Yeah, it does feel right." Law gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "You ready to lay down now?"

Neo nodded. Law plucked his hat off her head. While he dropped it onto the nightstand, Neo laid down. Law then laid down close to her and pulled the covers over them. Propped up on his elbow, he trailed his fingertips through her hair while she watched him intently. She then asked, "Law, what does engaged mean?"

"Hm? I didn't think you were coherent enough to hear that conversation," Law said with a low hum. "Well, engaged actually has multiple meanings. In this case, it means having formally agreed to marry. And marry means that I would take you as my wife and I would be your husband and we would live together in marriage."

"But we all ready live together," Neo said innocently and with a smile. "Does that mean we are all ready married?"

Law couldn't help but chuckle at her innocence. He tucked her hair behind her ear then brushed his thumb over her cheek. "That is very true. We do live together, but no we are not married. If we were married things would be very different between us."

"What would be different?" Neo asked. Excitement, innocence and curiosity were shining in her eyes in anticipation of what would be different between them. The question and her innocent look make Law's face grow hot. There was actually only  _one_  difference that he could think of that would change between them. And that was what Kailen been dreading already happened.

"Well, uh…" Law swallowed hard. He was thankful the moon wasn't full tonight. If it were, she would be able to easily see his blushing in the low light. He poked his finger onto the mattress. He forced himself not to think about all the sexual relation talk that had been going on lately. And he forced himself not to think about how they were laying so close together and in the same bed. "Now really isn't the time…or the place…for that particular conversation."

"Oh," Neo said with disappointment lacing her tone. It made Law's heart sink in his chest. She lowered her eyes to the bed. "Because I'm not ready to know?"

"Well, I think you could use a little more time to grow up before I tell you," Law said. He reached out and placed his finger under her chin. He tilted her chin up then pressed his forehead to hers. "But, honestly, this really isn't the appropriate place for that conversation. It's a conversation best left for when we have enough time to go over everything thoroughly and where we won't be interrupted."

Law traced his finger over her chin before trailing his touch down to one of the crystal patches sticking out of his hoodie. He felt her heart beat rise slightly at his touch. "I promise that I will explain everything one day. Most likely when we're back on the sub where we won't get interrupted. We'll have more time and privacy to talk there than here in the castle or even on Luminous."

"Okay. I understand. I can wait then." Neo smiled. Law smiled back and retracted his hand. She then held up her left hand. "So is that why you gave me this ring? Because you want to marry me? Was Healer Zinnia right?"

"Well, this ring doesn't  _have_  to mean we are engaged. I got it for you because I wanted to. It can mean whatever you want." Law took a hold of her raised hand. He ran his thumb over his ring and her finger. Smiling with red cheeks, he said, "But, yes, one day I would love to marry you if you were to say yes."

Neo opened her mouth. Before she could speak a single word, Law released her hand and pressed his finger to her lips. Firmly, he said, " _No_. I don't want you to answer this question right now. I want you to first understand the differences between men and women. And I want you to understand what it would mean for us to be married  _before_  you decide if you want to be married or not. Will you promise me to wait?"

Law slowly removed his finger from her lips giving her permission to speak again.

"Okay, Law. I promise to wait. But I'm not sure I understand what you mean by the differences between men and women."

"Yeah, I figured as much. We never talked about that before," Law said with a light chuckle. "But don't worry. That'll conversation will come as I have promised."

Neo nodded in agreement. She then said, "Oh, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about."

"And what's that?" Law asked.

"That other guy that was with the crew today," Neo said.

"Kailen, your brother," Law assumed.

"My brother," Neo said softly. "Why hasn't he come to see me?"

"He's been busy trying to smooth things over with the Elementals. I suppose he also still feels guilty about what happened to you years ago," Law said. He brushed his hand over her arm in a comforting way when she shifted uncomfortably at the memory.

"But that's not his fault. He didn't do anything wrong," Neo insisted. "I want to see him. If not tomorrow, at least sometime before we leave here."

"Don't worry, Neo. I promise we won't leave this island before you have a chance to talk to him." Law trailed his hand over her arm then covered her hand with his.

"Also, about what he said concerning our bond," Neo started, but Law cut her off.

"You were a lot more consciously aware at the time than I thought you were," Law said astonished.

"Not really. I only heard bits and pieces. And the bond thing was one of them."

"Don't worry about that. Whatever happens, whatever the true story is, I won't let you die." Law tightened his hand over hers. She could easily feel the urgency in his voice and touch.

"It's not that…I mean, I am a bit concerned about that story, but…"

"Go on." Law encouraged her to continue to speak when she hesitated.

"I'm not sure how really, but I know that I would die without you now whether or not we are bonded," Neo said in a very soft tone. She locked eyes with Law. Turning her hand over, she laced her fingers through his. "You mean so much to me. I was so scare those couple of days you weren't beside me. I really,  _really_ didn't like it. You and the crew are the reasons I'm alive. You all are my light.  _You_  gave me a life.  _You_   _are_  my life. I don't  _ever_  want to be separated from you again."

"I really didn't like it either. Those few days felt like a living hell without you. I don't ever want to be separated from you either. I will do everything in my power to stop that from happening again. But there's going to be a time that you need to help me do that," Law said. He was careful in saying that last part. When Neo looked at him questioningly, he continued. "You are the only one who can get the Elementals to understand that you aren't staying here on Luminous. You're going to have to face them again."

"I'm going to have to fight?" Neo said with panic rising in her voice.

"No, Neo." Law leaned over and pressed his forehead to hers. He nuzzled their noses together, calming her down. "I just mean you're going to have to confront them. You're going to have to tell them that you're not staying here. That you're going to leave with us."

"But I…I can't." Neo shook her head lightly. "They're just so…"

"Shh." Law could smell her salty tears before he even saw them. He slid his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. "It'll be all right. They'll listen to you because you are their royal. You are stronger than all of them combined. I'll be right by your side. And so will the crew. Can you do this?"

Neo took a couple of deep breaths. Her tears subsided before they had the chance to fall. She then looked him dead in the eyes. He could see her determination to never be separated from him again shining in her eyes. "I'll do it as long as you and the crew are by my side. I don't want to be separated from you again and I mean it. And if confronting them is what needs to be done to make sure that happens, then I'll do it. I'll confront them. I'm  _not_  stay  _here_. I'm staying with  _you_. You are my bonded. You are my…"

Neo hesitated. Law smiled sweetly at her and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Softly, and encouragingly, he said, "It's okay. You can say it even though you still don't understand it completely."

Neo swallowed then said it. "You are my love. I love you so much."

"And you are my love. I love you so much, too." Law pulled her even closer to him. He tangled his hand into her hair and breathed in her sweet scent. His heart was pounding wildly again. He knew hers was too. He was surprised they hadn't been interrupted yet. "You better calm down before  _she_  comes busting in here. I don't want to leave my love right now."

Neo giggled. She didn't know why she did. She just did. It felt good to her. She loved being with him and didn't want that to change. So she took several deep breaths. Once her heart was calm again, she looked up at him. The two smiled before snuggling together for the night.


	51. Neo's Stance

Neo's Stance

Neo's eyes flitter back and forth between Healer Zinnia and Law. She was sitting on the bed in ward easily noticing the strange, silent battle going on between them, but not understanding what is was exactly. Law was sitting beside her like he always did. His right arm was around her waist while he had his left hand placed over her left hand. He lightly rubbed his fingers over her hand, making her tense and sending an electric tingle up her arm that jolted her heart. A devilish smirk was set on his lips when Healer Zinnia shot him another annoyed glare.

"Will you stop doing that?!" Healer Zinnia demanded. "I'm trying to take her vitals! And I can't get a precise reading when you keep making her heart pound like that!"

"She's fine. This isn't necessary. Just go ahead and take off the patches," Law said.

"I'm tempted to leave them on just to keep you from kissing her. I already have the suspicions that you're crossing the line and sneaking into her bedroom at night considering how her heart was pounding the other night," Healer Zinnia grumbled.

Law's smirk grew.

Healer Zinnia growled at the pirate's lack of respect for their rules. Knowing there was nothing that could be done to keep them apart due to their bond and Law's word on keeping the princess pure, she just sighed with defeat before giving in and removing the four crystal patches from Neo's chest. Tugging down the collar, she plucked off the patches. "All right, Princess, you are officially out from underneath my watchful gaze. Your vitals are fine, the poison is long gone and your strength is coming back. I still advise you to take things easy now. Don't over do it. And if anything doesn't feel right just sit down and have someone call for me. But I have the feeling you'll go to your captain first. Still, Mister Trafalgar, you're just learning so don't get in over your head, especially with the princess."

"We'll be just fine," Law said with a shrug.

"I guess we'll see," Healer Zinnia said. She slipped the patches into her pocket then crossed her arms "Still…with what you have planned later today I should probably kept the patches on unit after that. We all know it's going to stress her out like crazy. Maybe I should put them back on."

"Nothings going to go wrong," Law replied. He pulled Neo closer to him when he felt her tremble. She lifted her eyes to him. Sensing her anxiety rising, he pressed his lips to her forehead. "I'm going to be right by her side the whole time. The crew is also going to be there. She can do this as long as we're by her side."

"I hope your right," Healer Zinnia sighed.

"You…you're going to come, aren't you?" Neo asked timidly. She turned her eyes to the healer.

Law glanced over at Healer Zinnia. Over the weeks spent around the woman, Neo had finally gotten comfortable enough around the Elemental to actually speak to her without much hesitation.

"Yes, Princess, I will be there. Mostly in case something goes wrong with your health, but I'm also curious to see the faces on the Elementals when you tell them you're not stay here and that you're bonded with this man," Healer Zinnia replied with a nod. A smile pulled across her lips. "You and your crew sure have turned things upside down. It's actually kind of exciting. There hasn't been this much excitement since your godfather first arrived here. Is everything going to be ready in time?"

"Yes." Law nodded. "Topaz has been spreading the word about Neo making an announcement since this morning. Elementals have been gathering outside the castle all day. I had to warp Neo over here when we came."

"Yeah, I've noticed that excitement in the air too. Everyone in the ward has been talking about the princess making an announcement. They all think she's announcing that she's staying on Luminous." Healer Zinnia lowered her voice. She looked over to the door. A couple of shadows passed by, they slowed down but didn't linger around. Turning her eyes back to the pirates, she shoved her hands into her pockets. "Well, I've got to get back to my other patients now. I'll see you later."

"Bye." Neo waved to the woman as she walked away. She then looked back up at Law. "Where are we going now? Back to the castle? It's almost time for lunch."

"I think we should go for a walk before returning to the castle," Law said. "All the Elementals are going to be too excited about your announcement to notice us. They won't be focused on sensing where you are. We should take advantage of that while we can."

"Okay then." Neo nodded. Law slid off the bed. After strapping his sword back to his back, he picked Neo up. "I can walk."

"I know." Law smiled. "But I like carrying you. Room. Shambles."

Neo blinked and found they were now outside. In the distance she could hear muffled voices of the Elementals. It made her nervous at how many there were gathering outside of the castle. It felt like the entire island population was there and her speech wasn't going to happen until later in the day. She wrapped her arms around Law's neck. "There's so many of them. Their magic is overwhelming."

"I know." Law ran his hand over her back. He started walking farther into the forest. "This is the first time you're having to speak to so many people. I wish your first time was in front of a lot less. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry. This isn't your fault." Neo pulled away from him a bit. "These are my people after all. And if confronting them is what it takes to get them to understand how much you and the crew mean to me, then I would do it as many times as it takes. I'm not leaving  _you_  or the crew."

Law smiled at her. The thought of kissing her passed through his mind but quickly left when he felt something climbing up his leg.

Neo giggled and Law frowned when a very cute baby silver and white colored squirrel appeared on his shoulder. The squirrel twitched his little nose at Neo before climbing down her arm and came to sit on her shoulder. She giggled again when the squirrel licked then snuggled her cheek. A couple birds flew over and landed on a near by branch. They tweeted and chirped a song while more animals scurried out from the bushes. A couple foxes, bunnies, even a wolf gathered around Law and Neo. The animals curiously inspected the couple, mostly Neo.

Law huffed, a bit annoyed that his alone time with Neo got interrupted. "They better not be asking you to stay as well. I'll turn them into fluffy slippers and feather pens if they are."

"They're not," Neo replied with more bell chiming giggles at the attention the animals were giving her. "They're just curious because they haven't sensed me here before. I guess these are some of the island animals that have returned."

Neo turned her eyes to Law then. She sensed an unfamiliar, yet slightly familiar energy coming from him.

Law tilted his head. He asked, "What is it?"

"There was just something different in your tone when you say they better not be asking you to stay as well and the fluffy slippers thing," Neo said. She carefully inspected Law to try and figure out what was going on. "It was kind of cute, but also something else. I'm not really sure what. Something familiar. "

It took Law a second to realize what she was talking about. When he finally understood, he nodded before answering her. "I was jealous."

"Jealous? That feeling you said I had when Selene…" Neo flinched. She bit her bottom lip and tried not to think about what that Elemental tried to do.

"Yeah." Law nodded again when she leaned her forehead against his cheek. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I just still don't like how I felt then," Neo replied honestly. "I really don't want her near you. But I know there are going to be times when she is while we're still on Luminous."

"Try not to think about it. If she comes anywhere near me again, I'll put an immediate stop to it. I won't let her get that close ever again," Law said with a bit of a harsh edge to his tone.

Neo pulled away from him a bit so she could look at him. He had a light glare playing on his eyes, but it quickly vanished when he knew she was looking at him. Her heart began to race when she noticed his eyes turning soft and he leaned closer to her. She swallowed nervously. "Y-you're going t-to do that thing again, aren't you? You're going to kiss me."

"I am," Law whispered just before closing the distance between them. He smiled when he felt her body become completely tense under his intimate touch. Not wanting to freeze her up completely, he pulled away after only a couple seconds. He chuckled humorously at her wide-eyed expression. "I guess I'm going to have to kiss you a lot so you will get use to it and not freeze up on me like this all the time."

The animals moved in closer. They chitter, chirped and made their respective noises. Law couldn't help but notice that they were curious at the reaction Neo had right now. He wasn't sure how he knew how the animals felt, but he did. He wondered if it had something to do with their bond. The squirrel on Neo's shoulder looked at Law and chittered wildly, almost angrily. Law laughed at the possible lecture the little creature was giving him. "Don't tell me what to do, you little rat. She's just fine. She's just not use to such affections. But don't worry. I'm more than glad to help her get use to getting kissed like this. And now I'm talking to animals too."

Law shook his head. He wondered if they understood him like they would understand Neo if she was the one talking to them. He quickly shook it off. It really didn't matter right now. He continued his walk with her through the forest. He didn't want to take her back to the castle in her current condition. So he kept her outside for about forty-five minutes before returning to the castle and his crew for lunch.

…

"Hm." Neo hummed as her eyes roamed over all of the food on the table. There was a large amount of vegetables and fruits just like there was at every meal they've had since she and Law moved in to the castle. There was also some meat, mostly fish, sitting on the table close to Bepo.

"Is there something wrong, Princess?" Topaz asked. The orange haired Elemental took a couple steps closer to Neo and Law, but still remained a respectful distance away. "Is the food not to your liking today?"

"It's not that," Neo replied. She pulled her eyes from the food and looked at the Elemental. "I just noticed that at each meal there's always a lot of fruits and vegetables. There are always more of them than meat. Is there a reason for that?"

"Yes, there is, Princess," Topaz replied. "Our people's diet has always put more focus on fruits and vegetables than meat. A lot of Elementals find it difficult to eat meat since we can speak to animals. So they focus more on a herbivore diet than on an omnivore diet."

Neo turned her slightly panicked eyes to Law. She was once again sitting on his lap at the head of the table, much to the annoyance of the other Elementals. She asked, "Captain, is there something wrong with eating meat?"

"No there's nothing wrong with it at all," Law replied. "But some people do believe that eating meat is wrong or choose not to eat meat for personal, religious or health reasons. It's a personal choice that each individual decides on their own. You were raised among humans where it's normal to include meat in your diet. And humans don't have the ability to talk to animals the way that you do so the subject most likely was never brought up. I assume that if you were raised on Luminous your diet might be different from what it is right now."

Neo lowered her eyes back down to the fish lying on her plate.

Law then said, "Neo, if you ever decide that you're not comfortable eating meat because you talk to animals then I won't force you to eat it."

"Really?" Neo pulled her eyes back to his.

"Of course." Law nodded. "If you do, I'll monitor your diet change carefully so I can be sure that you're getting the right balance of nutrients until you've gotten use to the change. Just take some time to think about it. You don't have to make any decisions right now."

"Okay," Neo said. She relaxed in Law's hold and continued eating.

Law carefully examined Neo to make sure she was fine and understood him. The crew also stopped eating to observe their girl. None of them thought of this before. It could very well bother Neo to eat meat that she was more aware of her surroundings and now of different diet choices. Once Law concluded that she was fine for the time, he turned his eyes back to Topaz while the crew continued eating and chatting among themselves. Law asked, "How are the preparations going?"

"They are going just fine, sir," Topaz replied. "Everyone will gather outside of the castle as you have requested, if they haven't all ready. The princess will have plenty of escape routes if the situation for her to escape is needed. The castle guards will be standing guard around the porch just in case the Elementals want to get out of control. I still have a few things to take care of before the princess makes her announcement. I will be taking my leave now if there is nothing else you all need."

Law nodded in acceptance to the Elemental's words.

Topaz nodded back to the man then bowed to Neo before walking off.

Neo shifted at the bowing and tried to ignore it.

Law continued to watch and sensed out Neo's feelings carefully during the rest of their lunch. With the new diet information and her upcoming announcement he wanted to make sure she wasn't going to get too stressed out from everything.

…

Neo stood silently beside Law, her eyes locked onto the large doors in front of her. She could sense all the Elementals gathering outside. They were waiting for her and her announcement. She bit her bottom lip as her hand trembled in his.

Law squeezed her hand then rubbed his thumb in circles over her skin. "Deep, slow breaths, Neo."

"Right." Neo nodded. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She let it out slowly then did it a couple more times. It settled her nerves a little bit. When she opened her eyes, she looked around at her crew. They had gathered around a few minutes ago when she and Law came out of the library. They all were giving her encouraging smiles, but she could also tell that they too were just as nervous, and concerned, as she was. Over the months she's lived with them she's learn how to read their postures in different situations. They twitched, shifted from foot to foot, clenched and unclenched their hands when nervous or tense, especially when the situation dealt with her. Even Law was emitted an uncharacteristic nervousness. She didn't even have to use their bond to tell that.

Neo pulled her eyes up to Law. He was clenching and unclenching his left hand on his sword. She could see multiple plans running through his eyes on what he was going to do if something went wrong here. First thing he would do is warp her and the crew out of there and into the sub. Then is was a question of whether or not they could get the sub far away before the Elementals stopped them. She looked around the room. No Elementals were in sight. She wondered if all the castle workers were outside to hear her announcement or if they were possibly elsewhere.

She turned her attention to the gathered crowd outside. So many Elementals were out there. More had came since the last time she checked. So many people wielding nature. So many who could hurt her crew, her family. Her hand tightened on Law's as her breaths started to come in short gasps and her chest squeezed tightened while a cold sweat started to break out on her forehead. She wheezed.

"Don't do that, Neo," Law's voice pulled her from her oncoming panic attack. She turned her eyes back to him just as he leaned down and hugged her. "Don't think about how many there are and what they can do. Just focus on your task at hand. All you have to do is tell them you're not staying. That's it. And, remember, you're stronger than them. They can't hurt you. They  _won't_  hurt you."

Neo lifted her arms and grasped a hold of the back of Law's hoodie. She nodded against him. He nodded and rubbed his hand on her back before pulling away. He then reclaimed her hand. They both looked out at the crew.

The crew nodded then headed for the door. A couple crewmates opened the door and they all filed out onto the porch. They divided up and walked to each side of the porch as Neo and Law made their way out the door. Law stopped walking when Neo came to a sudden stop.

Neo's heart pounded sharply at the incoherent murmurs of the waiting Elementals, all their eyes were on her. It looked like the entire population of Luminous had come to hear her announcement. Some of the wind Elementals were hovering themselves in the air while some earth Elementals had lifted themselves in the air with vines or lifted a rock or the ground up to get a better view of their princess. Some were even sitting in trees, mostly kids and teenagers. The guards were lined up in front of the porch like Topaz had said they would be. There were about sixty of them in front and probably about a hundred lingering around in different areas among the crowd. She wasn't sure what they could or would do if the Elementals did try something. She tried not to think about it.

Pulling her eyes from the masses, she looked to her left to find Prudence and her two ladies in waiting were standing at the bottom of the stairs with impatient looks on their faces. Behind them, leaning against a tree with his arm crossed, was Tao. This was the first time since she purified the darkness crystal that she had seen him.

Neo couldn't read his expression. He just looked like he didn't care if he was there or not. To her right, Topaz and Healer Zinnia were waiting with patient and encouraging looks on their faces. With a hard swallow, she clenched Law's hand even more then forced her feet to walk them closer to the railing of the porch. She stared down at the crystal railing and tried to find her voice. She couldn't. All she could find was the sharp jolts her heart was making in her chest.

Several minutes passed without a word.

The crew exchanged concerned looks. They were starting to wonder if their girl was going to actual be able to do this or not.

Law was wondering that too. He looked down at the frightened girl then out at the waiting Elementals. He was starting to think this was a very,  _very_  bad idea. Neo wasn't ready to confront anyone, let alone the people who tried to kill her just a few short weeks ago. This was a stupid idea. He needed to get her out of here.

"Speak to us, Princess!"

"We wait to hear your announcement!"

"You are staying, right?"

"Of course she's staying. She's our princess."

"She doesn't have to stay if she doesn't want to."

"It's her choice whether she stays or not."

"Shut up! Of course she's staying! She's an Elemental! More than that, she's our royal! She has to stay!"

"An Elemental that was raised among humans. She knows nothing of our culture."

"The princess does not have to stay if she doesn't want to!"

The crew exchanged looks again. They didn't expect to hear so many Elementals support Neo not living on Luminous. They scanned their eyes over the crowd. They all, including Law, were looking for Kailen. Apparently his work on informing the Elementals worked more than they thought it would. After a minute of searching, they saw him hanging off to the right side of the crowd. Kailen nodded at them to show he was there to support them whatever happened. They nodded back and tried to stand ready for whatever was going to happen.

"Don't worry, Princess. You don't have to stay if you don't want to."

"Stop talking like that! Of course she's staying! She's the princess! She has a job to do here!"

"We're not letting her go!"

"Yeah! The princess is staying! She's not going to live with  _pirates_! Her home is here!"

"Time for the pirates to go!"

"Get out, pirates!" the crowd started chanting. "Get out, pirates! Get out, pirates!"

"Uh oh," Shachi said. He and the others stood on guard when the atmosphere suddenly changed to a hostile one.

"Crap!" Penguin cursed. "What do we do? I never expected the Elementals to be so divided on this. We could end up in the middle of a war just like Healer Zinnia said."

"That's another reason the captain had us move the sub closer to the castle," Bepo whispered. "He can warp her there in no time."

"He can't warp faster than a hurricane," Jean Bart said, eyeing a couple wind Elementals who were picking up the speed on the winds that surrounded their airborne bodies.

"Thank you, Mister Negativity," Archer scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

"Just being realistic," Jean Bart replied.

"Just relax, everyone. Give Neo a chance to speak," Penguin hissed in a low tone. He turn this eyes to Neo and mentally sent her encouraging thoughts and vibes. "She can do this. She's a lot stronger than the other Elementals. They  _know_  that. They won't hurt her or us. They won't."

"Get off Luminous, pirates!"

"Get off Luminous, pirates!"

"Get off Luminous, pirates!"

Neo's heartbeats began to come faster in short, sharp jolts. The voices of the aggressive Elementals were stabbing into her brain. They started to mix with the words they had said when under the control of the darkness crystal and with the words the humans had said to her years ago and how they all chased her.

_"Freak! Get out of here!"_

_"What's the matter with you, monster?!"_

_"Ew! You're weird! Get lost!"_

"Get off Luminous, pirates! Let the princess live in peace here!"

"No," Neo whispered. She closed her eyes and tried to shake the voices and images out of her head. They no longer had control over her and she wasn't going to let them come back now. "Stop it…I won't do it."

"She belongs with  _us_! Not  _you_!"

"No…I don't," Neo said in a slightly louder tone.

Law looked down at her at that point. He could feel her fears and anxiety being pushed back by the anger building up in her chest. Her hand was still trembling in his, but not of fear or worry. He gave her hand a very gentle squeeze. He really didn't want her to get angry again this quick, but he knew he had to. Getting angry would help her do what she had set out to do here. So he remained in quiet support of her. He let his eyes roam over the Elementals he knew were friendly and supportive of them. Kailen, Healer Zinnia, and Topaz's bodies were tense. They were obviously ready to jump in and aid them if necessary. Law nodded in acceptance to their awaiting help then turned his eyes back down to Neo.

"If you don't leave right now, we'll force you off Luminous!" The Elementals summoned their crystals and pointed their prepared attacks at the pirates.

Something inside Neo snapped at that point. Hundreds of her crystals suddenly appeared around herself and her family.

The Elementals paused in shock when Neo forced their attacks back into their crystals. Dark clouds thundered above as the winds whipped and howled around them. A sharp crack of thunder silenced all the Elementals voices. They looked up warily at the sky then at Neo.

"Stop it!" Neo shouted. "Stop it right  _now_! I  _am not_  staying on Luminous!"

Neo shook her head. She took a couple deep, shaky breaths. The thunder and wind stopped at her silent command, but the dark clouds remained overhead. Opening her eyes, she stared out at the Elementals. Some of them were shocked at her outburst. Some of them were concerned about her outburst. Some of them were supportive of her outburst. Tears streamed down her eyes as she looked out at them. "Why are you doing this?! Haven't you been listening to what Kailen, my brother, has been telling you?! I can't stay here! I  _won't_  stay here! I  _need_  to be with my family! These men…This crew… _they_  are my  _family_! They  _saved me_  when no one else would! This man…"

Neo looked up at Law. He returned her gaze with a gently one of his own. She looked back out at the Elementals. "This man  _saved_  me! He took me into his sub, his  _home_  when he found me! He didn't even know who I was or anything about me, but he still took me with him! I was hurt! Humans hurt me! They hurt me a lot! I was hurting myself because I was treated so badly because I was  _different!_  I wanted to die! But  _they_ stopped that!  _He_  stopped that! The captain made me stop hurting myself! He holds me when I'm scared, when I have nightmares, when I'm confused! He and the crew educated me! They trained me on how to use my crystals when I was afraid of them! They taught me how to read and write, how to cook! They raised me!"

Neo paused to catch her breath. She then continued. "I don't want to hurt anyone! I don't want to hurt any of you…but if you try to hurt my family…if you try to take them away from me… _I will fight you!_  I  _won't_  let you take my family away from me! Do you hear me?! I will fight you! I hate fighting! But I will do it to protect  _them_! I'll fight you all to protect  _them!_  And I will escape with them! I love them! And I…I… _I love Law!_  I love Law so much! Just thinking about being separated from him hurts! It hurt so much  _being_ separated from him when you all took me from him! Do you understand that?! I'm  _bonded_  to  _him_! I bonded with him  _three_  times! I  _need_  to be with  _him_! I'll  _die_  if I'm not with  _him_! I don't want to die! I don't want to hurt again! I don't want to hurt myself again! I don't…I can't…"

Neo's voice faded off. She tried to rub her streaking tears off her face with her left hand, but more poured down in their place.

"Bonded to him?" an Elemental asked in shock. Murmurs of the bonding passed through the Elementals. "A human? A creature born of no magic?"

"How is that possible?"

"Can an Elemental even bond to a human?"

"I don't know. I've never heard of such a thing happening before."

"Bonding for any Elemental is rare. There's no way she would lie about this, would she?"

"I don't know. She hasn't lived on Luminous. How would she even know about it?"

"If she is bonded to him, then it would be wrong to remove her from his care."

Neo's hand slid out from Law as her knees gave out on her. She slumped to the floor of the porch and cried. Her voice became soft again. Her anger vanishing with each tear that fell from her eyes. She wrapped her arms around herself, her body shaking uncontrollably. "I can't do it…I can't live without him. I can't. I  _love_  him.  _I_   _love him._ Please…don't take him away from me…don't take any of them from me…just don't…Law…I don't want to do this anymore."

Heart shattering into a million pieces for putting her through this, Law passed his sword off to Bepo. He kneeled down and wrapped his arms around her. Pulling her into his chest to muffle her sobs. With his left arm firmly around her, he placed his right hand on her hair. "Shh. It's okay, Neo. It's over now. I'm right here. I've got you."

Neo nodded into his chest and cried harder, her fingers curling around his hoodie. She barely registered someone walking closer to her and Law. It was Topaz. She said, "Are you all happy now? You've driven the princess to tears with your shameful acts."

"But she's a royal! She has duties here!" an Elemental shouted.

"And what duties does she have here that we cannot do on our own?!" Topaz spat back. "Sitting on the throne and looking pretty?! Attending grand openings of new businesses?! Boring decisions on which dull color to pick for boring parties that do nothing for nobody?! We have survived plenty of times before without a royal on the throne! You all know it can take years to centuries for a new royal to be born! The only thing she can do that we cannot do is purify the darkness crystal! And she has already done that! Or I thought she had done that! With how you all are acting towards her and her  _family_  I think some darkness remains in your souls! Tell me, what you all would do and say if Shanks was here?! Would you be treating our princess with such disrespect?!"

"What does Shanks have to do with this?" another Elemental asked.

"Shanks is the princess's  _godfather_ ," Topaz said with a smirk. A round of gasped and more murmurs filled the air. "And he already knows that the princess is living with this pirate crew. If he can entrust them with her care, why can't you?"

"So that's what she was planning," Penguin whispered to Shachi. "Red Hair must have more of an influence on this island than we thought."

"It would seem so," Shachi replied back. He looked over the shocked Elementals. They were exchanging glances and murmurs with each other.

"That can't be true!" an Elemental shouted.

"It is true!" Kailen shouted out. He rushed up the stairs of the porch and joined Topaz. "You all remember me, right? I am the princess's brother! Her parents took me in when my mother died and my dad ran off! I was on Shanks's ship when you all, under the darkness crystal's influence, attacked! Knowing they wouldn't survive, Neo's parents asked Shanks to watch over us both! He's our godfather!"

"If you all continue to insist on trying to force the princess to stay, then I will aid her in her escape from this place. Right! Now!" Topaz announced. Keeping an eerily calm expression on her face, she summoned over a thousand of her fire crystals. Each crystal flickered with hot blue fire as they waited for her command to attack. "I will not let you all rip her from the only place she feels safe. I will not let you all rip her from the people she loves, especially from the one she is  _bonded_  to."

"And I will help her escape as well," Kailen said as he narrowed his eyebrows. He summoned a thousand of his own crystals. Vines grew out of their glow, snapping like whips.

"As will I," Tao's voice boomed out. He pushed off the tree he was leaning against and walked upon the porch. He summoned a thousand of each of his water and fire crystals.

"You can count me in too," Healer Zinnia said as she walked over to join the group. She too summoned her crystals.

"Right now you all have two choices," Topaz then said. "You can continue on the road you are on and fight us all, including the princess who is by far the strongest Elemental alive. Or you can turn, walk away, and think about what you have done here today. Either way, the princess  _will_  be leaving Luminous."

More murmurs came from the Elementals. The Heart Pirates still stood on guard until, several intense moments later, the Elementals started to walk away from the castle. The pirates then relaxed and let their eyes wonder to their captain and Neo. Neo was leaning against Law's chest. Tears had stained her cheeks, but she had stopped crying. Sleepiness was swimming in her eyes now. They knew she was about to fall asleep. This was too much for her emotionally. She needed to sleep now.

She rubbed the heel of her right hand in her eye. Sleepily, she said, "Law, I'm tired."

"I know. You can sleep now. I've got you. I'm going to take you up to your castle room so you can rest," Law spoke softly to her. He stood up. He started to turn towards the door, but paused to look at the four Elementals who had came to their defense.

Neo's eyes wondered over the small group of Elementals. Through her tired vision, she stared quietly at Kailen.

Law looked into all of their eyes before speaking. "Thank you."

"You just take care of the princess now," Topaz said with a smile. "We'll keep guard for a while to make sure our people aren't going to try anything. I highly doubt they will after the princess stood up to them like that. I think she got her point across."

Law nodded. He then turned and walked back into the castle with some of his crew following. Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin quietly walked behind their captain and Neo. The castle was cooler and quieter than they have ever noticed before. It was like the castle itself was in shock at what Neo had done and was careful not to upset her even more.

Penguin and Shachi opened the doors to Neo's room when they reached it. They remained by the door while Bepo propped Law's sword against the wall beside the bed then turned to Neo and Law. Law was already sitting on the bed with Neo firmly tucked into his chest. All three of the subordinates noticed the familiar guilty look their captain was getting in his eyes. All three knew their captain needed to be alone with her right now. So they quietly left the room without a word. Together they decided to stay beside the door, just in case.

"Law?" Neo whispered softly.

"Yes?"

"I want to see him. I want to see my brother." Neo clenched her hand tighter on Law's hoodie.

Law nodded. "I'll make that happen."

Neo nodded back as her eyes drifted closed.

Law's own tense body relaxed when her body finally went limp against him. Like always when she's had an emotional day, she had fallen asleep fast. He tightened his hold on her and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Sleep well, my love. And know that I've got you. You're safe."


	52. Brothers

Brothers

"Law!" Neo's body jerked up from the bed with a panicked gasp. She gripped the unfamiliar blanket underneath her hands. Her mind muddled with her nightmare, she forgotten where she was in her semi-awake state. She drew her breaths in sharp gasps as her eyes darted around the familiar, yet unfamiliar room. Her eyes landed on her two ladies maids. They looked at her with concern and started to approach.

"Princess, are you all right?" Medina asked.

"You look a bit pale," Lyra said.

"No! Stay away! Law!" Neo screamed.

"Neo," Law said instantly after he warped into the room. He all but threw his sword down on the bed and somehow managed to sit down on it before the sword even hit the blanket. He wrapped his arms around Neo, immediately pulling her into the familiar touch and smell of his body. "Shh…it's okay. I'm right here."

"You should not be in he-" Lyra started.

"No!" Neo snapped. She pulled away from Law just enough to glare at the two maids. "He  _stays_!  _You_  go!"

"Princess!" The two guards rushed into the room before anything else could be said. They had their crystals out, ready to attack. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." Neo nodded at the maids. "Just take  _them_  and go."

"Yes, ma'am." The two guards nodded. They looked at the frazzled maids and motioned towards the door. With no room to argue the matter, the two maids left the room in a huff. The two guards followed after them, closing the door as they went.

Neo sighed when she heard the clicking of the doors being closed. She relaxed into Law's chest. She looked up when his chest vibrated with laughter. She pouted. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. I just think you're getting a handle on telling people how you feel," Law said. He tucked her hair behind her ear then stoked her cheek with his thumb. "It's very cute."

"I'm just tired of them trying to separate us," Neo said with another sigh. Her eyes soften as she peered into his. Her cheeks now flushed from his words. "I hate waking up to you not being beside me. I dreamed they took you away from me. It scared me. I forgot where I was when I woke up."

"I know. I saw it. Sorry I didn't come sooner. I was getting dressed." Law stroked her cheek again. "I'm here now. And I'm a bit surprised that you haven't had a nightmare until now. The stress is really getting to you, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Will you lay down with me for a few minutes? I don't feel like getting up yet," Neo pleaded softly to him, her strumming heart finally slowing down from her recent scare.

Law nodded in acceptance to her wishes. He kicked off his shoes before fixing the pillows so he could be propped up on them. With her in his arms, he leaned back into the fluffy softness, letting her rest until she felt like getting up and facing the day.

…

Law was sitting on one of the couches in the library with several Luminous medical books and notes scattered around him. One of the healers, which Healer Zinnia picked out, was sitting in a chair near by the pirate with a book of her own in her hands. Emilie was an earth elemental, with shoulder length light green hair and eyes. She always wore simple clothes under her white lab coat. And, luckily, she was a calm woman who was married with three kids. Both Neo and Law felt comfortable around her.

Law glanced up from his books, for about the millionth time in two minutes, to check on Neo. She was also in the room, but was working on turning her body into the elements. Right now Neo was in her water form. She shifted and streamed herself through the air before pausing and turning her body into fire. She was careful to keep the flame low. He knew she didn't want to burn down the castle, the people inside the castle, the books and, most importantly, him. After holding her fire form for a solid minute, Neo shifted back into her real body. She smiled at him when she felt his eyes carefully inspecting her. She walked over to him and sat down.

"How are you feeling?" Law asked.

"I'm fine," Neo replied. She leaned into his side and he place a kiss on her hair. Resting her head on his shoulder, she wrapped her arms around his. "I'm a bit tired from all the shifting between the elements, but I don't think it will take long to get use to doing that. Although, it does drain quite a bit of my magic, so I think I should avoid using it unless I really need to. Like in life or death situations."

"If you feel that's the right course of action, then that's what we'll do," Law replied. "Remember to always trust your instincts."

"That's what I feel." Neo tilted her eyes up to him.

He replied with a firm nod.

"That's good," Emilie said. "Healer Zinnia will be glad to hear this. Have you learned anything else about the bond you share?"

"No," Law answered, glancing up at the woman. "We're not going to test anything with our bond until we talk to the Elemental Kailen told us about."

"I suppose that makes sense. He might have important information on that that you need to hear before messing with it," Emilie said with a smile and a nod. "Has Kailen told you anymore about the Elemental?"

"He's set up a meeting with the old man later this week," Law replied. Without looking, he flipped the page of his book and instantly felt Neo's anxiety rise. Her hold on him tightened, her fingers dug into the fabric of his hoodie. He looked at her to see her skin had turned white. Her eyes were wide and staring at his book. "What is it, Neo? Are you feeling sick?"

Neo shook her head so lightly that Law barely saw it. She pointed to the book's pages. He turned his eyes to the book and about turned white himself. There on the pages was a picture of the thorn that had poisoned her and a picture of the plant it came from. The plant was a thick bush with green leaves streaked with purple veins and small dark purple, almost black, puffball like flowers. The bush was practically covered in the thorns looking very ominous even though it was just a picture. He slammed the book closed, earning a confused glance from Emilie. He said, "I'm so sorry, Neo. I didn't know that was there."

Pulling his arm from her tight grip, Law slipped it around Neo and held her close. "I'm…I'm okay. It just startled me."

"What was is?" Emilie asked.

"The plant that almost killed her," Law said. Neo flinched and he tightened his hold on her. "It's okay, Neo. It's just a picture. It can't hurt you."

"Oh, right, the Nightthorn Jessamine," Emilie mumbled softly. She gave Neo a motherly smile. "You don't have to worry about that plant anymore, Princess. It only grows on the farthest, northern point of the island. And that's miles away from here."

"I don't ever want to see that plant again. And I certainly don't ever want to make it," Neo said, snuggling as far into Law as she possible could.

"Don't worry, love," Law whispered into her ear. He then raised his voice so the healer could hear him too. "You won't ever be creating  _that_  plant."

"I wouldn't want to make that plant either. Most Elementals don't mess with that plant at all. Even the most talented of healers prefer to leave it alone," Emilie said. "It's good to know what it looks like, just incase, but I'd doubt you'll ever need it. I don't see any reason for you to grow it. It would be a dire circumstance for sure if you happened to need it one day. Just stick with the safer plants. You both are doing well in your studies on making our medications. I'm impressed."

"Captain!" Bepo's voice cried out. The small group turned their eyes to the door just as the bear ran into the room. "We've finally tracked down Kailen! He's going home right now! They'll be here soon!" He paused when he saw the healer in the room. He dropped his head. "I'm sorry."

Emilie laughed while closing her book. "Don't worry about it. We're about finished for the day, anyway. We can quit early if there's something else you need to be doing."

Law nodded. "There is something we have to take care of."

"Very well then. I'll see you both another day," Emilie said. She stuffed her book back into her satchel and stood up. With a quick bow to Neo, she scurried off. "Have a good evening."

"You too," Neo called back with a small wave.

Bepo stepped aside as the woman made her way to the door. His nose twitched at her jasmine scented perfume. He turned his eyes back to Neo and Law.

Law was setting aside the book he was holding. He shot the bear a silent command to step out into the hall. Understanding the silent order, Bepo nodded and left the room.

Neo tilted her head when the bear disappeared from the room. "Where's Bepo going?"

"Just out in the hall. He'll be back in a minute," Law replied.

"Why? Why would he need t-" Neo looked up at Law. Her voice cut off when he cupped her cheek in his hand.

"We're really going to have to work on you recognizing social cues," Law said before closing the distance between them.

Neo squeaked and tensed in surprise at his lips against hers.

Law smiled into the kiss then pulled away. He chuckled at her tense reaction. He tucked her back into his side just as Bepo returned to the room.

Bepo looked at Neo then at Law. He asked, "Do you think she'll ever get use to you kissing her?"

"In time she will," Law said smoothing out her hair. Bepo nodded then sat down in one of the chairs. The small group waited for the rest of the crew to enact their plan and for Neo to recover from the kiss. "It should get better now that the Elementals have backed off a bit since Neo yelled at them."

"I suppose so." Bepo nodded. He glanced around the room. Usually there was at least one of them hanging around. But, since Neo put her foot down, they stayed at a distant the majority of the time. "They seemed to have backed off some since Neo took her stance in telling them she's not staying here. It's kind of creepy. Almost like that calm before the storm hits. I wonder if they're going to finally say it's okay for her to leave, that they accept her leaving. Or are they plotting something else?"

"It doesn't really matter what they say," Law said. His eyebrows narrowed slightly. His tone earned Bepo's attention again. "As soon as all of our training is done, we're leaving. We don't  _need_  their permission."

"Right." Bepo nodded. He could easily sense his captain becoming possessive of Neo in the moment. He decided it was best to drop the subject. The small group then waited in silence for the rest of the crew to enact their plan over getting Kailen to come see Neo.

…

Kailen sighed heavily. He stopped a few feet from the door of his house, of his parents' house, of  _their_  parents' house. He shook his head. After twenty years of searching for her, he had finally found her. She was on Luminous. She was so close. Yet, he didn't want to see her. The same question he asked the pirates was still floating around in his head.  _"What do you say to your sister that you lost for twenty years?"_

He lifted his eyes to the house with a silent sigh. The cute, little, two story light blue crystal walls with the two shades darker blue roof. The house where they should have grown up together, that and the castle of course. His sister was a royal after all. A sister he would probably never see again once the pirates, once her family left Luminous.

Tears pressed against the back of his eyes. He had no clue when that was going to be. They could leave any day. All he knew was Trafalgar Law was studying to, more or less, be a healer. And that wouldn't take long considering the man was already a doctor. It was the same thing. With the time he spent around humans, Kailen was able to read up on some of their own medical procedures and medications. It was kind of eerie how much the humans were like the Elementals. Neo could have a normal life with Trafalgar Law as husband and wife. They could have kids, if they choose to walk down that path together. They could have whatever they wanted.

Kailen was glad. It was so obvious his sister was happy with the pirate captain. And he was happy that she was. He was glad she had, somehow, managed to find where she belong after going through all the turmoil that she did. He was supportive of her decisions to live with the pirates on their ship and not on Luminous. He wouldn't let himself be sad that she was going to leave. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Yeah. This is okay. I'm glad she's happy. I don't have to see her."

With a firm nod, Kailen reached for the crystal doorknob of his home. His hand froze in midair when Shachi's voice appeared behind him. "So, Elementals spout a bunch of B.S. to themselves just like humans do. I was wondering about that."

"Be nice, Shachi," Penguin said. "He's just scared. After all, he hasn't seen his sister in twenty years. That's a lot time to go without seeing someone. Plus, he's still being stupid in thinking that his sister is going to blame him for what happened."

"What are you guys doing here?" Kailen asked while turning to them. He paused when he noticed all, but three, of them were standing in his front yard. "All of you?"

Shachi whistled. He was looking around the neighborhood. All the houses were the exact same amount apart. They were all different colors of crystals. And all had various size yards. Some Elementals greeted the pirates with warm smiled and waves while others looked cautiously at them before scurrying off. "This place just doesn't fail to impress. You can literally place your houses anywhere you want with a little magical flick of your crystal's glow. You have about a million people on this island, but it's not crowded anywhere."

"Seriously," Kailen said again. "What are you all doing here? Shouldn't you be at the castle? Or out training willing Elementals in physical combat?"

"We don't have to be at the castle all the time," Jean Bart said with a placid smile. In fact, Kailen noticed, all of the pirates were wearing placid smiles. "We've already talked about leaving the castle with the captain and with Neo. She's perfectly fine with us spending time around the Elementals while we're here. And we have been training with them on physical combat. They've been helping us train too."

"Then  _why_  are you here?" Kailen asked yet again. He wasn't sure if he was more frustrated or confused at their strange behavior.

"Hmm." Penguin hummed. He tilted his head lightly to the right. His placid smile morphed into a mischievous smirk. "Ambushing you."

"Huh?" Kailen blinked. He then noticed the pirates weren't alone. A young wind Elemental stepped out from behind one of the pirates. She waved at him, but remained silent. "Raina? What are you doing here? A question I keep asking."

Next thing he knew Shachi had him under one arm. Penguin had him under the other arm. The Elemental struggled against the pirates. "Seriously! What the heck is going on?!"

"From fifteen brothers to another one, we are forcing you into an over due meeting with  _our_  little sister," Penguin announced. Without giving Kailen time to protest, Penguin nodded to the girl with them.

Raina nodded back while summoning her crystals. She then lifted them into the air and had them at the castle within seconds.

Kailen struggled fruitlessly against the pirates, as Raina didn't just stop at the front doors of the castle. Two guards were waiting outside. With smiles on their faces, he instantly knew more than just Raina and the pirates were in on this. The guards opened the doors to allow Raina to fly the group right into the large building. She took them directly to the library, leaving behind some confused Elementals at the strange display. When she lowered them to the floor, the pirates kept their hold on him.

"Thanks, Raina!" the pirates chorused.

"Any time, boys!" Raina laughed. Before taking off, she bowed respectfully to Neo. The group then turned to Neo, Law and Bepo. The trio of pirates was waiting patiently for their arrival.

Kailen looked at Neo before dropping his eyes to the floor. The kidnappers rolled their eyes then released their prey from their hold. They knew he wouldn't try to run. And they knew he wouldn't turn his crystals on them whether Neo was there or not.

Awkward tension descended upon the room. The pirates wanted to force this interaction more, but knew they couldn't and shouldn't. It was now up to Neo and Kailen. It was only a matter of time to see which would make the first move. And since Kailen had his eyes locked onto the crystal floor, it was obvious Neo was going to have to make the first move happen.

Neo glanced up at Law. With an encouraging nod from him, she pushed herself off the couch. Pulling her hand from his, she walked over to Kailen. She paused when she was about a foot and a half from him. One word came from her soft lips. "Why?"

Kailen clenched his fists and his teeth. He knew exactly what she was talking about. He forced himself to answer her, but in a low whisper. "Because…I don't know what to say."

"You could just say 'Hi'," Neo replied softly. Hesitantly, she lifted her left hand and placed it gently on his cheek. She felt him flinch under her touch, but he didn't pull away. "That would work."

Kailen swallowed. Slowly, he raised his eyes to her. He let his eyes trail over her features. He remembered her. She still looked so much like she did when she was a baby. Her electric blue eyes were just as bright and innocent as they were the day she was born. Her beautiful light blue hair with its gentle waves was only a small tuff of hair on her small rounded baby's head. But it was her nonetheless, his little sister that he missed so much. A hesitant smile pulled across his lips. "Hi."

"Hi." Neo echoed back.

Kailen opened his mouth to say more, but stopped when Neo suddenly closed the distance between them. She wrapped her arms around his neck. It shocked not only him, but the pirates as well. It was rare for her to be so open towards a stranger. And even though Kailen was her brother, he was still a stranger.

The pirates smiled, even Law. They were glad she was being more forward, especially with Kailen.

Kailen blinked in confusion. For some reason, he looked over at Law. The pirate captain had his arms and legs crossed. A satisfied smirk was playing on the man's lips. He then nodded to Kailen. Kailen lifted up his arms and hesitantly wrapped them around his sister. Tears dripped from the corner of his eyes. "I'm sorry, Neo. I'm sorry I let you go. I'm sorry I lost you. I'm sorry I didn't find you sooner. I'm sorry you got hurt. I'm sorry you were hated. I'm sorry our people tried to force you to stay here. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"No." Neo shook her head. She pulled back from him a bit. She cupped his cheeks in her hands. Brushing away his tears with her thumbs, she said, "It wasn't your fault. Nothing that happened was your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. You were just a child. I don't blame you at all. I love you for everything that you have done. I'm not exactly sure how that works since we just met, but I just know that I love you. You helped my family come find me when they needed you. You are my brother. Just like them." She looked over at her crew. They smiled at the two siblings. She looked back to Kailen. "Just like them, you are my family too. I'm sorry that I can't stay here on Luminous to get to know you better. But I'm here now. And I want you around. I want to get to know you as much as I can before we leave. Or you could come with us. Couldn't he, Captain?"

Neo looked over at Law. Law had gotten up from the couch and walked over to his crew with Bepo following him. He lightly flicked Neo on the nose. "Law."

"Huh?" Neo tilted her head in confusion. "But we're around people."

"It makes no sense for my  _girlfriend_  to call me  _captain_ ," Law said with a playful smirk. "Our relationship has changed again."

"Oh, I guess it has," Neo said, still a bit confused. She looked around at the crew. "But this is okay? I mean you all came before I did."

"Of course it's okay, Neo," Penguin said with a bright smile. "We all saw this coming a long time ago."

"It's normal that you and the captain would become closer. And that you would eventually stop referring to him so formally," Shachi added. The rest of the crew nodded in agreement.

"Oh," Neo drawled in realization. "I understand. He can come, right, uh, Law?"

"Of course." Law nodded at her. He then looked at Kailen. "You are welcome to join the crew if you wish."

Kailen shook his head.

Neo's eyebrows turned up. She asked, "Why not?"

"I'm sorry, Neo." Kailen took her hands in his. He gave them a gentle squeeze. "I wish I could go with you now. But, right now, I feel like my place is here."

Neo lowered her now sad eyes from his. Freeing one of his hands, he tilted her chin up so she would look at him again. "Please, don't feel sad, Neo. I will be joining you one day. I'm not going to let you go again now that I found you."

"Then why are you staying here?" Neo asked.

"I'm only staying here because I want to finish my healer lessons. I want to be able to help take care of you when I join you. And I would like to see if there's a way we could counter the effect of the Nightthorn Jessamine better just incase."

"You're going to mess with  _that_  plant?!" Neo asked, her tone coated with fear and concern.

Law placed his hand on her back. He rubbed circles against her shirt to calm her down.

"I'm sorry." Kailen chuckled nervously. "I didn't mean to scare you like that. I'll be working with Healer Zinnia. We have the antidote for it so we'll both be safe. I just want to see if we can come up with a better antidote to counter the effects faster. You know, just in case a situation like yours happens again."

"I guess that makes sense," Neo said. "I still don't like it though."

"I'll be very careful." Kailen smiled. "I promise."

"I still would like you to come with us now," Neo said with a sigh.

Kailen nodded in understanding.

"How about we make Kailen a part of our crew anyway?" Penguin suggested. They all turned to him. "Hey, he's  _our_  brother now. That makes him part of our crew."

"Cap-Law?" Neo turned her eyes to Law. "Is that possible?"

"Anything  _you_  want is possible," Law said with a smile. With his arm slipping around her waist, he leaned down and whispered in her ear. His warm breath on her sensitive skin made her shiver. "You are my love. I'll give you want ever you want to make you happy."

Neo felt her cheeks grow warm. She nodded in response, seemingly losing her voice.

Law chuckled and stood straight up again. He looked at Kailen. "For Neo, you are an official part of our crew. You can join us at anytime when you feel like you've done enough here. Just come find us."

The two men locked eyes for several seconds. Kailen then raised his hand to Law. The pirate captain blinked in slight confusion. Kailen said, "Thank you. Thank you for taking care of my sister. I'm so grateful that she was able to land in you and your crew's capable hands."

Law 'tsked' but took the man's extended hand anyway. A light red was dancing across the captain's cheeks. It made his crew snicker. He shot them a warning glance, shutting them up immediately.

Kailen then said, "I am still a bit concerned about her traveling with a pirate crew and being a pirate."

"Don't worry about that," Law said with confidence. "I'm going to protect her to the best of my ability. I already have a plan in motion that will help protect her and her secrets."

"I've been worried about her secrets too," Kailen said. "How exactly are you going to protect them and her?"

"She's going to be in a sniper position for the most part. I'm also training her for close range combat, but she's our sniper. And, when she finally gets noticed by the public, we're going to let them believe she's a devil fruit user," Law explained. "She'll be limited on what she can use with her crystals by going this route. And she won't be able to use her wings, unless it's an emergency. But this will keep suspicion off her and, hopefully, keep her bounty low. As long as her bounty is lower than mine, people won't notice her as much."

"So, basically, you're going to use yourself as a shield and as bait," Kailen assumed.

"If you want to look at it that way, then yes," Law said. "It's unavoidable that she's going to get noticed and get a bounty, but I'll do whatever I can to keep her and her secrets of this place safe."

"We'll do whatever we can too!" Penguin added with determination. The crew nodded simultaneously in agreement.

"And what about the weakness of a devil fruit user?" Kailen asked. "If I remember correctly, you all have one. How will she know when to  _play weak_?"

Law glanced over at the door of the library. No one was peaking in and he didn't see any shadows around the door. He looked back at Kailen. Lowering his voice, he said, "The sea prism stone gives off the same energy as the sea. Neo can sense the sea so she'll be able to sense the sea prism that way. Or she should be able too. She's only be around the stone once before, but that was when that creep from her past tried to kill her."

Neo's eyebrows turned up in concern when she felt Law grow angry. He relaxed for her sake and slipped his hand into hers, linking their fingers together.

"So that's how that works," Kailen mumbled. He raised his voice. "I see. Well, I'm glad you all have a plan for her. It makes me feel a bit better about all of this."

A pause passed through the room before Kailen spoke up again. He looked over all the pirates then locked eyes with Neo. He said, "If it's all right, and if you all are comfortable bringing Neo out of the castle, there's something I'd like to show you all."

"What is it?" Neo asked curiously.

"Our parents home," Kailen replied with a soft smile.

Neo bit her bottom lip. Her hand tightened slightly in Law's. She looked up at him.

Law said, "It's your choice. If you want to go, then we'll go."

Neo thought about it for a while before her curiosity got the better of her. "I want to."

Law nodded.

The group then left the library. The castle workers barely glanced at them as they wondered down the hall and outside. The group pretty much remained quiet as they trudged down the steps of the porch. They turned right and headed towards the direction of the closest town. Just as they got passed the castle, Selene appeared.

Shachi said, "Captain, its Selene."

Law frowned at the woman, his mind automatically going over solutions and possibilities if she tried anything here.

Neo glared and frowned at the woman then wrapped her arm possessively around Law's while tightening her hold on his hand. All of them were surprised when all Selene did was bow to Neo and rush off towards the ward.

Bepo said, "I guess she's not going to try to make another move on you, Captain."

"Good!" Neo snapped before Law could reply.

Law couldn't help but chuckle. He found her, highly out of character, possessiveness of him extremely cute. He was also glad that she was starting to come more out of her shell and letting people know how she felt. As a silent reward, he pecked her forehead before starting to walk again.

"We'll get there faster if we fly," Kailen said. "Neo, if you don't mine…"

"Okay." Neo nodded. She summoned ten wind crystals and lifted them into the air. Quietly, she followed Kailen's directions. Within a couple minutes, she was lowering the group to the ground in front of the blue house her crew snatched him from.

Kailen walked forward. He summoned a crystal and extended the door and the house so Jean Bart could easily fit inside of it. He then opened the door and led the pirate group in. Inside it was just the same as any other house they've seen, but made of crystals. A staircase met them at the door. Neo looked at it before looking out into the living room.

She glanced unsurely at Law before looking over at Kailen. Understanding her uncertainty about being in a place she's never been in, he nodded. Kailen said, "This is  _our_  parents home. You are free to go wherever you wish. You all are free to look around. It's not much, but it's home."

Refusing to let Law go, Neo walked around the tan colored living room with their hands still attached. The room had two chairs with a square table between them. Opposite of the chairs was a small couch with two end tables on each of its sides. Long, rectangular tables lined the opposite wall of the door. It held multiple organic shaped figurines and a couple of vases for flowers. They stepped into the kitchen as the rest of the crew fanned out to look around themselves.

Neo and Law looked around the small kitchen. It held a simple table with four chairs, a strange crystal stove oddly shaped with rounded corners, a fridge that also had rounded corners, multiple cabinets lined the walls over the sink and stove while a larger storage closet took up the majority of the space at one end of the kitchen.

"Our father loved to cook," Kailen then said softly. He pointed at the closet. Neo followed his direction and looked at it. "He always made sure to keep fresh spices and such in that closet. And always took great care of his cooking tools."

"I guess Neo get's her love of cooking from her dad then," Bepo said.

"Really? I thought I just loved to cook because I never did it before," Neo said. She looked up at Law. "Did I really get that from my, uh, Dad?"

Law nodded. "It's possible. A child often obtains not just physical traits from their parents but also likes and dislikes. My father was a doctor. I got that from him."

"Hm." Neo pondered on that thought for a while before leading Law out of the kitchen. Kailen quietly followed them. She glanced over at the only other door in the downstairs area. A couple crewmates had the door open and she could easily see it was the bathroom. No point in looking in there.

She led them over to the stairs. Pausing for a second before slowly starting to walk up them. The crystal stairs were cool under her bare feet, but the place felt over all welcoming. She turned into the first room they came to.

"This was our parents room," Kailen quickly said.

Neo nodded while looking around. It was a simple room with a simple bed, a nightstand on each side of the bed and a strange shaped couch that she didn't recognize. It was like the majority of the back of the couch was missing. A small round table was beside the couch with a small, thin, but tall lamp sitting on it with three books. It also held a dresser, a closet, and a private bathroom.

"Mother loved to read. She often read to me when I couldn't sleep at night," Kailen said.

"I love to read," Neo stated. Kailen smiled and nodded. She smiled back then left the room. The next room was fitted with a smaller bed, a smaller dresser, a small toy chest, a closet, and a bay window. Toys and kid size clothes were scattered about the room's floor and shelves.

"This was my room," Kailen said. He then laughed lightly. "I haven't been able to clean this room up yet. Honestly, I kind of don't want to. It's very nostalgic seeing it like this."

"Nostalgic?" Neo asked Law.

"Basically, it's a feeling of wanting to return to a place or time period when happier times happened," Law explained.

"Uh, oh," Neo said. "I think I understand. It's like when I wanted to return to you, the crew and the sub when they took me."

"Basically." Law nodded.

Neo guided the group out of the room. She glanced down at the end of the hall to see a window with a small window seat and small bookshelves beside it with several books shoved inside. She turned into the last room in the house. A small gasp passed over her lips. "Is this…?"

"It is," Kailen so softly that they almost didn't hear him. "This is your room."

Neo slowly scanned her eyes over the room. It had a small dresser, a closet, a toy chest, shelves with toys, a rocking chair, and a crib. She walked up to the crib. With her free hand, she slowly ran her fingertips over the crystal bars. She looked up at Law. She didn't know what to think about all of this. It was kind of scary for her, but also it felt right. She felt like she needed to be here in this place, at least for a while. Law gave her a gentle smile. He easily read her feelings, without their bond. He brushed his thumb over her skin in silent support of her.

"I have something for you," Kailen's voice said. The two turned back to him. He was patiently waiting by the door. Neo then noticed he had his hands behind him. He walked over to them and brought his hands out to show her what he had. He was holding two pictures in his hands. One of them held a familiar red haired man, Shanks. The other people in the pictures she didn't recognized, but they still felt familiar to her somehow.

The woman was shorter than the two men, probably Neo's height. She had long, straight, dark blue hair with matching eyes. Her skin was the exact same color as Neo's. She looked like she was giving the two men a very stern lecture. The unfamiliar man had slightly wavy, light blue hair just like Neo's, electric blue eyes and lighter colored skin. The third person, in the second photo with the two unfamiliar adults, was a child with green hair and eyes.

She narrowed her eyebrows in concentration for about a minute before realization seeped into her mind. Her eyes shot up to Kailen's. He was smiling softly at her. "These are our parents. Mira and Rylan. She was a water Elemental and he was a wind Elemental. The little boy with them in this picture is me. And I'm sure you already know who Shanks is. We don't have many man made items on Luminous, but Shanks has occasionally brought something's with him so we wouldn't be so ignorant of the human world. A camera was one of them. I want you to have these."

"But they're yours," Neo said.

Kailen shook his head. "I already have a picture of our parents. You really should take these with you."

Neo's eyes dropped back down to the pictures. Tears swelled in her eyes. Law rubbed his thumb over her skin again. She smiled at him before looking back at Kailen. "Thank you."

Kailen nodded.

"Hey, what's going on in here?" Penguin asked with his voice laced with concern. "Neo, are you okay? Why are you crying?"

"I'm okay." Neo nodded. She held up the photos. "Kailen just gave me a couple pictures. They have our parents in them. Mira and Rylan."

"Really?" Penguin asked as he, Shachi and Bepo rushed over. "Can we see?"

The three gathered around Neo and Law. They looked over their shoulders and took in the unfamiliar couple. Shachi gasped. "Wow! You're like a perfect blend of your parents."

"You think so?" Neo tilted her head in curiosity. "I guess in looks. I have her skin and his hair and eye color."

"You've got a lot of our father's personality traits too," Kailen said, gaining their attention. "Rylan was always a very quiet and calm man, but a man who didn't have a problem with getting into mischief on occasion. A lot of people often wondered how and why he and our mother got married. She was always the louder of the two. And she was always the no nonsense type and let her opinions be heard. That's why she's yelling at him and Shanks in that one picture. I forgot what they did, but it had something to do with drinking. I think Shanks got Rylan drunk and he ended up setting lose mini tornadoes on the island or something. For future reference sake, Elementals and booze do not mix."

"Sounds like it's a good thing that you didn't let Neo drink, Captain," Bepo said.

Law nodded sharply in agreement to his subordinate, but also in silent thankfulness that he did order her not to drink without him beside her and that she had no interest in drinking.

"Sounds like Mira was a real spitfire," Penguin commented.

"She sure was. Another instance would be this room here. She made it up just for Neo when she found out she was pregnant. She instantly started telling everyone that this was your  _home_  and just because you were a royal didn't mean you couldn't live here, at least occasionally." Kailen laughed. He took a deep breath to compose himself then glanced down at Neo's chest line where something should have been laying. "I've been meaning to ask…where's your birth medallion? Is it back on your sub?"

"Birth medallion?" Neo looked up at her brother. "What's that?"

"It's a special necklace that's made when a royal is born," Kailen explained. "It's usually in a diamond shaped, silver, with the four elements crystals on each corner and your name."

"That pendant Neo use to wear is a birth medallion?" Penguin asked.

"Use to wear? What happened to it? Did you lose it?" Kailen asked.

Neo lowered her eyes to the floor. "It was taken from me years ago."

"We actually ran into the guy who took it from her, but he said he sold it," Law said while giving Neo's hand a squeeze. She stepped closer to him and pressed her temple to his shoulder. "It could be anywhere. And anyone could have it at this point. Is it valuable?"

"It really depends on your personal definition of valuable," Kailen replied. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "The pendant is made of silver, but it's infused with magic. So humans won't be able to change the shape in any way or form. And they won't be able to recognize the crystals either. They're element crystals too but don't actually hold the elements within them. They're just for representation."

"So basically it's valuable here, but not in the human world," Shachi summoned up.

"Pretty much. Unless you have a weird addiction to paperweights," Kailen said with a smile. "Here it's more or less a symbol of a royal's birth right. Like I already said, one is made when a royal is born. And when that royal dies it gets placed in a special room behind the thrones in the throne room."

"I haven't been in the throne room," Neo commented.

Kailen nodded in reply. That didn't surprise him at all. He figured she didn't explore the castle much with how the Elementals were treating her and her family. "If you ever feel like it, you should check both of them out, for no particular reason other than just doing it."

"How many royals have there been?" Neo asked.

"I believe, counting you, there's a totally of a thousand," Kailen replied thoughtfully.

"You really are a rare breed. And you're all ours," Penguin said to Neo. She couldn't help but smile at his comment. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and pecked her temple.

Sensing jealousy spreading through Law's chest, Neo turned a questioning gaze to him.  _'Are you jealous?'_

' _A little.'_

' _Why? Its just Penguin. He's kissed me before.'_

' _Jealousy is just something that happens and sometimes can't be controlled. You're my girlfriend now so things have changed. I know you see the crew as your brothers, but it's still going to bother me at times when they're giving you affections. I'll work on not feeling like this so I don't confuse you, but know there are going to be times where I'll remove you from the crew so we can have quality time alone.'_  Law sent Neo a suggestive smirk that she didn't understand, but made her blush anyway.

"Are you two communicating through your bond?" Kailen then asked.

The couple turned their eyes back to the Elemental. Neo's blush darkened in guilt while Law's smirk brightened.

"Guess we're gonna have to start getting use to being left out of a lot of their conversations," Shachi said with a lightly annoyed huff.

"And that's for the best. The things I share with her are  _private_ ," Law said. His smirk grew into a strong suggestive one. The crew and Kailen's cheeks blazed with redness. The captain tilted his head in amusement. "What? You all said no sex before marriage. You didn't say anything about sharing suggestive and dirty thoughts."

Kailen's mouth dropped open in shock while the crew laughed. They knew that their captain was only joking, but Kailen wasn't use to the way their captain worked. Neo wasn't ready for such ideas or suggestions and they all knew it. But they also knew it wouldn't be much long for Neo to start questioning her feelings of the mind and body that she was going to be having towards Law.

Kailen growled at the crew. "What are you laughing about?! This isn't funny!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" The crew held up their arms in surrenders, but still laughed at the situation.

"Hey, Law!" Neo, oblivious to what was going on around her, chirped. "I wanna stay here tonight! I really want to stay here! We can send a letter or something to Topaz back at the castle or something, can't we?"

"Oh yes! Please! Do stay!" Kailen hissed. He sent a sharp glare at Law. "That would be a wonderful idea! We really should get to know each other better!"

Law chuckled at Kailen's obvious restraint on wanting to be the older brother that he is and never got to be to Neo and strangle him for having such thoughts, whether true or not in this instance, and knowing that their relationship was inching closer to a sexual one and he was just going to have to accept that. Law smiled at Neo. "If that is what you wish, love."

"Yeah!" Neo nodded happily at the chance to spend time in her parents' home and spend time with her other brother. She glanced at the other crewmates gathering in the hall to see what was going on. "We're staying here tonight!"


	53. Getting to Know

Getting to Know

"There," Neo said once she finished with her letter to Topaz explain why she and her family wasn't going to come back to the castle for a while. She folded the paper then turned to everyone. "So how are we getting it back to the castle?"

"I'll run it over," Archer said.

"Are you sure?" Neo asked.

"Of course." He took the letter from her. "This won't take long at all. I'll be back before dinner is ready."

"All right then," Neo said.

Archer gave her a thumb up before leaving the kitchen.

Neo ran her eyes over the room. Currently the majority of the crew was outside enjoying the warm weather and teaching some Elementals some more fighting techniques. Herself, Law, and Penguin were the only ones of the crew inside now. She eyed the small table they were sitting at. "Are we going to have enough room for everyone in here?"  
"Of course," Kailen said. "Remember we can expand these crystals in any way we wish."

"Oh, I forgot about that," Neo said. "They could also eat outside. They might want to do that. It's really nice weather. We will need more beds for them incase it rains."

"Later I'll add some bedrooms for the crew. There's plenty of room to extend the house out into the yard," Kailen said. "For now we should really get started on dinner."

"Yeah." Neo nodded. Standing up she walked towards the stove. "So what are we making?"  
"Anything you want." Kailen walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a book. He walked it over to Neo and handed it to her. "Our dad kept a book with all his favorite recipes. Maybe you would like to try one of them?"  
"Well, let's take a look," Neo said. She opened the book and started flipping through it. "Oh, this coconut curry sounds really nice." She looked over at Law. "Would that be all right?"

"Sounds great to me," Law said.

"Me too," Kailen said.

"I'm always up for new dishes," Penguin said. "I don't think I've ever heard of coconut curry before."

"Then we'll make it," Neo said. Placing the book down on the counter she read through the food and spices they were going to need then started looking around for them. Gathering them up she placed them on the counter as Kailen pulled out some knifes, mixing bowls, and pans. The two Elementals then set out to work. Eyeing the crystal stove she asked, "So we turn the heat on by using our crystal's glow?"

"That's right. Give it a try," Kailen said.

Neo summoned a crystal. Hovering it close to the red crystals on top of the stove she engulfed them. The crystals started to glow and emitted heat from them. "Amazing. Our people really do use crystals for everything." She glanced up at the yellow crystals hanging from the ceiling. Though they weren't glowing, as the curtains were open for the sun's rays to come in, they would be lit later for nighttime. "So many types of crystals."

"I guess it would be impressive to someone who wasn't use to it," Kailen said slicing up some coconut.

"So, um, would it be all right if we talked while we work?" Neo asked.

"Of course. What did you want to talk about?" Kailen asked while he continued working on the coconut.

"Mostly about you. Things like, what did you do when you were looking for me? How did you survive out there?" Neo asked.

"Oh, that," Kailen said. "It was hard at times, but most of the time it was okay. Being an earth Elemental I didn't have to worry about food since I could create anything I needed. Water could be a challenge at times but during those moments I would eat a lot of fruits and vegetables with high water content in them to stay hydrated. And of course sleeping outside wasn't an issue. I had plenty of animals to keep me warm on cold islands."

"What about clothing?" Neo asked. "Were you able to get some without stealing? Or did you have to steal them?"

"Luckily I didn't have to steal any. I was able to pick up odd jobs here and there to pay for any clothing I need. And some people even gave me some clothing when I told them I was looking for you," Kailen said. "There were also times that I ran across people who know Shanks. They were more than glad to help me out when I told them who I was and what I was doing."

"It must have been so hard for you," Neo said.

"It was nothing compared to what you went through," Kailen said.

Neo gave him a slow nod.

"Along the way I also learn some artistic skills and did some painting for people," Kailen said.

"You're an artist?" Neo asked.

"I guess you could call me that," Kailen said. "Though I doubt I'll do it much anymore. It'll be nothing but a hobby if I keeping doing it."

"I'm glad you were able to handle yourself out there," Neo said. "But I'm also sorry you had to go through all of that because of me."

"I will never blame you for that," Kailen said. "And remember it's not your fault. Atlas was the one who did all of this."

"So how is Tao doing? Have you spoken to him?" Neo asked.

"No, I haven't seen him around much," Kailen said.

"I think we should check on him soon," Neo said. "It can't be easy for him with what his dad did. I don't want him to feel guilty."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Kailen said. "He obviously wants you to be happy."

"Yeah." Neo nodded. She thought back to her announcement. Tao was one of the few to stand up for her but he was the only one that was never around. She wanted to be sure she let him know she didn't blame him for anything that happened.

"We can go find him if you want," Law said.

"Do you think he's lonely?" Neo asked. "He doesn't have any other family, right?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Kailen said. "And I doubt he was looking for a wife when they all were under the darkness crystal's control."

"Where does he live?" Penguin asked.

"In the southeast town," Kailen said. "Last I knew it was a three story home with bushes shaped into the form of the solar crystal in front of it."

"How about it, Neo?" Penguin asked. "Would you like to invite him to dinner with us?"  
Neo looked at Law. When he gave no sign of objection she said, "Yes. I do."

"Then we'll get right on that," Penguin said standing up.

"Want me to fly you over there?" Neo asked.

"No. You keep cooking," Penguin said heading for the living room. "I'll grab Shachi and Raina." He smirked at Kailen. "I'm sure she would be more than glad to go on another kidnapping mission."

"Very funny," Kailen said.

Penguin waved before leaving the house.

Neo stared after him, wondering if it was still okay for them to roam about the island since many Elementals still weren't happy with her announcement.

"They'll be all right, Neo," Kailen said. "Our people won't hurt them because of your announcement."

Neo nodded and turned back to preparing the food. Her heart fluttered when she felt Law wrap his presence around her. She glanced at him, flushed at his smirk, and then focused back on dinner. Before long the spices of their meal filled the room. It made her stomach rumble. Glancing out the window at the opposite end of the kitchen, she wondered where Penguin and the others were. "They're not back yet."

"Tao was probably being stubborn," Kailen said opening the oven. "I think your rolls are done."

"Oh." Neo stepped beside him. Looking inside she found the tops were golden brown. "Yes, they are." She pulled them out with her winds and placed them on the counter to cool. "I hope they get here soon. The food's going to get cold. I'll have to use my crystals if they're much longer."

Kailen opened a cabinet and pulled out several plates and utensils. He placed them on the counter. They had decided to let the crew eat wherever they wished.

Neo walked over to the window and looked out. The rest of the crew were still talking to some Elementals, a few going through some punch and kicking practice. None of them noticed her, yet. Her eyes lifted to the sky. In the distance she saw a couple black dots. As they came closer she was able to see it was Penguin and Raina finally returning. And Tao was with him. She gulped, now nervous that he was here. She glanced over her shoulder at Law. He, like always, was watching her carefully. He had killed Atlas, Tao's father. While the old man did betray their people, he was still Tao's dad. Surely there would be a little resentment against Law. She should have thought about it before. Maybe inviting Tao over wasn't a good idea.

_'It'll be fine, love.'_

_'Law.'_

_'I don't care if he holds it against me. I doubt he does. He knows what his dad did was wrong. Plus, he stood up for your decision to leave.'_

_'I guess you're right.'_

_'Relax. You'll see for yourself soon.'_

"Honey, we're back!" Penguin called out from the living room.

Neo giggled. "He so silly."

"Did ya miss me?" Penguin walked over to her and kissed her cheek.

"Don't I always?" Neo breathed in his scent. It was freshened with Raina's winds.

"Oh, if you don't mind," Penguin said. "We invited Raina to dinner. That okay?"  
"Yes." Neo nodded. "She's helped out a lot. It's the least we can do for her."

"Great," Penguin said.

"Let's eat then," Kailen said. "The food's done."

The room filled with chatter as everyone came in and got their meal. A few pirates went back outside while some stayed inside. Tao stepped into the room and bowed to Neo. "Princess, thank you for the invitation."

"Thank you for coming," Neo said. "Will you please sit with us? There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"Of course." Tao got his food and sat down at the table with her, Law, Kailen, Penguin, and Bepo. Once they were halfway done eating, he asked, "What did you want to speak with me about?"

"Well, it's about what happened." Neo looked to Law, tapping her fingers on her legs in a nervous twitch.

"You mean it's about what my father did," Tao said.

"I'm sorry," Neo said. "It's because of me that he's no longer…"

"No, Princess." Tao shook his head. "My father has always had envy issues with royals. What happened is not your fault. You are not responsible for what he chose to do. I don't blame you or your bonded for how this whole thing ended. You have nothing to worry about."

"But you've been so distant," Neo said.

"I'm sorry about that," Tao said. "I needed a little time to process what happened. My father's actions are inexcusable. He chose to do what he did. And because of that he lost his life. Please, don't blame yourself."

"Thank you, Tao," Neo said.

"I'll try and be around more," Tao said.

"It's fine. Take all the time you need to recover from this," Neo said. "I'm sure it's not easy."

Tao nodded. "I think I would like to learn about some physical attacks the crew has been showing our people. Maybe I can help keep them in shape when you and your crew leave."

"They would be happy to show you," Neo said.

"Yeah. It'll be fun," Penguin said finishing up his meal. "Shall we go?"

"Yes. That would be fine," Tao said.

"You coming, Neo?" Bepo asked.

"In a little while. I'm going to help Kailen clean up." Neo waved them off then gathered up the dishes. She and Kailen stepped over to the sink and washed them. Once they were done they headed outside with Law and watched the crew and Elementals train until the sun went down. They all said their goodbyes and went home.

"Come on," Kailen said. "I'll show you how to reshape the house."

Neo nodded. They headed back inside. Waiting patiently, she watched as Kailen summoned three crystals. The back wall of the house started to glow in response to the light green glow around his crystals. Then the wall moved backwards, creating more space they needed. Next bed rose up from the floor before Kailen created cotton and flowers for the mattresses and pillows. "That's amazing. You're so good with your crystals."

"It's nothing really," Kailen said. "You're just not use to it."

"Maybe," Neo said. "So what were you like as a kid? Were you rowdy?"

"No," Kailen said. He led her out of the room and back into the living room where some of the crew was hanging out. "I don't believe I was ever the rowdy type."

"Did you have many friends?" Neo asked.

"I guess so," Kailen said.

"What are some of your favorite things?" Neo asked.

"You're full of questions," Kailen said.

"I want to know," Neo said. "You're my brother after all."

"Okay, okay. Let's see. My favorite foods are just about anything spicy," Kailen said. "My favorite treat is ice cream. My favorite color is light green. My favorite animal is a bat. And my favorite person is you."

Neo giggled. They spent hours talking into the night until she finally yawned from being tired.

"We should go to bed now," Kailen said.

"Okay," Neo said. Standing up from the couch with Law, they plus Kailen headed upstairs to their rooms. Before splitting up she kissed Kailen's cheek and when to her room with Law. After changing into their pajamas they laid down on the bed she had made for them. "Law?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for coming here," Neo said. "I'm glad I get to know my brother."

"Of course." Law pulled her closer to him. "Now sleep. It's late."

"Okay." Neo yawned and closed her eyes.

…

"What is all this?" Neo asked looking at the items scattered on the table.

"They're my painting tools. I thought I could show you how to paint," Kailen said. "Would you like that?"

"Yes!" Neo nodded. "I would! I've never actually painted anything big before."

The two sat down. Kailen placed a canvas in front of her and pulled one in front of him. Next he opened the paints and put some on his pallet. "Do you know the primary colors?"

"Red, blue, and yellow," Neo said. "Penguin taught me that. You can make secondary colors by mixing them. Red and blue make purple. Blue and yellow make green. Yellow and red make orange. You can chance the tone of them by adding a little of one color or a lot."

"That's right," Kailen said.

"So what are we going to paint?" Neo picked up a brush and inspected it.

"We're going to do a simple landscape," Kailen said. "It's the easiest thing to do."

"Okay," Neo said. "Show me what to do."

"First let's block in the sections." Kailen mixed up some green and painted some lines on the canvas.

Neo followed his moves. Before long they both had an outline of the trees, mountains, and a lake. Step by step he told and showed her how to fill everything in.

"Add in some darker greens here where the shadows are," Kailen said.

"Why not black?" Neo asked.

"Black and white doesn't actually exist in nature," Kailen said. "If you take a closer look at the colors you'll see that."

"I guess I never noticed before," Neo said.

"It can be hard for people to notice," Kailen said. "I never did until I started painting. Then I started noticing all the colors that were there."

"I'll have to look them next time I'm outside," Neo said. She glanced down at her painting then over to Kailen's. Her trees came out a lot more thick and crooked, like a child did it while Kailen's looked identical to real trees. "You're so good."

"You didn't do so bad," Kailen said.

"It looks like a child done it," Neo said.

"That's what mine looked like when I first started," Kailen said. "If you keep practicing you'll get a lot better at it."

Neo hummed in thought. It was an idea that she might consider doing one day. "Maybe."

"So what would you like to do now?" Kailen asked.

"I'm not sure," Neo said.

"When do you think you'll return to the castle?" Kailen asked.

"Probably soon," Neo said. She glanced out the window. A couple of guards were out there talking to Law. And from the looks on their faces Law just told them they weren't returning to the castle yet. "I think the Elementals are getting upset that we're, or I'm, still here."

"Well, it's your choice," Kailen said. "You know our mom would have had you live here."

"She would have?" Neo glanced at him.

"At least part of the time." Kailen nodded. "She and our dad talked about it. If they ever had a royal Mom wouldn't want you to have gotten spoiled from all the attention our people would have given you."

"Would it have been that bad?" Neo asked.

"It might have been," Kailen said. "Some people really spoil their kids rotten. Those kids then always grow up to be very selfish. And royals do get a lot of attention from our people."

"I can't imagine myself like that," Neo said.

"What are you talking about?" Archer asked as he and Conner came into the room. He ruffled her hair. "You are spoiled."

Neo giggled. "I am not."

"You are too." Conner glanced at the paintings on the table. "You just don't notice because the captain doesn't let us over do it. Hey, these are good."

"Not mine," Neo said. "It looks like a kid did it."

"It looks great, Neo," Archer said. "You going to put it up in the sub?"  
"I didn't think about it," Neo said. "I suppose I could."

"Hey! Neo!" Penguin called before he came running into the kitchen.

"What is it?" Neo asked.

"Come outside," Penguin said. "We have a surprise for you."

"Um, okay." Neo stood up.

"You too, Kailen," Penguin said. "Everyone should come outside."

The group headed outside.

"What's going on?" Neo asked when she saw Raina, with her hands behind her back, and the crew with bright smiles on their faces.

"We have a little surprise for you," Raina said. "You and Kailen stand together."

"What's this about?" Kailen asked.

"Just do it," Raina said.

Kailen stepped up to Neo.

"Look like you actually know each other," Raina said. "You're siblings for crying out loud."

Kailen slipped his arm around Neo's shoulders. A flash of light went off.

"What was that?!" Neo's heart raced. Blinking the light away she saw Raina holding a camera in her hands. "A camera?"

"It's one that Shanks brought to the island before," Raina said. "A neighbor of mine had it. There's not much film left but he said he would be glad to let us use it and develop the pictures for you."

"Really?" Neo asked.

"Yes." Raina nodded. "You crew told me Kailen gave you a couple of pictures of your family but he doesn't have any of you. I thought you both would like this gift."

"That's very sweet of you," Neo said.

"There's a couple more left," Raina said. "Let's get some extras and some with the crew with you two."

The crew moved closer. Raina snapped the pictures until they were all used up then rushed off to get them developed.

"She's in a hurry," Archer said.

"Well, we don't know exactly when we're leaving," Conner said. "She wants to get them developed before we leave."

"She always is in a hurry," Shachi said. "It seems like her wind crystals make her like that."

"Is that possible?" Penguin asked.

"For some," Kailen said. "But not for everyone."

Neo jumped when she noticed Elementals were coming out of the homes to look at her. Law slipped his arm around her and walked her back inside.

…

"Wow. These turned out great," Neo said looking the pictures Raina just delivered.

"They are," Kailen said. "That camera's so old. I'm surprised it still worked."

"I'm glad you like them," Raina said. "Well, I'd like to stay longer but I have to get home and help my mom. She's doing a bake sale for her knitting group."

"Thanks, Raina," Neo said.

Raina waved then left.

"I guess we're going back to the castle now." Neo turned to Kailen. "You could come with us. You don't have to stay here."

"I know," Kailen said. "I'll join you later. I'm going to clean up the house a bit then head over to the castle."

"Okay." Neo nodded. "The crew's already there. I think. They might still be with the Elementals."

"You ready to go, Neo?" Law asked.

"See you later, Kailen," Neo said.

"Later." Kailen waved.

Neo stepped outside with Law. She scanned around for Elementals but they all appeared to be too busy to come out and look at her. They headed for the forest. "Where we going? I thought we were going to the castle."

"We're going to go for a walk before heading back to the castle," Law said.

"Oh, okay," Neo said. As he took her hand in his, she followed Law through the forest and out to the beach. "It's so nice here. There's a real peace to this place that other islands don't seem to have. I wonder if that's because of the Elementals."

"Not having second thoughts about leaving, are you?" Law asked.

"Of course not," Neo said. "I just think that it would have been a nice life growing up here. But I love being with you. And I'll always stay with you."

"And I will always stay with you." Law pressed a kiss into her hair.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Neo asked.

"You know I want to talk to you?" Law looked at her.

"It was just guess since you're not kissing me yet," Neo said.

"Oh, don't worry. Kissing will still happen. I still have to get you use to it after all," Law said. "But you are right. There is something I want to talk to you about."

"And what is it?"

"About my past," Law said.

Neo stopped walking at the same time Law did. He pulled her down onto the sand.

With a deep breath, Law told her everything about his past. He started off with his family then everything that lead up to the point they were at now.

"You did all of that?" Neo breathed out like the wind got kicked out of her lungs. Her head was spinning. It was hard for her to imagine him being so hateful to anyone besides enemies. It wasn't possible. She knew pirates did some bad things, but Law couldn't have been one of them. She dropped her eyes to the ground.

"Yes." Law nodded.

The wind blew; bring a cool chill off the water. Or she thought it was off the water. At the moment she wasn't sure. It could have been her own body turning cold from what Law had just told her. Neo raised her eyes back to Law when he sighed.

"I'm sorry, love. I know this is a lot to take in. But I'm not going to keep my past a secret from you. I want you to know everything about me. And some of that is going to be bad. I'm not as innocent as you have come to think I am. I've done bad things. I've been a bad person." Law squeezed her hands.

"No!" Neo shot her eyes up to his. She shook her head. Narrowing her eyebrows, she grabbed the front of his hoodie with both of her hands. "You're not a bad person! You were hurt back then! You were upset, angry, scared, and confused! I know that! I've been there! You're not a bad person! You'll never be a bad person! That man! That Doflamingo is the one who hurt you! He's the one who's bad! Not you! Don't you dare punish yourself for what you did then! You needed help and didn't get it! Now it's over! It's in the past! You broke free from that because of Corazon! And I love you! I love you in the here and now! You are a good person! If you weren't then you would have done everything you have for me! I don't ever want to hear you say that you've been a bad person! If you do it again I'll…I'll…okay I don't know what I'll do, but I'll do something!"

Law blinked as her stared at her. He noticed the tears gathering in her eyes, but pushed past that when he saw the determination in her eyes. She was dead set on refusing to let him think he had been a bad person and done bad things. His lips then curved up into a smile before he broke out in laughter.

Neo pouched out her lips in a pout. "What? What did I say that so funny?"

Law laughed for several more second before composing himself. He pulled her onto his lap and pecked her cheek. "I'm sorry, love. It's just that I'm not quite use to you being so forward and determined like that. It's very cute."

"Oh." Neo blinked. "I guess I am different now. I feel different too."

"That's good. And I'm glad you see me like you do. But, unlike you, I haven't broke free of the past just yet," Law said. He ran his hand over her wingless back while leaning against the rock behind them.

"What do you mean?" Neo asked.

"For me to finally be free of Doflamingo…I need to take him down," Law replied. He sighed when he felt Neo's anxiety rise. "Don't worry about it for right now. I'm still not strong enough yet to go after him. For now we still have a lot of training to do. We'll worry about that after we leave Luminous."

Taking her hand again, Law pulled her up to her feet before walking along the beach again. They stayed out their for two hours before heading back to the castle. Entering into the foyer they were instantly greeted by Medina and Lyra. Both maids looking rather upset with them.

"Princess," Medina said. "Where have you been?"

"Do you know how late it is?" Lyra added.

Neo stepped closer to Law. "Y-yes. I know. We were out walking."

"Princess, things are getting out of hand," Medina said. "You can keep running off like this. You are our royal. You have duties to preform here. We would appreciate it if you didn't abandon them."

"No," Neo murmured.

"Excuse me?" Medina asked.

"I won't stay locked up in here," Neo said.

Law glanced down at her.

"Princess, be reasonable," Lyra said. "You need to understand how important it is for you to listen to-"

"No!" Neo said. "I'm done with you two! You are no longer my maids!"

"Princess, you're being unreasonable," Medina said.

"No!  _You_  are being unreasonable," Neo said tightening her hold on Law's hand. "I want Topaz to be my maid for the rest of the time we're on this island. I'm done with you two trying to tell me what to do and what to wear." With nothing else to say, she turned and hid her face into Law's chest. Her body shook against his.

"Princess," Medina said.

"You heard your  _princess_ ," Law said. "Get lost!"

The maids jumped. With no more room to argue they walked away.

"Why do they keep being like that?" Neo asked.

"Stuck in their own ways," Law said. "That's all it is."

"Do you think they'll really listen to me?" Neo asked. "Will they stay away now?"

"They will whether or not they want to," Law said. "I'll enforce your decision. All we have to do now is tell Topaz of your decision. I'm sure she'll listen."

"I hope so," Neo said.

"Let's see if Topaz is in the kitchen," Law said.

Neo nodded before they headed for the kitchen. Upon entering the room they found several Elementals rushing about getting supper ready. They spotted Topaz peeling some potatoes and walked over to her. "Topaz, can we talk?"

"Princess," Topaz said.

Neo jumped when everyone stopped working and bowed to her. Her eyes dropped to the floor.

"All right, everyone," Topaz said. "Get back to work."

The kitchen staff turned back to their duties.

"Let's talk in the dinning room," Topaz said.

"Okay." Neo nodded.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Topaz asked once they were back in the dinning room.

"I, uh, kind of told Medina and Lyra I don't want them to be my maids anymore," Neo said.

"Oh?" Topaz said.

"I want, or would like, for you to take over their duties." Neo fiddled with her shirttail before looking up at the woman. "Would you do that?"

"If that is what you wish. Then I would be honored," Topaz said.

"Thank you." Neo smiled.

"Is there anything you would like me to do right now?" Topaz asked.

"No, I don't think so," Neo said. "We're just going to go rejoin the crew. Kailen's here too."

"Then I will make sure to set an extra plate at the table," Topaz said.

"Thank you," Neo said.

Topaz bowed before heading back to the kitchen.

Neo and Law left the dinning room and headed for the library.

"You did really well," Law said. "You're starting to voice your opinions and feelings more."

"I guess so. I should have done this several days ago," Neo said.

Stopping short of the library, Law tilted her chin up and kissed her.

Neo tensed and squeaked.

"That was for speaking your mind," Law said before pulling her into the library. "About time you two showed up," Penguin said.

"Neo was taking care of some long over due business," Law said.

"Business?" Bepo asked.

"I got rid of Medina and Lyra," Neo said sitting down on the couch with Law.

"You did what?" Kailen asked.

"I got tired of them trying to tell me what I could and couldn't do," Neo said. "So I told them I didn't want them as my maids anymore. Topaz is going to take over."

"That's good to hear," Jean Bart said. "You're more relaxed with her around."

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "She's nice. I like her. So what have you all be doing?"

"Nothing much," Shachi said. "Just chilling and enjoying the place."

"How's the Elementals' training going?" Neo asked.

"It's great," Shachi said. "They're fast learners, especially Tao. They want us to stay even longer, but we told them we couldn't. So we've been writing down different training exercises for them to do. Tao's going to take over their training when we leave."

"They're really getting into this, aren't they?" Neo asked.

"They are." Penguin nodded.

"They'd like for you to come see them practice one day," Bepo said.

"I don't know," Neo said. "Maybe. I'm still not sure of them."

"It's your choice of course," Bepo said.

"I know." Neo nodded.


	54. Bonds

Bonds

"Hey, you're finally here." Kailen greeted his sister and her family with a warm smile. He was standing beside a young woman with spiky red hair and a green blanket bundled up in her arms. They were outside the front door of a two story, white crystal building with multiple windows lined up on both floors.

"Kailen." Neo smiled. She, with Law's hand in hers, walked up to her brother and gave him a one armed hug.

Law and the other men instantly felt a tense atmosphere that the two Elementals were giving off. The captain raised an eyebrow at Kailen. The Elemental quickly caught it. He gave Law a quick nod, indicating that something was up.

Neo pulled from her brother and looked at the building. "So what is this place? It doesn't look like a home."

"It's a home for orphans, Princess. It's kind of quiet right now because all of the kids are out on a field trip so you can have your meeting with Ortzi in peace and quiet," the woman said with a friendly smile.

Neo glance unsurely at the woman and took a step closer to Law.

The woman giggled. "Don't worry, Princess. I'm not one of the Elementals who's going to try and force you to stay here. I'm in full support of you leaving with your family."

"Uh, thank you," Neo said cautiously. Her eyes dropped down to the blanket when it moved.

The woman dropped her eyes down as well. She pealed back the covers to reveal a tiny person in her arms.

"Ah, it's a baby," Bepo cooed. He, Shachi and Penguin stepped closer and inspected the child. The baby opened her green eyes and happily inspected the three staring at her. The bear's furry cheeks turned pink when the child chattered happily.

"This is Li. She's one of the orphans that lives here. I think she likes you all," the woman said.

"She's so cute!" Shachi cried. He held out his finger to the child. She took it and immediately stuck the man's finger in her mouth.

Penguin snorted with laughter when Li's face scrunched up and released Shachi's finger. "I told you, Shachi. You need to wash your hands more often."

"Very funny!" Shachi snapped. "You probably taste no better than I do!"

"I wash my hands more," Penguin said.

"Would it be all right if I held her?" Bepo asked.

"Of course," the woman replied. She carefully passed the tiny baby over to the bear. "She loves being held."

"So cute," Bepo said.

Neo frowned. Her feeling of Bepo being taken away came back but she reminded herself he wasn't staying here either. It didn't work.

"Is something wrong?" Law asked when Kailen walked closer to him, both men casted Neo a quick glance. She was carefully watching Bepo with a light frown on her lips. He pulled his eyes back to Kailen when the Elemental leaned closer to him.

"It's Ortzi. The man you all are here to see," Kailen whispered low. "I told you before he's not in good health. Well, his health took a turn for the worst. He could die anytime now. He says he's feeling well enough to meet with you all, but…"

"Right." Law nodded in understanding. Kailen was worried about both the old man dying and Neo since she's never been around someone who was dying and she has killed, unintentionally of course. "We'll be as quick as possible and make this as stress free as we can for both of them."

"I think she really likes you," the woman said to the bear. The two men turned to find Bepo was happily bouncing the giggling baby in his arms.

"She can't have Bepo," Neo said in a flat voice that made them all turn to her. Her light frown had morphed into a deeper one and her eyebrows were narrowing. "Bepo is  _my_  mink."

"Don't worry, Neo," Law said in a soothing way. "Babies are often friendly towards strangers. It doesn't mean she wants to keep Bepo."

"Really?" Neo's facial expression relaxed when she turned her eyes to Law. He nodded in assurance. She nodded back. "Okay."

"I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't mean to imply anything here," the woman then said.

Bepo handed back the baby then stepped over to Neo. To ensure her that he wasn't going anywhere, he wrapped his arms around Neo's waist and nuzzled against her cheek until he got a sweet bell-chiming laugh out of her. "I'm sorry. You're still my favorite."

Neo shook her head while stroking Bepo's fur affectionately. "It's fine. I just misunderstood."

"Would you like to hold her, Princess?" the woman asked with her ever-present smile.

Neo's eyes shot opened as a dark, fuzzy, painfully familiar image shot across her mind. Her body slamming into Law's with such force it tipped him back.

Confused, his arms immediately wrapped around her. He could feel her intense fear crashing like waves in her body. "Neo?"

"I…I don't want to. I don't want to." Neo shook her head. Her body trembled fiercely. She turned, clenched a hold of Law's hoodie, and hid her face in his chest. Her mind continued to flash with images of the past. "Make it go away…make it go away! Make it go away! Make it stop! Law! Make it stop!"

"Neo?" Law asked again. Tightened his hold on her trembling form he felt something dark stirring in her mind. The dark image passed to his mind before he glanced up when her crystals began to fade in and out of existence then at everyone around him. Everyone else was equally puzzled at Neo's sudden outburst of fear. His eyes dropped back down to the once again terrified girl in his arms. The dark image became clearer. Mertensia. After passing his sword off to Bepo, he scooped her up in his arms. He gave everyone a passing glance. "Give us a minute."

Quickly, he rushed her away from the group. He found a quiet area within a cluster of trees. Looking back down at her, he could still feel her fears just as strong. Setting her feet back on the ground, he put his arms back around her and rubbed her back while she kept her face buried in his chest. "It's okay, Neo. Can you calm down for me?"

"I-m…I-m try-ing," Neo said through her sharp gasps.

Law waited patiently for her to get her breathing under control.

A few minutes and several deep breaths later, Neo's breathing was stable and her tremors were starting to subside. She turned her misty eyes up to him after a relaxing deep breath.

"Neo, what happened?" Law asked carefully. He brushed a strand of hair from her face. Concern was flooded in his eyes as he examined her.

"I'm…I don't know. I just lost it when she asked if I wanted to hold that…that kid," Neo said with a light shake of her head. "It really scared me for some reason. Then I saw something, something from my past. It might have been about…"

"Mertensia," Law finished for her when her voice faded off.

"I know I killed a lot of people that day. And babies were also…" Neo bit her bottom lip. "Maybe that kid just, uh, triggered those memories again?"

"Probably," Law replied. He paused. Carefully, he added, "Would you like to try and use our bond to see what exactly it was?"

Neo debated on his words while keeping her eyes locked onto his comforting steel orbs. She shook her head. "No…I'll be okay now. We can go back."

Law looked over her features carefully before nodding. He slid his hand back into hers and led her back over to the orphanage. Upon their arrival, the woman asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Yes." Law answered. He took his sword back from Bepo. "We can proceed."

"Very well then." The woman nodded and then headed for the door. "This way."

The group followed her into the building. They entered into a large room. The combined rooms of a kitchen, dinning hall with two large rectangular tables, which was missing almost all of the chairs, and a living room area with toys scattered in one corner of the room is what greeted them when they walked inside. The smell of baby powder and milk formula was heavily present in the air.

For Neo, the building had an over whelming chaotic feeling about it. She stepped closer to Law and clenched a hold of his sleeve. She caught Law's quick glance before the woman spoke up again.

"He's out here. He likes sitting in the garden in the afternoons." The woman opened the back door. She held it open as the group filed out into the large, flower filled backyard. She then led them over to the farthest side where a bald old man was sitting in wheelchair with a blanket and a book resting over his lap. Around him were the missing dinning table chairs. His head was tilted back slightly. His eyes were closed. And his lips were pulled into a light, pleasant smile that wrinkled his wrinkles into facial rivers. "Ortzi, you have visitors."

"Yes," Ortzi said with a soft, yet gruff voice. He tilted his chin back down, smoothing out some of this wrinkles, and opened his eyes. His silvery blue eyes drifted immediately to Neo.

Neo's breath hitched in her throat. This old man had a very strong, almost smothering, yet gentle presence about him. She noticed he felt oddly similar to Law, but without the gentle, comforting holds he gave her when scared. She felt like Ortzi had glided his winds around her and flowed her through the ages with confidence she could handle it then brought her back to the present to cradle her like he was rocking a child to sleep.

He nodded his head in slow dip. "Princess Neo of Luminous…you are as beautiful as they say. Forgive me for not bowing in the typical fashion. These old bones do not allow for much movement."

Neo felt her face flush at his words. Though she wasn't sure if it was because he called her beautiful or if she felt embarrassed at these people always wanting to bow to her. "It's fine. I don't really like all of the bowing. And, um, thank you."

Feeling Neo's, and a touch of his own, discomfort rising, Law cleared his throat. "Can we get on with this? We came to talk about the bond, not about how beautiful Neo is."

Ortzi smiled at Law. "Jealousy can be a dangerous thing, young man."

Now it was Law's turn to blush. He wasn't expecting this old man to read him so easily. It caught him off guard for some reason.

The crew bit their bottom lips to keep from snickering.

Ortzi chuckled. "Think nothing of it, young man. We all feel jealous at several points in our lives. And you are bonded to her. Your feelings for each other are now on a magical level. But then, I don't need to tell you that." He gestured to the chairs. "Please, sit."

Without a word the crew obeyed his command. Neo and Law sat in the two chairs closest to the old man, which was obviously placed there for them. The crew scattered around the rest of the chairs. The majority of the crew sat down in the chairs while a couple remained standing. One stood behind a chair, crossed his arms over the back of it, and leaned onto it. Jean Bart opted to just sit on the grass.

Ortzi then closed his eyes in thought. He reopened them and looked right at Law and Neo. "So tell me about your bond? Kailen has told me, roughly, what it consisted of. But I would like to hear the whole story. I would like to hear as much details as possible when the bonding occurred."

Neo looked to Law. Both knew that he was going to have to be the one to answer this question. His mind was in a better state than hers when it happened, especially the first time it happened.

Law took a moment to gather his thoughts before explaining everything to the old man. "Well, the first time it happened was after Neo had a nightmare. She was running a bit of a fever. When I got her to finally to wake up, she engulfed me in her white glow. I don't think she did it on purpose thought. She just snapped awake and it happened. I saw, for the first time, what had happened to her growing up. I saw everything."

Ortzi hummed with a nod. "And it was after that you started to feel her pain?"

"Yes." Law nodded. "I didn't realize it at the time, but I did start feeling her pain after that. I believe the first time was when a band of mercenaries took her from us under the orders of the Dark Elementals. They hit her over the head and stabbed her in the shoulder."

Neo shifted uncomfortably at the memories.

Law sent her a comforting glance and squeezed her hand. He then turned back to Ortzi, lightly flinched at the knowing smile of the old man, and proceeded. "It only increased from that point. Whenever she felt pain, I felt it too. I'm not sure if she can feel my pain or not, but I assume she can. We haven't tested that. The second time we bonded was not long after we had talked to an old friend of Red Hair Shanks, Silvers Rayleigh. He gave of some information on who Neo was and how she was related to Red Hair. She also was able to share darkened, blurry visions with me through our bond. They were of when she was born. Red Hair and her parents were in the vision she shared with me. Then, some time later, Neo had a dream about the darkness crystal and a wave she couldn't control. We didn't know for sure at the time that it was the Elementals or not. Either way, it scared her. We were in my room. She was scared about everything that was happening. She was afraid that we wouldn't be able to fight them because they are a part of nature and they control nature. She confessed that she didn't want to lose any of us and unknowingly put an emphasis on not wanting to lose  _me_. I promised her that I would get stronger to protect her and the crew. She started searching my eyes with hers when she started glowing again. That's when she noticed that my relationship with her was different from the rest of the crew. She was trying to figure out why and how our relationship was different, but wasn't ready yet to hear the answer. Then my crew interrupted us. They wanted to speak with me. She was able to sense me walking through our submarine to the control room. She didn't mention this until a few days later. We ran into a guy from her past at a festival. He took her from me when he threw sea…he was able to trap me for a moment and took her. When I was finally able to get free, I had no clue where he had taken her. Suddenly, I was able to just sense where she was. Later she asked me how I was able to find her. When I told her how, she told me about being able to sense me too. I remembered she also had sensed Red Hair Shanks when he got close enough at one point in time."

"Red Hair Shanks." The old man cracked a smile. "It's been such a long time since I've heard about him. How is he doing?"

"Fine." Law frowned at being interrupted. His frown quickly morphed into a sadistic grin before adding, "He's still an Emperor,  _for now_."

"Ah, yes. Of course." Ortzi nodded. "Forgive the interruption. Please, continue."

"The third time it happened was after I gave her my ring. It was her one year anniversary with the crew. I had taken her away from the rest of the crew to give her the gift in private. She started glowing again before asking me if the change that was taking place between us was a good thing. Then when you all took her…" Law clenched his teeth. Angry still churned in his stomach whenever he thought about what had happened.

_'Law, it's okay. You don't have to be angry.'_

_'I know. I'm sorry, love.'_  Law cleared his throat before continuing. "I had gone to my room for some time to…think. The next thing I knew, I was in the cell with her. I was able to touch her. I felt her. It was like I was really there, but at the same time I was still back in my room on the sub. I was also able to start her apple for her and feed it to her. I was also transparent and glowing. We haven't tested that either to see if she can project herself to me. I didn't feel her anymore until she got angry at the Elementals for taking my ring and hat from her. I had a hard time connecting to her. We were about thirty minutes apart when I was finally able to break through her anger and get her to listen to me. I don't know if this is important or not, but when she was poisoned my hand was glowing too. As the poison spread up her arm the glow grew on mine. And since then the only other thing we've discovered about our bond is we don't have to use our voices to communicate with each other through it."

"I see," Ortzi said when Law stopped talking. He stroked his chin in thought. "The bonding process each occurred at important pivotal points in your relationship. The first time it happened because she had gained trust in you, whether she was aware of it or not. Through taking care of her, her subconscious registered you as something good and you reinforced that with your behavior. The second time happened when she had trust in you all and waited to know that you all were going to be safe even though she was technically putting you all in such danger. The third time seems to have happened on a more intimate level. Her subconscious knew you two were being very intimate with each other was far more than just the friendly, family like bond she has with the rest of the crew."

The baby's sudden wails pulled everyone's attention from the old man's words. They turned to Li. The woman was bouncing her in her arms. "Excuse me. Little Li needs to be changed and fed. It was very nice to meet you, Princess. I hope you find answers to the questions about your bond you have."

"Uh, yeah." Neo shifted again at all the bowing.

The woman then turned and headed into the house without another word to anyone. They all turned back to Ortzi.

"So how do you know for sure that's what happened?" Shachi asked. "If this has only happened twice within your culture, I mean. Couldn't the bonding have taken place because of another reason?"

"That's always a possibility." Ortzi patted the book on his lap. "But this journal hold entries of my great, great, great uncle's bond with his love. Their bonding also happened at an important pivotal point in their relationship."

"Kailen mentioned that before," Bepo said. He looked at the Elemental.

Kailen nodded in response.

"Yes, he told me of what all he had said to you," Ortzi said. "And, for the most part, he got it right."

"You mean they died because they were separated?" Penguin asked. Shock and worried was laced within his voice. He shot his eyes over to Neo and Law. Both were equally troubled and worried over this confirmation. Law's thumb was rapidly rubbing circles over her hand. He wondered if they were speaking to each other through their bond.

"Personally, I believe that is what happened. Others still have their doubts and some flat out refuse to believe two can died from being separated from each other." Ortzi ran his hand over the book's cover. His eyes had softened with sadness. "But with how he talks in this journal, I find it difficult to deny that they did die because of the separation."

"So what happened between them?" Jean Bart asked. "How did they bond?"

"They bonded when she finally admitted to him that she was sexually abused by her boyfriend and mentally abused by her family." Ortzi closed his eyes in thought. He reopened them and ran his eyes over all the youngsters before him. "Her name was Zelenia. And his was Bayan. The two had been fairly good friends throughout their childhood, but Zelenia's family was always very strict. And her parents, in particular, were very controlling. Zelenia was a rare Elemental with three elemental crystals. Her parents were furious that she was born with all but one element crystal, the solar crystal, and wings. When she started forming a friendship with Bayan, it made them angrier because he was a royal and they thought she should have been. They started to control her more. Telling her where she would and could go, who she could and couldn't be friends with. They even choose whom she could date. One of her boyfriends started to sexually abuse her. She brought this up to her parents, but they refused to believe her because they really liked the guy. By this time, Bayan and Zelenia's relationship had weakened. He knew she was in trouble, but never could get her to open up to him about what was going on. Finally, one day, he was able to break through her defenses. She finally trusted him with the truth of what was going on. That's when they bonded. Secretly, they started seeing each other as often as they could. Well, things like that never last very long. Her parents found out about it and the bond and were, needlessly to say, furious with her. They were so furious they left the island with her. Bayan was devastated. They had left in the middle of the night and no one, not even their closest friends and family, knew where they went. As the days passed on Bayan became more and more hopeless. He knew she was never going to return. And, one day, he was dead. A maid went to wake him up for the day and found him dead in his bed. A few months after that Zelenia's parents returned to the island with the story she had gotten a human illness and died from it. But they slipped up and revealed that she had died exactly a hundred and five days after leaving Luminous. The same exact day Bayan had died."

Neo shivered at the thick, uncomfortable atmosphere Ortzi's story was providing. She could feel that everyone was tense from what they were hearing. She pulled her legs up under her, tightened her hand in his, and leaned into Law's arm, resting her head on his shoulder. She was divided. Part of her wanted to sit here and continue to listen to the old man. The other part of her wanted to ask Law to take her into his arms and take her away from this place and story. But she knew she had to stay and listen. Law was important to her. If this bond they shared could possibly hurt him, she needed to know about it and if there was a way to keep that from happening.

Law was feeling divided himself. He also wanted to stay and listen to what Ortzi was saying to see if anything the old man said would help him and Neo's bond. He also wanted to pick Neo up and leave both the old man and his story behind. But he had to know more. He had to know everything he could so he could protect her. Kailen had hinted at this story, but was unsure of the details. Now, they were getting the details. Details that wanted to churn fears inside of him. He knew he had to remain calm. He had to keep a tight control on his emotions so Neo wouldn't feel his growing anxieties and fears bubbling up in his gut and brain.

They had been separated. Could they have both died so easily and he didn't even know it? If their bond was stronger than those in the past, shouldn't they have died? Was time a factor in all of this? He and Neo had only been separated for a couple of days. The two from the past were separated for over a hundred days. That thought calmed Law down a bit. On impulse, he turned towards Neo and pressed his lips into her hair. He held that position for several seconds. He didn't care who was around him at the time. He needed to touch her like this, to feel her hair on his lips, to smell her sweet, intoxicating, Elemental scent. He didn't even care about the shining smile Ortzi was giving him and Neo when he finally turned back to the old man.

"You two are very close indeed. And, if it helps, I believe that as long as you two know you will be reunited then you don't have to fear death," Ortzi said as if he had read Law's thoughts.

"What do you mean?" Neo asked.

"You knew that your bonded was coming for you. After you connected with him through your bond, you knew that. That kept you going. You fought to survive so you could be with him again. I also believe that's why your crystals glow and your white glow acted so strangely after that young woman took the ring and hat from you," Ortzi replied.

"I forgot about that happening. My glow absorbed their attacks. You know about that? Were you there?" Neo asked. Her eyebrow narrowed in concentration and in anticipation of his words.

"No, I wasn't there. But Tao did come and talk to me about it," Ortzi said. Everyone gasped slightly at his little revelation. "He was confused when it happened and was looking for answers to why it did. As far as I am aware, he never got an answer for that. I don't know what happened. Our crystals have been known to protect us on their own in times when we are not able to. And with what Kailen has told me about your past, I know there have been times when your crystals protected you whether or not you were aware of it. I can only assume that it happened because of your bond and because of your anger. You were desperate to get back to your bonded that your crystals responded to that and…evolved, if you would, to protect you. I don't see it ever happening again unless you get into another situation that causes you the same exact stress that this encounter caused you."

Ortzi took a steady breath and continued. "Also, even though I might not have to say it, be very aware that your bond was created by magic. And there are other magic creatures in this world. They might very well have means of breaking your bond. And, of course, when you, Princess, are disoriented it will disrupt your bond just like it disrupts your connection to your crystals. And just go ahead and assume when you, young man, are disoriented it will also disrupt the bond. Only a test can settle the matter whether this is true or not. And I assume that isn't something you are willing to try because it will hurt her, right?"

"Correct." Law frowned.

Ortzi nodded. "Still, you are going to have to test it at some point. It's the only way for you to get answers for this. Start off small. For an example, that vision sharing thing you mentioned before. You can test that and see where she can project to you and vise versa. And, for all anyone knows, more things might crop up with it. Your bond might grow stronger as you become closer and you might develop more abilities. Or it might not. Only time will tell."

Ortzi's face expression then turned suddenly playful and teasing. He looked directly at Law. "And be prepared to face the exact same feelings and pain she does when she is with child."

Law's face flushed bright red. He couldn't stop it. They had been in such a serious, thick, and tense atmosphere he wasn't prepared to face such an intimate suggestion from a man he didn't even know. Snorts and snickers from his subordinates brought him back to reality. He shot them all a disapproving frown and glare. His heart skittered in his chest when he heard Neo's sweet, innocent voice ask, "With child? What does that mean?"

Ortzi's smile grew brighter. The smile revealed to the captain that the old man had said that on purpose. With their bond Law could easily feel her pain as it was, saying  _that_  wasn't necessary at all. He shot the old man a disapproving glare before looking at Neo. "He means pregnant. And that's part of our promised conversation we'll have later."

"Oh." Neo nodded. "Okay then."

"Promised conversation?" Shachi teased.

Law shot him another frown and glare.

Shachi only shrugged with a smile. He could easily guess what the conversation was going to be about. He just could resist this rare time in teasing his captain.

Penguin elbowed his friend in the ribs.

Shachi just shrugged again.

"And while we're on the topic of babies," Ortzi said with a still present teasing lilt in his voice. "When an Elemental female is pregnant her crystals put up a shield around the baby. This protects the child when the mother has to engage in battle."

"Neo can fight when she's…" Archer started to say. He stopped when his captain shot him a silent death threat through his eyes. The man thought carefully about his words before speaking again. " _If_ she were to become pregnant, she would be able to fight? Does that mean with just her crystals? What about hand to hand combat?"

"She can do both. Elemental women have been hit fairly hard in the stomach while pregnant and in all the stages of a pregnancy," Ortzi confirmed. "But I don't recommend going out and purposefully getting hit. Elemental bodies share many similarities to a human's body, but there are a few differences. Since you, young surgeon, are studying our ways then you should become very familiar with the differences."

"It's starting to sound like this bonding thing is just a form of magical marriage," Penguin said. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and laced his fingers together in front of his chin. "Like the captain and Neo were just destined to find each other."

"Funny you should say that," Ortzi said. "Those were pretty much the same words Bayan used to described his bond with Zelenia. I suppose that could be the easiest way to explain all of this despite how cliché and corny it sounds. At least, I can't think of a better way. It's a life long commitment just like marriage. In both you have to learn about each other, test things, learn to give more than you take, learn to compromise and trust each other. I, personally, approve of this bond of marriage between you two. But that doesn't mean you can have sex with her yet."

Law protested with a dark growl. Neo snuggled into his arm. He instantly reacted to her touch and relaxed.

Ortzi laughed before slipping into a fit of heavy, congested coughs. He waved his hand at them when they all moved in silent gestures and questions if he was all right or needed anything. His coughing subsided after a minute. He took a couple slow breaths before speaking. "Princess, if you don't mind, I would love to see your wings."

"My wings?" Neo glanced up at Law before looking back at the old man.

"Yes. But only if you don't mind," Ortzi repeated. "My great, great, great uncle was the royal before you. He put a little drawing of his wings in his journal. I would like to see a royal's wings in person. And I am curious to see if they are the same."

"I guess it's okay." Neo looked at Law again before reluctantly pulling away from him. She stood up and summoned her wings. She flicked them a couple times before taking a couple steps closer to the old Elemental. She suddenly felt self-conscious of the old man staring at her wings.

' _Just breath. He's only looking.'_

' _Yeah. I know.'_  Neo took a deep breath. She turned her back to Ortzi so he could get a fuller view of them. She folded her wings together then spread them opened. Without knowing why, she lifted herself up into the air with them. She turned back around to face the man then lowered her feet to the ground. She collapsed her hands in front of her.

"Beautiful, Princess." Ortzi smiled contently. He relaxed into his chair.

Law's eyebrow twitched when he noticed the old man's body relaxed in an all too familiar way. Being a doctor and seeing so many people die before his eyes, he knew this old man didn't have much time left.

"Thank you very much for coming to see me. I don't know if I was much help in answering your questions, but I'm glad I could share with you want I do know. And, I want you to have this." Ortzi held out the book he had been holding.

Neo looked at it then back at Ortzi. "That's a journal. Journals are supposed to be private."

"Yes, Princess, they are. But I honestly believe that Bayan would want you to have this. Being a royal, you might find more connections and answers in reading his words that I could not," Ortzi said.

Neo looked back at Law.  _'Law, what do I do? Journals are private, right?'_

' _Yes, they are. Normally I wouldn't encourage you to take something like this, but Ortzi might be right. We need to read it. Go ahead and take it. It's all right.'_

"Okay," Neo said turning her eyes back to Ortzi. Slowly, she placed her hand on the book and pulled it to her. She then stared at Ortzi's still outstretched hand. Somehow knowing what he was asking, she placed her free hand into his. His touch was surprisingly gentle. His skin was lightly cool. Suddenly, Neo felt something leaving the old man's body. Without any warning or feeling them coming, warm tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Thank you, Princess," Ortzi whispered with the last breath in his old body. His eyes drifted closed as his hand dropped from Neo's.

Neo barely felt her knees buckle under her a split second before Law swooped her up into his arms. Her eyes remained on Ortzi unmoving body. She asked, "Law, something's wrong. Can you help him?"

"No, Neo, there's nothing I can do for him," Law replied gently. "He's gone."

"Gone? He's right there. He didn't go anywhere," Neo said. She turned her confused eyes to Law.

"I mean, he died, Neo," Law said. He watched as Neo's eyes slowly filled with realization.

"B-but why?!" Neo demanded. Her tears streamed harder down her cheeks. She clutched the book to her chest.

"It was just his time to go," Law said, tightening his hold on her.

"Don't be sad, Princess," the woman said upon her unnoticed return. They all turned to her. Tears were filling her eyes. "He was a hundred and twenty years old. He's lived a very long and very productive life. He has been sick for some time now. I think he was holding on to the last of his life so that he could meet you."

"What do you mean?" Neo asked.

"I'm one of the orphans he raised," she explained. "As I grew up, I began to notice a strange sadness within his eyes. When I was a teenager I finally asked him about it. He explained to me about what happened with his great, great, great uncle and his bonded. For some reason, he was over come with guilt that he couldn't help them even though that had happened years before he was even born. Ortzi has always been a gentle man. When he sees or hears of someone hurting he wants to help them. That's why he came to open this orphanage. He never had kids of his own and wanted to help kids who didn't have parents. Meeting with you and your bonded, I think it helped him over come that guilt and he was finally able to move passed it. He wasn't able to help  _them_ , but he was able to help you two, at least a little bit."

Not knowing what to say, Neo just rested her head on Law's shoulder. She exhaled and clenched the book in her hold tighter. She looked back over at Ortzi. She whispered under her breath so low that Law didn't even hear her. "Thank you, Ortzi."

…

"Law?" Neo asked once they were back inside the castle. The majority of the crew had remained outside with some of their Elemental friends. A couple crewmates returned to the castle with the couple, but quickly dispersed from them. She wasn't sure where they were going. Some headed upstairs towards their rooms while others scattered to different rooms on the main floor. But all knew she needed some time alone with Law. "There's somewhere I want to go."

"Right." Law nodded. He immediately knew the place she was talking about and headed for the door near the stairs.

The throne room was big. It was obviously for more than just a place for royals to sit. It was also the ballroom. Many, many balls had been held in this large room in the past. But dancing wasn't why they were here. Law bypassed it all. The large windows, the tapestries, the large pillars, and the few steps that lead up to the two high back clear crystal thrones sitting perfectly clean on their platform. Neither one of them looked at the details of the large room or anything that was in the large room.

Law paused in slight confusion when he noticed only a wall was behind the thrones. Before he could question it, Neo summoned a crystal. Her crystal's glow created the missing door. It opened up just like the ones in the dungeon had done when she was brought out of it. With no more hesitation and no one around to question them, Law carried her inside the room.

Not wanting to be disturbed, Neo made her crystal glow again and closed the door behind them. Her eyes met Law's.

He nodded in understanding and in acceptance to her wishes.

They both then turned to look at the room. The room was rectangular shaped. Along all of the walls, but for the one the door was, were shelves holding all of the past royals birth medallions and soft glowing crystals glowing down on the medallions like spotlights. The medallions were each sitting on a crystal pedestal. Law walked her farther into the room until they came upon the correct medallion. He lowered her feet to the floor and stood back to let her do what she felt like she needed to.

She stayed beside him for a minute before walking up to the medallion. Clenching the book to her chest, she inspected the silver medallion before her. It was practically identical to the one she had. Silver, diamond shaped, the light blue crystal was at the top, to the right was the green crystal, at the bottom was a grayish blue crystal and the last one was the red crystal. The only difference was the name on it. Bayan was engraved in the center of the pendant. She reached out and lightly touched her gentle fingertips to its smooth surface. "Law?"

"Yes?"

"Are you really okay with this?" Neo retracted her hand from the medallion and turned to him. She locked her eyes onto his. "With being bonded to me?"

"I am," Law said so strongly, so confidently.

"Even though it means we'll die together if something happens to one of us?" Neo asked in a soft and fearful whisper that Law almost did hear. Feeling guilty of putting him through this without his permission, she dropped her eyes to the ground. "This is my fault. It's my magic that bonded us. I could kill you through-"

The loud clank of Law's sword on the crystal floor broke her words. She glanced at the fallen sword in confusion before raising her eyes back to him. Before she could look at him, she was engulfed in his strong arms. His voice was firm yet soft as he said, "I don't ever,  _ever_  want to hear you speaking like that again! Do you understand me?! I  _order_  you to never speak like that again! We are bonded through your magic, yes!  _But_  we have also bonded in human ways too! I don't  _ever_  want you to doubt my feelings towards you! You have become so important to me that I would die without you whether or not we were bonded by your magic or not!"

"I'm sorry, Law." Neo leaned into his shoulder with a tired sigh. She wiggled her book free hand between their bodies and clenched a hold of his hoodie. "I guess things just got a bit too emotional today. I'm feeling a bit confused and tired."

"I know." Law nodded. He pulled back and pressed his forehead to hers, pushing up his hat a bit. "I'm sorry I got a bit rough there. I just don't want you to blame yourself for our bond. It happened because we both wanted it to."

"Do you really believe that?" Neo asked. Both pulled back at the same time to look at each other in the eyes. "It happened because we both wanted it to?"

"Yes, I do believe that. I can feel it." Law smiled softly at her.

"Law…I want to know if I can feel your pain." She watched his eyelids jerk wide open. Before he could say no, she added, "I need to know. I want to know what we can and can't do. I want to know before you have to fight again."

Law studied her for a long while. He knew she was right. But the mere thought of purposefully hurting her was unbearable to him. He didn't want to do it. He had too. He lifted his right hand up to his face. His fists, teeth, and his sword were the only weapons he had on him. He figured biting himself would be the less painful for her. He swallowed hesitantly before sinking his teeth into his wrist.

Neo winced at the sharp pain in her own wrist as iron filled the air.

"I'm so sorry," Law gasped. He put his left arm around her and pulled her to him. To avoid getting blood on her, he only brushed his fingertips on her arm.

"It's okay. It doesn't hurt that bad," Neo replied. She pulled back from him and took a hold of his now injured wrist. Her delicate fingers sent small sparks of electricity into Law's skin, making his heart jolt. She inspected the teeth marks before bringing his hand up to her lips. She paused. Hesitating, she looked up at him. He gave her a light nod of encouragement. She lowered her eyes back down to the blood on his skin. Carefully, she licked the blood off the topside of his wrist, sending pleasurable shock waves through Law's arm, then rotated to the bottom side and licked the blood again. She summoned her solar crystal. Its radiating glow spread over his wrist, sealing up the broken skin. "Now…I have healed you."

Smiles spread over their lips accompanied by soft giggles and chuckles. Lifting his hand back up, he ran his fingers in her soft hair before taking her face in them. Leaning down, he placed a soft kiss on each of her cheeks.

She tensed at his touch. Her heart pounded in her chest when she noticed his eyes dropped to her lips. It raced even harder when Law moved his lips onto hers.

He kept his eyes open to watch her typical wide-eyed expression. His eyes shimmered when he noticed her senses were coming back to her quicker than before.

She locked her eyes onto his and blinked. He lowered his eyelids half closed. She followed his lead and half closed her eyes. She shivered when he traced his hand down her shoulders to her hips. As if their bond now allowed synchronized movements between them, they closed their eyes the rest of the way. She leaned into him and finally kissed him back.


	55. Princess of Luminous

Princess of Luminous

Neo was sitting in her castle room, leaning back on her thick comfortable pillows. The lamp on the nightstand cased light over the room and her bed. She had her legs bent up slightly as her eyes skimmed over the pages of Bayan's journal. She had been reading it pretty much nonstop since they had left the hidden room behind the thrones. Half of her mind was on what she was reading while the other half was keeping track of Law, despite him never leaving his room when they had to temporarily part for bed.

She was reading over the last couple of entries Bayan had written before he and his bonded died. A low sigh passed through her lips over the depressing words she was reading just after Law warped into the room. "What's wrong, love?"

"Bayan just sounds so sad," Neo replied. She lowered the journal to her legs and rubbed the heel of her left hand in her eye. "I feel kind of…I don't know. This is just different from the other books that I have read."

"That's because this is a journal," Law said while leaning his sword up against the wall. He then sat down on the bed, took off his shoes, and then picked Neo up before sitting back down on the bed with her firmly in his lap. He kissed her temple and cheek, making her tense like always. "The books you've been reading are all fictional. Made up for entertainment. While reading them you knew that what was happening to the characters wasn't real. When your reading this journal, a book recording of real life events, you know that it's real and you're connecting to the one who wrote it because of all the similarities between Bayan's situation and ours."

"I didn't know that was possible," Neo said. She turned her eyes to Law's. "I really hope this doesn't happen to us."

"It won't," Law said reassuringly. He nuzzled his nose to her cheek before moving back to the sensitive skin behind her ear.

The combination of his gentle touch and his breath tickled her skin, sending tingles through her body and making her squeal loudly. She clamped her hand over her mouth to choke it off, but didn't move quick enough. The guards heard her.

"Princess?" one guard asked from the other side of the door. Both the guards shifted out in the hall.

Neo froze as Law tensed up under her when the guards' shadows moved closer to the door. Both wondering if the guards were going to bust in like they did when Neo yelled at her two maids. Luckily, the two shadows under the door stopped moving.

"Is everything all right in there, Princess?"

"Yes, everything's fine. I apologize for worrying you like that. I am going to sleep now," Neo called back.

"Very well, Princess. May you rest well tonight. We will see you in the morning," the guard said before they both moved back to their former positions.

Neo kept her eyes on the bottom of the door for several more seconds before looking back at Law. The man held a rather annoyed look in his eyes. She tilted her head. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Law huffed. "I'm just sick of all the interruptions."

Neo puffed her cheeks. She narrowed her eyebrows a bit. "True. But they wouldn't have interrupted if you didn't do…do whatever it is you just did to me."

Law chuckled. His eyes shimmered brightly, making her heart race and her breath hitch in her chest. He leaned back and took her in before speaking. "Okay. You're right on this one. I temporarily forgot that you're not use to being touched in certain ways. I promise to not make move on you like that when we're in bed together here. That way we won't arouse suspicious or get accidently busted. But be prepared for me touching you more when we finally get back on the sub. Because…"

Neo tilted her head curiously when Law paused and got a mischievous look in his eyes and smile.

He leaned in close to her ear, making her tense at his breath on her skin. "…then I'm really going to make you squeal."

Neo's body tensed up even more at the unfamiliar sensual tone in his voice. Intense warmth spread out over her body and turned her cheeks blazing red.

Feeling satisfied in the reaction he elicited from her, Law plucked the book from her hands and his hat from her head. He placed the items on the nightstand, clicked off the lamp then lifted her off of him and placed her down on the bed. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it up over them both. He kissed her cheek. "Good night, love."

…

"You can't see him at all?" Neo asked. She twitched, nervous of the results. She and Law had decided to start testing their bond and see what all they could and couldn't do with it. Law thought it might be best if they both had someone with them in case something went wrong. So she was currently in the library with Penguin. Law was in another room down the hall with Bepo while the rest of the crew had left the castle shortly after lunch to train more with the Elementals.

Since Neo was closest to Penguin, next to Law, he was the obvious choice. And since Law and Bepo were best friends he asked the bear to join him. If anything did go wrong, they were to immediately go get Healer Zinnia, which had been informed earlier by Law that they were going to be working on this. The healer agreed not to wonder far from the ward until she received word that their training was over.

Neo had just pulled Law to her. He was standing beside her while Penguin looked around the room for his captain. "Nope. I don't see him anywhere."

Neo looked up at Law. He had his chin between his index finger and thumb in thought. He then walked over to Penguin and tried to poke the man on arm. His hand just went right through Penguin as if he were nothing but air. At this point and time, he could be for all they knew.

Neo asked, "He just tried to poke you. Did you feel anything?"

"Not a thing." Penguin shrugged. "I guess this means only you two can see and touch each other."

"Law, are you holding your sword?" Neo asked when he walked back over to her.

' _Yes. Why?'_

"I was just curious," Neo replied. "The first time I did this you didn't have your sword with you either."

' _I wasn't holding it at the time. In fact, I think I left it in another room when I went to our bedroom,' Law replied noticing his sword was missing. He rubbed his goatee in thought. This meant that the one being projected couldn't help the other in attacks or defenses. 'Do you want to see if you can project yourself to me now?'_

"Yes." Neo nodded. Soon Law had faded from her vision. She glanced at Penguin. He smiled at her with an encouraging nod. She nodded back then closed her eyes in concentration.  _When she opened her eyes, she was standing in some kind of meeting room. There was a long rectangular table with twelve chairs on each side and a thirteenth chair at the head of the table. She smiled when her eyes met Law's. 'I can project myself to you too.'_

Law nodded with a smile of his own. Without taking his eyes off her, he asked, "Can you see, sense or smell her, Bepo?"

Bepo carefully looked around the room. His black nose twitched as he sniffed the air. "I can't see her and I can't smell her, but I do sense that she's here. I think it might be because she's the one who's magic and I'm a bear who's grown use to how she feels."

"Probably." Law nodded. "Animals do have stronger senses than humans do."

' _Is there anything else we're going to try?' Neo asked._

"Try touching Bepo. It didn't work for me, but it might work for you since it's your magic," Law said.

_Neo nodded and walked over to Bepo. She tried poking him on the stomach. Her hand went right through him just like Law's did on Penguin. 'Can't touch him.'_

"If you're touching me now, I can't feel anything either," Bepo said looking around the room. "But I do sense that you came closer."

"Neo, can you move your body in the library?" Law then asked.

' _Uh..' Neo concentrated on her body back in the other room. Her projected image faded slightly. She stopped thinking of her body and her image came back into full transparent view. 'I don't think I can. When I tried to move my body, I was going back to it. I mean this, uh, projected image of me here started going back to my body.'_

"I thought as much." Law frowned.

"What do you mean, Captain?" Bepo asked. "You thought what?"

"When Neo pulled me to her the first time I was able to move around in my own projected image, but when I returned to our room my body was in the exact same position as when I left it. This apparently means whichever one of us is being project is going to be put in a very vulnerable position for being attacked," Law summoned up.

_Neo's eyes widened in fear of that revelation._

Law walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. He leaned down and kissed her. "Don't worry about it, love. You'll only use this to project yourself to me if you think I'm in danger and you don't feel comfortable pulling me to you. We need to experiment a little more with this. Maybe  _we_  can't move, but someone else might be able to move us. But I want to be the one who's getting move. It might hurt in someway. Go back to your body now then pull me back to you. Bepo then will move me to another spot in this room."

' _Okay,' Neo agreed with a pout. She didn't like thinking of hurting him, but knew they had to do this. It was obvious he wanted to do this because the pain would hurt more for him than it would her._

"It'll be fine, love. Go on now," Law ordered. He watched as Neo nodded and faded from his eyes. He looked up at Bepo. He raised an eyebrow at the odd expression the bear was wearing. "What?"

"It just looked really weird," Bepo said with a shiver.

"What did?" Law asked, confused.

"You hugging and kissing air," Bepo replied.

Law released an audible growl and jerked his flushed face away from the bear, silently glad he did pick Bepo, as the bear wouldn't hold this over his head in any kind of way.

Bepo snickered quietly to himself. Typically, Law always seemed to think of everything. This was a rare slip up that Bepo found adorable just because Neo was involved in it. He then waited for that calmed, eyes closed expression Law had on his face the first time he saw this happening. When he knew Law was being pulled to Neo, he slowly picked up his captain. Carefully watching Law's face for discomfort, Bepo moved him a few feet from where he was previously standing and waited for him to return. A minute later, his captain returned. "Well?"

Law looked around the room before answering. He observed how he was in a different position than before. "I didn't feel anything. Let's go to the library now."

"Aye aye!" Bepo chirped then followed behind Law.

When Law got two feet into the room, Neo plowed into him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his toned chest before looking up at him with worried eyes. "Did it hurt you?! Are you hurt?! Did it hurt you at all?! Even just a little bit?!"

"Calm down, love." Law stroked her hair then kissed it. "It didn't hurt at all. You should know that. We'll be able to be moved by someone else when being projected."

Neo breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. She nodded in acceptance to his words. Before anything else could be said or asked, Neo's eyes widened slightly and she looked past Law's arm.

Law turned to see Bepo had stepped off to the side of the door and Topaz was standing there with an apologetic smile on her lips.

"I apologize for the interruption, Princess, but there are some Elementals who wish to speak with you," Topaz said.

"Hm?" Neo blinked. She was so concerned about Law being hurt that she didn't even sense four Elementals entering the castle. Now aware of it, she sensed them, one Elemental for each of the elements. She pressed closer into Law's body. "What do they want?"

"I'm unsure of the details, but I believe they wish to speak to you about leaving Luminous," Topaz replied causing instant suspicions rippling through the pirates tense bodies.

"They better not be trying again to force her to stay here!" Penguin growled. He clenched his fists together, ready for a fight.

"I don't believe that is the case," Topaz said. She turned her eyes from Penguin to Neo. "If you wish, I could send them away, but it might be best if you at least listen to what they have to say."

Unsure of what to do, Neo looked up at Law. His jaw was set and his eyes glinted with a sharp light and caution. She saw his mind going over every possibility of what they might be up to.

Sensing her looking at him for an answer he looked down at her. He could easily see a small amount of fear of the memory of them trying to keep her here. This could be another attempted at doing just that. There had been no aggressive movements on the Elementals part, but it was obvious that they were up to something. The pirates just didn't have a clue to what that was.

Neo asked, "Law?"

Law pondered carefully for another minute before finally answering her. He nodded. "If you are comfortable with seeing them, it might be best if we do hear them out."

Neo bit her lip. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear what they had to say or not. But she always trusted Law's judgment and she would always trust him. She nodded slowly then looked at Topaz. "Okay. We'll hear what they have to say."

"Very well, Princess. Please, come with me." Topaz turned and led them out of the library. They remain quiet and tense while following the maid down the long hall into the main entrance of the castle. After leading them to the four visitors, Topaz bowed then quietly excused herself to go preform whatever duties she was suppose to.

Neo flittered her eyes from the floor to the four Elementals before her. She was getting better at looking at people in the face, but still had trouble with it sometimes depending on the situation. Law gave her hand a comforting squeeze while keeping his eyes locked onto the four Elementals. They all looked about Neo's age, which meant they also looked very young. Law had always knew that Neo looked very young, as did the old baker Elemental despite her actual age, and while studying with Healer Zinnia he finally was told that Elementals aged slower than humans. Neo would always look a bit like a child for several more years.

Two of the four were boys. One was an earth Elemental while the other was a fire Elemental. The other two were girls and wielded the wind and water crystals. The two boys were clean cut and shaved. The girls looked just as nice. The wind Elemental had very long, straight hair that reached the back of her knees while the other had tight wavy, shoulder length hair. All four of them looked extremely nervous.

"So?" Law asked. All three of the other pirates instantly heard the straining in his voice. He was trying so hard not to snap at the young Elementals. They obviously weren't a threat.

The four Elementals exchanged glances. With their eyes they were saying things like 'You ask', 'No, you ask'. Being more soft-spoken than his captain, Penguin stepped closer to the frightened youth. He said, "It's okay. We're not going to attack you or anything. Just go ahead and say what it is you want to say."

Another exchange of looks passed through the group before the wind Elemental stepped forward. He swallowed hard before speaking. "We are here as representatives for all of the Elementals. We were chosen to come speak to you because we're the same age and everyone thought this would go smoother if you, Princess, heard this request from us rather than someone older."

The young man hesitated to continue.

Neo sensed Law's impatience growing.  _'It's okay, Law. I don't think they're here to try and keep me on this island. I think they're just concerned because of the tension between them and us. And you can be quite the intimidating man to those who don't know you.'_ She then felt Law smile within their bond.

' _Okay, love. I'll relax and let them speak. But they better speak soon. I don't like people beating around the bush like this.'_

"You call can speak freely," Neo said. She looked them over and tried to give them a friendly, encouraging smile.

The longhaired girl smiled back, but the others remained stiff lipped.

The fire Elemental spoke up again. He said, "We, the Elementals, have been talking about this whole situation. We've talked and talked and talked. And we have finally come to some terms we would like to pass on to you all."

Neo took a quick glance at Law when she felt his defenses go on the rise. She knew he was thinking the same thing that she was: What terms? She looked at Bepo and Penguin. She was sure they were thinking the same thing. Their bodies were tense, but not yet in defense mode. She turned her eyes back to the Elementals and nodded. The young man continued, "We all…well, the majority of us, some still don't accept or tolerate the idea of our princess living off Luminous, decided it was fine for you to leave with your…family. But we would like you to be crowned our princess."

"What will that do?" Bepo asked curiously.

"Nothing much," The fire girl replied. She shifted on her feet. "Some just want this as a sign of good faith that you, Princess, haven't forsaken your heritage."

"Forsaken?" Neo blinked.

"Abandoned or deserted," Law replied. Neo tilted her head and pondered on Law's definition.

"We just want some assurance that you see yourself as an Elemental and not as a human," the water girl said.

' _I never thought much on how I felt about being an Elemental. I just always felt like nothing until you and the crew came along.'_  Neo thought to Law.

' _We can talk about that later if you want to. It never crossed my mind either.'_  Law gave her hand another comfortable squeeze.

"What would I have to do?" Neo asked.

"Just go through the ceremony of being crowned," the earth guy said. "We're willing to compromise on the ceremony to make you feel comfortable throughout it. But what usually takes place is the royal is dressed in ceremonial clothes, in your case a dress, they then present themselves to the entire population of Luminous and a crown will be placed on your head while you take vows to protect this island and your people. Like already stated, the ceremony will be adjusted and so will the vows."

"Also…" the wind wield started. He hesitated for several second before continuing. "All of you will be included in the ceremony. Our people want you all to take vows as well to ensure us that you are going to take care of our princess to the very best of your abilities. And they want at least one of us to go with you when you all leave Luminous."

"What?" Law asked flatly.

"They don't have to  _join_  your crew or even stay very long," the wind wielder clarified. "We all would just feel better if someone else from Luminous went with you. They can continue to teach you all about Luminous since you won't be able to learn  _everything_  about our culture without staying here for years."

"And they want you," the water girl said while pointing at Law, "and the princess to go through a commitment ceremony saying that you will honor her and her body and not take away her purity until you are married."

_'What's a commitment ceremony?'_

_'It's basically just a ceremony where we say in front of people that we will be devoted to each other for the rest of our lives.'_

_'But aren't we already? We're bonded. We've kissed. We don't want to be separated.'_  Neo turned her eyes to Law.

He smiled. If they didn't have such a big audience at the time he'd lean down and kiss her.  _'Very true, love. This ceremony will just show them that.'_

_'Are we going to do it then?'_

_'I think we should talk about this first before we say yes or no. The crew needs to be in on this conversation too.'_

"Well, Princess?" the earth guy asked.

"Oh, um…I'm going to have to talk about this with my family," Neo replied. "Are you in a hurry for the answer?"

"No. You can take some time and discuss this," the fire Elemental said. All four of the Elementals then bowed to Neo and left the castle.

"That was…unexpected," Penguin said after the door was closed.

"I guess we should round everyone up," Bepo said.

"Would you like me to send some wind Elementals to retrieve your family?" Topaz asked as she reappeared to the group.

"That would be faster than us trying to track them down on our own," Penguin stated.

"If you don't mind," Neo said looking at the fire Elemental.

"Not a problem, Princess." Topaz smiled. "Shall I have them meet you four in the library then?"

"I guess that will be all right," Neo said. She then looked at Law. "Or should we talk else where?"

"The library will be fine," Law said to Neo. He then looked at Topaz. "Just spread the word to all the castle workers to leave that room alone until we're done."

"So it shall be," Topaz said with a nod. With a quick bow, she walked away and started to talk to a couple of guards who just walked into the room.

Without another word the small group of pirates headed for the library to wait for the rest of their crew. About twenty minutes later the entire crew had finally assembled in the library. They told them what the Elementals were asking for.

"So what are you going to do?" Conner asked.

"This doesn't seem like a trap or anything," Jean Bart said while going over the terms the Elementals had set out for them in his head.

"I say go for it," Archer said. "If this is what will finally get them to back off completely."

"Doesn't matter what we think," Shachi said. "When it comes down to it, it's Neo's decision on whether or not she does this. Well, the commitment ceremony is hers and the captain's to make together."

"This is about all of us," Neo said. She was curled up against Law's side with his arm snuggly around her shoulders. "And I don't want to make a decision if it's going to upset you all."

"We're not going to be upset if you want to do this," Penguin said. He was sitting on her free side. He smiled. "Kind of sounds like you've already made your mind up and want to do this."

Pink dusted across her cheeks.

Law gave her a squeeze. "Neo?"

She sighed. "Okay…I want to do this and not just because they want me to do it. I feel connected to this place now. I use to feel so empty inside because of everything that happened to me. You all, on your own, have been able to fill that emptiness, but some of it still remained. I feel better now that I know where I came from. I feel more…stable? And you all know that you will always come first to me. But in a way I can understand how they feel."

"What do you mean?" Bepo asked.

"Well, they're use to things going a certain way because that's how it always has been here. They're use to their royal growing up here, taking the throne and doing whatever else a royal is suppose to do. I wasn't and I'm not like that. I didn't grow up here. I lived among humans my entire life. You all became my family and raised me. I got use to being with you all. Then that was disrupted when they took me. It might not really be the same, but it feels the same to me. We all were use to our lives going a certain way then it was suddenly broken. I don't believe that they were ever bad or wanted to hurt me in any kind of way. They were just use to things happening in a certain way." Neo looked over her crew. Some were sitting, some were standing, but they all were listening intently to what she had to say. "I'm an Elemental. I'm not human. I know and understand that now. I won't let my Elemental heritage go. Ever. And I won't let you all go. Ever. I am, without a doubt, committed to you all. You all will  _always_  come first. This commitment ceremony and being crowned their princess just feel like the right thing to do."

"Then there's the answer," Law said.

Neo turned her eyes up to him. She instantly saw his support of her in his eyes.

"If it feels right to you, then it is the right thing to do. Any objections?" Law looked at his crew.

"Nope!" the crew shouted.

"I love you all," Neo said with a sweet, loveable pout and smile.

"We love you too!" the crew cheered.

…

Neo groaned when everything came up from her stomach. She was hunched over her new best friend, Mister Toilet. Law was right beside her, holding her hair and tenderly rubbing her back. She whimpered. Her stomach deciding it had nothing left to give. "I hate this."

"I know, love," Law replied. When she finally got up, he watched her carefully. She stepped over to the sink to clean her mouth. She rinsed it out with water before reaching for her toothbrush and toothpaste. Once her mouth was refreshed and tasted like spearmint rather than up chuck, she walked over to Law. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. He put his left arm around her and stroked her hair with his right hand. "You're just nervous. We still have a couple hours before you have to get ready. What can I do to make you feel better?"

"I don't know," Neo mumbled. She turned her head and saw the dress she was destined to wear for her coronation and commitment ceremony hanging on a hook on the changing wall in the bathroom. The dress was way more fancy that she was use to wearing. But it was one of many agreements they had come to with the Elementals.

The off the shoulder dress was, of course, white and was sparkling all over but for the sleeves. The bodice was going to hug her chest and stomach, and looked to Neo like it was going to be hard to breath in it, the skirt flowed down from the hips to look like an upside down flower. The sleeves, Neo thought, were ridiculously long, but Topaz showed her that the sleeves had slits in them so she wouldn't actually be lifting them when she lifted her arms. Topaz also told her the sleeves were done in a butterfly fashion. Neo wasn't sure what she meant by that. The sleeves didn't look like butterflies at all to her. There was a matching white choker with a diamond dangling from it and matching shoes, that she wasn't excited about at all but agreed to wear them at least for a while.

Neo pulled her eyes away from all the fanciness and turned them up to Law. "Can we just cuddle for a while? We haven't been able to do that much since we've been here."

"We haven't, have we?" Law said in agreement more than a question. Neo nodded before he picked her up and carried her to the bed. He sat down with her, kicked off his shoes and they got comfortable. Neo snuggled into his warm chest and nuzzled her nose in his neck. "Better?"

"Much better," Neo said while snuggling into him more.

Law chuckled and tightened his hold around her. "Have you giving any more thought to who you would like to join us on the sub?"

"A bit. I really would like it if Kailen would come, but I understand that he wants to stay here. Healer Zinnia would be nice," Neo said causing Law to snort at the idea of the healer joining them. She giggled at his reaction. "You like her. You just don't want to admit it. It doesn't matter thought. I know she'd be bored on the sub where her skills wouldn't be as usefully as they are here. The only other one I feel comfortable enough to let live in close quarters with my family for such a long time would be Topaz. But I don't know if she would like that. She's always lived here. And I don't want to  _order_  her to do it. And I don't want her to feel like she  _has_  to do it because I'm a royal."

"No harm in just asking. All you have to do is tell her that you're not going to order her to do it. Tell her it's just an idea and she would be choosing it on her own," Law said. He brushed his thumb over her arm making her shiver, tense, and sleepy. "You feel a bit tired."

"I am." Neo nodded.

"Would you like to take a nap? We have a couple hours before you have to get ready." Law felt her nodding against him again. They fell into silence after that. They enjoyed each other's company while he gently rubbed her back in aiding her to fall asleep. Eventually, the couple had fallen into peaceful slumber to the sound of each other's steady breathing and heartbeats.

…

Law had no idea how long he had slept for. He didn't even plan on taking a nap himself, but being curled up with his love, he couldn't help it. It was a couple taps on the door that broke him out of his slumber. He glanced around the room then down at the young woman still sleeping against his chest. A light smile was on her lips. He could only guess what she was dreaming about. He hoped it was him. Unable to resist, he carefully tilted her lips up to him and kissed them. He knew he wouldn't be able to kiss her until after the ceremonies were completed. She was too nervous as it was. And while she was getting use to him kissing her, she still tensed up and entered into a catatonic state even though she had finally kissed him back.

A couple more taps at the door forced him to break the kiss. His disappointment flooded his chest, but he answered whoever was calling. "Yes? Come in."

The doors opened and revealed Topaz.

Another condition to the ceremonies was Topaz was the one who was to help Neo get dressed and do whatever she was going to have to do to prepare for it. Neo had told Law she wouldn't be able to handle her typical maids bossing her around. She wanted Topaz's more gentle touch and tone.

Back in the moment, Law noticed that Topaz had quickly taken in the scene before her with a smile. He wondered if she realized he was sleeping as well and also noticed that she would fit in just fine with his crew. She was always more quiet than others, but Law sensed a burning wildfire hidden under that calm façade. Plus it would be very beneficial for Neo to have another woman around to talk to instead of all men no matter how close Neo was to the crew.

Topaz said, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's time for the princess to get ready."

"Oh," Law said with a touch of surprise. They had slept longer than he thought they would. Gently, he started to wake Neo up. "Neo, time to get up."

"I don't wanna," Neo whined. She snuggled more into his warmth.

"Neo," Law called again. He stroked her hair. "Come on. Up now."

"Hn." Neo shifted before finally opening her eyes. She looked sleepily up at Law before sensing the Elemental in the vicinity. She jumped in surprise at the extra body in the room with them. She sat up on Law's lap but didn't move away from him. "Uh, sorry! We weren't doing anything! We were just sleeping!"

"No need to explain, Princess," Topaz replied with a shining smile. "If you are ready, we need to get you dressed. It's almost time for the ceremonies to begin."

"Oh…okay." Neo shifted off Law's lap. She was sitting on the edge of the bed when she paused.

"If you wish for you bonded to join us, that would be just fine. I won't tell anyone," Topaz said, noticing Neo's hesitation.

"Uh…" Neo bit her bottom lip and thought about it. She glanced over at the bathroom doors then at Law who was patiently waiting for her answer. "No, it's okay. I'll just be in the bathroom and he's not going anywhere. Right?"

"Right." Law nodded. "I'm staying right here."

…

"If you don't mind me asking, Princess, what's on your mind?" Topaz asked while she was fixing Neo's hair.

Reluctantly, Neo agreed to let her hair be put up. She figured she could handle it for a few hours. She was sitting on the cushioned stool in front of the vanity in the bathroom quietly fiddling with her fingers while lost in thought. She was dressed in her fancy dress and found it to be more comfortable than she thought it was going to be. There was no tight, breath sucking away, areas anywhere on the dress. She wondered how it was possible for a dress to fit so perfectly against her body. The dress had been newly made for her. The woman, who had come to take her measurements while she was still in the ward, had made the dress and had it made within days of the ceremony announcements. She had no clue how anyone could put together such an elaborate dress and have it fit so well in such a short amount of time.

Neo glanced up at Topaz through the vanity mirror. The orange haired Elemental was busy with her hair so she didn't see Neo looking at her. She studied her and what Law had said on asking her to join the crew. Fiddling with her fingers more, Neo took a relaxing breath and talked herself into just asking. "I was thinking about one of the conditions that the Elementals want me to consider. The one where they want one of you to come with us when we leave."

"And you have an idea of who you want to ask?" Topaz surmised.

"Yes." Neo nodded. She fiddled with her fingers more. "I would like my brother to come, but he wishes to stay here and continue his healer training. He might join us later. I'm a bit sad about that, but I understand his decision. I also thought about Healer Zinnia, but she would be so bored on the sub. And her and Law would do nothing but argue, especially over me."

"They do seem to butt heads a lot when it comes to you," Topaz replied with a light hearted giggled that made Neo smiled and feel more at ease with what she was about to ask.

"And there's only one other Elemental that I trust at this point to live in such close quarters with my family," Neo said. She bit her bottom lip.

Topaz paused, but quickly resumed curling up Neo's hair on her head. "And that would be?"

"You," Neo blurted out without thought. Her cheeks flushed. She didn't intend to just shout it out like that. She dropped her eyes down to the vanity desk. She could sense Law carefully keeping an eye on her through their bond. She could also sense he was holding himself back so she could do this on her own. "I mean I would like you to come with us. But I understand if you were to say no. This is your home after all. And your family is here. You have a family, right? I'm sorry. Of course you have a family. I didn't mean to…you don't have to come. I was just…"

"Please, calm yourself, Princess," Topaz said with such gentleness that it made Neo calm down immediately. "I actually don't have a family. I am one of the orphans that was raised by Ortzi."

"You're an orphan?" Neo blink. Suddenly, she felt bad about never having an actual conversation with this woman. She had ordered Medina and Lyra away from her yet never took any time to get to know Topaz better. That was going to change. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that. I never have asked you about your family before. I didn't mean to be rude and not ask. I should have. And I shouldn't have asked you to come along with us. I'm sorry."

"There's no need for you to apologize, Princess." Topaz smiled. "I understand that things have been very hectic since you arrived here. You are just recently opening up to all of us. And we haven't made that any easier for you."

"But you have done just fine. I like you. You, somehow, was able to see what I needed and did it," Neo said.

"I actually would love to see the world outside of Luminous," Topaz said. She twisted up another layer of hair on Neo's head. "I wouldn't mind leaving here. Even if it is just for a while."

"I don't want you to say yes because I am your royal," Neo mumbled with worry. Her eyebrows turned up. "If you come, I want it to be of your own decision to. Not because I'm asking you to come. I don't want to force you into this in any kind of way. I would like for you to take a few days and consider it, if that's okay with you. Living on the sub will be a lot different from living here in the open. Sometimes we go weeks without contact with other people."

"I understand, Princess." Topaz smiled again. "And I will gladly consider coming along with you all. And I would be honored to join you. There. Your hair is finally finished."

Neo blinked. She glanced at herself in the mirror. Topaz had put her hair up in a loose bun. A few curls were handing down from around the bun while a couple curls were hanging down in front of her ears, perfectly framing her face along with her fluffed up bangs. Neo blinked again. She almost didn't recognize herself.

"You look very beautiful, Princess," Topaz said. She giggled at the curious look Neo was giving herself through the mirror. "Let's get going, shall we?"

"O-okay." Neo slipped her feet back into the shoes hidden under her dress. She had put them on shortly after Topaz had helped her into the dress, but quickly took them off when she sat down at the vanity. They didn't have the same amount of heel as the shoes she saw in the ward, but they had an inch and a half heel. That was still a heel she wasn't use to. She was very thankful when Topaz held out her hand in assistance.

After exiting the bathroom, Neo was once again face to face with a stunned Law. His cheeks flushed as his chin dropped open. Neo shifted under his gaze and felt her own cheeks grow hot, both their hearts racing.

Topaz swallowed her giggles at the flushing man. "I hear you have that effect on him, a lot, Princess."

"Uh." Neo tilted her head in thought. "Y-yeah…I guess I do."

"Well, we shouldn't stare too long," Topaz said. She released Neo's hand and walked over to Law. Raising her hand up to his face, she snapped her fingers a couple times to snap him out of his frozen stare.

Law blinked several times before frowning at the Elemental.

"My apologizes. It's time for the ceremonies to begin," Topaz said.

"Right." Law's hat dropped over his eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck and walked over to Neo. He paused to look her over again. His cheeks heated up once more. He took her left hand, pausing to take in his ring on her finger, before placing a kiss on her soft skin. He smirked when he felt her heart rate speed up even more. "You look beautiful."

Neo smiled brightly. "Th-thank you."

"Let's be off then," Topaz said. She walked over to the doors of the bedroom.

Neo and Law turned to follow her. Forgetting that she had on shoes, and with her racing heartbeat, she stumbled slightly. She managed to keep up right even though Law shot his arm out to grab her. She lifted up the skirt of her dress and kicked the shoes off just as Law ordered her out of them. "Take those stupid things off. Right now!"

"Gladly," Neo mutter while giving the shoes a glare.

"Well, at least you tried," Topaz said while trying to suppress a grin at Neo's rare glare.

Feeling better with now being shoeless and now with her wings out, Neo walked along, hand in hand with Law. Topaz was guiding them through the halls of the castle. Neo did her best to ignore the gawking Elementals. Soon they were standing in the ballroom with thirty other Elementals and the crew.

Law quickly guided her over to the crew, who was standing in a line on the throne platform.

The entire crew had showered and put on a clean boiler suit. The Elementals had suggested the crew wear formal attire for the ceremony, but Neo wanted them in what she was familiar with. She couldn't imagine them in something other than their boiler suits. Now standing with the crew in front of everyone, it was a lot harder for Neo to ignore the Elementals staring at her. She didn't know who they all were. Most of them were older, probably in their seventies. She was told that they were important figureheads on Luminous, but didn't bother asking exactly who and what they did. They were very polished looking in their clean suits and dresses, decorated in jewelry. She was glad she didn't have to do this in front of the entire population. She wouldn't have been able to handle it. She was barely able to handle it now. Her body trembled uncontrollable. Her stomach threatened to release again despite nothing inside it.

But she had the crew right beside her, most importantly Law. And she had the few Elementals who stood up for her when she finally told them all she wasn't going to stay on Luminous. She timidly glanced out over the gathered crowd. Kailen, Healer Zinnia, Tao, and Topaz were all lined up in front. She was glad she could easily see them. It gave her more comfort that they were there. She smiled and waved at them. They waved back with smiles of their own.

Soon after that there coronation part of the ceremonies had started. Neo and Law were standing in the middle of their lined up crew. A dignitary wind Elemental, wearing ceremonial robes that were trimmed with colors representing the four elements and solar crystal stepped forward. Beside him was another Elemental dressed in a blue suit, which Neo thought clashed with his dark green hair, holding a silver box with a lid. They both remained at the bottom of the few stairs between them and the pirate crew; another compromise was for no one to get too close.

The dignitary then started talking outwards the crowd. He said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today in witness to our princess's ascension. This coronation is not like other coronations held on Luminous. In this coronation our princess will be accepting her birthright and her heritage of being an Elemental, but will not be taking the throne or living on Luminous. In taking these vows that we have prepared for this occasion, our princess with not ever forsake her heritage and will always remain our princess despite not living in our company."

The dignitary lifted open the box that the other young Elemental beside him was holding. He pulled out a silver crown with five peaks on it. The tallest one was in the middle and imbedded in it was a round piece of yellow crystal representing the solar crystal. The peaks to the left held representation crystals for the wind and fire elements while the ones on the right held representations of the water and earth elements. The dignitary then turned to Neo. "Princess, please, repeat after me…I, Princess Neo of Luminous, hereby decree…"

Neo swallowed. Law gave her trembling hand a squeeze. She breathed outward, stilling her shakes, and started copying the man's words. "I, Princess Neo of Luminous, hereby decree…"

The dignitary continued, "That I shall never forsake my heritage as princess and as an Elemental. I shall, from this day onward, always remember where I come from and who I am and honor and respect that until the day I die."

"That I shall never forsake my heritage as princess and as an Elemental. I shall, from this day onward, always remember where I come from and who I am and honor and respect that until the day I die." Neo then, a previously instructed, summoned one of each of her crystals. They started to glow.

"By the placement of this crown, filter your crystals magic glowing into the representative crystals on the crown. This will seal the deal that you will keep your word," the dignitary said. Summoning a crystal of his own, he used his winds to lift the crown and place it on Neo's head. She then filtered her crystals glow into the crystals on the crown. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you all, Princess Neo of Luminous."

Neo jumped when all of the Elementals summoned two crystals each and lit them up with their respective elements. She had forgotten that was a part of the ceremony. Law brushed circles over her skin, calming her down. The Elementals then bowed before their princess. Once everyone was standing straight up again, the dignitary moved on to the next part of the ceremony. Using his wind, he pulled out several round disks. Looking over the crew, he said, "Heart Pirates, you all have decided to take our princess into your home, under your care and on all of your journeys. This isn't a light heart commitment. By accepting these medallions, you accept the terms of what it means to take care of our princess. You will forever be devoted to her and will ensure the safety of her body and mind where ever you shall go. Do you accept this?"

"We do," they all said.

"Then by taking these medallions in your hands, you are committed to her for the rest of your lives." The dignitary flew the medallions over to the pirates.

They gladly took them with smiles.

Neo looked at them with a smile of her own. She couldn't help but glance at the medallion Law was holding. It was similar to her birth medallion only round, all the crystals were along the circle with the solar crystal at the top and with their names on it instead of hers. She wondered if the design was done like that on purpose. She was brought out of her thoughts when a clear crystal floated up to her and Law.

The dignitary had pulled it out of the box where the crown and medallions were. He said, "Please, Princess Neo and Trafalgar Law, take the crystal in your hands as you were previously instructed to."

Law pocketed the medallion and turned to Neo. She placed her left hand on the crystal first. He then placed his left hand on the crystal and tucked his fingers under the heel of her hand while the heel of his hand pressed against her fingertips. They then took their other hands under the crystal and held firmly onto each other. She smiled at him with tears glistening in her electric blue eyes.  _'Last chance to bail out of this.'_

' _Not a change, love. I'm with you until death.'_  Law smiled back at her. He tried hard to hide the fact that tears wanted to gather in his eyes as well. He couldn't. She easily sensed it from him. He didn't even bother trying to hide it from her. After this night, he was going to be an open book to her.

' _Cry baby.'_  Neo thought playfully at him. He cracked a smirk at her in response.

"This crystal is the marriage crystal. Usually it is used to bond two Elementals through their magic. However, as it is, one of them here today is not of magic. So he is not able to give her a piece of his magic. So this crystal is a representation of the devotion he has decided to give her here today before all of us," the dignitary said. "Trafalgar Law, as a man who has become our princess's bonded, do you herby pledge your love and loyalty to Princess Neo of Luminous? Do you pledge that you will always protect her? Do you pledge that you will honor and respect her? Do you pledge to not take her purity away until you are bound by marriage?"

"I do solemnly pledge my love and loyalty to Princess Neo of Luminous. I pledge that I will always protect her. I pledge that I will honor and respect her. I pledge that I will not take her purity away until we are bound by marriage," Law said without hesitation.

Neo's smile grew as a tear slid down her tan skin.

"Then I herby pronounce your pledge as a solid devotion to Princess Neo of Luminous," the dignitary announced. "Your bond is now sacred under the marriage crystal of Luminous. And no one here will ever try to separate you again. The ceremonies have now been completely. You all have witness this joyous occasion. Let us now celebrate their union and our princess!"

Releasing the crystal, which the dignitary took back with his winds, Law cupped Neo's cheek, dipped in, and kissed her. She squeaked at the sudden kiss and tensed up as the crew cheered at the open display of affection from their captain. Some of the Elementals were taking by surprised at the display while others found it cute. Kailen, Topaz, Tao and Healer Zinnia laughed and cheered along with the crew before rushing up to congratulate all on what just took place.

Once Neo had come back to her senses, the pirate group with their Elemental friends, went outside to join the large feast that the castle, and several others establishments, had prepared. While all the Elementals didn't get to see the ceremonies taken place, Neo did agree to share in the after party. The celebration was held over the entire island. There was no way the entire population was going to be able to see the princess at the castle, so Neo and the crew agreed to visit each section of Luminous where the over sized party was being held. And since there were so many places to visit, they were accompanied by a couple wind guards who helped fly the crew around so she wouldn't have to do it all herself.

Neo was now standing at another town, what number this one was she couldn't remember. There were just too many and people were just too excited. The Elementals were a lot more relaxed now that they knew Neo wasn't going to abandon her heritage. And they were a lot friendlier. They showered her and the crew with tons of gifts that they would have loved to keep, but knew they couldn't take with them  _all_  on the sub. Neo asked the crew if they would mind passing off the gifts to the orphans that Ortzi once took care of. They gladly agreed.

Neo glanced around at her surrounds while Law openly talked with some Elemental men. She noticed a small group of kids, three boys and two girls, were practicing with their crystals. They had round targets with a bullseye hanging from a couple of trees. One of the boys said, "Come on! Just try it!"

"I don't want to," one of the girls said.

Neo sensed she was a fire wielder. She was hunkered down, hugging her knees. Her dark red hair was like a curtain hiding her face.

"Don't bother with her," the other girl said. "She's a baby. She can't handle her fire crystals at all."

"So true. She should just give up on her crystals and never use them again," one of the boys said. They all then laughed and ran off.

Neo's heart sank when she heard the little girl sniffle. Without realizing it, she tugged on Law's arm and pulled him over to the girl. She blinked in confusion and looked up at Law.

He smiled at her. "I think you know why you came over here. Go on. Follow your instincts."

Neo nodded. She then bent down to the girl with Law following her movements. The girl sensed Neo and lifted her head up. She jumped in surprise then ducked into a bow. "P-Princess! F-forgive me! I-I did not know you were there."

Neo glanced at Law again. He gave her an encouraging nod. She swallowed and turned back to the girl. With a sweet smile, she said, "Do not apologize. It is all right. What were you doing over here with those other kids?"

"W-we was practicing with our crystals." The girl pointed to the targets hanging from the trees. "I-I can't hit them. I-I can't control my fire very well."

"And why is that?" Neo asked.

"I-I'm afraid of fire," the girl admitted. She ducked her head in shame.

"There's nothing for you to be ashamed about." Neo placed her fingertips under the girl's chin and lifted her eyes up to her own. She then brushed away the girl's tears. "Fire is a very scary element. And sometimes it can be hard to control. What's your name?"

"T-Tandy." The girl sniffed.

"Well, Tandy, why don't you try this? Summon one crystal," Neo ordered softly. She watched the girl hesitate, but then summoned a crystal. "Go ahead and light it."

Tandy hesitated again.

Neo and Law waited patiently for the little girl to lit up the crystal. A couple minutes passed before she did. Neo waited until she saw the girl's eyes fill up with comfort of the flame before instructing her on how to manipulate the flame just like Law had taught her. Within another few minutes, the girl was moving the flame with confidence. Neo nodded approvingly. "Now, go ahead and try hitting a target."

Tandy hesitated for a second before turning to the targets. After a swallow, she fired a shot at the target and hit the bottom of the bullseye. Her dark red eyes lit up. She squealed and threw her arms around Neo's neck. "I did it!"

Neo tightened up and almost jerked the girl off of her. She was stopped when Law placed his hand on her back.  _'Easy, love. She's just a child. She's excited. She's not going to hurt you.'_

' _R-right.'_  Neo forced herself to relax. When calm enough, she patted the girl on her back.

"Thank you, Princess! Thank you! I can do it! I can do it!" Tandy squealed happily before running off to her parents who were nearby watching with smiles on their faces. "Mama! Papa! I did it! I did it!"

Law pecked Neo's temple. Teasingly, he said, "You did very well,  _Princess_."

"Oh! Hush!" Neo hissed quietly, but playfully at his teasing of him calling her princess.

Law chuckled and helped her stand up again. He glanced out at their surroundings. He was getting a little tired of sharing Neo with so many people.  _'How about we disappear for a while?'_

' _They can sense me.'_

' _True. But they're more focused on the party. You've done enough flaunting around for now.'_

' _I don't flaunt!'_  Neo wrinkled her nose at him. _'Fine. I'm a bit worn out from greeting everyone anyway. Where are we going? Are we going to tell the crew?'_

' _We can tell Penguin since he's right there.'_  Leading her by the hand, Law walked them over to Penguin. He quickly told his subordinate they were slipping off before actually doing it. Neo lifted them both into the air and ended up on the beach where the sub was anchored. They were about a fourth of a mile from it, but easily saw it with the full moon above.

"We can go there if you want," Law said.

"If I go in there now, I will never come out ever again," Neo replied. They laughed then turned and headed down the beach in the opposite direction of their home, hand in hand. As they walked along, Neo pulled him closer to the waves slipping upon the beach. She smiled and giggled at the cold water rushing over her bare feet. "It's cold, but feel so good."

Law chuckled at the pleasant smile gracing her lips. His eyes then wondered up to her pinned up hair. A frown tugged at the corner of his lips.

Neo noticed. "What's wrong, Law? You don't look very happy."

"Sorry." Law quickly replaced his frown with a smile for her. His free hand lifted to her hair. He started working it out, somehow, while keeping his eyes locked onto hers. "It's just…I think I prefer you with you hair down. You are beautiful with your hair up, but you just don't really look like you."

Neo smiled as her heart pounded against her chest. "I think you are doing well in fixing that little problem."

"Indeed I am." Law smile. His heart sped up as he worked on her hair. Reluctantly he released his hand from hers so he could undo the bun quicker. With in a minute her blue hair was fanning over her shoulders and folded down wings. He then cupped her cheeks in his hands while leaning in towards her. "There…that's much better."

She felt his warm breath on her lips for a split second before his lips were on hers. She automatically tensed up at the tender kiss. Slowly she recovered from the touch and kissed him back. When he felt her lips press against his own, Law trailed his hands down her arms, earning a satisfying shiver from her. Taking her hands in his, he guided her arms up and wrapped them around his neck. He then took a hold of her hips and slid his hands around her back until she was firmly and forever in his hold.


	56. Home

Home

Neo sat hugging a pillow to her chest while she watched Topaz change the seats to her massive princess bed. She glanced back out the window. Some of the crew was down below doing some jumping jacks with the Elementals. Turning back to the fire Elemental in the room she asked, "Do you really enjoy cleaning like this?"

"I do," Topaz said.

"Why?" Neo asked.

"I've always been the type to help out," Topaz said smoothing down the blanket. "I guess it comes with having grown up in the orphanage and having so many younger kids to look after."

"Do you want a big family?" Neo asked.

Topaz paused. "Honestly, I never really thought about it. I would like a family of my own, though I think I would rather adopt some kids rather than have them biologically."

"I see. What happened to your parents?" Neo said then gasped. "I'm sorry. That was rude of me."

"Not at all, Princess. I know you're curious. It's normal to ask that," Topaz said. "I never knew my parents. Apparently they didn't really want me. So I grew up all my life at the orphanage."

"I'm sorry," Neo said.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Topaz said. "I never knew them so I can't miss them. Besides I had everyone at the orphanage. I still see them occasionally."

"That's nice," Neo said.

"And what about you?" Topaz asked.

"What about me?" Neo blinked.

"You have a rather big family right now. Do you like it?" Topaz said.

"I do," Neo said. "I love the crew. I wish to always be with them. Or at least be with them for as long as I can."

"And what about children? Would you like to have one or two?" Topaz asked.

"No." Neo shook her head. "I don't know anything about kids. And I freaked out when I saw the baby at the orphanage."

"I understand," Topaz said. "You still have a lot to learn about yourself. It's okay. That's something that you don't have to have set in stone. You can change your mind later if you want." When Neo didn't response she added, "So what are you up to today?"

"Well, getting ready to leave," Neo said. "We're finally setting sail tomorrow."

"Have you decided if there was anything you wanted to take with you from here?" Topaz fluffed the pillow before placing it back on the bed then stepped back down to the floor.

"I think I would like to take a few of the simpler dresses with me," Neo said. "I like them." She smiled. "And I like how they made Law react."

"I think we all find that amusing," Topaz said. "Would you like to pick them out now?"

"I guess so. Law still has about twenty minutes left for his healer lessons," Neo said. Placing the pillow down she stood up and walked into the bathroom with Topaz. The closet door was already open so she stepped right up to the dresses. Taking a few moments to look through them again she decided to take the one she worn when she got out of the ward, one that had long sleeves, two with short sleeves, and one with no sleeves.

"Excellent choices, Princess. You have good taste," Topaz said separating them from the rest. "I'll have these moved to your home soon."

"You think I have good taste?" Neo twirled a strained of hair.

"I do." Topaz nodded.

…

"I'm actually going to miss this place," Archer said the next day at breakfast.

"Me too," Conner said. "The Elementals are pretty cool once they relaxed themselves around us."

"I would like to stay a little longer too but its time for us to go," Shachi said. "Remember we're still going to the New World. We have to get back into our pirate lives to make that happen."

"I'm not in that big of a hurry anymore to get to the New World," Penguin said. "I want to get much stronger than we are now."

"Working with the Elementals not enough for you?" Archer asked.

"It was a great work out," Penguin said. "We need to see how we stack up against other pirates."

"You're quiet this morning, Neo," Jean Bart said. "You feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," Neo said. "I guess I'm a bit sad we're leaving too." She turned to Law. "Can we go for a flight before we leave?"

"Of course," Law said. He ran his fingers over her thigh, causing her to shiver and blush.

After breakfast, Law tied his sword on to his back before Neo led him outside. Summoning her wind crystals she lifted them into the air. She flew over the island for a few minutes before landing on one of the mountains. She walked to the edge of the cliff while Law stayed behind her.

Closing her eyes she took in a deep breath of the salty sea air. The sea breeze floated around her for several seconds before it died down and she reopened her eyes. Her electric blue orbs roamed over the island before her. She looked over the castle, the closest towns, the orphanage, the trees, and the sea. The entire island of Luminous was laid out before her. She felt as if the island itself was waiting for her to give it a command. Or make some royal decree. But it would never happen.

The view got her thinking about everything that had happened on this island since she was forced to come here by her people three and a half months ago. She never expected to learn so much about herself, her magic, and her bond with Law from that frightening experience. But she did. She learned she was actually a creature called an Elemental, and a royal one at that. And while she was a royal, the strongest of all the Elementals, she still wasn't all-powerful or indestructible. Her crystals and her body have their limits. Her solar crystal could heal minor things like bruised and cuts and help give a person their energy back, but can't set broken bones or heal major wounds like a bullet through the chest. She can turn her body into the elements, but only as a defensive measure. Trying to attack in this form was very difficult and it drained a lot of her magic to the point of being unable to form her crystals.

She thought about Bayan, his bonded, and his journal. They did find a connection between their bond and Bayan and Zelenia that they didn't make until Law had found it. In one of the last entries, Bayan had written he felt Zelenia's heart stop beating at one point a few days before actually dying, but never said if his heart stopped too. Neo then remembered how she felt about Law when she was with Corazon. Law's heart had stopped when hers did. She told Law about it and he confirmed that his heart did stop beating when hers did. It scared her, but also brought them even closer and more understanding of their bond. She thought about being able to project herself to Law or pull Law to her. They could feel and talk to each other, but no one else could see or hear them. And they couldn't use their attacks at all. Neo couldn't pull Law's sword with him and she couldn't use her crystals either.

She had accepted her royal heritage. And her people had finally accepted her choice to live with the Heart Pirates and being bonded to Law. Some of them still weren't all to excited about their princess leaving Luminous, but felt a bit better about it after the Heart Pirates went through a specially created commitment ceremony to give their word to the Elementals that they would always protect her no matter what. Law had also gone through another commitment ceremony where he committed his life to Neo and promised not to take away her purity until after they were married.

Law had also, more or less, became a healer. Neo finally adjusted to the point where Law could spend several hours with Healer Zinnia to study and help with sick Elementals. During the times Law was studying with the healer, and Neo wasn't needed, she would spend time with the Elementals and her crew. The crew had become a whole lot stronger while training on Luminous. The Elementals had also gotten a lot stronger in their own training with the pirates in how to fight in hand to hand combat. Law even managed to find time to train with the Elementals and grew stronger as well. And he, of course, always had time to spend with Neo. During their alone time, when they could actually get some, Law started spilling every dark secret from all corners of his soul. He even told her the secrets he knew revolving around his D name. Now they literally knew everything about each other.

Neo was brought out of her thoughts when Law's familiar arms wrapped around her waist. She stiffened. He pecked her cheek and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"You."

"Good answer." Law chuckled and kissed her cheek again.

"I was also thinking about Luminous." Neo leaned back into his embrace with a low sigh. "It's kind of weird I'm actually feeling conflicted about leaving now. I mean, my home is with you and the crew and always will be, but I still feel sad about leaving here."

"A lot of stuff has happened to us here. You've grown up a lot. You're connected to this place now," Law said. He rested his chin on top of her head while tucking her more into his arms and chest. "It's impossible for you not to feel this way. Maybe someday we can return to this island. You know we always have that option. This isn't really  _goodbye_. It's more like  _see you later_. Understand?"

"I suppose I do. But life always holds so many unexpected adventures and hidden dangers. We might never come back to this place." Neo turned her head so she could smile at him. "But that's okay. As long as I'm with you I can get through anything."

"Good girl." Law pecked her lips. "It's time for us to go now. The crew probably already has all the supplies loaded. Kailen and the healer woman are waiting at the beach to see us off."

"You're never gonna call Healer Zinnia by her name, are you?" Neo asked with a smirk.

Law returned the smirk with one of his own. "Nope. Never. You ready to go?"

"Yes," Neo said with a firm nod. She then summoned her wind crystals and flew them down from the mountains. She looked down to see a lot of her people were waving up at them, more goodbyes. Some used their elements to write things like, 'We'll miss you!', 'Good luck!', 'Become a great pirate!', 'Say 'Hi' to Shanks for us, if you see him!'. She waved back with sad, halfhearted waves. "They're going to make me cry."

Law chuckled and squeezed her hand. Soon Neo landed them on the beach where the crew indeed had everything loaded on the sub and was waiting for them to return. Kailen and Healer Zinnia where also waiting on the beach just like Law had said.

Kailen smiled sadly as Neo and Law landed a few feet from them. He said, "I guess this is it, huh?"

"Oh, Kailen." Neo released Law's hand. She ran over to Kailen and jumped into his open arms. She cried as she clung to his neck. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, little sister," Kailen said while hugging her as hard as he could. He then loosened his hold on her so he could get one last glance at his baby sister. His eyes ran over her features, etching everything about her into his mind. He brushed her tears away with his thumbs. "I understand that you need to be with your bonded. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"You could still come with us," Neo said. "We don't have to separate."

"One day I will. I promise you that." Kailen nodded. "I will come join your crew one day after I finish learning how to be a healer."

Neo took a deep breath. "One day. I'll miss you until then."

"And I'll miss you." Kailen wrapped her in another hug before letting her slip through his hold to say her final goodbye to Healer Zinnia. He looked up at Law and held out his hand. "I will never be able to thank you enough for all you have done. You saved my sister, gave her a home, educated her, bonded with her, saved her again, reunited us…take care of her. She's completely in your hands now."

Law nodded. He took the Elemental's hand.

Neo watched the two before turning to the healer.

"Princess." Healer Zinnia sighed. She looked Neo up and down. "You are just so strong now. I'm very proud of you, young lady."

"Thank you. And, um, do you think you could call me Neo?" Neo smiled. She put her hands behind her back. She tilted her head with a sweet smile. "I think we know each other well enough to move passed these formalities."

"Perhaps you are correct." Healer Zinnia smiled. "Neo."

Neo then threw her arms around the healer's neck and hugged her tightly. "Thank you for everything you've done. Thank you for healing me. Thank you for teaching Law everything that you have taught him. Just thank you so much."

"It's all right, Neo. It was my pleasure to help and serve such a brave princess." Healer Zinnia patted Neo's back. The two women pulled away and looked at each other. "Take care of yourself. Have some fun out there too. And what ever you do…don't let this pirate get away with too much. If he ever gets too controlling of you, remember you're the one who was born of nature. You can kick his sorry pirate captain butt any time you wish. So be sure to keep him on a  _very_  short leash."

Neo laughed just as Law glared and growled at the healer.

Healer Zinnia laughed herself before pointing a finger at Law. "I'm serious,  _pirate_. We Elementals have our ways of getting around. We'll know if you're causing our princess a lot of grief. And we'll know if you take away her purity before marriage. Remember, if you do, then it's snip, snip for you."

"I know that! I've already committed myself to her and made my vows to not take away her purity before we're married!" Law hissed. "What do I have to do to get that through your thick Elemental skulls?!"

The group laughed while Law steamed in his boots. Neo wrapped her arms around his arm. She pushed up on her toes and pecked his cheek. "She's just teasing you."

"Yeah. Sure she is," Law grumbled.

"Seriously, take care of yourselves now," Healer Zinnia said. She sniffed back her tears.

"And remember that there are other magical creatures in this world besides us. And they very well might have ways of tearing your bond apart. There's no way of knowing for sure if they can or what will happen if they do," Kailen warned in a serious tone that broke the light hearted, yet sad, atmosphere previously around them.

"We'll be as careful as we can," Law assured them.

"Also remember that there are Elementals who live among humans and have for several years. A lot of them won't know that a new royal has been born unless they have met another Elemental who does know and has informed them of it. Some of them might find it shocking that you are living with a pirate crew. And some of them might think you have been taken by the pirates against your will," Healer Zinnia warned. "It should be easy enough for you to convince them that you are with the pirates of your own free will since they'll still be loyal to the crown despite not living on Luminous. If not try showing them one of your commitment medallions. That might help convince them."

"We'll remember. And we'll be fine," Neo replied. She looked over Kailen and Healer Zinnia again. Neo hugged the two several more times before Law was finally able to pry her away from them. They walked over to the sub where the crew was out on the deck waiting for their captain and sister to finally join them. Tao was near the sub as well. He and several other Elementals had helped the crew stock up on essentials. "Tao."

"It's been a pleasure serving you, Princess." Tao bowed to her. "I hope we get to meet again one day."

"Thank you for everything you've done for us Tao." Neo hugged him.

Tao sighed and hugged her back.

Pulling away from him, Neo lifted herself and Law up to the deck. She looked over the crew's smiling faces. Her eyes stopped on their newest member, Topaz. "Well? This is your last chance to rethink this and remain on Luminous."

"Not a chance, Princess. I hold firm in my decision to join you on the seas," Topaz said with confidence in her voice and eyes. "I'm looking forward to this."

"It's not going to be easy. Not only do you have to train rigorously to catch up with the crew, you're also going to have to learn not to use your crystals while we're around other people," Law said. "And you will be following my orders."

"I understand, Captain. You are my princess's bonding so following your orders is going to be just like following her orders. Something I'm use to doing by now. And learning how to fight and not use my crystals, I know it will be tough, but I'm up for the challenge. You can count on me."

"Very well then." Law nodded. "Let's set sail!"

"Aye aye, Captain!" the crew cheered. They all then scrambled inside with excitement on starting their next adventure.

Law looked down at his bonded. She was staring at the door of the sub with a mix of sadness and happiness swimming around her tear filled eyes. She turned around and looked back at Luminous and the few Elementals still standing on the beach. They were too far away for her to tell what their expressions held, but she knew they were just as sad as she was. "Fare well, Luminous, my brother, my people…someday perhaps we really will meet again."

"Are you ready?" Law asked when she turned her eyes up to his.

"Yes." Neo nodded. "Let's go home."

Hand in hand the two pirates walked through the open door of the sub. A crewmate, who was waiting for them so he could close the door, smiled at them as they passed through door. A familiar creak and thump of the door affirmed that they were finally home. The crewmate then waved at the couple before heading off to preform the rest of his duties as the crew got underway to finally depart from the shores of Luminous.

"It feels kind of weird," Neo said.

"What does?" Law questioned.

"I feel more complete now that I've learned more about myself, but there's still a piece missing," Neo mumbled. She was staring down at the floor in thought. "And this piece might be even more difficult to find."

Law stared at her for a long while before finally realizing what she was talking about. "Red Hair Shanks."

Neo nodded. She lifted her gaze to his. "Do you think we'll ever run into him?"

"Well, it's a possibility." Law nodded. "We'll be heading into the New World before too long. And that's where his territory is."

"Yeah." Neo nodded.

"So what are you going to do now?" Law asked after several silent moments of listening to the familiar humming and groans of the sub as it pulled out into the sea.

"I'm going to fly into and check out every single room on the sub and pretend, just for a second, that I never left home." Neo giggled. She summoned her wings and flittered into the air. She released Law's hand so she could come face to face, and eye to eye, to him. "You want to come with me?"

"I would love to, but I got to make sure the sub is heading in the right direction and then I have to unpack some of my healer books. And isn't it going to be a bit hard to pretend you never left when you have your wings out?" Law smirked. He pointed to her blue ombre appendages.

"Oh!" Neo stuck her tongue out at him then giggled again. "That's why it's called  _pretend_. And you're suppose to be the smart one of the two of us."

"Hey." Law locked his arm around her waist and pulled her to his body. "You're pretty smart yourself. And don't you ever forget that."

Neo parted her lips to reply, but was stopped when Law placed his mouth over hers and immediately sucked on her bottom lip. She squeaked in surprise as her wings failed to continue flapping and a tidal wave of tingles flooded her body.

Already expecting this reaction, Law had his arms waiting for her to drop into them. He gave her lip one gentler suck before releasing her. He sat her down on her feet and surveyed her reaction. He glanced up from her to make sure they were alone before speaking to her unresponsive form. "I guess we still have a lot of work to do on getting you use to such affections. But at least we're finally home where we'll have plenty of time and privacy to work on that."

Neo's whole face turned red.

Law then pecked her still unresponsive lips before walking off to let her recover, pleased with her reaction.

…

"Hey, Captain?" Bepo called. He was looking into one, of many, boxes that held healer books of Law's. He was helping his captain unpack them while some of the other crew was unpacking Neo's books in the rec. room.

The majority of their supplies had ended up being books for both Neo and Law. Neo would have brought the entire castle library with her if Law had allowed it. But their sub wasn't big enough for them all so Neo had to narrow down her choices to her top favorite genre, fantasy. While they had added more bookshelves into the library, and in Law and Neo's room, and in the galley for several cookbooks Neo insisted she must have. Neo had pouted at Law for the cookbooks causing him to cave pretty much immediately despite his best yet pointless efforts not to. The only other thing she brought from Luminous was some dresses. She wanted to bring her crown too, but felt like it was too much of a risk if someone outside of the crew happened to see it.

"What is it?" Law replied.

"Are you and Neo planning on having kids?" Bepo asked.

"No. Why would you even ask that?" Law narrowed his eyebrows at the bear.

"You have a whole box here on Elemental pregnancies, health care, child care and such." Bepo waved the book in his paw. He was squatting down over the open box before him.

Law shoved the book he was holding into the bookshelf then walked over to his navigator. He took the book from the bear and opened it. The pages landed on a list of pregnancy symptoms Elemental women went through. Being the doctor he was, he couldn't stop his eyes from running over part of the list.

**Early pregnancy signs:**

Desire for more affection from husband, family], and friends.

Wind Elementals or royals will have the addiction of flying upside down: sometimes for hours and to the point of making themselves sick due to all the blood rushing to their head.

Spontaneous outbursts of emotions: Some of which can be extreme and last for hours.

Low-grade fever.

Shivers.

Playfulness.

Fatigue to the point of being unable to use crystals properly.

Sleeplessness. Sometimes for days, if this occurs seek help from a healer for some sleeping powder to relax the expectant mother.

Law closed the book with an annoyed huff. "That healer woman. I told her we were not having kids. She must have snuck them in here without my knowledge."

"Why not? I think Neo would make a very cute little mother," Bepo said with light pink cheeks. "She's just so gentle and caring."

"She maybe gentle and caring, but I won't let her go through the risks of a pregnancy. She's been through enough pain already. I won't be the cause of more for her," Law said. His eyes dropped to the book in his hands. He stared at it with narrowed eyebrows. "Besides you know what happens to children born of pirate parents. Neo wouldn't be able to handle it if we did have kids and someone tried to hurt them because of us. It would hurt her too much to see that."

Bepo carefully took in his captain's expression. The intensity in the captain's eyes was greater than he had ever see before. He knew Law was determined to keep Neo from getting hurt in anyway possible, especially by his own hands. He chuckled causing Law to give him a curious look. "You really do love her, don't you?"

"Shut up!" Law hissed with flaming cheeks.

Bepo chuckled more at the flustered man.

Squatting down, Law jammed the book back inside the box and closed it just before Neo entered into the room.

"Law!" Neo giggled. She dove into his chest when he stood up. Wrapping her arms around his waist she squeezed him as tightly as she could. She glanced up at him with smiling eyes and lips. "I'm going to start cooking now! Do you and Bepo want anything in particular?! I'm going to make cookies! And a cake too!"

"Already? We've only been on the sub for two hours," Law pointed out.

"I know. But it's been almost  _four_  months since I've cooked for my favorite crew!" Neo pouted. Her pout then turned into a thoughtful expression. "I should have ordered the Elementals to let me cook. Hmm…all well…I'm still learning how to tell people what I want and how I feel. But I'm home now. And I want to cook!"

"Okay, okay." Law chuckled and rubbed her back when she pouted at him again. "You now you can do what you wish here. I just thought you might want to relax a bit and unpack your books."

"I already did that." Neo blinked.

Law gave her a skeptical look.

She giggled again and poked him in the stomach. "Ah, and you're suppose to be the smart one. I used my wind crystals. I had those books unpacked and shelved in seconds."

"Neo," Law said in a slight warning and exasperated tone. He flinched when she peered up at him innocently. "I know you are now completely open to using your crystals, but that does not mean you have the right to be lazy."

"I wasn't being lazy. I was…being excited?" Neo offered.

Law gave her a tolerant look.

"Okay…I won't use my crystals for trivial things anymore."

"Good girl." Law pecked her forehead.

"Then what have you been doing for these past two hours?" Bepo asked curiously.

"Running around the sub," Neo replied. She turned to face the bear. Holding onto Law's wrists, she wrapped his arms around herself, her back against his chest. "I was checking out every single room. I know no one messed with the sub while we were on Luminous, but I just felt like making sure everything was where it's suppose to be." She scanned her eyes around the room. "And I saved the best room for last. It's been so long since-Huh?"

"What is it?" Law asked when Neo stopped explaining herself. He smiled when he noticed what she was looking at. Over in the corner, where her stuff bear was, was a clear crystal, two shelves, enclosed box mounted on the wall.

Neo slowly pulled herself from Law's arms and walked over to the new item. Inside of it were the glass figurines she got from some of the crew for her one year anniversary with them, the two pictures of her parents that Kailen gave her and Bayan's journal. All of the pieces were anchored in the crystal. Her eyes then wondered over to the dent in the wall. She blinked at the dent a couple times then looked over at Law while ricocheting her extended index finger between the dent and the box. "Well, these are new."

Law smiled and walked over to her. "It's a surprise. Kailen figured you'd want to keep Bayan's journal and the pictures of your parents in a safe, waterproof area just incase the sub does sink. And since this is a clear crystal if anyone outside of the crew sees it they'll only think it's made of glass or plastic. They won't be able to open it either. Only you can do that with your crystal glow."

"You kept a secret from me? When did you two do this?" Neo asked.

"I asked Kailen about it one day after I was finished with my studies in the ward. And since you saw less of him than you did of me, he came here with Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo to install it. The crew brought up the figurines and asked if it was possible to put them stabilized in the box as well so you could see them more often instead of having to keep them in storage to keep them from getting broken," Law explained. "You're not upset with me because I kept this from you, are you?"

"No!" Neo put her arms around Law again. Happiness flooded her to the point she barely noticed he put his arms around her and kissed her hair. "I was just surprised that's all. It's a very good surprise. I'm glad I don't have to worry about water damage to the pictures and journal. And the dent?"

"Oh…well…" Law tossed his eyes to the dent. His mind snapped back to when he had hit the sub.

"Law," Neo said in a slight warning tone they weren't use to her using yet. Both the bear and the captain blinked in shock. "That wasn't there before."

"I know." Law sighed. "I hit the wall when Kailen had brought us on to the sub after the Elementals had taken you."

"It upset you that much? Law, you could have hurt yourself." Neo's eyebrows turned up in worry.

"Don't think about that. I didn't hurt myself at all. I was just upset about you being taken and just hit it. I really didn't even feel it at the time," Law replied.

Neo locked eyes onto his. Slowly, she searched them and his feelings.

He smiled gently at her while running his fingertips through her hair. "Love, you don't have to search my feelings like that. That happened months ago. You have been safe for a long time since then. Okay?"

"Okay." Neo nodded.

"Good." Law tilted her chin up and placed his lips over hers.

She tensed up for ten seconds before kissing him back.

"Ah," Bepo, the forgotten bear, cooed.

Neo's face flushed while Law's face took on a look of annoyance at the bear and at himself for forgetting their was a third party in the room.

Bepo pointed to the door. "If you two want me to leave, I can."

"No, it's fine," Law mumbled. "I still want you to help with my books."

"A-and I'm going to go…uh…what was it that I came in here for?" Neo asked. She tapped her finger on her chin in thought. "I know I came in here for something."

"You both turn each other's brains into mush," Bepo snickered.

Law ignored the bear as he walked back over to the boxes of books they were unloading. "You came in here to ask if there was something we wanted to eat."

"That's right. Did either of you want anything specific?" Neo asked.

"As long as you make something with fish, I'll be happy," Bepo replied with a smile.

"Fish it is! Law?" Neo turned to Law.

"No, I'm good. Whatever you decide to make is fine with me," Law replied while pulling a couple books out of a box.

"You know…I could…" Neo summoned a wind crystal and lifted a small breeze in the room.

" _Neo_." Law warned. He looked over his shoulder, shooting her a warning, yet playful glare.

"Okay, okay. Put the books up the human way." Neo giggled. She waved to him as she headed for the door. "See you later!"

"She's definitely has gained so much more confidence now," Bepo said once Neo was out of earshot. "In a weird way, I'm glad all of this stuff on Luminous happened."

"Yeah." Law smiled. "In the end it did do more good than harm."

…

"But it's just so cute how she freezes up," Archer said with a humorous chuckle.

"It's been several weeks now since they've started kissing. You'd think she'd be use to it by now," Conner added.

"Oh! Hush!" Neo plopped another ball of her cookie dough on the cookie sheet. Finally filled she picked it up and shoved it into the waiting oven. She then pouted at the two crewmates teasing her inability to not freeze up when Law kisses her. She waved her wooden spoon at them. "I'm still learning. It's just still so new. And the feelings I have when he kisses me is just so…umm…I'm not sure how to describe it. All I know is I really like it."

"Kissing is great. But you're the first we've ever seen freeze up like you do," Archer said. He then froze his body in place as an example. The two started laughing again.

Neo puffed out her cheeks at the display.

"You two better watch it," Penguin said. He looked up from the book he was reading. "You know better than to tease her too much. She'll get use to the feeling of the captain kissing her soon enough."

"Everything all right in here?" Law's commanding voice then asked.

"Aye, Captain!" the two crewmates squeaked. They turned their eyes to Neo and waited to see what she would do.

Neo studied her two crewmates for a few seconds before smiling at Law. She knew her crew meant well and, for the moment, didn't deserve whatever punishment Law would dish out on them. "Yeah, everything's fine."

Law nodded. He then walked over to her and tilted her chin up to him. Her face flushed at his closeness and at how she could feel the other pirates' eyes watching them closely. Law pressed his lips to hers for a few seconds. When he pulled away he sucked on her bottom lips a few times before releasing her. Her eyes widened while her body tingled at the feeling of Law's lips gently sucking hers. He pulled away and said, "I'll be in the medical bay for a while if you need me."

The two crewmates waited until their captain was out of the room before letting their laughter of Neo's stiff body pass over their lips.

Neo's face flushed even more at their cackles. She started to whip around to ignore them, but then a certain order from Law seeped back into her memory. She paused and looked at the two crewmates.

Penguin's eyebrows rose on his forehead when his little sister gave the two crewmates a blank stare. He watched carefully as her lips twitched into a mischievous smirk. His own lips pulled into a grin when Neo summoned a wind crystal and filled the room with her winds, sucking the two hyenas into the air. He laughed out loud when his two crewmates were suddenly hanging upside down with stunned expressions on their faces. "Well, I did try to warn you. Our little sister isn't that shy little girl anymore."

"No, she isn't," Law's voice then said. The small group in the kitchen turned to see him leaning against the doorframe with a smirk on his lips. He pushed off the doorframe and walked back over to her. Once close enough, he pushed back her hair from her neck. "And here's your reward for putting the crew in their place."

"Wha-Eek!" Neo squeaked when Law licked the shell of her ear. Her hand tightened on the wooden spoon while waves of shivers ran over her body before she tensed up. Her crystals disappeared causing the two crewmates to drop from the air and land on their heads.

They cried out when their heads hit the sub's hard metal floor. "Ouch! Captain! You set us up on purpose! You never left, did you?!"

Law just shot them a wicked grin before disappearing from the galley, this time for real. Seconds after that, Shachi and Topaz walked into the room. Shachi was saying, "Yeah. It can get a bit boring, but we-What's going on here?"

"Is the princess all right?" Topaz asked with concerned. Her eyes pulled from Neo and landed on the two crewmates tenderly rubbing their heads. "Did something happen?"

"Nothing much." Penguin shrugged casually.

Shachi and Topaz exchanged glances before shrugging off whatever happened in the galley.

…

Neo sighed in contentment. Dressed in her navy blue night shorts and tank top, she was staring down at the bed she hadn't slept in for four months. "It seems like it's been years since the last time I slept in your bed."

Law chuckled. He slipped his arms around her waist while placing his lips on her shoulder. " _Our_  bed. And I expect you to be  _in_  it instead of staring at it when I get out of the bathroom."

"Mhmm." Neo hummed.

Law pulled his arms from her and headed for the bathroom.

She sighed again before forcing herself to move. She climbed onto the soft mattress, automatically going to the spot where she was use to sleeping. She plopped down on her stomach and hugged her pillow, breathing in its familiar scent.

Soon, through her closed eyes, she noticed the main lights going out and Law sunk down on the bed. She heard him chuckle. "What are you doing way over there?"

"Hm?" Neo lifted up from her pillow. It took her a moment to realize he was talking about being so far away from him. She had slept right beside him in her castle room. "Oh…um…I guess I'm just use to sleeping this close to the wall in your room."

" _Our_  room," Law corrected. "We're dating now. This is  _our_  room and  _our_  bed. Remember that."

"Okay. I'll-" Neo rolled over onto the right side. Her voice sharply cut off when her eyes landed on Law's bare chest.

With a deep, amused chuckle, Law hooked his arm around her slim body and pulled her closer to him. He kissed her hair while her eyes remained locked onto his brain malfunctioning chest. "Get use to it, love. Now that we're a couple I'm not going to be wearing shirts to bed anymore."

Keeping his arm firmly around her, he sighed contently and closed his eyes. He allowed himself to feel all the exciting, yet still somewhat new, emotions she always stirred in him while she recovered from seeing his chest again.

Suddenly she gasped then said, "I feel so incredibly stupid."

"What do you mean by that? You're not stupid." Law pulled back from her so he could look at her. Confusion swirled around in his brain at why she would say that. He became even more confused when he noticed her gaze was bouncing back and forth between his chest and his ring. "What's wrong? What is it?"

"How could I not have noticed?" Neo questioned. Her gaze continued to bounce between his chest and ring several more times before her eyes bounced up to his. "Your ring…you had it designed to look like your tattoos."

"I did." Law smiled at her. He tucked her hair behind her ear then brushed his thumb over her soft cheek. "You didn't notice because you were always so shocked when you saw my chest before because of all the unfamiliar emotions you felt. Now, you're more use to the emotions you feel for me. I chose my tattoo design for your protection. You have been a part of my crew for so long. I wanted people to know that so they wouldn't bother you despite someone always being with you when you were off the sub. Which reminds me, even though your confidence and control over your crystals have grown, I still want someone with you when you leave the sub."

"I figured that. You've always been so protective of me. I always knew that, but now I see just how protective you really are of me," Neo said.

"And you are still okay with that?" Law asked.

Through their bond, Neo noticed a little worry rising into his eyes and his chest that she might not need him as much anymore.

"I will always be fine with you protecting me no matter how independent I might become." Neo cupped his cheek in her hand. "You make me feel safe. I always want that feeling from you. I would be so lost without it. Never ever stop."

"I won't." Law placed his hand over hers. As she tilted her chin, he leaned down a placed his lips on hers in a gentle, caressing kiss. He broke the kiss then nuzzled his nose to hers. "Sleep now."

Neo reached for her pillow. She pulled it under her head, laid down on it, and closed her eyes. Just like always, she was fast asleep in seconds.

Law smiled. He never would ever understand how she was able to fall asleep so easily. With how horrible her life had been and with all the nightmares, both in dreams and reality, he used to think she would have trouble sleeping.

He lightly shook his head. It didn't matter how this was possible. He was just thankful that she did sleep as well as she did. And he was thankful she was finally back in their bed, in their room, in their home. He laid down himself. With his arm protectively around her and his nose buried in her hair, he slowly let himself drift off to sleep to the familiar, intoxicating, sweet scent of her and the hum of the sub's engines as they glided through the water. While drifting off, he whispered softly to her peacefully sleeping form, "Welcome home, Princess."

…

_Soft winds teased Neo's long, blue tresses as she walked through the lightly lit flower field. The mix of all of the flowers scents tickled her nose. She paused to look at the strange glows that lit her path. Walking over to one, she kneeled down and inspected it. It was a strange flower. The stem was about a foot long in length. They spouted out from the ground and curved up and around so their bell shaped yellow flowers dangled over. It hovered over all the other flowers in the strange field._

_She placed her fingertips under the thick bulb and tilted it up. The light was soft and gentle. It shot passed her shoulder, but wasn't bright enough to light up the darkness in the distant. Despite the yellow glow, she felt like the strange light was more like the moon's glow instead of the sun's. It was soft, easy to look at just like the moon. She released the bulb and stood back up when she felt a familiar, yet unidentifiable presence coming towards her. She wasn't afraid. She knew she didn't have to be. She knew this presence from somewhere. From somewhere long ago, yet from some time not so long ago._

_The presence was very commanding, but softened as it came closer. Neo stood patiently for them to arrive. Another wind began to blow around her. It brought the familiar presence with it. The presence floated on the wind. It wrapped around Neo's body. She grabbed it like it was a blanket and pulled it around her shoulders. She cocooned it around herself just like she use to do with her blanket._

_She closed her eyes. Holding the presence to her nose she noticed it not only felt familiar, it smelled familiar. It smelled similar to the drink Law had once allowed her to taste. Scattered and distant voices floated along the wind. She tried to focus on what they were saying, but was unable too. She felt a familiar rush of urgency in the voices. Her heartbeat started to increase when she realized the voices were those of people under attack. Soft cried of a child, of a baby mixed in with the scattered voice._

_She then felt her body swaying. She thought it was herself doing the movement, but then realized the way she was moving would have been impossible for someone to do to themselves. She also noticed that she was no longer standing. She was being cradled in someone's arms. She wondered if it was Law. She opened her mouth to ask if he was there with her, but she couldn't speak. She wiggled her fingers free of the presence around her, but still kept it tight around her shoulders, and touched her lips. They were still there. She was opening and closing her mouth like always. Her voice just wouldn't come out._

_She still wasn't scared. She felt a bit confused now. Opening her eyes, she saw someone. The person holding her was looking down at her. Or she thought he was looking down at her. She couldn't tell. He really didn't have a body. She could make out his shape, but nothing else. She wasn't even sure why or how she knew this person was a man. She just knew it was. And she knew she didn't have to be afraid of him._

_She felt so many emotions coming from him. Fear, hope, determination, and love were the strongest. They passed between their bodies as if they were only one person. It felt similar to how she felt when she and Law shared their feelings through their bond. Again, her body started rocking. This person rocked her gently and mumbled something incoherently to her. She reached up for the person just as her eyes opened up._

Neo opened her eyes. She stared at the bluish grey wall of the sub for several seconds before realizing she was awake. She pushed herself into a sitting position, not registering the oddly placed weight on her side that slid down to her legs as she moved. She looked around the room. It was lit up with not only the soft glow of the night lights, but also by the warm, golden rays of the rising run. The sub was above the surface now. She blinked and pulled her eyes away from the small porthole. She glanced around the room again. Something felt different, but nothing was out of place. Everything was where it should be. Her bear, figurines, pictures, and journal were still tucked into their crystal home. The doors, all of them, were shut like always. Law's desk and chair were still in their place. And Law…Neo dropped her eyes down to the sleeping man beside her.

That's when she noticed the pressure on her legs was his arm. She smiled. He must have fallen asleep with his arm around her. Keeping her balance on her right hand and arm, she ran her fingers of her left hand carefully through his dark mane. She loved it when he didn't wear his hat. He looked fairly different without it. She continued to work her fingers through his hair, earning a satisfying moan from the sleeping surgeon. He started to stir in response to her movements in his hair. His arm moved. He placed his hand on her hip and gave it a gentle squeeze. "What is it, love? Is something wrong?"

"No." Neo pulled her fingers from his hair and traced them over his tattooed shoulder. "It was…just a dream I guess. I don't remember."

"Hm…" Law whined. "Lay back down then. It's not time to get up yet."

Neo laid back down beside him and chuckled in amusement. He tightened his arm around her, pulling her even closer to him. With a squeeze to her body, he asked, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. I just never knew that the powerful Surgeon of Death had a whiney side to him." Neo snickered. She poked him in the chest with her finger. "It's really, really cute. I love that you are showing your more vulnerable side to me."

"Hm. Another secret revealed." His eyes still closed, he smiled. "No telling anyone. I have a reputation to protect, even from the crew."

"You know your secrets are safe with me," Neo whispered. She snuggled into his bare chest, purposefully not looking at it so she could fall back asleep instead of freezing up against him. "They will always be safe with me. Just like I will always be safe with you."

With a throaty chuckle, he pecked her hair. "Good girl."


	57. The Talk

The Talk

Law breathed out as he let his mind slip passed all the blinking lights, pinging sounds of the sub, and chatter of his gathering crew in the control room. His mind easily went to the one he was searching for. And she was in the galley like she had been practically all day long. He knew she would still in there. He really wasn't sure why he was checking. She's been spending a lot of time in the galley cooking for the crew since they got back on the sub. He could practically hear her singing with joy through their bond. She was just that happy about being able to take care of the crew again instead of having maids, butlers and other cooks doing it. Warmth spread through his chest at the thought of how happy she was now.

"So what did you want to talk to us about, Captain?" Shachi asked, pulling Law's thoughts away from Neo.

"About Neo," Law said, shifting his body into a more comfortable position on the wall he was leaning against. Worry began to seep into the Heart Pirates faces. Before he could halt their panic, some of them shrieked.

"Is she hurt?!"

"What happened to her?!"

Law waved his hand in a dismissal fashion. "Nothing's wrong with her."

"Geez! Don't scare us like that, Captain," Archer said with a sigh.

"I'm just informing you that I'm going to be talking with her in a few minutes on the differences between men and women." Law watched as mischievous and teasing grins were trying to force themselves upon the lips of his subordinates' faces. But the captain knew they wouldn't last long. And just like he assumed, the grins quickly faded away. His crew really loved Neo and did take her education seriously. And this was serious. It wasn't something they should or would joke around about with her. Neo and Law were in love and she needed to be informed of sexual relationships not only for their future relationship, but to also be aware of other men that might try and take advantage of her innocent nature. "I just want you all to know this because Neo has already become more aware of her surroundings. She's starting to notice things that she hasn't before. And once I open this door for her, she's going to become ever more curious about her body and about men's bodies. Now I'm going to direct her curiosity towards me as much as possible, but she's most likely going to become curious about you all too. I'll be sure to tell her to respect all of your privacies and not to intrude if you are not comfortable talking to her or answering her questions. Also, when we start getting around islands more she's going to notice when some of you sneak off to  _entertain_  a lady friend."

Unavoidable, some of the crew exchanged sheepish grins and snickers.

"Or female bears!" Bepo added hopefully.

"Or female bears." Law nodded with a half smile. He gave a nod to Topaz. "Or men, in your case."

Topaz nodded back in complete understanding.

Ignoring his most perverted subordinates continuation of snickers and suggestive wiggles of their eyebrows, Law continued, "When she does notice just be sure to assure her that you're not leaving her or the crew until she gets use to this. You all remember what she did to the younger healer woman back on Luminous. I doubt she'll go that far again, but I just want you all to be prepared in case that it does. You all know that Neo can get possessive of us when she thinks someone is trying to take us away from her."

"Like she did with the baby back at the orphanage and the first time she saw me covered with flowers from the Elementals," Bepo said, reminding them all of the incidents.

The crew nodded.

"That's it." Law pushed off the wall and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm going to talk to her now so try not to interrupt us for a while at least"

The majority of the crew mumbled amongst themselves while heading out of the room.

Law started out of the room as well then paused near the doorway to take in Penguin, who was lingering back from the others. The black and white hatted man was standing strangely still. His head was down so Law knew he was starting at the floor. The captain quickly assumed what was on the man's mind. He planted his hand onto Penguin's shoulder and said, "Its just part of growing up. She's ready for this."

Penguin nodded. "Aye, Captain. Its just…she's only been with us for a little over a year, but somehow it feels like she's been with us her entire life. In a way, I'm not ready for her to grow up just yet."

"Kidnappings and near death experiences have a habit of doing that to people. You're her brother. Of course you're going to be feeling like this. People might find it weird that we take the credit for raising her, but we have. She was such a scared little girl when I first brought her onto the sub and now she's grown into a strong, beautiful young woman. But she will always be our little girl," Law said in a gentle manor that he knew Penguin wasn't use to him using. He smiled when Penguin raised his hidden eyes up to look at him. "And she's going to need you even more now. Aside from me, it's obvious that she's going to want to talk to you about more mature topics, especially when our relationship becomes a sexual one. Would you be comfortable enough talking to her when the time comes?"

Penguin paused and considered his captain's words. He and Neo always had a fairly open relationship. Thinking back over the quality times they had spent together, Neo did seem to open up to him with ease. He smiled. "It might be a bit awkward at first, but I'll be fine talking with her about anything she wishes to. I mean, as long as you don't mind. I know people sometimes prefer keeping their bedroom activities between themselves. And I certainly don't want to over step my boundaries as your subordinate."

"I understand. As you said, at first it's going to be awkward, but if she's comfortable enough with talking to you about certain things, then I will be fine with it. She's going to need the emotional support when the time comes. And I can't think of anyone better to help her during the times she not ready to come to me. You've already done a wonderful job in being the big brother she needs. I expect you to keep doing exactly what you have been doing for her," Law said in a mixed tone of being Penguin's captain and being his future brother-in-law.

"Huh?" Penguin blinked his hidden eyes. He pondered on the captain's words for a while. He never thought of how the captain saw him while being Neo's brother. And he was closest to her, next to Law. Their relationship had just happened so naturally. It was almost impossible for him to see it without really putting some thought into it. He smiled. "I will do my best for her, Captain. And if she ever brings up something I think you might not be comfortable with me talking to her about, I'll ask you about it before talking to her about it. I'm here to support you both."

Law nodded. "You should spend some bonding time with her soon. We'll be heading for the New World before too long and you might not get as much down time with her then."

"Sure thing, Captain." Penguin quietly studied his captain from underneath his hat. Knowing the Surgeon of Death long enough, he could easily tell a plan was being formed in the infamous captain's head. What that plan was he didn't know. And he knew better than to ask what it was at this point. The captain would tell them all soon enough.

With that said, Law left the room. And left Penguin with his thoughts about the conversation they just had and what the future held for them all. He hummed. "The New World, huh? I wonder what kind of adventures are awaiting for us there. And I wonder what the captain is planning."

…

Law crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe of the galley. His lips curled into an amused smile as he watched Neo dance around the room with a sheet of cookies in one hand and a spatula in the other. She had probably four, or five maybe even six, dozen cookies spread out cooling on the counters and the table. The warm galley air was filled with sugar, flour, vanilla and a variety of other cookie making ingredients.

He quickly noticed she was so lost in her cookie making bliss, she didn't even notice he was there even with their bond. It was rare for him to tease her. And this was one time he couldn't pass up the opportunity to do just that. "Your bond is suppose to be with  _me_ , not with  _cookies_."

"Law!" Neo smiled at him. She scooped off the last cookie from the cookie sheet, laid the pan and spatula in the sink then ran over to him. He lowered his arms just in time to get hers wrapped around his torso. She buried her face into his chest, taking a deep breath of his scent, before looking up at him. "You  _are_  my bonded, silly! You've just been busy today. And I still feel like cooking for my favorite crew."

"I noticed." Law looked around the room full of cookies. His hands rested low on her back as he observed the room. He dropped his eyes back to hers and smirked. "If you keep feeding the crew like this you're going to make them fat. They won't be able to fight then."

"Of course they will. I'm not making that many sweets," Neo insisted with a small pout. "Oh…was there something you wanted?"

Law nodded. "It's time we had our promised conversation."

"Promised conversation?" Neo tilted her head. She blinked a couple times before remembering their conversation back in her bedroom in the castle months ago. "Oh! You mean about marriage as well as the difference between men and women?"

"Yes. Are you ready?" Law asked.

"I guess so." She tossed a glance back over her shoulder. Her eyes ran over the mess she had made while making her cookies. It wasn't a large mess, but her pans and mixing utensils were still scattered about the galley counters and sink. "But I still need to clean up in here."

"Don't worry about that right now. I'm sure one of the crew will take care of it. I told them we were going to be talking for a while. It won't be long before your cookies tempt them into the galley anyway," Law said. He slid his hands from her back and took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. He started down the hall with her following by his side.

Neo waved to the crew enthusiastically when they passed in the halls. They waved back as she informed them of fresh cookies await them. "Cookies in the galley."

"Yeah!" the crew cheered.

Law rolled his eyes at how happy his crew was at getting sweets again, but he didn't say anything. He wasn't going to rain on Neo's cooking parade at all. He wanted her to have this time before they took her back into dangerous situations that came with being in a pirate crew. And this time was going to be a lot worse than the previous times. Law had kept her sheltered during the few times they have been on other islands with people. But he knew she would be able to handle it a lot better this time. She had become more stable with their adventures on Luminous and especially since she accepted her Elemental heritage and her role as their royal. He still had his concerns of putting her in dangerous situations, but he knew she could handle it better now and he would always be right there beside her to make sure she, and they all, came home safely.

Law pulled her into their room and closed the door behind them. He continued to guide her over to his desk. He sat down then pulled her onto his lap. He pecked her cheek before she turned and glanced at the books he had laying out on his desk. He waited quietly as she inspected them.

"Sexual reproduction and anota…anatomay…uh?" She huffed in frustration.

"Anatomy," Law said, pronouncing the word correctly for her.

"Oh…you have multiple books on them both dealing with human and Elementals?" Neo pulled her eyes from the books and looked at him. He had his left elbow on the arm of his chair while resting his cheek against his fist. "Is this what you've been doing all day?"

He nodded. "While I did study all of these with the healer woman, I still wanted to go everything one more time before I spoke to you to make sure I didn't miss anything. Luckily, there's not many difference between Elementals and humans. There's a few minor differences in our bodies, but it's nothing that will hinder our relationship as it progresses."

"Okay. So where are we starting?" Neo asked. A tiny hint of eager danced around her tone. She smiled and waited for Law's next move.

"Well, have you noticed any difference between men and women yet?" Law asked.

"Um…" Neo kneaded her eyebrows. "I'm not sure."

"Here's a hint. Think about my chest and yours," Law coaxed. "Remember how my chest looks?"

"Uh." Neo dropped her eyes down to Law's chest. She stared at it for a couple minutes before realization rose into her eyes. She blinked before planting her hands onto his firm chest. She rubbed his flat toned chest before removing his hat and his hoodie. She inspected his bare, tattooed chest for a minute then pulled off her own shirt. Leaving her bra on, which Law was secretly glad and slightly disappointed about. She bounced her eyes back and forth between their chests. "We  _are_  different."

"That's right." Law nodded. He let her openly inspect the differences in their chests. She rubbed her hands over his flat chest then over her own rounded one. He was extremely grateful that he was already in 'Doctor Mode' when she pushed her beasts up then lowered them back down. Not wanting to lose control, he pulled his hoodie off her lap and slipped it back on. He then held up her own shirt. "All right. That's enough of that. Put your shirt back on so we can continue."

"Okay." Neo obediently pulled her shirt back on. "How could I not have noticed?"

He then reached for one of the anatomy books and opened it up.

Neo turned her eyes to the book. She ran her eyes over the page, carefully taking in everything on it. She glanced at the woman's figure then at the unfamiliar words with lines pointing to the body before glancing back at Law in eager anticipation for his explanation.

"Both human and Elemental women have breasts. They are a pair of milk-producing organs of the female reproductive system. They project outward from the front of the chest as a mass of skin-covered soft tissue. And a small cylindrical projection of erectile tissue at the tip of each breast is called the nipple. Around both nipples is a thickened, bumpy skin called the areola. Internally, each breast is made up of many mammary glands. They're arranged into a radial pattern around the nipples." Law glided his finger over the book as he talked about each part. "Narrow mammary ducts connect the mammary glands to the nipple. Adipose tissue, right here, contains collagen and elastin fibers that surround the mammary glands to provide strength and protection to the delicate glands and to project the glands outward from the chest. Within the adipose layer are bands of connective tissue called Cooper's ligaments or suspensory ligaments. These ligaments give the breasts support by connecting the skin of the breasts to the pectoralis muscles below them."

"Is there a purpose for having them?" Neo asked.

"There is. The technical function of the breast is to provide milk to feed infants. Milk is produced and stored by the mammary glands, which is released through the mammary ducts and nipple. There are sensitive nerve endings in the nipple that send signals to the brain to produce the hormone oxytocin and initiate the release of milk. Other stimuli, such as manual stimulation, hearing a baby crying, or even just seeing a baby, can also cause the oxytocin to be produce. Oxytocin causes the smooth muscle tissue surrounding the mammary glands to contract. It forces the milk out of the mammary glands."

"Feed infants, huh?" Neo wondered.

"When babies are born they can't eat solid foods like we can. They rely on their mother to feed them," Law explained. "Babies are very soft, fragile and helpless. They rely on their parents for everything."

"Where do babies come from?" Neo asked.

"We'll get there soon. First we need to establish the difference between men and women." Law tapped her nose lightly.

She blinked when his finger made contact with her nose. She pointed to her chest then asked, "Is there anything else that these are suppose to do?"

"The breast also contains many sensitive nerve endings. They play a big role in human sexual arousal. Stimulation of the breasts, especially the nipples and areola, sends signals of pleasure to the brain. The erectile tissue of the nipples fills with blood in response to stimulation of breastfeeding, sexual arousal, and even cool temperatures."

"Sexual arousal?" Neo tilted her head.

"We're getting to that point soon. Now the female reproductive system includes the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina, vulva, mammary glands, and breasts. While male reproductive systems include the scrotum, testes, spermatic ducts, sex glands, and penis."

Neo giggled.

Law paused and took her in. "What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry. I know this is a serious lesson." She blinked innocently at him. "It's just that some of these words sound so weird and funny. Like that last one you just said. What is a penis?"

Law chuckled. "You're sure impatient today."

"I'm curious. I didn't realize there were so many differences between men and women. I want to know more." Neo ran her eyes over the books on his desk.

"And you will know more." Law gently took her chin in his fingers and pulled her attention back to him. "As long as you slow down. We have a lot to go over. Can you do that for me?"

"Okay, okay! I will!" Neo nodded enthusiastically. With a deep breath, she settled back down and waited for Law to continue.

"Let's step back to women's reproductive system. Now the vagina here is a hollow, muscular tube extending from the external opening at the vestibule all the way to the cervix. The ovaries are a pair of small glands that are about the size and shape of almonds. They're located on the left and the right sides of the pelvic body cavity lateral to the superior portion of the uterus. The fallopian tubes are also a pair of muscular tubes extending from the left and the right superior corners of the uterus to the edge of the ovaries. The uterus is a hollow, muscular, pear-shaped organ located posterior and superior to the urinary bladder. The vulva is the collective name for the external female genitalia located in the pubic region of the body. The vulva surrounds the external ends of the urethral opening and the vagina and includes the mons pubis, labia majora, labia minora, and clitoris. The mons pubis, or pubic mound, is a raised layer of adipose tissue between the skin and pubic bone that provides cushioning to the vulva. Now most women, both human and Elemental alike, have a menstrual cycle or period that they go through ever month. For both the menstrual cycle begins when a girl reaches the age of puberty. For human females the menstrual cycle, on average, lasts between twenty-eight to thirty-five days. On the first day the cycle begins on is the first day of bleeding which can last for three to seven days and ends just before the next menstrual period. An Elemental menstrual cycle last between fourteen to seventeen days and bleeding lasts only for three days."

Law paused when Neo's eyebrows narrowed and she placed her hand on her stomach. She mumbled, "So that's what this is? That's why I bleed every month?"

"Yes." Law nodded. "And I'm so sorry I never explained all of this to you before. I really should have talked to you about this long before now. I messed up."

"No." Neo shook her head. "It's fine. Really. We both know that my life has been very different from others. You knew that I wasn't ready to know all of this until now. I would have been utterly confused. I've gotten a lot more comfortable with speaking up. It would have been only a matter of time when I asked you about this anyway. You have done wonderfully in raising me and explaining everything when I  _need_  to be told about it."

"How did you even handle this when you first got your period?" Law asked with concern. "You must have been so scared."

"I was. I never heard women talking about this before. When it first started I thought I was hurt or something and was going to die, even though I did want to die at the time. Then it quit for a while. I think it took about four times for me to stop being scared of it and just figured it was something that was suppose to happen," Neo explained. When she felt Law's guilt rising in his chest, she shook her head. "It's okay, Law. Really it is. You're explaining everything now. You don't have to feel guilty because you didn't find me as quick as you think you should have or wished you did. I'm with you now."

Law cupped her cheek and gently kissed her before continuing the explanation of the phases of a women's menstrual cycle. He then flipped the pages until he landed on a diagram of a male's body. He remained quiet to let Neo inspect the body. She ran her finger over the page, outlining the body. Her finger paused when it landed between the legs of the male diagram. She kneaded her eyebrows in confusion then flipped back to the diagram of the woman. She flipped back and forth between the pages several times before turning to Law. "Why does this guy have a third leg? And why is it so shorter than his other two legs?"

Law chuckled. "I've heard that called many things, but never a third leg."

"Then what is it?" Neo asked.

"It's a penis. All men have one of them unless they suffered an unfortunate injury," Law replied.

"A penis." Neo dropped her eyes down to the zipper of Law's jeans.

While she stared at him, Law waited just as patiently as ever. He wondered what was going through her mind when she turned her eyes back to the pages of the book and took in the diagram once more. He was tempted to use their bond to hear what she was thinking, but respected her space and refused to do that to her. It didn't take much longer for her to turn her eyes back to his. Full of seriousness, she asked, "Will you show me your penis?"

Law about lost it. A bright smile formed on his face before his laughter pushed passed his weak attempt to keep it in. He knew she was become more bold and curious, but somewhere deep inside of him he still saw her as that cute, shy, timid little girl that had trouble voicing herself out to others and wasn't prepared for her to be so bold. As quickly as he could, he composed himself. "Well, aren't you just the bold little princess now."

"What? Should I not have asked that?" Concern started to replace Neo's serious expression. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Mmm…not really. It's natural for you to be curious about our bodies now. And it's okay that you asked  _me_  that, but it's not okay for you to ask that of any other man," Law said.

"Not even the crew?" Neo asked.

"Not even the crew. It's not appropriate to ask someone to show you his or her body parts. Remember how that mercenary touched you and you didn't like it?" Neo nodded. "You can think of it like that. It's an invasion of privacy. Most people have respect for their bodies and don't want to go flashing it around. There will be some people who are more open and don't see it as a big deal to flash their body around, but most do find it unacceptable. You need to have respect for not only your body, but also other people's bodies. That means, while you will become curious about the crew's bodies, you are forbidden from trying to get a peak at them. Remember I can sense where you are. And if I catch you trying to peak in on them while their changing or in the shower, I will punish you. Do you understand?"

"I do." Neo nodded. "I didn't like that man touching me at all. And if it is really the same then I don't want to put that feeling on the crew."

"Good girl. There will be some things the crew will be comfortable talking to you about, but it'll take time to figure that out. If they tell you they aren't comfortable discussing something with you then respect that and let it be. You can always come talk to me about it."

"Are bodies really that uncomfortable to talk about with others? You don't seem to have a problem with it."

"That's because I'm a doctor. I deal with bodies all the time. And it's on a professional level. That's how I've been able to take care of you. The times that I've seen you naked, I've been your  _doctor_  not your  _boyfriend_. I looked at you as a patient, someone that I was taking care of. If I was looking at you as a man who wasn't a doctor then things would have been different and most likely very inappropriate."

"I think I understand, but I'm not sure."

"That's just fine. This might take some time for you to completely understand. We'll continue with today's lesson and then we'll keep talking about it until you completely understand everything. Let's get back to today's lesson now." Both Neo and Law turned their attention back to the diagram. "This is the scrotum. It's a sac-like organ made of skin and muscles that houses a man's testes. The two testes, or testicles, are the male gonads responsible for the production of testosterone and sperm. Each testis can be found inside its own pouch on one side of the scrotum, right here. And it's connected to the abdomen by a spermatic cord and the cremaster muscle. The epididymis is the sperm storage area. It wraps around the superior and the posterior edges of the testes. The testes is where sperm is produced. It then moves into the epididymis to mature before being passed on through the male reproductive organs. The length of the epididymis delays the release of the sperm and it allows them all the time they need to mature."

Neo nodded as she continued to carefully listen to what all Law was telling her, occasionally interrupting him for explanations on words she didn't understand.

"This is the penis. It's the male external sexual organ located superior to the scrotum and inferior to the umbilicus right here. The penis is roughly cylindrical in shape. It contains the urethra and the external opening of the urethra. Large pockets of erectile tissue in the penis allow it to fill up with blood and become erect."

"Erect?" Neo asked.

"Rigidly up right or straight. Like this." Law flipped to the next page and showed her the diagram.

"And there's purpose for that?"

"There is. The erection of the penis causes it to increase in size and become turgid. The function of it is to deliver semen to the vagina during sexual intercourse. The organs of the male reproductive system work together to deliver semen out of the body and into the vagina where it fertilizes the egg cells to produce offspring."

"Deliver semen to the vagina? How does that happen exactly? If a woman's part of the body is on the inside of her, how does the man parts get to it if they're on the outside of the body?"

"That's where sexual intercourse, or sex, comes in. When a man becomes aroused his penis becomes erect and hardens. He then pushes inside of a woman's vagina here." Law flipped over a couple pages and showed her the next diagram.

"That doesn't look or sound like it's very enjoyable." Neo scrunched up her nose at the image the diagram provided for her.

"I suppose it does sound painful to someone who's just now learning about this. And intercourse for the first time, at least, can be painful for some women."

"Why?"

"Because during sexual intercourse, the vagina stretches to accommodate the penis. Sometimes the couple just needs to try penetration from a different angle or go in more slowly. Sometimes insufficient lubrication could also cause pain. If that's the case then a woman may need more time for stimulation. Nervousness and tension can also cause pain. Penetration can cause the woman to bleed sometimes too."

"That really doesn't sound nice."

"It's a natural occurrence," Law assured her. "The vagina has it's own natural lubrication. It becomes lubricated, or slippery, by the passage of fluids through the vaginal walls. This allows for the penis to slide in and out of the vagina. It also changes the chemical nature of the vagina. It makes it more alkaline and less acidic. This allows an environment that's more hospitable to sperm."

"And what is the sperm exactly?"

"The sperm is basically a tiny little creature that swims up inside of a woman's body and fertilizes the egg inside of her. Semen is the fluid that's ejaculated out of the body during sexual intercourse. Semen contains the sperm. It's the male reproductive gametes, along with a number of chemicals suspended in a liquid medium. All of these chemical compositions of semen give it a thick, sticky consistency that helps sperm to remain within the vagina after intercourse. During a woman's ovulation an ovum is released. The ovum travels from the ovary to the fallopian tube where it can be fertilized before reaching the uterus.

The uterus is a hollow, muscular, pear-shaped organ. The uterus is also known as the womb where it surrounds and supports the developing fetus, or baby, during pregnancy. The inner lining of the uterus, known as the endometrium, provides support to the embryo during the early development stages. The visceral muscles of the uterus, right here, contract during childbirth to push the baby right through the birth canal."

Law paused when he sensed some distress coming from Neo. He glanced at her wide-eyed expression as she stared at the images before her. Law lowered the book. He rubbed her lower back. "What's wrong, love? Am I making you uncomfortable? Or am I getting to graphic? Do I need to simplify it down?"

Neo slowly shook her head. Before answering him, she swallowed. She said, "There's a lot of stretching in the body of a woman. First the man's penis enters into her and stretches her out then her body stretches out even more when she has a baby? That baby back on Luminous wasn't very small. And it passed through this little opening here on a woman's body?"

"The woman's body was created to handle sexual intercourse and childbirth. Besides, that baby wasn't a newborn. She was at least six months old. She would have been a bit smaller when she was born. It might sound like it's an impossible feat, but I assure you it's not." Law smiled. "You'll be able to see what I mean we our relationship becomes a sexual one."

"And this is going to happen to me?" Neo blinked. "I'm going to become, um…uh…"

"The word you're looking for is pregnant. And no, you won't become pregnant." Law closed the book with an audible thump. "I  _won't_  allow that to happen to you."

"Why? If this is how babies are created, then why won't I become pregnant?"

"Pregnancies can be fairly dangerous for some women. And they are very painful, especially during the birthing process. I don't want you to go through all of that. And it won't happen because we will be using protection," Law answered. He placed the book down on his desk then pulled open one of its drawers.

Neo watched with interest as he pulled out a small, square package.

Law ripped it open, tossed the package into his small wastebasket, and then placed the unfamiliar, to Neo, circle like object over his finger. He began to roll it down over his finger, demonstrating its purpose. "This is a condom. The man wears it over his penis to prevent the semen from entering into a woman's body."

"Huh." Neo ran her finger over the rubbery like material. "And this will keep me from getting pregnant?"

"It will help. The only hundred percent way for a woman to not get pregnant is to not have sex. The condom can always fail in preventing pregnancies."

"Then how are you sure that we won't get me pregnant?"

"I'll be monitoring your menstrual cycle very closely when we become sexually active," Law said. He placed his hand on Neo's stomach and caressed her. "That will also help in preventing an unwanted pregnancy."

"We're talking as if we're really going to do this sexual intercourse thing." Neo giggled. "But we can't, can we? This is what Healer Zinnia and the others were talking about, right? I can't have this sexual intercourse until we are married?"

"Correct." Law nodded. "If you do, you will lose over half of your magic and will be weakened. That's why we are waiting until we are married."

"I understand. I'm also kind of bummed we have to wait. I'm curious to know how this sexual intercourse actually feels." Neo glanced over at the books lying on Law's desks. She pulled her eyes away from them and peered into his grey orbs. "Is this why the crew acts so weird when they see women? Like back on Amazon Lily? They want to have sexual intercourse with the women?"

"Yes. In some cases they do, but not all of them." Law's eyebrows raised in concern when Neo looked away from him. She dropped her blue eyes down to her lap and started fiddling with her fingers. He sensed her closing herself off to him. "Love, what is it? What's wrong?"

Neo bit her bottom lip in hesitation. She took a relaxing breath then forced herself to speak to him. "There's something I want to ask you…but I'm kind of afraid of the answer."

"You know you don't have to ever be afraid of asking me anything. If the answer is going to be hard for you to hear, you know I'll give it to you as gently as possible," Law said. He placed his hand over both of hers. Stroking his thumb over her skin, he added, "Go ahead and ask. Don't be afraid."

Neo still hesitated.

Law waited quietly and patiently for her to get the courage to ask him about whatever was on her mind. The soothing humming of the sub's engines was the only sound penetrating the air around them.

After a couple minutes, still keeping her eyes locked onto her lap, she finally asked, "Have you ever…you know…had sexual intercourse before?"

A short pause passed between them before Law gave a soft, yet firm, "No."

She lifted her eyes to him at that point. With one eyebrow raised she gave him a skeptical look.

He chuckled. "Is that hard to believe?"

"Yes," Neo said.

"Why?" Law asked curiously. He leaned back in his chair, resting his elbow back on the arm of the chair and his temple against his fist and waited for her answer.

"Well, because you're just…you're just so…"

"Don't stop now," Law encouraged.

"You're just so attractive!" Neo then blurted out. "I know that might not seem like much coming from me since I'm already attracted to you…or maybe not…I don't know. I just know that you are a very attractive man. I saw how Selene looked at you back on Luminous. I didn't like it. I didn't understand it then, but I do understand it better now. And I know that other women have surely looked at you like that before. And I'm sure other women will still be looking at you like that when we are on islands. And I know you've traveled over the seas since you were a kid. You've met so many women and have traveled to so many places. This sexual intercourse is just natural right? And it's how babies are made. It's how the human race survives. And-"

"Neo, Neo slow down and breathe." Feeling her anxiety and heartbeat rising rapidly while she started talking faster, Law took her cheek in his hand once again and got her to take a deep breath. "Now, despite what you might hear from other people, not all men sleep around with a bunch of women just because they're there and that's what people think they should do. Some men do wait for the right woman to come along and marry her before having sex. And some men are committed to just one woman for their entire lives. You know I won't lie to you. I haven't slept with a woman before. I have been kind of busy with my obsession with taking down Doflamingo to think about much else. But that doesn't mean I haven't been tempted into having sex with a woman. I have been."

"I believe you, Law. I know you won't lie to me. And I haven't noticed you obsessing over him," Neo said.

"Not surprising considering everything that's happened to you. You'll definitely notice it now, especially with our bond. It'll be all right though. Now what else is on your mind?" He dropped his hand from her cheek and placed it back over her hands.

"I don't know…I guess I'm just concerned that I'm not going to be good enough for you. You just have so much more experience in life than I do." Neo sighed. "And this sexual intercourse thing sounds like such a huge step and sounds like it's a very intimate thing for people to do. Way more intimate that anything we have done so far."

"It is a very intimate thing for people do to. It's supposed to be a time where both the man and woman are at their most vulnerable. That's why people should always take it serious and be married. Or I think so anyway. Some don't have problems sleeping with multiple partners. It really all depends on one's beliefs towards sex and a lot of the time it also depends on their religious beliefs. We both will be going through a lot of emotions after our first time with sexual intercourse. But I will be there for you to talk to. Most likely you'll also want to talk to someone else about it. That's why I'm glad that Topaz decided to join us. Having another woman around will be very beneficial for you in so many ways. Sexual intercourse will be one of those. And, if I'm correct, I figure you'll be talking with Penguin about this too."

"Penguin? You'll be comfortable with me talking to him about our sexual intercourse?" Neo asked. Confusion rose in her eyes again.

"It might be a bit awkward at first, but if you are comfortable talking about it with him then I want you to feel free to do so. I trust Penguin with you. And he is second closest to you," Law explained.

"And you'll be talking to someone too?" Neo asked.

"I'm going to keep the majority of our sex life private from the crew, just like they keep theirs from me, but I'll probably talk to Bepo about it some. Would that bother you?"

"No. I don't think it will. I trust Bepo. But if it does ever bother me, I will tell you." Neo paused. "What about other women? I don't want to get jealous of them, but I know I will. What if I try to attack them like I did with Selene back on Luminous?"

"You don't have to be concerned about that or about any other woman looking at me. You only lashed out at  _her_  because you were stressed. And it was the first time you noticed another woman that was attracted to me. It took you by surprise and you just reacted automatically. You'll learn how to control your jealousy better the more you experience it. You are a strong, beautiful, smart young woman who just got dealt a lousy hand in life. But you are learning everything at a steady pace. You'll become more experience in life just like we all do. It just takes time. And sexual intercourse is a big step. It's a very huge one that people should always take seriously. And I take it very seriously when I think about you and me. When we do finally reach that stage of our relationship, we'll take it very slowly. And whatever you need, I'll do it for you. Always remember this, I have chosen  _you_. And no matter how many other women look at me,  _you_  are the one I will be looking back at. And  _you_  are the one I will always return home with."

With a flattered smile, Neo breathed out. "Law, you have  _got_  to be the most patient man in the entire world."

Law laughed. "I don't know about that."

"I do know that. With everything you've done for me? You took me in, a complete and totally stranger that you knew nothing about. You may have been a bit rough at the start, but you knew, somehow, that it was exactly what I needed. You somehow just knew. You might not have felt like that at the time. You taught me how to read and write and your continuing my education about everything. And you…" Neo paused.

Law tilted his head when he noticed realization dawned in her eyes as she subconsciously searched his feelings and memories from over a year ago.

"And you…you've been attracted to me for so long. Ever since…oh my gosh!"

Law's heart raced as he watched Neo finally put together the time frame of how long he has been attracted to her. A smile spread across his lips while his cheeks flared up with heat.

Neo covered her lips with her hand. "Law! You've been…when you taught me how to cut a carrot?! Even before that?! How could…for so long?! And the carrot! When you showed me…I was…that's when I started to feel attracted to  _you_?! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Because you wouldn't have understood," Law replied simply. "You needed time to just be a kid before you got into the more complicated things of being attracted to someone and being an adult. You needed time to grow up."

"Law, you  _are_  the most patient man on the planet," Neo insisted. "I can't believe you waited for so long. It must have been so hard. Knowing, feeling what you did, but being unable to act on it."

"I won't lie and say it  _wasn't_  difficult. There were so many times that I just wanted to kiss you, almost did a few times," Law said.

Neo nodded in remembrance to those times he leaned in towards her.

"But you were and are definitely worth the wait. Now I can kiss you anytime I want."

Neo took a breath and let it out. They both sat quietly as she processed everything that had just been revealed to her both through Law's anatomy lessons and through their bond. Suddenly, she leaned into Law's chest and pressed her lips to his.

Law's eyebrows shot up.

Seconds later, Neo pulled back and took in his expression. Worry etched over her face. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you did nothing wrong. It's just…that's the first time that  _you've_  kissed  _me_ ," Law said with a pleased smile.

"Well, I wanted to." Neo dropped her eyes to his shirttail. She fiddled with it before shyly glancing back up to him. "That is all right, isn't it?"

"Yes. You can kiss me any time you want." Law's smile grew.

"Really?"

"Mhmm." Law nodded. "Just get my attention and do it. Or, if you prefer, you could just ask me to kiss you."

Neo studied Law's eyes before letting her own eyes drop down to his lips. She looked back up at him. Whispering, she said, "Kiss me."

Smiling, Law cupped her neck and leaned back in towards her. His warm breath washing over her skin made her heart speed up. Her body tensed when he pressed his lips to hers. He pulled back, pressing their foreheads together, they panted slightly.

Neo smiled with a content sigh. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself into him. "I love you so much for everything you've done for me. Don't ever leave me."

"I won't." Law slid his arms around her, holding her firmly to his body. "I'll always be right here for you. I promise. Let's review today's lesson now. Do you have any questions?"

"Well," Neo pulled away from him. "I'm not very clear on this whole sexual arousal thing. Could you show me?"

Law chuckled softly. "As much as I'd like to do just that, it wouldn't be very appropriate for our relationship right now."

"Why not?"

"Touching you in a sensual way could lead to crossing the line. I might have been able to control myself up to this point, but I'm still only human. Besides, you still can't even handle me kissing you with a basic kiss very well," Law explained. "Let's get past that barrier first before considering something more."

"I can handle it." Neo pouted.

"You think so, huh?" Law said, slightly amused. He then brushed the back of his fingers tantalizingly slow over her arm. He sent multiple waves of shivers over her body as he glided over her skin. She tensed up with a tight squeak. Deep chuckles rumbled in his chest. "See? You're not ready yet. Let's wait to get more physical when you get better at handling kisses. Soon I'll start showing you how to kiss more than just the basic kiss we have been doing. Okay?"

Neo nodded slowly.

Law nodded back. He gave her a few minutes to come back down before they settled back down into Law's anatomy and reproduction lessons. When the lesson was finally over, Law reached to the right side of his desk. He pulled up a bag and sat it down on her lap. "What's this?"

"A gift. I think it might help you learn more about people and relationships," Law said as he watched Neo pull out the books inside of it. "Relationships vary from couple to couple, but these should be of some help to you."

"You are the best, Law." Neo smiled just before Law pecked her lips again.

…

Neo dabbed her towel in her wet hair. She paused when she caught her reflection in the mirror above the sink. Starting at her facial features, she placed the towel down on the sink. She tilted her head before removing the towel that was around her body. Summoning her wind crystals, she lifted herself up into the air. Slowly, she turned her body around and inspected herself in the mirror. She ran her hands down the sides of her curves, noticing them for the first time ever. She moved her hands over her hips and down to her thighs. She started to notice things about her body that she knew was there, but never thought much about them or their purpose.

She allowed one of her hands to slip between her legs. Law's diagrams and descriptions of what happened between a man and a woman down there filled her mind and fueled her curiosity. She wanted to know more, but knew, from Law's lesson, that experimentation was the only option for that. They wouldn't be able to have sex for some time now. She flinched when his examples of other types of sex entered into her mind. When her heartbeat started to rise, she pulled her hands away from her body and lowered her feet back to the floor to get dressed. She wasn't sure if she was ready for this. Law told her she was going to become more curious about her body and would want to experiment on herself. She knew she wasn't ready for that and decided to wait. She grabbed her clothes, threw them on, and left the bathroom.


	58. Kisses, Plans, & Decisions

Kisses, Plans & Decisions

_"Huh?" Neo blinked. She looked around her and Law's room to find the usual steel floor had been replaced with soft, lush, green grass. The ceiling was replaced with an endless starry void. The walls remained in place, but slowly began to move away from her. She looked to where their bed and Law should have been. They weren't there. Panic started to prickle down her spine, but stopped when she felt a strong, familiar presence. "Who's there?"_

_Neo turned around to face the door. Slowly the door began to disappear, leaving the hollow space to walk through. Her eyes dropped down to the ground when a soft yellow glow caught her eyes. A bell shaped flower had appeared. She tilted her head in curiosity at the flower seconds before another one appeared six inches from it. A couple more glowing bell shaped flowers appeared after the first two. Each one was six inches apart from the next._

_The first flower disappeared for a couple seconds. When it came back into existence the second flower disappeared. The third flower did the same then the first one disappeared again. Confusion filtered into Neo's mind when she felt like the flowers wanted her to follow them. "What? Are you asking me to follow you?"_

_The flowers glow brightened then died back down to their normal glow. Feeling that was a yes, Neo followed the flowers. The walls of the sub continued to move away from her as she wondered down the halls of her home. She glanced back over her shoulder to find that the flowers she was following was disappearing as she walked._

_She faced forward again just in time to see the large door of the sub disappeared just like their room door did a few short seconds ago. The bell shaped flowers appeared along the edges of the doorframe. They lit it up, giving the passageway a halo effect. She continued to walk towards the door. The wind began to blow through the glowing door, bringing the salty sea air, an array of flowers and a very familiar smell of alcohol with it. Stepping through the door, Neo's tank top and shorts were replaced with one of her white sundresses from Luminous and her wings._

_She mindlessly flicked her wings while looking at her surroundings. She was standing in the flower field again. She glanced to her left and saw a forest. Glancing to her right she found a single mountain. Sensing a strong presence behind her, Neo turned around. She quietly took in the tall, broad shoulder figure standing there hidden in a shadowy form. His strong presence demanding respect, yet he took to his right knee and bowed to her._

Neo opened her eyes to Law's sleeping form. She pushed up on her arms and looked around their room. The early morning rays streamed into the porthole, giving the room a warm glow. The waves gently rocked the silent ship made her want to sleep more. With a sigh, she laid back down.  _My dreams have gotten so weird lately._  She watched Law snooze peacefully while letting herself drift back to sleep to his soft snores and warmth of his body.

…

"A hickey?" Neo blinked. She was once again sitting on Law's lap while he sat in his chair at his desk. The two lovers snuck off from the crew, who was in the rec. room playing poker, so Law could move Neo into the next phase of their relationship. He had taken some time to explain all the different types of kisses to her and decided to demonstrate a couple for her.

"Mhmm." Law nodded. "It basically just a bruise. A dark colored skin mark left on any part of the body, but usually the neck or arm, after having it sucked for a period of time. The sucking pops small blood vessels that heal within a few days. Some also see it as a way to playfully  _mark their territory_."

"Mark territory? Kind of like your ring?" Neo asked, holding up her hand.

With a smile, Law nodded and kissed her out stretched hand.

"And you're going to show me?"

"That's what this lesson is about. I'm going to do it on the bend of your elbow so you can easily see it." Law eyes sparkled when Neo nodded her head rapidly in excitement. He chuckled while moving her arm out so he could press his lips into the bend of her elbow. He paused to take her in as she tensed at the first suck he made on her arm. She showed no signs of fear. He felt no signs of discomfort from their bond. He placed his lips back on her arm and started sucking slowly. He closely monitored her comfort level through their bond while he started sucking harder on her arm. His lips curled in delight when a soft squeak escaped her lips. Her heart rate was steadily increasing with each suck he made on her arm. He paused to say, "If at any point you want me to stop, just say so, and I'll do it."

"Okay. Continue now. I-I like it," Neo said shyly.

Law nodded to the gentle order and proceeded to work his lips on her delicate skin. When he was satisfied with the time spend on her arm, he stopped sucking. He licked the spot with his warm tongue, sending waves of shivers up her arm and sending her head into the clouds.

She squeaked again at the wonderful and new feelings he was making her feel. "I-Is that it?"

"Just about," Law said just before pecking her lips. "It'll take a few minutes for the hickey to appear. While we wait, I can start you on how to french kiss."

"O-okay." Neo swallowed. She started fidgeting nervously.

"Relax, love. Just follow my lead. I'll take it slow." Law tucked her hair behind her ear. "Just lightly tilt your head to your right like you do with a basic kiss."

Neo nodded. She tilted her head just as Law leaned in towards her.

He pressed his lips with a feathery kiss. "We start off with light kisses just like I did. Then we move to some tongueless kissing."

"What for?" Neo asked, unable to take her eyes off Law's soft, tempting lips. She traced her fingertips over his bottom lip, earning a shiver from him. She giggled at his unexpected reaction.

"This builds the foundation for a french kiss," Law said, trying not to get distracted by her extremely soft fingertips trailing along his lips then across his cheek. His eyelids fell half closed when her fingers made their way up his face and into his hair. Uncertainty rose in her curious, yet caution, blue eyes. She started to pull her hand away from his dark hair. Wrapping his fingers around her wrist, he guided her back to his tresses. "Don't stop."

"I don't know what I'm doing," Neo whispered. Her heart raced wildly in her chest. Her eyes looked at her hand in his hair, then his eyes, then his lip, then back to his eyes. "Kiss me."

"You're following what your body is telling you to do. Just listen to it. I'll help guide you along as well. Just follow my lead," Law spoke back to her in a mesmerized tone due to her hand being in his hair, his own heart picking up its pace. He vaguely remembered when she had done this before, he also felt like she was putting him in a trance then too. He wondered if it had something to do with their bond or if it was just something she was able to do to him without magical influence. Pushing those possible unanswerable questions out of his mind, he leaned back towards her and placed a few more light feathery kisses on her lips before pressing harder. He opened his mouth a couple times before she understood what he wanted her to do. A couple more times in leading her to part her lips with his, he paused to let her breathe. "Remember to breathe. You can do that through your nose. Or, if you need to, don't hesitate to pull back a bit from me. This won't be any fun if my girlfriend passes out on me."

Neo giggled. "I understand. Don't stop now."

Law nodded. He started moving his lips against hers again. Once he knew she had gotten the hang of what to do at this point, he advanced the lesson. He guided her mouth open and slid the tip of his tongue passed her lips. He brushed his tongue over hers, sending static tingles throughout her entire body. She squeaked. Her body tensed up tighter than it ever has before. Rubbing his hand on her back, he leaned back to observe her. "Would you like to stop?"

"No!" She squeaked in a high-pitched voice.

Law's lip twitched up into a smirk at her reaction.

She felt her cheeks grow warm. She cleared her throat. "No. I want to keep going."

"Very well then. This time, when I pull my tongue out of your mouth I want you to follow with your tongue," Law ordered.

She nodded.

He started kissing her again without their tongues. Once back in the right rhythm, Law glided his tongue back into her mouth. She easily followed his instructions and followed his tongue when he pulled out of her mouth. Cupping his hand on her neck, they continued to follow each other's tongues. A few minutes later, she pulled away from him and panted softly. "You did good."

"I…I did?" Neo's pants started to subside. She looked up at him. If he was winded from their session, he didn't show it.

"You did very good. The more we kiss the more bold we'll both become, but you are now definitely on the right track." Law rubbed his hand on her arm. He smiled when she tensed up then relaxed almost immediately. She was getting better at letting him touch her, but he suspected she would always tense up on him. He then noticed the small bruise he created earlier. Holding her arm up, he said, "Look."

Neo dropped her eyes to her elbow. There in the bend was a colorful love mark; the first of many Law was planning on giving her. She ran her fingers over it before looking up at Law with a smile. "We're bonding in more nonmagical ways, aren't we?"  
"We are." Law replied, running his fingers through her blue hair. "Would you like to try giving me a hickey?"

"I can do that?" Neo's eyebrows rise high on her forehead.

"Of course you can." Law chuckled. He adjusted the neck of his hoodie for her. He then tapped a spot on his neck. "It won't be any fun if I'm the only one doing love bites. Go ahead and give it a try."

Neo fidgeted for a moment before placing her hand on Law's shoulder. She leaned into his and placed her lips on his neck. She sucked gently on his neck while following his instructions on what to do. Feeling a bit winded she pulled back from him. "How long do I have to do this?"

"As long as you want. I think that will be enough for now," Law said. "What do you think?"

"It was fun. Definitely different," Neo said. "I enjoyed it. How long do men and women kiss?"

"As long or as short as they want," Law said. "We won't do much more today. I know you want to spend some time with Penguin."

Neo nodded. "He said he'd be waiting until I'm done."

"You can go after this," Law said.

"All ready?" Neo blinked.

"We've been in here for over two hours," Law said. "We have plenty of time to do this again."

"Okay." Neo looked down at his neck. Her love bite had finally appeared. She traced it with her finger. "Wow. I did that."

"You sure did," Law said. "You should go now."

"Okay," Neo said.

Law peaked her lips before allowing her to stand up.

"I'm showing off your love bite," Neo said heading for the door.

Law smirked. "Then be prepared for some teasing from the crew."

"I can handle it," Neo said. She waved to him before opening the door and leaving. There was a light skip to her step as she made her way to the galley. On her way there she ran across Archer and Conner. "Hey! Look what Law did!" She showed them her arm. "I have a hickey!"

"So you do," Archer said.

"Ah, that's so cute," Conner said. "Our little girl is growing up. But why on your arm?"

"Law wanted me to see it," Neo said. "He'll give me more. I even gave him one."

"Really?" Archer smiled.

"Yeah! Well, I'm heading to the galley to cook with Penguin. See you later." Neo passed by them.

"Later," they said.

Skipping down the stairs, she landed on the third floor just as Penguin walked by. He said, "Done with your lessons already?"

"Yeah. Look!" Neo showed him her arm. "Law gave me a hickey! I gave him one too!"

"I can see that," Penguin said. "And where, may I ask, is the captain's?"

"On his neck. It's where he wanted it." Neo looped her arm through his and pulled him towards the galley. They entered into it and started getting out the tools they would need for cooking. "Let's make some fried pies."

"So I take it your lessons with the captain are going well?" Penguin asked. He turned his attention to the door when he saw movement. A couple crewmates were trying to sneak in and get a sample of the pies. "Will you two get out of here? We've barely started."

"But you have some in the oven. They smell so good."

"Come back in a while," Neo said. "They should be done and we might have some filling left over you can eat."

"Great."

"Thanks, Neo."

"You spoil them too much," Penguin said as their crewmates left.

"I spoil you too. And you love it." Neo winked at him.

"So I do." Penguin smiled.

"The lessons are going good. I never knew there were so many ways to kiss someone. And I never realized that the human, and Elemental, bodies had so much  _stuff_  inside of them." Neo paused. Glancing up in thought at the ceiling while tapping her spoon on her mixing bowl. She breathed in the pie filled air. All of the cherries, black berries, piecrust, and sugar were making her stomach rumble. "It's like there's an entire civilization inside of our bodies."

"Hm…never hear it being put like that before, but I suppose it does kinda seem like that," Penguin said with a light nod. He pulled out a cookie sheet of their pies from the oven and slipped another one in. They learned that baking fried pies tasted just as good, sometimes even better, than frying them. Took up less time too. "And all that stuff inside of us has it's own job to do."

"Can I ask you something personal?" Neo then asked. She pulled her eyes from the ceiling and glanced at Penguin.

"I suppose so. What's on your mind?"

"I was just wondering if you've ever had sexual intercourse before," Neo asked slowly. She then quickly added, "If you don't want to tell me then that's fine. I know this is a very personal question. I guess I'm just trying to see where my boundaries are with you."

"I understand." Penguin smiled. "It's all right. I don't mind you asking me that. And, yes, I have slept with a couple women before."

A small frown tugged on the corner of her lips.

Penguin tilted his head. He asked, "Did you not want to really know that?"

Neo chewed on her bottom lip. Her mind wondering over her feelings of Penguin's honest answer and whether or not she really wanted to know that. Mindlessly, she pieced up a cherry and popped it into her mouth. She chewed it and swallowed before answering. "No, I really did want to know. It's just…I just realized I'm going to have to share  _my family_  with other women and men if Topaz sleeps with them too. Think I can have Law ordered the crew to not have sexual intercourse?"

Penguin couldn't help but laugh. He stepped closer to her. With a peck to her temple, he said, "I don't think it works that way, little sister. Don't worry about it. Some of the crew  _might_  go off for a while to fulfill their hot, passionate desires of the flesh, but they will  _always_  return to you."

"Hm." Neo tapped her spoon harder on her mixing bowl. "If I can't have Law order them not to do it, then I'm tempted to have that tattooed on their foreheads so other women will know you all belong to me."

Penguin's snickers blossomed into full-blown laughs. "You're so cute when you get possessive of us."

"Well, you all are mine. The commitment ceremony says so." Neo smiled. She winked her right eye and stuck her tongue out at him. She then laughed with him before they turned back to finished up their pies. While working on filling up the remaining pie dough, Neo's mind slipped into a daydream.  _She blinked and found the floor had been replaced with lush green grass and those strange bell shaped glowing flowers again. She glanced around the room, the table, the chairs, the counters, the sink, the stove, even Penguin faded away from her eyes. The walls started moving out again. Her shorts and shirt was replaced with a white sundress and wings. She flicked out her wings when the flowers started to lead the way out of the galley. Immediately taking to the air, she followed after the flowers. She followed them outside of the sub to where the same presence as before was already waiting for her. He sat down in the flower field they were in and gestured for her to do the same. She remained standing while blinking in confusion._ She blinked a few more times and found she was back in the galley with Penguin calling her name.

"Neo? Neo?"

"Huh?" Neo turned to him. "What?"

"Are you okay? You seemed a bit out of it," Penguin asked. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms and legs.

"I'm fine. I just got lost in a daydream…I guess." Neo kneaded her eyebrows.  _It was that dream again, but as a daydream? It was a bit different again too._  "What did you want?"

He pointed at the pies she was working on. "That's the last batch. We should get started on dinner. What did you have planned?"

"Oh, well, Bepo's been craving fish so I figured we could have Law's favorite tonight," Neo said with a smile. "The crew did catch some fresh fish earlier. They're cleaned and waiting in the fridge."

"Bepo always wants fish," Penguin said with a snicker. "I think he'd eat his weight in fish at every meal if the captain would let him."

"Yeah, I bet he-Huh?" Neo paused when she felt Law getting angry.

"What is it?" Penguin asked.

"Law's angry for some reason." Neo glanced over at the fridge before pulling her eyes back to Penguin. She studied Law's feelings for a few seconds before deciding it would be best to go check on him in personal rather than use their bond. "Would you mind starting dinner without me? I'm going to go check on Law then be right back."

"Sure." Penguin nodded.

"Thanks." Neo laid her spoon down and headed for the door just as two crewmates wandered in.

"It smells so good in here!" one said.

"Yeah! Can we have some pies now?" the other one asked, drooling over the pies.

"No!" Neo snapped playfully. She shook her finger at them. "No touching the pies until  _after_  dinner!"

"Aw!" they whined, but with smiles on their faces.

"You can have the left over filling as I said before. I'm leaving Penguin in charge of the pies. When I get back  _none_  of them better be missing," Neo threatened as she exited the galley. "If they are, I'll tie the culprit to the stern of the sub with my vines until we enter the New World."

"That's harsh. We have to travel underwater to get to the New World," the first crewmate pouted while the other two pirates in the room laughed.

Neo winked at him before disappearing down the hall. She quietly greeted a couple other crewmates who were standing in the hall talking then waved at Shachi, Bepo, and Topaz when she passed the rec. room. She paused to take in the Elemental. Topaz was going through some training moves with Bepo while Shachi was at the table playing solitaire. She smiled. Topaz seemed to be adjusting well to her new life as a pirate. Neo was glad. She felt so guilty for asking such a request from the Elemental woman, but that had quickly faded when it became clear that Topaz had no regrets in her decision to join them. She just wished that Kailen had changed his mind and came with them as well. She hoped that someday he would join them like he said he would. Hopefully, that would be sooner than they both expected it to be. Neo took a deep breath to keep herself from crying at the thought of leaving her brother behind on Luminous and continued on through the sub.

Neo found the door open a few inches when she finally reached their room. She slipped inside the room, closing the door once inside. She paused when she saw Law sitting at his desk. His eyes glinting with a dangerous light, even more so than when the mercenaries took her, his hand and pen furiously scribbling on a piece of paper as one name repeated over and over in his head; Doflamingo. Anger and hatred was radiating off his body and through their bond. It made her shiver. She finally realized how much Law really hated Doflamingo. Just hearing him think of the man made her chest seize up with tension. This man had such a strong hold over Law. She didn't like it. She rushed over to him. "Law?"

Upon hearing her voice, Law relaxed a whole lot. His legs automatically pushed him back from his desk so she could sit on his lap.

She immediately curled upon his legs; wrapping her arms around his neck like she needed to anchor him down or he'd blow away from her. "Stop that. I don't like this feeling. You're too angry. It's scary."

"I'm sorry, love." Law dropped his pen. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her close to his tense, but now relaxing body. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's  _him_  isn't it? What's going on, Law?" Neo asked. She caught a glimpse of the hickey she made on his neck a few hours ago.

"Yes. I was working on my plans of taking him down and got too caught up in the moment. I should have been more careful with my feels and closed them off to you. I'm sorry." Law tightened his hold on her. He placed a gentle kiss on her neck. "I'm calm now."

Neo pulled away from him. She cupped his cheek while sensing out his feelings. He was calmed down now. She nodded. "What exactly were you doing? What plans did you come up with?"

Neo noticed he flinched inwardly, but remained quiet for his answer.

"Well, I need to become a warlord."

"A warlord?" Neo asked with alarm. "You're going to willingly work  _for_  the Navy? Your  _enemy_?"

"It'll only be temporally. I need to get into a certain room on an island called Punk Hazard. I can't do that as I am now. Being a warlord will give me more room to move freely without getting chased or reprimanded by the Navy." Law ran his hands over her back and arms to calm her down.

"What's so important about this room?" Neo asked. She leaned back into him while he kept his hands moving over her back and arms.

"It holds a chemical that creates a manmade devil fruit. It's called SAD. One of the four emperors, Kaido, the King of Beast, uses this to give his crew devil fruit powers. He has hundreds of devil fruit users in his crew. If I can take out that, then it will weaken his forces and it will cause friction between him and Doflamingo since Doflamingo is the one in control of Punk Hazard and of making the SAD. He has a scientist on Punk Hazard who used to work for Vegapunk. His name is Caesar Clown."

"So you're working on a plan for the crew to take down one of the four emperors," Neo felt Law flinch again, but didn't pay much attention to it, "and since you want to take down Doflamingo you're going to use Kaido to do that?"

"That's the basic idea. But the crew, and myself, are still too weak to go up against an emperor just yet. That's why I need to become a warlord," Law said.

"And how exactly do you become a warlord?" Neo asked, pulling away again so she could look at him.

"Well, my plans are to send a hundred pirate hearts to the Navy." Law gave her a sympathetic smiled when she turned a bit green at his reply. "Sorry. I didn't mean I was going to cut out their hearts and send them, blood and all, to the Navy. I'm going to use my powers to take them."

"Oh." Neo nodded. She tilted her head when he lowered his eyes from hers and started to close his feelings off towards her. "Law? What is it? Why are you closing yourself off to me?"

"Neo…" Law spoke in a low, serious, almost regretful tone that she really didn't like.

She kneaded her eyebrows in an attempt to figure out what it was about this tone that made her feel so much dread.

He swallowed, hard, before forcing himself to speak. "I'm going to have the crew go to another island, Zou, instead of with me to Punk Hazard."

Neo gave him a quizzical look. "You're going to send the crew to another island while you-" Her eyes widened in shock when she suddenly just knew what he was trying to say, but couldn't get the words out. She jumped off his lap before he could anchor her there with his arms. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she backed away from him. "No! No, Law!"

"Neo." Law pushed himself to his feet. He walked closer to her, trying to pull her back into his arms. She jerked away before he could touch her. "Neo…"

"No, Law! You can't! You can't just leave me like that! You  _promised_  you would never leave me! You just  _promised_  me that a few days ago! Why?! Why would you even consider  _thinking_  about leaving me like that?! If you dare leave…if you dare order me to stay with the crew…I'll follow you anyway! I find someway to break your hold over me and follow you!" Neo shouted through her hot tears. She then paused in realization that she was angry with  _him_ , at  _Law_  of all people. She grasped her head in her hands, stumbling a few more feet away from him. Her head buzzing with confusion while she tried to figure this all out. She never thought she would ever be angry with him. Her legs suddenly felt unstable beneath her as her chest constricted. Unable to support her weight any longer, her knees buckled under her. She gasped. "Oh my gosh. I'm angry. I'm actually angry with  _you_. Why? Why would you do this? Why?"

Law rushed over to her. Dropping to his knees, he wrapped her in his arms. "Shh…it's all right, love. Just calm down. I'm still here. I'm right here."

"B-but you're leaving," Neo whispered. She clenched a hold of his hoodie and cried into his chest. Her voice was muffled by the close contact, but her words sliced cleanly through Law's body and soul. "Why? I don't understand. I  _need_  to be with you. Our bond…our bond…we can't be separated. Bayan's journal…you know what happened."

"They died because they didn't think they would be reunited again," Law said as gently as he could. The words felt like poison in his mouth. It made his stomach turn.

"And you can guarantee that you will come back to me?!" Neo asked, almost hissed.

Law gritted his teeth. He knew he had no way to guarantee that he would return alive to the crew, to her. There never were guarantees on any mission.

More tears streamed down her face when he didn't say anything. "I can't do it, Law! I can't live without you! I can't live without knowing for sure that you're going to come back alive! If we die, I want it to be  _together_ , not  _separated_!"

"Shh, shh…it's all right, love. I haven't…I'm not going to leave you," Law said, stroking her hair.

"W-Wwhat?" Neo sniffled. She lifted up from his chest. His eyes were soft, yet filled with confusion, pain and indecisiveness.

He sighed, brushing away her tears then beckoning her. "Come here."

Neo slipped her arms around his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and, when he stood up, she wrapped her legs around his waist. Carrying her like a scared child, he walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. Holding her as close to his body as he could, he spoke softly to her. "It'll take months before we get to the point of going to Punk Hazard. Nothing is set in stone."

"Then why?" Neo's small voice asked. "Why even think about leaving me?"

"I'm just torn, love. By taking you with me, I'll be putting you directly in Doflamingo's sights. And he won't hesitate you hurt you, to use you against me, or even to k…kill you, especially if he knew you were my love." Law gritted his teeth. It took all he had not to think about how that man killed Corazon and what he would do to Neo if he got a hold of her. "But leaving you with the crew would cause a lot of damage too. It would be so hard for you to be separated from me. It would be hard for me to be separated from you too. Leaving you with the crew would hurt you more mentally than physically. I just…don't know what to do. I want you to be safe, but which ever I path I chose you're going to get hurt either way."

"Law, I understand that pain is just a part of life." Neo pulled away so she could look at him. "Physical pain I can handle. I've dealt with that my entire life. But…being separated from you? That I can't handle. People might call that a weakness, and they might be right, but I just can't be separated from you. Please, Law. Don't do that to me. Don't to that to  _us_. I can help you take Doflamingo down. I can. I might not be strong enough now, but you said you weren't either. We can get stronger, together. Law,  _please_ , don't leave me. Don't break your promise."

Law placed his hand behind her head. Gently, he pulled her back to him. "Don't think about this anymore. I haven't made any final decisions yet. There's still so much more planning I need to do. For now, I'm still with you. We're together. I'm not going anywhere."

Neo nodded against his shoulder. She took a deep breath and leaned into him as much as she could. They sat in silence for several minutes just listening to each other breath, taking in the other's scents, and feeling out each other's heartbeats. Law then said, "There is something else that I do need to talk to you about."

"Does it have anything to do with being separated for endless days?" Neo asked stiffly.

"No," Law replied with a light chuckle. "It is about our relationship and the public."

"What about it?" Neo lifted off Law's chest and looked at him.

"Although it might not do much good, I think it would be best if we didn't show much affections towards each other in public from now on," Law said carefully.

"What do you mean? Why not?" Neo asked, confused.

"It's for you protection. If people knew that we were in a relationship, some of them wouldn't hesitate to use that against us," Law replied.

"I guess so. But we've been together in public before. We've held hands and I clung to you like a monkey," Neo said with a lighthearted giggle. "I'm doing that now. And you showed plenty affection towards me on Luminous."

Law smiled. He was thankful that she had calm down enough to giggle for him. He really loved any chance he could get to hear her bell filled laughter. "Yes, you have. And we have held hands. I was able to show you more affection on Luminous because they weren't enemies. We'll at first things were rocky between them and us, but they became our allies. They wouldn't hurt us because of that and you being their royal. The times that we've been on human islands no one's noticed that I've added a female to my crew. We've been lucky so far. Sabaody has really been the biggest issue we've dealt with since you've been with us. And the Navy and reporters were too focus on what Straw Hat did to pay much attention to the other pirate crews on the islands. While the papers did mention our crew was there on Sabaody, they didn't mention that a blue haired beauty was with us."

Neo's cheeks flushed at his words. She pressed her forehead to his as he kept talking.

"Fire Fist Ace's execution announcement also helped take eyes off of us. But that won't happen in the New World. We're going to be gaining a lot of attention. And reporters aren't going to hesitate reporting that you are with us, especially since you're a young, beautiful woman among an all male crew. Plus, there's your crystals. They themselves are going to be gaining a lot of attention since, as far as I know, there's never been a devil fruit that comes close to your magic. Stronger people will be able to sense that you're different. I know people will most likely figure out that we're romantically involved at some point anyway. I just want to make sure I can ensure your safety as much as possible whether they figure it out or not."

"I think I understand." Neo bushed her nose against him. "I don't like that I won't be able to touch you, but it makes sense."

"We still have our bond. We'll always be connected that way. And I will  _always_  come to help you when you need me." Law ran his hand over her back. Somehow knowing where to press, he kneaded his hand into her shirt making her tense. "And we can always make up all the  _no touching_  when we get back to the sub."

"Mmm." Neo tensed up more when his other hand began to move over her back in suggestive movements that she didn't quite understand, but knew meant a good thing. "I think I like the sound of that."

"I was hoping you would," Law said, hovering his lips over hers, his warm breath fanning out over her skin as he spoke. They both smiled before closing what little distance remained between their lips. The kiss started off slow, filled with just the need to be close to each other. Then Law intensified it, filling it with passion and desire for each other. He broke the kiss with a satisfying hum. "You are going to be such a great kisser one day."

"Only because I have such a great teacher," Neo panted. She pecked his lips as if to reward him for teaching her how to kiss. "I should get back to the galley now. I left Penguin in there to start dinner. He'll be wondering where I am. We're making your favorite."

"Are you feeling stable now?" Law asked. His eyes shimmered with concern over upsetting her.

"Yes. I'm sorry I got angry at you." Neo brushed their noses together.

"Don't be. I was the one who upset you," Law said. He stood up, with her legs still wrapped around him, then set her on her feet and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I'll try not to upset you again."

"It's okay, Law. I know it's going to happen. It just does when we're in a relationship, right?"

"Right." Law nodded.

"I should go now," Neo said, pulling away from him.

Law watched her walk over to the door for a second before deciding he wasn't ready to let her go just yet. He rushed over to her. Placing his hand on the door before she could open it.

She turned to him.

"You're not allowed to leave just yet." Law leaned in towards her lips. "Penguin can wait a little bit longer."

Neo smiled just as Law pressed his lips to hers and instigated another kissing lesson. He cupped her neck with his right hand while his left slipped around her hip to her back, pulling her closer to him. Guiding her tongue with his, he began to, with out realizing it, push her back against the wall. She gasped when her back collided with the steel structure.

Law quickly pulled away from her, cussing under his breath. "I'm so sorry, Neo. I didn't mean to pin you."

"Law!" Neo grabbed his arm with her left hand while grabbing a fistful of his hoodie in the other. She stopped him from moving to far away from her. She locked her eyes onto his, feeding him her feelings that she really was fine. "It's okay. You just startled me a bit. I wasn't expecting it." She pulled him back to her. Keeping a firm hold and eye contact on him as she pulled his body back to hers. "I'm okay with you pinning me. I know you're not going to hurt me. Besides…I have to get use to it right? If not, then our sexual relationship is going to be quite a challenge, huh?"

Law searched her eyes and her feelings. Everything she was telling him, through her words, eyes and bond, was true. He saw that he did just startle her and she was fine with him being so close to her now. He drug his hand over her arm until he placed his hand in hers, fingers laced, watching her closely for the slightest sign of discomfort. She nodded. "It's okay, Law. I trust you."

Pulling her hand up, he pressed her arm to the wall while pressing his free arm to the wall as well, pinning her in place. A tiny amount of concern flickered in her eyes before dying like an ember snuffed out by the wind. Feeling secure about her feeling secure, Law leaned back down and recaptured her lips.

…

"Sorry about ditching you earlier," Neo said between bites of her pie. She took another bite and let the cinnamon and cherries dance over her tongue before chewing it.

"Don't worry about it," Penguin replied. The two were leaning against the railing of the sub, looking out at the moonlit ocean. "I'm sure whatever you two were doing was important."

"Yeah." Neo nodded. She wasn't sure if Law was ready to reveal his plans to the crew yet. He didn't tell her to not say anything, but he didn't tell her to say anything either. Of course it was hard for either of them to talk when their tongues and lips were busy being tied to each other. Her heart strummed in her chest. She decided to keep quiet about them for now. The two fell into comfortable silence while watching the soft glow of the moon dancing over the calm waters and ate their pies.

Neo blinked. _The reflection of the moon and stars on the water changed to glowing bell shaped flowers. She blinked again and found herself in a field full of flowers. She stood looking out at the ocean. The sub was anchor in a nearby cove. She turned to her left and saw a small fire had been made and logs had been moved over for the crew to use. She looked back out at the ocean and saw another ship sailing towards the island. She felt his presence and alcohol coming from the ship. It floated in on the breeze with the salt of the sea. She took a few steps closer to the edge of the island. Squinting her eyes, she noticed a pirate flag whipping in the wind. And the jolly roger on the flag had a realistic skull, two swords crossing behind it and a distinct red mark over the skull's left eye._

Neo gasped. Her hand loosened on the last bite of pie in between her fingers. The pie dropped into the ocean with a distant plunk.

Penguin looked at her with concern. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"Or something," Neo mumbled. She placed her fingers on her temple as her repetitive dreams, and now daydreams, started making sense to her. "I think he wants to see me."

"Huh? Who? The captain?" Penguin asked. He popped the rest of his pie into his mouth and waited.

"My godfather," Neo stated bluntly.

Penguin choked on his pie. He leaned over the railing. Coughing, he tried to clear his windpipe. He choked out, "Y-your godfather?!"

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "I've been having these strange dreams lately. And now I'm having them in daydreams. I never said anything about them, not even to Law, because I thought they were just dreams. But, now, I think it's him calling to me through our bond."

"Uh…" Penguin started at her.

"I know." Neo nodded. She felt his uncertainty about this radiating off him. "You're, well, we are technically enemies with him, but he's still my godfather. And I seriously think he wants to see me."

"But how? I mean, are you sure?" Penguin asked.

"I'm not really sure if I'm sure since the dreams seem so random. But these dreams, and daydreams, do have a couple things in common that never change. Bell shaped flowers that glow like little lamps, a familiar feeling presence that smells like alcohol and an island. And in these last couple of dreams, my wings appear and I'm dressed in one of the white sundresses I brought from Luminous." Neo bit her thumbnail. She pondered over the dreams, wondering if she was correct. "I think he's trying to lead me to an island where he wants to meet me."

"Hmm." Penguin hummed in thought. "I'd like to think that's true, but…"

"You have your doubts since we both are in pirate crews," Neo concluded.

Penguin nodded guiltily.

"It's fine. I understand. But he  _is_  my godfather. And I just know he won't hurt me or you all."

"I still have my doubts, but I do trust you. Since you are bonded with Red Hair Shanks you should be able to tell if he's being sincere or not," Penguin said. "At least, I assume you'll be able to. We only know you bonded once with him and three times with the captain. And, speaking of which, you should tell the captain about this."

"Yeah. That's going to go over great," Neo said. She puffed out her cheeks, making Penguin laugh. "He doesn't really want me  _thinking_  about other guys. He's just gonna love me dreaming about them, godfather or not."

"Hey! Look!" Penguin pointed up to the sky. They smiled when meteors began to shoot across the sky. "We should get the crew!"

"I'll do it," Neo said. She summoned a couple wind crystals and flew a strong enough breeze into the sub that would alert the crew to her desire for them to come to her. Thinking Law might have the door closed, she summoned him through their bond.  _'Law! Come out side! Quick!'_

 _'I'm coming.'_  Law replied back clearly getting the message that everything was fine, but she really wanted him to come to her.

"What is it, Princess?" Topaz asked once she and Bepo appeared on the deck.

"We're gonna have to work on getting you to stop calling me Princess so much." Neo smiled at the orange haired woman.

"Habit. So what is it you called us all out here for?" Topaz smiled back with a shrug.

The rest of the crew started coming out onto the deck.

"Meteor shower," Penguin replied. He was pointing up to the sky.

The crew gasped in awe at the display before them. Soon all of the crewmembers were out on the deck watching the sky above them.

Law had stepped behind Neo and wrapped his arms around her waist, letting her lean against him. They stayed like that for a while before he warped them upon the highest point of the sub. He leaned against the mass while keeping her firmly against his chest.

She continued to watch the meteor shower while listening to the crew chat softly below them.

Law started to nibble on her neck, making her tense up and loose focus on the sky.

" _Law._  I called you out here to watch the shower, not give me multiple hickeys."

"I can do both," he mumbled against her skin.

"Well, aren't you just the multitalented one." Neo giggled. He hummed against her neck, making her skin vibrate, and sending pleasurable shivers down her spine. She didn't want him to stop. So she tilted her head a little to give him better access to her. He kissed and sucked her neck for several minutes before she finally decided she needed to tell him about her dreams. "Law?"

"Hm?"

"What would you do," she bit her bottom lip before forcing herself to continue, "if my godfather came to see me?"

An intense pause passed between them before he asked, "What?"

She turned to her right. Draping her legs over his so she could look at him. She then told him what she had told Penguin.

Law sat quietly, listening to her descriptions of her dreams and how she felt about them. "Well, if you feel that going to this island is what we need to do, then I won't do anything. We'll go see him."

"Really?" Neo's eyebrows were turned up in worry. "I know we're two opposing pirate crews. And with your plans to take down Kaido…"

"My plans to take him down have nothing to do with you wanting to meet your godfather. You told me that you still didn't feel complete. Meeting him could resolve that. After all, he was one of the few people who saw your parents before they died. It's only natural you want to meet with him," Law said. "It's natural for him to want to meet you since he knows you're alive now and you're also bonded."

"I guess so. But we'll be meeting him in the New World. That's where his territory is. I don't think this island he keeps showing me is in his territory, but still…" Neo paused. "It's kind of a lot to take in."

"I know." Law nodded. "But he  _is_  your godfather. He won't hurt you or us. Let's go and see what he wants."

"As long as you're sure. I won't do this if you don't want me to," Neo said. Her eyes filled with worry knowing this would be difficult for them all.

"We're going to the New World anyway. We can take some time to go see him. You need this." Law stroked the back of his fingers over her cheek.

"Thanks, Law." Neo smiled.

"Just one thing."

Neo tilted her head. "What is it?"

Law gave her a stern, serious, yet slightly playful look. "Don't  _ever_  mention  _him_  again when I'm kissing you."

Neo laughed. "I'm sorry. I killed the mood, didn't I?"

Law nodded stiffly, but also smirked at her.

…

Law was lying on his left side, propped up on his elbow with his head in his hand. He was watching Neo in the soft glow of the nightlights. She was sleeping peacefully beside him like always. The humming of the sub's engines faded away from his ears long ago as worry penetrated his brain. He couldn't stop thinking about his plans. His plans that hurt her earlier that night. His plans that made her cry. He was extra careful to not let her feel his thoughts when he obsessed over his plans.

He let his eyes wonder over all of the scars of hers that was visible through her tank top shirt. He reached out, brushing his fingertips over one of the scars. He noticed that the scars seem to have faded slightly with the help of the cream the healer gave her back on Luminous. The scars were a constant reminder of what she had suffered in the past. She had come so far since then. She wanted to stay beside him no matter where he went. But could he let her do that? Could he really let her go with him and face the one man he absolutely hated? That he absolutely feared? Could he really let her get so close to  _him_  that  _he_  could kill her?

Then again,  _he_  could come after them at any point in time. Law didn't have to actually go anywhere near Doflamingo for the warlord to decide he wanted to kill Neo to hurt Law when he finally took notice of the blue hair woman. A whole new wave of fears penetrated his chest. What if he ordered Neo to go with the crew and Doflamingo went after the crew? It didn't matter how strong his crew was or how strong they would become, Doflamingo was always going to be on a whole different level from them. And while Neo was a force of nature and would do anything to protect her family, she still had her limits. And while she was able to bend nature to her will, he wasn't sure if that would be enough to stop Doflamingo's devil fruit strings. She's only had months of training compared to Doflamingo's years of fighting. Doflamingo was ruthless. A ruthless madman that wouldn't hesitate to kill every single one of their crew right in front of her eyes. He couldn't let that happen. It would damage her too much to see that. That would leave mental scars on her that he wouldn't be able to heal at all. She still had her mental scars of the past to deal with.

Law snapped. He unintentionally released his control on blocking his emotions from her. She felt him then. In her sleep, she felt his worry, his fear, his anger and shifted with a low whimper. Not wanting her to wake up, he struggled quickly to regain control over his emotions while wrapping her up into his arms. He held her close to him, stroking her hair. He didn't release his tension until felt her relax against him. He relaxed himself when she snuggled into his warmth.

With her soft breath washing over his bare chest, he knew he couldn't live without her just as much as she couldn't live without him. He couldn't abandon her, even if she was going to be with the safety of the crew. There were just far too many risks of leaving her behind. Many more risks than there was of taking her with him to Punk Hazard. He had made the decision. She was going with him.


	59. Coby & Elementals

Coby & Elementals

Neo took in a deep breath and released it as slowly as she possibly could. She took in a couple more and repeated the process a few times. Her erratic heartbeat finally started to slow down. She picked up her wind speed as her eyes ran over the island below her. Being up so high she could no longer smell all of the gunpowder, smoke, and blood that tainted the air below her. She was grateful for that since it was making her sick. Looking down she could still see all of the bodies running around on the ground easily enough. Her heart tightened when she notice none of them were the ones she was looking for.

' _Are you all right, love?'_

 _'I'm okay. I'll be much better once I know my entire family's safe. Stupid marines.'_  Neo thought back to Law. She felt out his presence, for about the thousandth time since she spilt up from him thirty minutes ago. He was still right where she had left him in his own battle against the marines. They were heading back to Sabaody to finally enter into the New World. Law decided to make a stop on this island before heading to the New World. They were going to pass right by Sabaody without stopping since that place had become more lawless and dangerous since the last time they were on that island. Law also didn't want to risk a run in with the Celestial Dragons, though he wasn't sure how often they went there now with their favorite action house destroyed.

Neo, Law, and Penguin were together when the Navy arrived, in a port opposite of the one they docked at, and started trying to arrest all the pirates on the island. And that meant some of their own crew that hadn't returned to the ship yet. Currently they were missing five crewmembers. Neo was out looking for them while Law and the rest of the crew were fighting in town.

 _'Just take it easy. And keep your distance from the marines if you don't think you can handle them in a face to face confrontation.'_  Law ordered her.

Neo looked up at the darkening sky. The storm had popped up without her sensing it. It was almost upon the island. Lightning was dancing through the dark grey clouds. As far as she could tell, the lightning was staying in the clouds and hadn't yet to come down and strike anything. She wanted to dissipate the storm right then and there until she knew all of her crew was safe. She knew she couldn't though. She had to downplay what she could do with her crystals. Dissipating a storm would definitely raise questions about her and her crystals if the Navy happened to see her do it.

' _Remember to relay my orders to the crew when you find them.'_

 _'I will. But there's something else…'_  Neo kneaded her eyebrows in concentration.

 _'What is it?'_  Law asked.

_'I think there's another Elemental on the island.'_

There was a tense pause before Law answered her back.  _'Topaz is sensing one too. She thinks its an earth wielder.'_

_'Yeah. I think she's right. But I don't think he's, or she's, fighting. I'm not sure if he's a soldier or not. He could just be a resident of this island and I didn't sense him until I got closer to him.'_

_'That's possible. Still, be extremely careful. He probably noticed you're on the island too. Whether he's a soldier or not, he could still try and knock you out with sleep powder or something. I should have went with you.'_

_'I'll be fine, Law. You just focus on your own battle right now. It-Hold on! I found some more of our crew!'_  Neo angled herself downward towards a group of ten marines who were holding three of their missing crewmates at gunpoint.

_'Remember to keep your distance.'_

_'Right. It's only a small group of marines.'_  Neo landed on a rooftop near her crew just as a loud crack of thunder boomed above. She was expecting it but it still made her jump, causing her to almost lose her footing. Once stabilized and a quick  _'I'm fine'_  to Law, she guided her winds around the three crewmates being held at gunpoint. They looked up at her when they noticed the wind was being all smiled at her.

"What are you all smiling at?!" Neo heard a marine shout.

"Don't you even think about escaping!" another shouted.

"Okay," a crewmate said. He cocked his head to the side with anticipation at how the marines were going to act once Neo revealed herself to them. " _We_  won't think about trying to escape at all. We'll just let it happen."

"You shut up!" the first marine, who spoke, hissed. He pointed the gun barrel closer to the pirate's face.

Neo narrowed her eyebrows at the threat, forcing herself not to get angry. She summoned ten of her fire crystals and stuck them right into the barrels of the guns.

The marines blinked in confusion. "Huh? What are those things?"

"You can't have them," Neo said to herself. She flared up her fire crystals and melted the gun barrels. She then sculpted the melted barrels into flowers before lifting up her crewmates to her. "Are you all okay?"

"We're fine," a crewmate said while patting her shoulder.

"Who's that?!" They heard a marine shout. "Huh? She's just a kid!"

"Is she flying? How's that possible? A devil fruit user?"

"Who cares? If she's with those pirates then she's a pirate as well! Plus, she helped them escape! Shoot them all!"

"But our gun barrels are melted. We can't fire or they'll explode on us."

"Did she do that to our guns? She must be a devil fruit user then. How'd she even get up on that roof? Did she jump? What the heck?! Is she flying now?!"

"What are those shimmering things around her?"

"Why aren't you with the captain?" a crewmate asked as Neo lifted them into the air with her wind crystals.

"I was worried about you all when you didn't return to the sub like you're suppose to when a situation like this arises," Neo replied. She lowered the three crewmates to the ground when she felt they were a far enough distance from the marines they just left behind. She put them in an alley so they didn't have to worry about being seen for a while. "Law said I should fly around and see if I could locate you all. We're still missing Shachi and that new crewmate we just acquired. I'm going to keep looking for them. Law wants you all to return to the sub right now."

"Really? He's letting you fly around on your own?" another crewmate asked in shock.

"I'm not engaging in battle unless I have to. But beware that there is another Elemental around here somewhere. I'm not sure if he, or she, is a soldier or not," Neo said.

"Would you like us to come with you?" the third crewmate asked.

"I'll be fine. I need to get use to this after all. Plus, Law doesn't want us to cause too much trouble just yet," Neo relayed Law's orders to the crew. "He wants to just ease me into the view of the Navy before we enter into the New World as carefully as he possibly can before things really get wild. That's why I let the marines see me when I pulled you all from them."

"All right then. We'll head back to the sub," a crewmate said just before a loud boom of thunder followed by a bolt of lightning flying right at them.

Neo looked up just in time to redirect it away from them. She sent it back into the clouds, sparing them from getting fried.

"Phew. That was close."

"Get back to the sub. This storm's strength just keeps increasing," Neo said. She brought her eyes down from the thundering clouds and looked at her crew. "I don't think this storm is going to form into a hurricane, but I don't know."

"Right." The three crewmates nodded.

Neo watched then run off before lifting herself back into the air. Sensing another strong gust of wind coming, she readied herself for the on coming gale. When connected with it she used it to fly over the island faster. More lightning dropped down from the sky. She easily directed it away from herself and made sure to move it away from the people below her.  _'Law, you might want to get the crew back to the sub as quick as you can. This lightning is starting to go crazy. This isn't an ordinary storm. It's going to be nothing but lightning and thunder. Also, I found three of our missing crew. They're on their way back right now.'_

_'All right. We'll finish up here and head back to the sub. Find the last two then get them and yourself back to the sub as well.'_

_'Right. Hopefully we'll all be there soon.'_  Neo looked around at the ground below her. Smart people had already taken cover from the storm, but a few people were still running around. She dragged her gaze along the streets of the island until she got out of the town. "Are they crazy? They should all be inside by now. This storm is-Oh no!"

_'What is it, Neo? What's wrong?'_

"I found them! They're cornered on a cliff! And they're being arrested!" Neo hovered in the air while watching two Navy soldiers put shackles and chains on Shachi and their new crewmate, Tero. She clenched her fists, the storm above her rumbled with her anger.

_'Calm down and focus, Neo. Don't let your anger take control of this storm. We can only handle one storm at a time. How many soldiers are there? Can you get to them?'_

Neo's body relaxed to Law's words. She disconnected herself from the storm and refocused on her mission. "Yes. There are only three soldiers with them. I can easily grab them. As soon as I have them, we're heading back to the sub."

' _Good girl. Now get our crewmates an-Wait! Only three soldiers? Shachi should be able to handle three normal soldiers on his own. Neo, what's going on over there?'_

Neo froze in the air. Her palms became damp as she focused in on one of the soldiers. Swallowing nervously, she replied,  _'It's…one of the soldiers is an Elemental. Shachi and Tero are wobbling around. I think he might have used some kind of powder on them.'_  Her heart raced.

' _Okay. Just relax. We can still get them back without revealing anything. Just-'_

Neo jumped when the Elemental looked up at her. _'He just sensed me, Law. I have to go down!'_

' _Be careful. He might try and take you.'_

' _I'll be fine.'_  Neo angled herself towards the cliff. She shot herself downwards. She sent a stream of wind a head of her to warn her crew that she was there. When she knew they noticed her there, through their groggy state, she dropped herself down between the town and the soldiers, blocking their way back to the ships. She looked right at the soldier with dark green strains of hair poking out from underneath his Navy hat.

"Well, isn't this a surprise. I thought I had…a  _feeling_  you were around here somewhere," the Elemental said. Thunder clapped above them when he finished his sentences.

Neo nodded slightly to him as a signal that she had sensed him as well.

"What the heck?" the marine with the long blonde hair said. He and his pink haired companion had turned to face her when she landed.

Neo eyed the other two marines carefully before pulling her eyes back to the one that was her biggest concern.

"You two stay back," the Elemental ordered. "She's not what you think."

Neo swallowed, wiping her sweaty palms on her pants. She wondered if this guy has told the Navy about himself.

"It's a girl. And she's nothing more than a child," the blonde marine said with an amused smile. "We can take her easily."

"Huh?" The pink haired marine blinked.

Neo noticed he was looking at her crystals with curiosity. She twitched when she noticed his expression changed from curiosity to confusion. She also notice he was looking directly at her instead of her crystals.

"Who…what are you?" he asked.

Neo flinched. Her furrowed her eyebrows.  _Did he just realize I'm not human that quickly? That's not possible. Even Law was confused about that at first. So how is this one able to-_

"Don't just stand there!" Tero shouted. His dark green eyes zeroed in on Neo. His black hair swished while he struggled against the shackles and powder that held him down. "Fight!"

"You're a pirate then, huh? I bet you're here to save these two. Well, tough! I won't let you take them! Prepare to defend yourself! This will be a tough fight for you!" the blonde haired marine said. He pulled out his kukri and charged at her.

"Wait, Helmeppo! She's-" the pink haired marine shouted.

"Just a child, Coby!" Helmeppo shouted. "Three pirates are now our prisoners!"

Neo wrapped her winds around the charging man's ankles and flipped him upside down.

The man shrieked and flailed wildly. "What the heck?! Let me go! How are you able to control the wind like that?! Who the heck are you?! You're just a kid! There's no possible way you can defeat me!"

"So sorry about this," Neo replied with a soft smile. She flicked the blonde haired man away from her. His back collided with the ground, knocking the wind out of him and scattering his kukri. He groaned while picking himself up off the ground. She summoned an earth crystal and wrapped the blonde man up in vines. She turned to face the two remaining marine while the blonde man shrieked demands to let him go, which were mostly drowned out by the rumbling thunder above them. The Elemental was just standing there with an unreadable expression on his face. She turned her eyes from him and looked at the pink haired man. Her eyes widened when the pink haired man suddenly disappeared from her sights. She ran her eyes all over the area, but couldn't find him.

"Behind you!" Tero shouted.

"Look out!" Shachi added.

"Huh?" Neo's body automatically turned. She got half way turned around when a solid force slammed into her right cheek. She felt herself fly backwards then collide with the ground. When she stopped rolling, she pushed up on her arms. She placed her hand on her spinning head, noticing the hit disconnected her from her magic when Law tried to talk to her.

' _Ne-?! W-o h-t y-u?!'_

Neo blinked her eyes a couple times. She was thankful the marine didn't hit her too hard. The disruption of her magic was quickly returning.  _'One of the marines. I'm fine, Law. The Elemental's not fight for some reason. I'm grabbing Shachi and Tero now.'_

' _All right. The rest of us are already at the sub. Just get here as soon as you can.'_

"I'm sorry for hitting you. I don't care much for hitting girls, but if you really are a pirate then I have my duty to carry out and capture you. Don't fight back and I won't hurt you," Coby said walking over to Neo.

She pushed herself up into a sitting position and glared at the young marine. Her red cheek throbbed. She could feel it starting to swell already. The marine kneeled down beside her. Through her swimming vision she couldn't help but notice a sincere look of regret for hitting her. She also noticed his look of confusion refilling his eyes.

"You're just a child. But you're something else too. You're spirit color is different from everyone else's," he said.

"What?" Shachi asked through his own blurry vision. "What is he talking about?"

"How should I know?!" Tero snapped. "If we could just get free of these stupid cuffs then we could help her! How the heck were they able to capture us like this anyway?!"

"That one soldier is an Elemental," Shachi said. He nodded his head to the still standing still soldier. "Sorry. I didn't sense him quick enough. If I had, I would have suggested running instead of fighting. He used a powder on us to keep us weak so we can't fight back. That's why we're so disoriented."

Tero scoffed, "These Elementals sound like such a pain."

Shachi couldn't help but chuckled at the memories of Luminous and how much of a pain the Elementals had been for them. "Don't worry about it, though. Neo will get us out of here."

"Yeah. Right," Tero replied, obviously not convinced.

Neo pushed herself to her feet. She summoned her wind crystals. With a quick gust of wind, she pushing the young marine away from her and floated herself into the air a few feet. She gasped when the Elemental was suddenly behind her. He grabbed her left arm and pinned it behind her back. Her heart rate and breathing increase at being touched by a stranger. She summoned her crystals and started connecting them to the nature around them. Thunder booms, vines snapped, waves crashed against the islands while the winds howled and fire flared up. "Ah! Let go! Don't touch me!"

"Forgive me for this, Princess," he said, ignoring her and nature's outburst. He slipped his hand into his pocket then pulled it right back out.

"Neo! Hey! Leave her alone!" Shachi hissed when he saw the marine holding something in his hand. He pushed his feet to run towards the Elementals. Just as the marine brought his hand up to Neo's face, Shachi plowed into him.

The Elemental's hand slapped near Neo's right eye, releasing an all too familiar powder. Neo closed her eyes and turned her head in attempted to get away from the powder, but enough was already on her to cause problems connecting to her magic. She felt Law's anxiety over her before it faded in and out along with her crystals. "Run!"

' _N-o?! Wh-t's –appen-ng?!'_

Neo turned toward the direction of the town.

Coby leaped over to them and grabbed her wrist.

More fear shot through her entire body at the contact of another stranger. "No! Don't touch me!"

The storm, her disrupted connection to her magic and being touched by two strangers caused her to pull down a lightning bolt by accident. It struck the cliff, causing it to crumble, taking Neo, Shachi, and Coby with it and knocking the Elemental off his feet.

Helmeppo shouted, "Coby!"

"Ah!" Coby cried out as they fell.

Neo rubbed her hand over her right eye, trying to get the powder off her face. She was able to get enough off of it to see they were plummeting right to a bunch of rocks sticking out from the sea. She looked to her right and saw a small area where she could land them if she could get connected to her crystals enough. Summoning one wind crystal, she wrapped the wind around their three falling bodies and pushed them over to her destination. She pushed them a little too hard causing them to collide with the cliff then drop onto the landing she had aimed for.

Shachi's head collided with the cliff, knocking him out. He bounced on the ground then rolled into the ocean.

Neo's body automatically dove for him. She grabbed his boiler suit and tried to pull him back to her. "Shachi! I can't-Huh?" She glanced up when the pink haired soldier grabbed onto Shachi and helped her pull him back to safety. She blinked at the young marine in confusion. "But why d-"

Another loud clap of thunder and a couple flashes of lightning cut off her sentence. She flinched, covering Shachi's body with her own until it stopped.

Coby glanced up at the sky then over to the small cave behind them. "Looks like we're in luck. We can hide in that cave until the storm passes. Unless you can fly us back up to the cliff."

Neo looked at him with caution before trying to summon her wind crystals again. She shook her head. "I can't. Not until this pow…I can't. Sorry"

"Right." Coby nodded.

She noticed that he had noted her reluctance in saying anything, but he didn't point it out or question her. He just got a better hold on Shachi's unconscious body and helped her pull him into the cave.

Neo winced at the rocks cutting into the bottom of her feet while she helped pull Shachi along the ground. She sighed to herself at the thought of possible having to start to wear her shoes on islands regardless of whether she wanted to or not. Once inside, she sat down and placed Shachi's head on her lap. She carefully watched him and the marine while waiting for her mind to clear so she could connect to her magic and Law again.

…

The Elemental picked himself up as quickly as he could. He ran over to the cliff just in time to see Neo fling all three of them to safety. He relaxed then started to summon his own crystals so he could use his vines to pull them back up to the cliff. The drop was around a hundred and fifty feet. He could easily pull them back up, but one problem stopped him. He glanced over at Helmeppo. The blonde marine was crying and shouting out Coby's name repeatedly while crawling over to he edge of the cliff.  _Can't let him see this._

The Elemental pulled another small pouch out of his pocket. He picked it up with a vine then slithered the packet over to the screaming marine's face. He rubbed the vine on the packet, causing the powder inside to sprinkle over Helmeppo's face. The screaming man breathed in the powder seconds before falling over in a deep sleep. He turned back to the cliff, but paused when he heard shouts of more marines coming his way. "Great. Guess the princess is just going to have to take care of herself for a while."

"Hey! There you are! We need to head for shelter! This storm is picking up speed!" a marine shouted.

"Is this the only pirate you caught? And is  _he_  okay?" another marine asked. He looked at Helmeppo.

The Elemental looked at Tero. The pirate was watching him closely with a displeased glare on his face. The Elemental turned to the group of nine marines then headed over to Tero. "Yes. This is the only one. Helmeppo there is just sleeping. He got knocked out. Let's take them and get out of this storm."

"What are you doing? My crewmates and  _your_  fellow soldier are still down there!" Tero hissed.

"And you  _want_  me to reveal my crystals to  _them_?!" the Elemental hissed back. He nodded his head in the direction of the marines. "Let's just get out of this storm for the moment. We can talk then."

Tero scoffed. "Fine."

…

"Captain, I don't like this!" Penguin all but shrieked as he paced the galley. Occasionally he stopped to look out the porthole before continuing his pacing. "Something happened! We have to go find them!"

"We can't do anything in this storm," Topaz said. She glanced out of one of the portholes that were in the galley. She watched the unrelenting lightning strike in several places on the island.

Law clenched his fists. His heart was pounding so hard he thought it was going to break out of his chest. He shouldn't have let her go off alone. He should have gone with her. He glanced around at his gathered crew. All of them were waiting anxiously for his orders on what they were going to do.

"Captain?" Jean Bart asked. "We could move the ship to where you sensed her last. It's obvious she can't use her magic right now, but they could be at a part of the island where we can easily get them aboard."

"What about the Elemental? What are the chances he'll understand that she's with us of her own free will?" Archer asked.

"Well, it really depends on if they had a chance to talk," Topaz replied when they all looked at her. "I haven't sensed much crystal usage from him so it's possible that he hasn't revealed who he really is to anyone. If that's true then he'll avoid using his crystals when others are around. And he-Wait! He's moving away from his current area, but I don't sense the princess with him. I think she's still in that area somewhere. It might be best if we did head over there. Once the princess is back to her senses she'll sense that you have moved and will come to you."

"Right." Law nodded. He then looked at Bepo. "Let's go."

"Aye aye, Captain!" Bepo nodded then ran out of the galley.

…

"Now, tell me what's going on," the Elemental said.

Tero didn't answer him immediately. He just glanced around the room they were in. The Navy had commandeered someone's house. They ordered the family of four into the kitchen, away from the pirate who was being held in the bedroom. He was sitting on the floor in one corners of the room. For the moment it was only the two of them. Tero had no idea why or for how long it was just going to be the two of them, but he knew he had to act fast.

"Well, I'm still fairly new to the crew, but your  _princess_  is with the Heart Pirates of her own free will," Tero said. He then gave the Elemental a quick, condensed version of what the crew had told him. "If you don't believe me, then let's go see my crew. They have some medallions or something that should be able to convince you. There's also another one of you on our crew. Her name is Topaz. She's a fire Elemental. She's serving under the captain as a suggestion from your people. It's to keep an eye on things or something like that."

"I have to admit, I do find this a bit hard to believe," the Elemental said. He crossed his arms over his chest in thought. "And I would like to meet with your captain and the princess to clear this whole mess up. If you are telling the truth, then I won't stop her from going with you all."

Tero rolled his eyes. "Great. Now how do we get out of here?"

"We're not going anywhere in this storm. It should be dying down here in a few more minutes," the Elemental said. He walked over to the only chair in the room and sat down. He crossed his arms and legs and stared at the pirate. "My name is Jory, by the way."

"Oh yeah?" Tero cocked his head off to the side. "All right, Jory, how exactly are you going to get me out of here? You think those other marines are going to just let you waltz me right out the front door? Or are we going to climb out the window here? You'll have to betray the Navy. But I suspect you'll do that anyway to save your precious princess."

"You don't seem to care much for her," Jory said.

"For starters, I don't even know her. Like I just said, I'm still new. But, yeah, you're right. I don't care much for her. So what? Are we all supposed to bow down to her just because she's a  _princess_?" Tero spat.

"Of course not. I understand that not everyone is going to get along," Jory said. "I'm just curious if you're going to be a loyal crewmate to her."

"Of course I am!" Tero snapped. "If I wasn't going to be a loyal crewmate to my fellow crewmembers and captain, I never would have joined a pirate crew in the first place!"

"What's going on in there?!" another marine bellowed just before he threw the door open. "Is this pirate causing you problems?"

"Not at all," Jory said with a cocky smirk that made Tero frown. "We're just getting to know each other, that's all."

"Just getting to know each other," the marine grumbled. "Whatever. Just keep it down in here. The storm outside is enough to listen to."

"Right." Jory waved just before the marine left, slamming the door behind him.

"So, Jory, how exactly are you going to get me out of here?" Tero asked.

"Well, that should be obvious enough. After all…" Jory gave the pirate another cocky grin. "I was able to subdue you and your fellow pirate with ease."

Tero's eyes burned with rage. He hissed low, "You Elementals are such a pain."

…

Neo wrung more water out of Shachi's boiler suit. She used it to brush the powder off Shachi's face and was working on her own. She lifted her eyes up to the marine before wiping the water over her right eye. The young marine was still standing near the opening of the cave. He was just staring up at the turbulent sky. She jumped when the marine started talking and walking closer to them. He said, "Well, it looks like the storm is about over."

Neo eyed him carefully. She noticed he was doing the same thing.

He then suddenly smiled at her. "You kind of remind me of another pirate."

Neo raised an eyebrow at him.  _What's he up to?_

"What?" Coby asked curiously. "Don't you talk to anyone outside of your crew?"

Neo nodded, still unsure of what he was doing or what he could possible want from her. She narrowed her eyebrows at him while cradled Shachi's head in her lap. "You can't have him."

Coby laughed. "Even if I did want him, there's no possible way I can get him out of here without help. You're the one who can easily escape. You can control the wind. That's pretty cool. I'd like to believe you're a devil fruit user, but I'm not sure that's the case here. Your spirit energy is different from others."

"Spirit energy?" Neo found herself asking.

"I have Observation Haki," Coby explained as he sat down. "I can see peoples spirits. I always thought that everyone's spirit was one solid color. But yours is multiple colors. It's like your spirit can't decide what it wants to be. One moment it's a bluish silver color, then it's a darker blue, then green, and then red or orange…it's weird. Are you a devil fruit user or not?"

"I am," Neo replied without hesitation. She paused and wondered what all she should say other than what she just did. She decided to just stay quiet. It wouldn't be long before the marines put together the fact she could use all the elements. She had already used her earth, fire, and wind crystals today.

"You're not like other pirates, are you?" Coby asked.

She shrugged.

He laughed. "You're not. You're too nice. And quiet. Other pirates would be yelling at me or trying to rip my head off whether or not they have devil fruit powers and can use them. But here you are. Just sitting quietly. You kind of remind me of another pirate I know. Only he's way more talkative than you are. You might actually know him since you're with the Heart Pirates. They helped him escape from Marineford during the war there after all."

"Straw Hat Luffy?" Neo asked without thinking.

"That's him." Coby nodded. "I'm Coby. What's your name?"

Neo shrugged. She looked down when Shachi moaned.

Coby said, "Looks like your friend is waking up. That's good. But you still might want him to get him to a doctor. Isn't your captain a surgeon? He should look at your friend there as soon as possible."

"Huh? You're letting us go?" Neo asked. "Why?"

"I know I'm not strong enough to fight you both. As soon as your friend wakes up, I'm sure you'll just your powers to fly yourselves out of here," Coby replied. He leaned back on his hands. "It's fine. My friend, Helmeppo, and Jory know I'm down here. They'll send a recue party once this storm has passed."

Neo felt confused. She eyed the marine quietly, trying to figure out why he was being so nice and calm. While distracted by the marine, she didn't notice Shachi had woken up.

Shachi groaned at the splitting headache he had and sat up. "Ouch. I feel like I got hit by a mountain."

"Sorry about that," Neo said guilt stabbed her heart. "I lost control and slammed us all against the cliff. You got knocked out."

"Don't worry about it. I know yo-Hey! You stay back!" Shachi hissed when he saw the pink haired marine.

Coby sat up a little straighter and narrowed his eyebrows.

"It's okay, Shachi. He's not causing us trouble. We're all in the same situation," Neo said.

Shachi slowly pulled his attention from the marine and looked at her.

Neo rubbed the corner of her right eye then tapped it a couple times.

Shachi nodded when he remembered seeing the other marine hit her with something. He scooted close to her so they could whisper.

"I think the storm's about to dissipate," Neo said. She looked out of the cave to see the rain had let up quite a lot and the waves were calming down.

"Are you okay?" Shachi whispered as low as he could without moving his lips.

"Yeah. That one marine is an Elemental. He used powder on me, but only got a little on my face. It's almost gone," Neo whispered back also trying not to move her lips. "I think he took Tero with him. And I'm starting to get my magic back. Law's moved the sub. They're coming to this side of the island."

"Then it's probably best for us to just stay put until they get here," Shachi whispered. "Did that guy touch you?"

"Other than upon the cliff? No," Neo asked. She rubbed her wrist like she was trying to get Coby's touch off her. She then shifted closer to Shachi, wrapped her arms around her bent up knees, and rested her chin on them. "I hate it when people I don't know touch me. It makes me scared and vulnerable. I want Law."

"I know. He's come soon," Shachi said. He rubbed his hand on her lower back. The three then fell into slightly comfortable silence as the rain beat down on the sea.

Coby would occasionally look over at the two pirates, mostly Neo. The marine even caught a glimpse of Law's ring before she tucked her hand between her legs and stomach with a sharp glare at him that he didn't find threatening at all. Every time Shachi caught his eye, the pirate glared at the marine. Coby would then wave his hands in a nonthreatening manor before looking out opening of the cave.

 _'Law?'_  Neo called out as soon as she was connected to her magic again.

_'I'm here. Are you all right? I was so worried about you.'_

_'Yeah. I'm okay. Shachi's here with me. I think the Elemental took Tero. They're inland somewhere.'_

_'Topaz senses that he's on his way back here. He might be coming to talk to us. How's the storm up there? Are you safe?'_

_'Yes. We're in a small cave on the northwest side of the island. And…'_

"The storm's over," Neo said, out loud, after ten minutes of silent glares between the two men had passed. When she caught Shachi's eye, she nodded towards the sea.

With an understood nod of his own, Shachi took her hand and stood up with her. They wondered out of the cave just as the yellow sub submerged from the waters.

Law immediately pushed opened the door and stepped out onto the deck.

Neo wrapped her winds around their bodies and lifted them into the air. She paused about twenty yards in the air and looked back at the young marine. Coby was standing outside of the cave, staring up at her with amusement and curiosity.

"Neo?" Shachi asked.

"Sorry," she replied. She then wrapped her winds around the marine. "I can't just leave him there. I don't think he's a bad guy."

"Hey." Shachi elbowed her. "You know you're to follow your instincts. If they're telling you to help him, then do it."

Neo nodded then pulled Coby up into the air with them. She locked eyes with him for a slip second before looking away from him. She flew them all up to the cliff. Sitting the young marine down, she and Shachi both caught two figures running at them. They looked up to see Tero and the Elemental. Shachi said, "Looks like Tero is fine. And, look, he brought a friend with him."

"Hey!" Coby cried out when he saw the two running towards them.

Jory pulled out another packet from his pocket. Wrapping it up in a vine, he then positioned his vine over Coby's head so he could lower the powder without it being seen. The pink haired marine started to drift off to sleep as he spoke, "Whasss goinnnn on? Zzzzz…"

Tero paused to look at the snoring marine now passed out on the ground. He rolled his eyes then stepped closer to the edge of the cliff.

Jory kneeled down to his right knee.

Tero rolled his eyes again before Neo wrapped her winds around them two and flew them all over to the sub.

Shachi looked at the two men. He said, "I'd like to ask how you two got away from the marines without questions, but I think the answer is obvious."

Jory smirked.

Neo floated them down to the deck. Once on board, she ran over to Law's open arms. He wrapped his arms securely around her while she clenched the back of his hoodie and buried her face into his chest. "Law!"

"Well, I guess that answers that question," Jory said. "All right then. I accept this whole situation."

"Just like that?" Tero asked. "You can't be serious."

"Just like that," Jory answered. "You might not have given me every detail of the story, but it's obvious they care about each other. And they both can confirm your story. I highly doubt humans can easily subdue two Elementals, especially since one of them is a royal."

"You are a good soldier, sir," Topaz said with a smile. "What will you do now? Surely your fellow marines have noticed your betrayal."

"What betrayal?" Jory blinked innocently, his green eyes shimmering. "There's nothing in the marine manual that says putting your fellow marines to sleep to check on your princess's story and well being means you've turned your back on them and deserted."

"But those two other marines saw practically everything," Shachi pointed out. He held up his hands. "And can you unlock my cuffs now?"

"Don't worry about them. The blonde haired one isn't very bright. Coby, on the other hand, is a brighter soldier with Observation Haki. I'm sure he noticed the princess is different than everyone else, but he won't cause trouble. I'll have a talk with him later about all of this," Jory said, unlocking the pirate's restraints. Shachi rubbed his wrists once they were off him. "I should be getting back soon. Other marines will be looking for us now that the storm has passed."

"You're staying in the Navy?" Tero asked. "I figured you'd quit and serve your princess."

Neo pulled back from Law's chest and looked at Jory. The Elemental smiled at her. "I am serving her highness. It's best for me to stay in the Navy since she's going to be a pirate. I'll be able to redirect their attention  _if_  they happened to start figuring out that she's not human nor a devil fruit user."

"You're good at thinking on your feet," Law noted.

Jory nodded at Law.

The captain then quickly filled the Elemental in on what Tero left out. He told him about his plans to keep Neo's bounty as low as they possible could. Jory agreed that was a good idea and said he'd do what he can to help keep it low. Once stories and names had been exchanged Neo lifted Jory back onto the cliff. The pirates then filed back into the sub and took off before more marines could arrive.

"Well that was a fun adventure," Archer said while roaming into the rec. room with some of his fellow crewmates.

"More like a pain in the butt adventure that  _never_  should have happened," Tero snapped. He shot a glare over at Neo. "And it wouldn't have happened if  _you_ weren't as weak as you are."

Law glared at Tero, pulling Neo closer to him. Before he could say anything, Shachi and Penguin shouted first. Penguin snapped, "What are you talking about?!"

"She's not weak at all! You've seen what she can do with her crystals!" Shachi shouted.

"Her  _crystals_  are one matter. Her fighting skills are another," Tero said in forced calm control. He narrowed his eyebrows. "What happened today wouldn't have happened if you all weren't so soft on her."

"But we're not…" Penguin started. His voice trailed off. He knew Tero was right about them. They were soft on her.

"I mean no disrespect, especially since you two are involved," Tero said gesturing at Law and Neo. "But her combat skills are pathetic."

"Don't you call her pathetic!" Bepo growled. "She's just-"

"No," Neo said, cutting Bepo off. They all looked at her. "He's right. I might have gotten a lot better at controlling my crystals, but I'm still lacking in hand to hand combat and in facing off against strangers. I was also thrown off by the presence of an Elemental despite being warned some live among humans. I was also thrown off by that pink haired marine's ability to notice right off that I was different. Of course, it didn't help that I freak out every time a stranger touches me, but I still should have been able to handle today a lot better than I did." She paused, looking at her crew while considering her next choice of words. With a deep breath, she continued, "I understand that you all love me and don't want to hurt me, but let's face it, you all holding back when we're sparring has done more harm than good."

The crew looked guiltily down at the floor.

Neo looked up at Law. She said, "And, except for warping, you are still afraid to use your powers on me. I get that Tero doesn't care much for me. And that's okay. I understand that not everyone is going to like me or completely understand my situation. And I understand that there's bound to be some friction between us all because we're sharing such close quarters. But he has proven himself loyal to the crew. And he's also going to be the best training partner for me. He's not going to hold back because he's not close to me like you all are. Right?"

Neo looked at Tero.

He nodded. "Right. We're heading into the New World very soon. Don't you all want her to be better prepared for that? How is she even suppose to get prepared for that if you all keep going so easy on her?"

Law gritted his teeth. He hated to admit it, but Tero was right. Neo was right too. They all were being far too easy on her when it came to hand to hand combat. He looked down at her when she squeezed his hand.

"Let me train with him, Law. I  _need_  to do this," Neo said. "I  _have_  to do this."

Law considered their situation, and her red cheek, for another minute before nodding. "All right. Then lets get started right now."

Neo and Tero nodded. The crew exchanged concerned looks, but remained quiet. They all knew they had to let this happened. So they watched in reluctant silence as Law, Neo and Tero headed for their training room.

…

Jory waited anxiously for Coby to come back out. He didn't get a chance to talk to him before the young marine got pulled aside to give his report to their commanding officer. And he didn't have time to talk to him upon the cliff since more marines showed up and he was still sleeping. He shifted his position on the wall when the young man exited the room he was in.

Coby locked eyes with Jory before walking down the hall of the ship. The pink haired man paused when he was right beside the Elemental. "So, you're like her, huh? I can't believe I didn't notice until now."

"I guess your powers are becoming stronger," Jory said. He pushed off the wall, shoving his hands into his pockets, and began to walk down the hall with the young man. "So…what did you tell them?"

"The truth," Coby said, causing Jory to flinch. "I told them she had control over the wind and vines. Other soldiers reported her controlling fire. Everyone's coming to the same conclusion that she's a devil fruit user, but no one has a clue to what her devil fruit actually is. They're starting to look into it. And they're going to keep a close eye on her and the Heart Pirates for now. They don't recall if she was with them on Sabaody when Luffy attacked the Action House or not."

Jory looked at the young marine from the corner of his eye. "And you're not going to ask questions about this?"

"If I did, would you answer them?" Coby asked, glancing up at the man beside him.

"I think you already know the answer to that question," Jory said causally.

"I have nothing against her. She seems like really nice girl. I'm surprised someone so quiet has chosen the life of a pirate. It doesn't suit her at all," Coby then said. "But I am still a marine. Since she is a pirate I will still try to capture her."

"Right." Jory nodded.  _Well, at least he's not going to be nosy. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. Guess we'll see soon enough. These Observation Haki users are going to cause quite a bit of trouble for the princess. I hope those pirates will be able to handle it when they meet others who have this form of haki._

…

The Next Day, New World, Dressrosa…

"Young Master?" Baby 5 called. She hurried through the palace halls, carrying a rolled up newspaper in her hands. She paused in the dinning hall. She glanced around, expecting to see Doflamingo. But he wasn't there. Only Giolla and Lao G were in there. And they were playing cards. "Where is the young master? I thought he was in here."

"I believe he's out by the pool," Giolla replied picking up a card from the pile.

"What's going on, Baby 5?" Lao G asked.

"It's Law," Baby 5 replied. She waved the paper in her hand. "He's made the news again."

"So?" Giolla asked.

"What do you mean 'So'?!" Baby 5 shrieked. "The young master wants to know about these things! He wants to know every single move Law makes! And this one is important!"

"How so?" Lao G questioned.

"He's added a new crewmate. And this one is a girl," Baby 5 replied. She pointed to the paper like it would help her prove her point. They blinked at her. "Oh! Never mind! I'll just take this to the young master now!"

"While you're at it," Lao G said, holding up his teacup. "Will you get me some more tea?"

"Huh?! H-he needs me?" Baby 5 asked flushing and pressing her hands to her cheeks.

"Knock that off!" Giolla shouted. "Just take the paper to the young master! He'll be wanting to know this about Law immediately!"

"Right!" Baby 5 nodded. She rushed away from the two old card players. She continued through the palace halls. A burst of fresh air, tanning lotion and drinks hit her nose when she stepped outside. She spotted Doflamingo sitting in his large chair with a tall, black haired, red bikini clad woman sitting on his lap. The woman was placing kisses on the warlord's face. "Young Master, the paper is here. And there's an article about Law in it."

"Huh?" Doflamingo looked over his shoulder. He then pushed the woman off his lap. She stood up and looked at him. "Go for a swim."

"Yes, Young Master," the woman said with a small pout, but obediently walked away and dove into the pool.

"Let's have it," Doflamingo said. He held out his hand for the paper. Baby 5 immediately handed it to him. He took it and rolled it open. His eyes scanned over the paper quickly. His lips curled into a smile. "Well, that's a bit of a surprise. I really didn't expect to see Law with a woman on his crew. Hmm…there's no mention of the girl's name at all. They only say she has long blue hair, bright blue eyes, looks like a kid and wields of some strange crystals that can control the wind, vines and fire. They don't even have a picture of the girl or her crystals. The Navy is assuming she is a devil fruit user, but has no leads on what her devil fruit is or what her power consists of. This is kind of an odd scenario."

"What is, Young Master?" Baby 5 asked.

"Law disappeared shortly after the battle at Marineford. He's been out of the public eye for months," Doflamingo replied.

"Why's that odd?" Baby 5 questioned.

"The rest of the Super Novas all poured into the New World right after the announcement of Whitebeard's death, but Law didn't." Doflamingo bit his thumbnail. "What's going on with that boy? He helps Straw Hat escape from Sakazuki, disappears for months only to reappear with this child aboard his ship? What was he doing? Where did he go? What's he planning?"

Doflamingo then started to laugh. "Well, this is going to be interesting. I can't wait to see what this boy does now."


	60. Haki

Haki

"Huh?" Neo blinked when she thought the natural wind current that was blowing through her hair suddenly took an unnatural turn. She carefully scanned her eyes over every part of the island she could see from her perch in a tall tree she had landed in a few minutes ago. She didn't see or sense anything. A little grey squirrel, that had claimed her lap for a nap a second after she landed here, looked up at her. It tilted his furry head in question. She patted his head affectionately. "Maybe I'm just nervous after what happened on that last island. No more distractions now, little squirrel. I have to keep an eye on my crew."

She glanced down at the field before her. She had scoped out this area with Law long before the battle below began. She could easily see her crew and the crew they were engaged in battle with. She also had a clear view of the sea so she could keep an eye on incoming ships. So far things were going smoothly. Drawing in a long breath, she released it out as slowly as she possible could then refocus her thoughts on battle.

While watching the two crews clash below her, she quickly recalled all the information that Law had given her and the crew. The crew they were after call themselves the Wind Walkers. They are a very nimble crew who preform seemingly impossible moves for human beings, have thirty crewmembers, and have a high kill rate. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of pirates and soldiers this crew had fought only a small fraction have survived.

This made her extremely nervous. She wished Law had chosen an easier crew to fight. Neo sighed. She knew that wasn't completely true. She actually wished she could just take her crew and go live in peace with them on some island somewhere. But this is the life they all chose, including her. As long as she could be with them, especially Law, she was happy. She knew she could keep them safe. She was their sniper. And it was proving to be the perfect position for her. If this opposing crew pinning her family in any kind of way, she could easily remove them with her crystals. None of her crew was going to die with her watching their back.

Neo wiped her sweating palms on her jeans then focused in on the battle below her. Despite the Wind Walkers having over ten more members than they did, her crew was holding their own. With Law's powers in use, it didn't take long for the Heart Pirates to turn the tide of the battle in their favor. She smiled. This battle was going to end a lot quicker than she had thought. Suddenly, she felt the wind shift again in an unnatural way and the Wind Walkers started making their moves that should have been impossible for normal humans. "Hm? There's that shift again."

…

A Wind Walker charged directly at Topaz. She stood ready for the attack. When the man was close enough, Topaz struck out at him with her foot, but the man quickly darted to his right with impossible speed. She gasped, "What the heck?"

Before Topaz could react, the man roundhouse kicked a blow to her shoulder. She flew off her feet and right into Penguin's waiting hands. He asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah." Topaz nodded. "He just caught me off guard. I didn't think normal humans could move  _that_  fast."

"Then pick up your own speed!" Law shouted out to his crew. "Let's go!"

"Aye aye, Captain!" the crew shouted. They charged back into battle. Adjusting their own speed, they started to match up with the Wind Walkers move. They dodged then countered all of the Wind Walkers attacks. Some of the Heart Pirates teamed up. That proved even more efficient. Two Wind Walkers charged in on Tero. He stood ready for their attacks, but quickly dodged them as Bepo and Shachi jumped in with kicks of their own. Their feet slammed into the bodies of the attacking Wind Walkers, knocking them several feet away.

"They're faster than I expected," the captain hatted Wind Walker shouted out. "Increase your attacks! Take them down, men!"

"You got it, Captain!" the Wind Walker crew chorused back. The Wind Walkers pulled out their weapons. One with a sword ran towards two Heart Pirates. He leaped into the air and started to spin rapidly. The two Heart Pirates grasped at the impossible move, knowing they didn't have anything to defend against an attack like that.

"Room!" Law called out. He sliced up the spinning swordsman and several other Wind Walker pirates. "Enough of this. It's time to-ah…uh…"

Law stopped talking when he found it was difficult to breath. His lungs burned as all of the air in them left. He dropped his sword then his body to the ground. Pushing up on his left arm, he glanced at the victorious smirks of the other crew while they reassembled their divided crewmates.

"Captain! Wha-ah…uh…" Jean Bart shouted before his own voice disappeared with the air in his lungs. The large man dropped to the ground, gasping for air. Soon the rest of the shock Heart Pirates follow suit.

…

Neo gasped when she felt like the air was being sucked right out of her lungs. The squirrel on her lap jumped up on her shoulder and chittered nervously, asking her what was wrong. "I-I…don't…not me…Law…"

Panic and fear gripped at her chest when Neo ran her eyes over her crew again. A cold bead of sweat ran down her temple. All of them were down on the ground and gasping desperately for air. Her body temperature dropped when she finally noticed that the wind really was moving unnaturally. Someone else was manipulating the wind. And they were trying to suffocate her crew. She scanned her eyes as quickly as she could over the area.  _I know there's someone else here. They're obviously hiding. So that mean's they're in the trees as well._

_'Law! Someone else is here! It might be a devil fruit user! Just hold on! I'm going to find them!'_

_'H-hurry!'_  Law thought back to her.

Neo lifted her eyes to the trees directly across from her position. Locking onto the wind, she was able to follow it back to its source. When she finally pinpointed where the person was, anger burned her chest. She removed the squirrel from her shoulder and took off. Using the trees as a shield, she flew over to the other side of the field the crews were battling in.  _I just hope they can't sense me manipulating the wind. I should switch to my wings just in case. With as thick as these trees are, I should be able to sneak upon this person easily enough, but not knowing what all they can do would put me at risk of being spotted before I can stop them from killing my crew._

Neo summoned her wings. Once she had herself stable and switched to using them, she banished her wind crystals. Fluttering her wings carefully, she quickly weaved through the trees. She tucked behind a large tree when she spotted someone moving through some leaves. Sitting casually on a thick branch was a fairly fat, shaggy brown haired pirate. Her anger grew in her chest as she watched the man chewing so carefree on an apple while sucking the life out of her crew, her family.

Summoning her earth crystals, she snapped out a vine around the pirate's ankle and ripped him right out of the tree, actually feeling joy in seeing the shocked expression in the man's face and his surprised cries as she jerked him downward into a lower branch. She instantly felt Law's lungs refilling with air before pulling both herself and the brown haired pirate out of the forest. Before anyone could see her, she banished her wings and reclaimed the wind around her. She swung her vine like a whip and slammed the pirate on the ground before landing herself.

"What the heck, Captain?!" one of the opposing pirates demanded. "You were supposed to suck the life right out of them! Was that really so hard?! You've done it several times before!"

"Shut up!" the captain hissed after refilling his own lungs from being slammed.

"So," Shachi wheezed, pushing upon his arms. "That one with the captain hat isn't the captain after all."

"Sorry, everyone," Neo said. "I didn't  _locate_  him quick enough to stop this before hand."

"You did well enough," Law replied, pushing himself to his feet. He, and the crew, instantly knew by locate she meant sensed. He reclaimed his sword and pointed it at the opposing crew. "It all makes sense now. All those move you all were making  _were_  too erratic and quick for normal human beings to pull off. But with the help of devil fruit wind user, those moves are made possible. Your real captain there would always hide somewhere and use the wind to help you all pull off those impossible moves. Then  _if_  a battle turned against you, all your captain had to do is suck the air right out of the other crews' lungs rendering them helpless." The Wind Walkers growled at the Heart Pirate captain's deduction of the truth. He continued, "What you didn't count on was ever running into someone else who has the ability to control the wind. You became too over confident in yourselves and your plan. Now it's over. Your secret is out."

The Wind Walker's real captain laughed. He said, "The secret might be out, but we're not defeated yet. So she can control the wind too? I know there are no two devil fruits the same. So how is it possible she can control the wind as well?"

"She doesn't have a  _wind_  devil fruit." Law smirked.

Neo stood confidently, but trembled lightly on the inside as the Wind Walkers took her in.

"She has control over  _all_  the elements," Law said.  _'Neo, I'm sorry, but I'm going to need your help in fighting this one.'_

_'I know. As long as you're with me, I can handle this. Tero's lessons are helping. But I might not be able to stand up physically to this man for very long. I'm sure he's had more practice using his winds than I have of mine. And he's obviously physically stronger than I am.'_

_'Physically strength doesn't matter here. You're far stronger than he is where wind control is concerned. You were born with it. He is not. And you're not revealing your true strength anyway. Just distract him the best you can. I'll remove his heart before he can even think about touching you.'_

_'Right.'_  Neo smiled while her heart fluttered over Law's protectiveness of her.

"All of them, huh?" The Wind Walker captain scoffed. "Now I remember. I've read about you in the paper. Still, I'm not impressed. You haven't show much skill in your devil fruit powers."

The Heart Pirates chuckled. With a smirk, Law said, "If you're a devil fruit user then you should know that no one starts out as a master of their powers. We'll see soon enough who's going to be the victor here. Now that the playing field has been leveled, let's continue."

"Let's me and you dance, woman!" The Wind Walker captain wrapped himself up in his winds.

Neo copied his moves and stood ready.

' _Remember, Neo, his body can turn into the wind just like other element type devil fruits. Solution?'_

_'Then normal attacks won't work on him. Since he's a devil fruit user I might not be able to take control of the wind he directly uses or creates. So the solution would be to pretend he's stronger than I am as a distraction so you can sneak up from behind and take his heart.'_

_'Good girl. Can you do it?'_

_'Yes. I should be able to keep far enough distance to keep him from touching me. Just stay close as you can. I'm still going to freak out if he does manage to touch me.'_

_'Don't worry, love. You can handle this. Just focus on keeping his attention on you. I'll handle the rest. I won't let him touch you.'_

"Let's see who has the better wind control!" the Wind Walker captain cried out before charging towards Neo with his fists engulfed in his winds.

Neo lifted herself in the air about a foot. She flew herself backwards while using her winds to knock away his attempted punches.

"Interesting crystals you have there! What exactly is your devil fruit called?! I've never heard of a devil fruit that has conductors!" the pirate said.

Neo narrowed her eyebrows. She focused on his attacks instead of listening to what he was saying.

He laughed. "Not much of a talker, huh? That's actually a very good quality in a woman. You know your place. Let the man be in control."

Neo heard that comment. She raised her eyebrow in slight confusion. She lost her focus on the battle and almost took a hit from the man. She used her winds to push herself away from his hit.

The man laughed again. "I see you don't have much experience in battle."

Neo frowned, feeling disappointed in herself.

' _Focus, love. Don't let his words distract you.'_

_'Right. He just threw me off with that knowing my place thing. What did he mean by that?'_

_'I'll explain later. Fight right now. Enact our plan.'_

Neo nodded. She increased her level of control over her winds. She had to get him to increase his own so she could fake being weaker than him. She zipped up above him. When he tried to follow, she slammed a gust of wind down on him, knocking him off balance.

"Oh, you are stronger than you look." He chuckled in a way that made Neo shiver uncomfortably. "But you're just a woman. Men are always stronger than women. You are inferior to me, woman. And I'll prove it right here and now."

Neo faked a gasp when his body merged with the wind. The wind speed around them all picked up. The Wind Walker's captain started to fly through the air, taking swipes at Neo once close enough. She dodged each and every single one of them, making sure to show she was struggling with each attack to let him think he was winning. She allowed him to hit her with his wind. She hit the ground, but used her winds to cushion the fall as much as possible without the enemy noticing. She glared up at the man now hovering over her.

"See? I told you men are superior to women. I thought about killing you, but after seeing you in battle, I'm intrigued. You'll make a fine love slave." The man ran his eyes hungrily over Neo's body.

The way his eyes roamed over her made Neo's entire body shiver. She wanted to remove herself from this situation in that very second, but held her ground as she felt Law moving in. Forcing herself to keep her eyes on the man in front of her, she still saw Law's Room from the corner of her eyes.

The man held up his hand to move in for his finally attack on her, but suddenly whipped around and launched it at Law who was just about to attack himself. His winds hit Law directly in the chest. The Heart Pirate captain when flying back then slammed into the ground, loosing his sword in the process. "Nice try, Surgeon of Death. I know all about your powers. Trying to steal my heart, huh?"

_'Law!'_

"Captain!" Bepo cried out. He charged at the opposing captain. The other soon followed the bear. A couple of them were still fighting the remaining Wind Walkers, but quickly knocked them out and charged.

"Not gonna happen," the wind-controlling captain said. He turned his winds on the charging crew and easily knocked them all down. Jean Bart managed to stay on his feet a bit longer than the rest. The large man pushed against the winds, but an increase of speed knocked him down as well. "This is too easy."

Neo gritted her teeth and growled at seeing her family get hit. Just when the man started to turn back to her, she focused all of her anger on her wind crystals and struck him in the face. He flew across the field and slammed into a tree. The tree snapped and cracked at the impact then fell over, sending several more snaps of other branches being broken along with it. She pushed to her feet. "Don't touch my crew!"

She braced herself when the man's winds picked back up. In a blink, the man was charging back at her. She managed to dodge his attack at the last second, but he did clip a few strains of her hair off.

He growled angrily at her. "You're going to pay for that, brat!"

Neo locked into a duel of the winds with him. She let him do the majority of the attacking, but occasionally tried to throw in some kicks and punches of her own to make him think she was trying. The crew watched the midair battle helplessly. All they could do was cheer her on until they saw an opening to help her. "Come, Neo! You can do it!"

"Take him down!"

"Don't give in!"

"Her body's wearing down," Tero said with narrow eyebrows.

"It's just a trick," Shachi said. "She's trying to give the captain an opening to attack."

"Possibly," Tero agreed. "But this guy is a Logia type. And she's still physically limited. She needs to make her move soon or…I hope you have a plan for this situation, Captain. If he transforms into the wind to deliver the final blow to  _kill_  her, there's nothing we can do to stop it. And he just might do that."

Law gritted his teeth. His eyes remained locked on Neo's battle. He really didn't have a plan for this. All he could do was hope Neo could keep up this deception and wait for the man to make a mistake so he could intercept and take his heart.

Neo showed herself visibly panting. She wished the majority of it were an act. She knew she was wearing down a lot faster than this guy she was facing. She had to let this guy  _win_  soon or else she was going to lose this fight for real. So she braced herself for his next attack. When he delivered the punch, she let his wind make contact with her body. She let herself crash down to the ground. She could feel Law's body tense at seeing and feeling her get hit. She could feel his rage and frustration over this entire situation that he was unable to predict and prevent.

"And now it's over! I get the reputation of the Heart Pirates and their infamous captain, Trafalgar Law!" The Wind Walker captain laughed. He turned his body into the wind, earning an unhealthy string of curses from the Heart Pirates. He charged down towards Neo. "Time to die, girly!"

' _Law! What do I do?!'_

Law clenched his fists. His fingernails puncturing into his skin, filling the air with the metallic smell of his blood. His body charged forward when his crew shouted at him, "Captain! Do something!"

Neo raised her arm just as the man was only feet from hitting her. Before her arm got up to her face, Law's darkened fist slammed into the wind-engulfed face of the enemy. Stunned, Neo watched as Law's dark fist pushed the man down into the ground. The ground shattered and rumbled with the force of Law's punch. Law held out his left hand, which was still normal, and called out a Room before anything else could be said or done. "Room! Scalpel!"

Law jammed his fingers into the man's chest and claimed his heart.

The crew stared on in wonder before reality seeped into their minds that the battle was over and their captain had haki now. "Yeah!"

"You did it, Captain!" they cheered while running over to their captain and Neo.

Law turned his attention to Neo. She was staring wide-eyed at his strangely colored fist. Dropping the pirate's heart, he dropped to his knees, placing his normal hand on her shoulder. "Neo, are you okay? Neo?"

When she didn't answer him, Law cupped her cheek and brought her eyes to his. Or he tried to bring her eyes to his. Her eyes remained lock onto his haki coated hand. He didn't even realize he had his haki until he looked at his hand to see what held her attention so strongly. "Oh…it's okay, Neo. It's just Armament Haki. It doesn't hurt at all."

"It doesn't hurt at all," Neo parroted like a robot. She then blinked and raised her own right hand up to her face. She studied her pain free appendage then looked back at Law's haki coated fist. She released a relaxing breath when she realized they weren't in pain at all. "Oh geez. I  _hate_  new things."

The crew chuckled.

She then pulled Law's hand into hers and started to inspect the shield around his skin before noticing the throbbing heart lying on the ground. Her face turned green as she stared at it. She squeaked, "I really hate new things."

"Sorry about that," Law said passing off the heart to a crewmate who tucked it into his boiler suit so she wouldn't have to look at it. "Let's get back to the sub now."

"I second that," Archer said.

"You're not injured, are you?" Penguin asked, kneeling down beside her.

"Not really," Neo replied, running her eyes over herself. She ran her eyes over her crew, counting them to make sure they all were there. "Just more surprised or shocked, I guess. I was scared. For a moment I thought I was going to lose you all. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Shachi said with a wave of his hand. "We all got thrown off guard. There never were any reports of that crew having a devil fruit user. You saved us all. If it weren't for you, we would have died."

"He's right," Law said, regaining her full attention. "You did really well in calling your shots today. You have nothing to feel bad about. Now, let's get out of here."

"Right." Neo nodded with a light smile. She placed her hand in Penguin's outreached one and let him help her stand up, wishing she could latch onto Law but knowing she couldn't.

' _Don't worry, love. I'll hold you once we're back on the sub. Just like I said I would.'_

' _Yeah. I know.'_  Neo smiled.  _'And I'm gonna fly us all so we can get back there quicker.'_

Law chuckle as Neo wrapped her winds around the crew and flew them back to the sub within seconds. Once inside, Neo pounced on Law while the crew scattered about the sub to prepare to leave this island. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, giving him no choice but to hold her. He chuckled again while she snuggled into his neck. She said, "There. That's much better. Now, what did that guy mean about knowing my place?"

"Some men think women are inferior to them. That women should just stay in the kitchen and have babies," Law replied.

"But I like cooking." She pulled away from him, confusion swirling in her blue eyes.

"Yes, but you chose to cook. I don't force you to do it. That guy thinks women should  _stay_  in the kitchen. No fighting, no going out, just staying in the kitchen cooking for him and having his babies," Law explained.

"Oh," Neo drawled. "I get it. That's not nice."

"No, it's not," Law said. He then smirked at her. "Thought, you might have made him second guess his thoughts on that subject."

Neo giggled and snuggled back into Law's neck.

…

"Not fast enough! You got to move faster!" Tero barked.

"Right!" Neo shouted between her pants. She brushed a strain of hair from her face that came loose from her braid, which Penguin did for her, just before Tero bombarded her with a barrage of swift punches and kicks.

She brought up her left arm and easily blocked them, but her small form verses his larger form he easily knocked her down, again. He was at least twice Neo's size after all.

Tero didn't waste time in charging at her. The man leaped into the air and readied his fist to bring down on her. With all of the strength she had in her, she pushed herself away from his attack and retaliated with a kick of her own. She aimed for his head, but he easily blocked it with his wrist then grabbed her arm and flipped her onto her back.

Law gritted his teeth and mentally nailed himself in place when her small body hit the floor. The captain was leaning against the wall of the training room watching the sparring session. His arms were crossed over his chest and right leg was bent up slightly so the toe of his boot allowed him to bob his knee erratically as he watched his love spar against his subordinate. It took every fiber of his being to not put an end to their sparring sessions permanently every time she took a hit. It took every fiber of his being, and then a fleet of ship loads more, not to rip out Tero's heart-with his bare hands-each time the man landed a blow on her. But, somehow, Law was able to keep his anger and protectiveness over Neo in check. He didn't interfere with them at all when their sessions were in progress.

As a distraction, Law glanced over at the other two in the room with them. Topaz and Penguin were the only other two, besides himself, who remained in the room during Neo's sparring sessions. A few others would start off in the room as well, but it wouldn't take long before they wondered away, unable to watch Neo get hit anymore. Occasionally, a few would return and peak into the room to check on how she was doing then would quickly leave. It was hard for them all to watch their favorite girl get hit.

Law could easily tell from Neo's first sparring session that Topaz and Penguin really didn't want to watch this either. They too wanted to leave the room or stop it all together. He figured Topaz was only staying because she felt like it was part of her duty in serving her princess and honoring the agreement for being on the pirate ship in the first place. And he knew Penguin was just being his typical big brother self to Neo. While watching the sparring, the black and white hatted man always held a disapproving and worried frown on his lips, but he and Topaz remained silent. They all knew this had to be done. They all knew this was helping her. The proof of that was in their battle with the Wind Walkers the other day.

Law turned his eyes back to the fight when a stab of pain shot through his bottom lip. Neo was once again on the ground. She was brushing the back of her hand over her chin. Fire burned in Law's chest at her split lip. The fire died down when she shot him an  _'I'm okay'_  thought before leaping up and charging at Tero. She threw several punches at his head, which he dodged easily, before she switched into a roundhouse kick. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tero anticipate her move and prepared to block it. She quickly switched her plan. Instead of aiming the kick to his head, she dropped it down to his legs and knocked his feet out from underneath him.

Law smirked when he saw a glint of surprise in Tero's eyes. Neo had finally landed a blow on the man after hours of training with him. The two locked into another round of kicks and punches for ten more minutes. When Tero threw her on her back, again, she tried to get back up, but her body refused. Mentally she wanted to keep going, but knew she physically couldn't do it anymore today.

Law wasn't sure, but he thought he saw his subordinate panting slightly as the man studied Neo on the floor. It happened to quickly for him to be positive. He turned his eyes back to Neo. She had lasted a lot longer against Tero today so it was possible he really did see Tero winded. He pulled his eyes back to Tero when he spoke.

Tero said, "That's enough for today."

Law was finally able to get his body to relax. He pushed off the wall just as Penguin and Topaz ran over to Neo. He passed by Tero as the man walked towards the door of the training room. He grabbed a quick glance at him when they passed each other. He had to admit, to himself at least, that Tero showed signs of being a very good sparring partner for her. Tero was pushing Neo to get better as fighter, in a way that he and the rest of the crew couldn't, while also recognizing where her limits were and to not push her past them to the point of seriously getting hurt.

"Neo, are you okay?" Penguin asked.

Law pulled his eyes over to the group of three.

The two were kneeling down beside Neo, who was now sitting up. Penguin had her chin tilted up a bit, checking out her busted lip. "Doesn't look like there's any dirt in the cut."

"I'm fine." Neo panted. She tucked her loose strains of hair behind her ears and gave them a small smile. She twitched when the smile shot pain through her lip. She looked up at Law when he stepped over to them. "All I need now is a hot bath."

' _And to cuddle with you.'_  Neo thought to Law who smirked in reply. He reached down, offering her a hand. She gladly took it and let him help her stand up. He ran his eyes over her tired body. The only cut was on her bottom lip. Other than that she was only tired from her training session.

"Then a hot bath you shall have," Topaz said. She rolled her shoulders then looked at Penguin. "Watching that got my body all tensed up. How about we spar for a while?"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Penguin replied with a nod. He gave Neo one last look before joining Topaz.

Neo and Law watched the two start their own sparring session before finally leaving the room.

"You're not going to use your solar crystal?" Law asked while walked down the hall with her hand in his. "You've recently been in a strenuous battle and now in another tough sparring session with Tero."

"I thought about it, but I think I need to get use to being hurt and tired like this." Neo looked down at her body then up at Law. "At least for a while."

"If that's what you want."

Neo studied him quietly. She knew he was doing his best to hide his concern over her. But she didn't need their bond to know that her fighting with anyone bothered him a lot. "You know you don't have to watch me train."

Law sighed. The two stopped walking and turned their bodies towards each other. He circled his thumb over her skin. "I know. But it's easier to watch you fight than it is to hide in another room and pretend you're not in pain. Plus, I want to be there just in case Tero tries to overstep his boundaries."

"You know he's not going to do that. He might not care very much for my people and me, but you know he's loyal to the crew." Neo gave his hand a little squeeze. "Besides, deep down, all fear the great Surgeon of Death, especially those who know not to mess with his bonded."

"That's right." Law chuckled. He leaned down and placed his lips over hers. A twinge of pain in their lips forced him to quickly pull back. He licked the small amount of metallic blood of his own lip. "Sorry."

"Ouch. It's okay." Neo gently rubbed below her throbbing lip. She summoned her solar crystal. It's glow washed over her lip, healing it almost instantly since it was so small. "Maybe I will use my solar crystal a bit. Just so I can kiss you." The two turned and proceeded down the hall with smiles on their faces. "I've been wondering about something."

"And what's that?" Law inquired.

"About my bond with my godfather," Neo replied.

Law cocked a sideways glance at her.

"I've just been wondering what all I can do with him. He can influence my dreams and daydreams. Do you think it's possible that he can sense or see what we do when we're awake?"

"I don't know." Law frowned. A dark cloud hovered over him as his mind became plagued with the possibilities of what Red Hair Shanks could possible do with his bond to Neo. His little mini storm didn't slip passed Neo's attention.

"You know…it's possible that you can influence my dreams too," she said with a light tease in her tone. "And I can probably influence your dreams as well. I do have a stronger bond with you than I do with my godfather."

Law's face flushed in a moment of weakness as an inappropriate thought flashed through his mind and spread to Neo's.

Neo laughed when she felt Law's heart rate rise. Though she still didn't quite understand the sexual thought Law had, which involved her being on her hands and knees with him behind her both naked, but she knew it was something Law really wanted to do to her. Composing her laughter, she looked at him. Her eyes shimmered with curiosity and seriousness. "Would you mind explaining that sexual situation to me?"

Law growled. Releasing her hand, he wrapped his arm around her neck, pulling her to his side and down the hall. "Yes! I do mind!"

"Aw," Neo whined playfully. She poked him in the stomach. "Come on, Law! You  _thought_  it. You  _shared_  it. Now you  _explain_  it."

"No!" Law's face blushed a brighter red. "You are  _not_  ready for it!"

"Not ready for what?" Neo teased.

Law grabbed the handle to their bedroom door and shoved the door open.

"The  _explanation_? Or the  _act_?"

" _Both!_  Now you get in that bathtub!" Law snapped lightly when they entered into their room. He gave her a gentle push towards the bathroom.

"You going to join me then?" Neo asked. She ripped off her boots and socks, chucked the annoying things across the room, then collapsed her hands behind her back with her always innocent smile.

Law paused to take her in. A tempting thought of climbing into the bathtub with her passed through his mind and over to hers.

She snickered. "Is that a yes then? They said no to sexual intercourse before we were married. But a bath together isn't sexual intercourse, right?"

Law blinked. He tilted his head and studied her. He knew she was only joking, but it still came as a bit of a surprised to him that she was inviting him into the tub with her. He didn't think she'd become like that for a while yet. He released an audible grunt. He wrapped her into his arms. "You just want to see me naked."

"While that might be true, you're the one who started this." Neo wrapped her arms around his waist. She tilted her chin up so she could look at him. "I'm just curious. You know that. Besides, we wouldn't be in this situation if  _you_  had controlled your thoughts better."

Law chuckled. "Okay. You're right. This was my fault. I'll do better to control my thoughts in the future."

"Aw," Neo protested. "But I want you to share your thoughts."

"Only the ones you're ready for." Law pecked her forehead. She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "Some thoughts are better saved for when we are married."

"And when will that be?" Neo asked.

"I dunno. You haven't given me your answer yet," Law replied. He rubbed his hands on her back when he sensed her frustration with herself rising. "Relax, love. There's nothing wrong with taking as much time as you need to understand all that comes with being married and in making the decision to get married. You're doing very well in handling this decision. I'm very pleased with your maturity in dealing with this topic. No more worrying over it now."

"Okay." Neo released her tension through a deep breath. She rested her head on his chest. "I still want you to join me in the tub though."

"I know. We'll bathe together one day. But in the shower instead of the tub," Law said then quickly pulled away from her. "And absolutely zero sex in the shower."

"Hey!" she protested against him moving away and switching the tub for the shower.

Law smirked at her. Leaning against his desk, he asked, "What?"

"You wanted to join me in the bathtub just a second go," Neo complained. "Why change it to the shower? It'll be more fun in the tub, not the shower. And why no sex in the shower?"

Law hummed in consideration of what they had said. "I never said I  _would_  join you in the  _tub._  I insinuated taking a bath with you. That can happen in the shower or the tub. I prefer showers. And no sex in the shower because it's far too slipper for such acts. I don't want you to get hurt, especially because of me."

"Oh, I guess the shower would be too slippery. But, as for the tub, why do you have one in the bathroom then?" Neo asked with a confused blink of her eyelashes.

"For you." Law's smirk grew larger.

"Law!" Neo protested. She narrowed her eyebrows at him, but a small smile was playing on her lips. "You couldn't have possible known that I was going to be here when you build this thing!"

"True." Law nodded. "I just like being prepared. Besides, other ships have both a tub and a shower in them."

Neo opened her mouth to protest again, but found she had nothing to say. She didn't know what to say. Law was always prepared as he possible could be for any situation that they might face. And while she's never been on other ships before, that she could remember, she had seen some diagrams of them in books. Law was right. Some other ships did have both a tub and a shower in them. Her shoulders slumped as she exhaled. She walked over to him. Leaning into his chest, she said, "You're right. But I still want to bathe with you someday."

"And someday we will," Law promised. He wrapped her up into his arms. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered sensually to her. "And, trust me, when we do bathe together it won't matter if we're in the shower or the tub. You'll enjoy it either way. I guarantee that."

Neo squeaked at the tone of his voice. Her body shivered then tensed when his warm breath brushed over her ear. With her heart pounding erratically, she buried her face into his chest. She shivered again when his chest vibrated from his chuckle. He rubbed his hands over her back before leaning away from her. When she peeked up at him, he checked her eyes and feelings before pecking her lips. "Time for your bath now. Go on."

"Okay," Neo replied reluctantly. She kissed him again before finally pulling away from him. She grabbed herself her favorite pair of clothes to lounge around in, which consisted of her black tank top and dark grey sweatpants, and then headed into the bathroom, pausing momentarily to glance at her parents' pictures in the corner.

Law watched her closely. When she had the door to the bathroom closed, he pushed off his desk to sit down at it. He grabbed his pen and started working again on his plans to take down Doflamingo while listening to Neo fill up the tub, most likely using her crystals to do it. He looked up when she opened the door to the bathroom. He forced himself to ignore the fact that she had already taken off her shirt while she leaned out the door.

"Hey, Law? Do you think it's possible that my godfather just sensed everything we just said and did?" Neo asked. Her tone was serious, but her eyes were shining.

"Get in that tub!" Law snapped back playfully.

Neo laughed before disappearing into the bathroom once again.

He huffed while leaning back in his chair. He tapped his pen on his desk while thinking over what she had asked him. They had no way of knowing right now what all she could do with Red Hair. All Law knew was, if that was possible, he wasn't going to like having a chaperone watching their every move whether they were married or not.

…

Neo hummed to herself while she undid her braid. She placed her precious ribbon on the sink then stripped the remainder of her clothes off her body. She banished her water crystals when the tub was filled up to her desired depth before slipping into the steaming water. Her aching body relaxed instantly to the hot water rushing around her submerging body. She leaned her head against the tub while her mind ran over her questions of Red Hair at the same time Law's did. She wasn't sure how she felt about the possibility of having someone watch her and Law's moves. The more she thought about it, the less she liked it. Pushing the thoughts from her mind, Neo took a breath and dunked herself under the water then came back up to enjoy soaking her tired body before actually performing her usual bathing rituals.

Neo forced herself out of the tub a little over an hour later. She grabbed her towel and dabbed off the clingy water droplets then wrung out her hair with it before hanging it back upon the hook. After pulling on her clothes, she summoned a couple of crystals to dry her hair with while she exited the bathroom. She smiled at Law when she saw him working hard at his desk. Grabbing her brush, she ran the bristle through her hair, smoothing it out, then returned the brush to the nightstand and walked over to him.

Just like always, he pushed back from his desk enough for her to sit down on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and curled into him as much as she could with him being in this particular chair. She placed a kiss on his cheek. "Sorry for teasing you before."

His chest vibrated with a soft chuckle. "Don't be. I actually like that you're become more open and playful with me. How's your body feeling now after your bath?"

"Better." Neo glanced at him before placing a very light kiss on his lips.

Law paused his writing and looked at her. That type of kiss from her was quickly becoming a silent single to him that she wanted him to give her another lesson in french kissing, especially if they were alone. He dropped his pen immediately and wrapped his arms around her. He slowly moved his lips along with hers before slipping his warm muscle between her lips. Ten minutes of dancing their tongues together, Law then trailed kisses away from her lips. He kissed over her cheek and down to her neck where he kissed, nipped and sucked until he made her gasp and tense from hitting her sweet spot. He continued to suck that spot while she panted softly, occasionally releasing a soft moan of pleasure. Getting lost in the soft, sweet sounds he gained from her, his hands rubbed on her back until one of them took on a mind of its own and moved around her side to her chest.

Neo gasped in shock when his skilled hand massaged her beast, her body filling with pleasurable tingles.

"Sorry." Law panicked and quickly pulled his hand away from her. "I shouldn't have done that. I lost control."

"I-It's okay," Neo stuttered, unable to look at him in the eye. Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest while her mind went over the feeling Law provided for her. Feeling his concern that he went too far too quickly, she brought her eyes back up to him and feed her feelings to him through her blue orbs and their bond. She sighed softly when his guilt wouldn't leave his chest or mind. She removed his hat, placed it on the desk, and then ran her fingers through his wild mane. With her gentle strokes against his scalp, Law's body began relaxing at her touch. His eyelids drifted half close as she guided his forehead to touch her own. "It really is okay, Law. You just surprised me. If you want to start something new, it's okay to, just go a little slower next time. Is that okay?"

"Yes." Law replied softly. He hesitantly wrapped his arms back around her waist, pulling her to his chest. She slipped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck "That's perfectly okay. I'll go slower next time."

"Law?" Neo's muffled voice asked.

"Mhmm?"

"You're poking me in the leg," Neo said. She pulled away from him when she felt him jump. She took his red face in and his sudden inability to look at her. She shifted on his lap, causing him to bite his bottom lip and cut off a moan deep in his throat. Slowly, her mind put together the pieces of what was happening from their private lessons they had together, their kiss, the noises she made and the way he touched her breast. She felt her cheeks grow warm. "Oh…did I cause you to have an erection?"

"Yeah." Law nodded.

"That's okay, right? I mean, it's normal," Neo said in a low voice. She placed two of her fingers on his fuzzy chin and guided his eyes back to her. He swallowed then locked eyes with her. She slid her fingers over his cheek then up to his hair. She fiddled with his hair, causing him to slip into a trance state again. She guided his forehead to hers and nuzzled their noses together, her entire body growing warm. "I like this. I like the way you are making me feel right now."

"I do too," Law whispered. He brought his hand to her chest, lightly brushing the back of his hand on the underside of her breast. She shivered. "But we have to be careful. While I do like touching you, and want to touch ever single inch of your body, we could end up crossing the line."

"I understand." Neo sighed. "Should I go?"

"No." Law lowered his hand to her hip. "I want you to stay. We'll just stop touching each other so sensually and hold off on kissing for a while."

"I don't have to get off you, do I?" Neo pouted.

Law smile. "No. Just try not to move around for a few minutes."

"I can do that." Neo leaned back into him and froze. "How's this?"

"Good," Law replied. He then picked up his pen and forced himself to focus on his plans to take down Doflamingo instead on how the woman in his arms was making him feel.


	61. Shanks

Shanks

Neo bushed a leaf away as it fell onto her shoulder. Her eyes remained locked onto the battle below her from her perch on a roof. The crew was once again in a fight with another pirate crew. This time it was them who started the fight. Their captain thought that he could take down Law. And what a mistake that was. The opposing crew was still giving them a difficult time but her crew was wearing them down easily enough to not need her assistance. But Law was glad to be getting more pirate hearts for his mission of becoming a warlord.

A man snuck up behind Penguin. Her heart leaped into her throat. Penguin was distracted with two other enemies to even notice. Summoning an earth crystal, she prepared herself to attack but stopped when Penguin suddenly moved out of the way. She kneaded her eyebrows. The battle ended without her noticing.

_'You can come down now.'_  Law thought to her.

Neo jumped. Wrapping her winds around her body, she lifted herself and landed right beside Law. Her eyes locked onto the six pirate hearts lying on the ground. Her stomach lurched. Burying her face in Bepo's arm she said, "Must you do that?"

Law chuckled and rubbed her back.

"I'll put them in a sack," Conner said. "You can look now."

Neo peaked out from Bepo's arm to find the man holding the sack, which was still twitching with the hearts. She shivered and started counting her crewmates to make sure they were fine and avoid the pulsing organs. Several had cuts and bruises on their exposed skin, a couple were rubbing sore limbs, and Archer was holding his shoulder in serious pain. The man smiled at her, letting her know he was fine, but she summoned her solar crystal anyway and hovered it near him while healing them all. Her eyes then land on Penguin. "What did you do?"

"What do you mean?" Penguin asked.

"A pirate was about to hit you," Neo said. "I was going to help but you stopped him."

"I saw that too," Shachi said.

"Oh, that," Penguin said. "I'm not sure. Its like I saw it coming. I turned around and the man was there."

"Sounds like you awakened your observation haki," Law said.

"Huh," Penguin said. "Well, that's good."

"Yeah." Bepo nodded. "We're going to need more haki users in the New World."

"The New World," Neo said.

"You ready to go there?" Law asked.

Neo pondered on his words. That's actually where they were heading right now. They only stopped for a few items before heading back to Sabaody. And they were going to go straight to the island where she believed Shanks was leading her.

"Neo?" Law said.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Neo said. "Just a bit nervous."

"Let's get back to the sub," Law said.

The crew nodded. Leaving their victims behind. People from the town poked their heads out of their homes and stores. All were clearly relieved that the battle was over and the pirates were leaving. Reaching the sub, Neo lifted her crew onto the sub. They entered into their home and scattered about the sub. Those with cuts and other injuries headed up to the medical bay. Neo followed them. She scanned her eyes over their bodies; inventory their wounds while still healing their wounds before following Archer into an exam room.

Law walked over to Archer and inspected his shoulder.

"Is he going to be okay?" Neo asked.

"He'll be fine. His shoulder is only dislocated slightly," Law said.

Neo averted her eyes before Law could pop the shoulder back into place.

"That feels better," Archer said.

"Take it easy for a while," Law said. "Let me know if anything gets worse. Have Jean Bart take over the controls. We're heading for the New World now."

"Will do, Captain." Archer walked towards Neo. He kissed her temple before leaving the room.

Neo sighed. "Rough way to start off going to the New World."

"I suppose it is," Law said.

"I just hope we're not going to be wasting our time in going to this island," Neo said. "I'm still not sure if I can tell Shanks that we're going there."

"He probably already knows," Law said. He slipped his arm around her waist and guided her out of the room.

Heading downstairs they went into the rec. room and curled up together on the couch. An hour later, Neo felt the large presence of the mangrove trees from Sabaody. But they didn't stop. The sub glided under the surface of the water. Before long the roots of the mangrove trees were all around them. "Wow. Those roots are huge."

"They bothering you?" Law asked.

"No." Neo snuggled into him. "I'm more use to nature now."

"Good." Law tilted her chin up and pressed his lips to hers.

…

"I have no idea what I should wear," Neo whined a bit while looking into their closet. She ran her fingers over her dresses, her jeans then her shorts while she named them off. "Maybe a dress? Jeans? Shorts? It should be warm on this island, right? My dreams really didn't say anything about the weather. But with flowers growing, it should be warm."

"It doesn't matter what you wear," Law replied from the bed. "It's not important. Come to bed now."

"I suppose you're right." Neo closed the doors to the closet. She walked over to the light switches and turned the main one off before walking over to the bed. She started to climb on it and over Law when he placed his hand on her hip, keeping her in place over his lap. She sat down on him and waited for him to speak again.

He pecked her lips. "It really doesn't matter what you wear. You're just nervous about meeting up with him. It'll be fine."

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "You're right."

"Lay with me now," Law ordered. He guided her down to the bed. She laid half on it and half on his bare chest. He kissed her hair. "Sleep now, love. No more worrying."

"Yes,  _sir_." Neo giggled. He poked her in the ribs, making her squeak and squirm. "Hey! You said to sleep! I can't do that-Eek-if you keep poking me like that!"

Law just chuckled. After a few more squeak provoking pokes, he finally stopped poking her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair again while she drifted off to sleep. He stayed up, fiddling with her hair, a little while longer to watch her sleep before going to sleep himself with her tucked into his protective arms.

…

Neo twiddled her fingers. Her eyes ran over the horizon. They were close. The bell shaped flowers flashed multiple times in her mind. It was almost like they were calling for her themselves. Which they might have been, somehow.

"Are we on track?" Law asked.

Neo looked over her shoulder. He and a few other crewmates were scattered around on the deck. She nodded. "Yeah. We're close. Have Jean Bart angle the ship six degrees northeast."

"You got it." Shachi disappeared into the sub. A few seconds later the sub angled more to the northeast.

Twenty minutes later, the island came into view. Neo swallowed. Her hands trembled. "That's it. That's the island."

Law stepped closer to her. Taking her hand in his, he kissed her hair.

Neo exhaled. Her eyes remained locked onto the island as Jean Bart pulled it right up to the small cove.

"Wow!" the crew exclaimed as they stared out at the island Neo had guided them to. They climbed down the ladder and scattered over the field.

"I never knew flowers like this existed," Bepo said looking at the bell shape flower now at his feet.

Neo's eyes carefully roamed over the features of the island. Just like in her dreams, on her left was the forest, on her right was the mountain, and in-between them was the flower field filled with bell shaped yellow flowers. She picked at her shirttail.

"So when will Red Hair Shanks arrive?" Bepo asked.

Neo looked at him. His eyes were scanning all over their area as well. His black nose twitched, as he took in the scents around him, possible looking for danger too.

"In a little under two hours, I think. I can sense him, but just barely," Neo replied. She looked up at Law. Just like Bepo, Law's eyes were carefully scanning their surroundings, carefully inspecting the flower field where the red haired man apparently wanted to meet up with them. She tried to read him, but he was guarding his thoughts too tightly. She took his hand back in hers, his fingers instantly and instinctively curling around her skin. "Law? You're closed off. I don't like it."

"Sorry." Law looked down at her. "I can't help but think there's a trap here somewhere. But there's obviously not. I think he chose this place for a specific reason."

"But why this island?" Topaz asked. "Why would he choose to come here instead of an island that has people? This island isn't suited for food either, except for fish that might happen to wonder close enough for someone to catch it."

"Well, it's obvious," Penguin answered, "that this place isn't good for an ambush."

"Huh?" Topaz looked at the man.

"Take another, closer look, at the island, Topaz," Penguin said.

Neo looked at her brother. He and the others were taking every opportunity they had to teach their fire Elemental everything they knew about fighting and battle strategies that they possibly could since she had been onboard.

Topaz scanned her eyes more carefully over the island. She studied the placement of the trees, the field and the mountain. It didn't take her long before she finally got what her male friend was saying. "Oh. This place isn't good for an ambush. The trees are too far spread out for anyone to successfully dash between them. The mountain doesn't look like it's climbable at all, unless you had a devil fruit that could assist you in doing so. And the distance between them and the field is too far. An attack would be spotted ahead of time."

"Right." Penguin nodded.

"So what now, Captain?" Shachi asked. "There's nothing much to do here."

Law mulled over that question for a few seconds before barking out his orders. "Let's get camp set up. It depends on how long our conversation is with Red Hair, but either way, we're most likely going to be spending at least one night here. Might as well sleep outside. Or is a storm coming that will prevent that?"

"Nope." Neo shook her head. "I don't believe any storms are coming to this area any time soon. Unless you consider meeting an emperor and his crew a storm."

"It possibly could be." Penguin shifted.

Neo was starting to notice traces of hesitation among her crew.

"But you're his goddaughter so we don't have anything to worry about," Penguin added.

"A goddaughter that he's only seen once in his entire life," Tero grumbled. "This still could be a trap."

"Drop it," Law said, instantly defusing the oncoming argument. The sub creaked in the water beside them. They were lucky. Since he water was deep enough for them to pull right up to the shore. The crew wouldn't have to be warped or flown to and from the island at all if they needed to leave in a hurry. "Let's get a fire started."

"Aye aye, Captain!" the crew chorused. The crew scattered over the island, some searching for wood for their fire while others were moving over large logs for them to use as chairs.

Neo remained where she was with Law. Her fingers continued to pluck at her shirttail. This new experience was a whole kind of new. She wasn't just meeting new people; she was meeting her godfather and his crew. The crew that saved her and Kailen when she was only a baby. The crew that was important to her people. The crew where the captain was an emperor. Shifting on her feet, she wanted to fly around the island, about a hundred times in an attempt to quell her anxiety, but stuck right beside Law. Her mind pounded along with her heart to what she should do or say to this man that she's only met in dreams, visions and as a newborn.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice when the crew had their fire started. Nor did she notice Law guiding her over to their gathered logs to sit at or on. Law sat quietly beside her while the rest of the crew sat nearby or did a little sparring to pass time quicker. He sent her comforting vibes through their bond and let her cling to him like always despite the occasional teasing smirk or glance from the crew. They all had grown more accustom to seeing their captain's softer side show more with Neo around, but still couldn't resist a little bit of teasing now and then.

"He's here," Neo said roughly an hour and forty-five minutes later. They all stood up, but didn't move anymore. She looked out at the horizon. They all stared in the direction she was until they saw a ship slowly materializing into view. She sensed the crews' auras turning sharp, as the air around them grew tense with tension. She turned her eyes to them and carefully took them all in. "No fighting. Zero. Zip. Zilch."

They nodded in loyal obedience, even Tero nodded. She then looked up at Law. His body was stiff, his eyes focused on the incoming ship, his left hand squeezing his sword that was resting on his shoulder. He dropped his eyes to her when she lifted up his right hand and kissed his middle finger. She then narrowed her eyebrows at him and smirked. "And, Law, this finger…stays  _down_."

Law's cheeks grew warm. He scoffed, tossing his head slightly while his crew snickered. They all knew he'd easily obey  _her_   _order_. Grumbling, he replied, "Fine. But  _only_  this once. And  _only_  because it's you."

_'You're such a good boy. Maybe I can reward you later for this?'_  Neo thought to him.

_'Maybe.'_  Law thought back, his cheeks growing redder.

Neo squeezed his hand then turned to wait for the ship to finally arrive. A few, short, but somehow long, moments later, the emperor's massive ship was sidelong next to the sub. Her home never looked so small before. She swallowed hard when she spotted the familiar head of red she had seen in his wanted poster. She watched as the intimidating man swung his leg over the side of his ship and descended down the rope ladder. Through her nervous thoughts, she barely registered Law's body tensing even more beside her. Forcing herself to look away from the imposing red haired man walking towards them with his equally imposing crew following, she did another quick scan over her own crew. Their bodies were winded up tight with tension. Bepo's ear twitched a couple times. Their lips pulled down in anticipated frowns, a couple had curious expressions on their faces in wonder of what was going to happen, but all were obeying her wishes to not engage in a battle.

Neo turned her eyes back to the new pirate crew. Within a few short minutes, the Red Hair Pirates were standing face to face with the Heart Pirates. She shivered at the intensity these new men were displaying just by standing there and at a familiar pressure pushing on her body that reminded her of being back at the Auction House when Rayleigh had stepped out onto the stage. She now finally understood why so many people were afraid of this pirate crew. She felt her anxiety wanting to skyrocket with the force of a hurricane, but it didn't rise at all. Suddenly, all of her nervousness just vanished. She knew these men wouldn't hurt her or her crew. With a newfound boldness inside of her chest, she released Law's hand- his concerned washed over her body, but he didn't move towards her -and took a few steps closer to the newly arrived crew. She then, for some reason, spread out her wings and summoned one of each of her crystals for them all to see. Her eyes widened slightly when all of the Red Hair Pirates took to their right knee and bowed to her.

"They're bowing to her?" Shachi asked. Disbelief coated his tone. "An emperor and his crew are bowing to one little girl. Why? They're not Elementals."

"Dunno," Penguin said just as perplexed as his friend. "Maybe because she's their captain's goddaughter? I'm not sure how loyalty is going to come in to play here. I'm pretty sure Red Hair isn't going to ever attack his goddaughter so his crew shouldn't either. But we're still opposing pirate crews."

"Princess Neo of Luminous," Shanks then said. He raised his dark eyes and looked right at her.

Neo's dream flashed through her mind. That same presence Shanks wrapped around her in her dream was wrapping around her now. Everything around them seemed to fade away when he started talking. She felt like it was only the two of them in the entire world. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she was just imagining this or if it had something to do with their bond.

"It is an honor and a relief to finally be reunited with my goddaughter. And, I must say, you have grown into a beautiful young woman. You look so much like both your parents." Shanks then ran his eyes over the crew behind her.

Neo watched as Shanks eyes came to a stop right beside her. Reality came back into focus when she felt Law take her hand in his. She blinked and could see everything again. She glanced up at Law. He was staring right back at the red haired captain with a light glare and frown.

Shanks' own lips dipped down into a frown before he started speaking again. "So you're the little surgeon who coaxed my goddaughter into the harsh life of a pirate."

Neo felt Law twitch at the older man's accusation. He said, "I did  _not_  coax her into anything. She  _chose_  this life all on her own."

The air became even thicker when Shanks' eyes glinted with a dangerous light.

Pressure pushed down on her body again. She gasped and wobbled.

Law shot his left arm out in front of her chest while releasing her hand from his so he could put his arm around her waist. "Neo?"

"I'm okay," Neo replied. "Just a little dizzy."

"Sorry about that," Shanks then said.

Neo looked over at him and noticed guilt and sincerity in his eyes.

"I just wanted to make sure that this crew was strong enough to take care of you."

"Did you just use haki?" Neo asked.

Shanks nodded, standing up. He pulled his eyes from her to look at the angry young captain beside her. Setting his own glare on his face, he said, "Don't give me that look, little pirate surgeon. There was no way I was walking away from this meeting without testing whether or not you are worthy of protecting and marrying my goddaughter."

"What?" Law asked.

Neo blinked in confusion while the rest of the Heart Pirates exchanged confused looks of their own.

Suddenly, Shanks and his entire crew started laughing, which sent more confused looks passing through the younger crew.

"You all seriously need to relax. There's no reason to be so uptight. This is just a friendly meeting after all. How about some booze, huh?" Shanks asked. He then turned to look at one of his subordinates. The subordinate immediately understood the quiet order and headed back to their ship with a couple others crewmates. Shanks turned back and looked right at Law. "Now, lets get down to business, shall we? First order of business here is…" Shanks paused to take in a deep breath. He then shouted, "How dare you propose to my daughter without my permission?! But most of all, how dare you give her a ring when she didn't understand the meaning of it?! That's not how a man is suppose to act with the woman he's in love with! You should have asked me before asking her! And you shouldn't have given her a ring without explaining its meaning first! What's wrong with you?!"

Law growled. Shouting back, he said, "What are you talking about?! She's only your  _goddaughter, not your daughter_! And I gave her that ring as another way to  _protect_  her! I wasn't going to give any man the chance to take advantage of her naivety! At the time, that's all that ring was! It only became more when she was ready for it to and wanted it to!"

"Goddaughter is daughter! It's the same thing!" Shanks barked. "And you still had no right to give her a ring!"

"No! It is not the same!" Law snapped. "And I just explained why I gave it to her! Sheesh! You're just as bad as the Elementals!"

"You better not be bad mouthing my  _daughter's_  people!" Shanks yelled.

"She's  _not_  your  _daughter_!"

"She is too!"

"She is not!"

"Huh?" Neo blinked in confusion. She tilted her head while watching these two men argue over her. She looked up to Penguin when he put his arm around her shoulders.

"They're arguing like family already," Penguin said with a hint of amusement in his tone.

"Well, when the captain and Neo do get married they will be family," Shachi said with a chuckle. He crossed his arms in thought. "Let's see…since Neo is Red Hair Shanks' goddaughter…that would make the captain his godson-in- _Law_."

"No it won't!" Law and Shanks shouted at Shachi.

Shachi laughed and held up his hands in mock defeat.

"But how did you even know that he proposed to her?" Bepo asked. He too had moved closer to the other pirate group, but the rest of their crew remained near the fire.

"I got a very interesting, very long-winded, letter from a friend of yours back on Luminous," Shanks said with a smile. "She told me everything."

"Who?" Neo inquired. She wrapped her arms around Law's. He calmed down quite a bit at her touch.

"Zinnia," Shanks replied.

Law growled. "I should have known it would be that healer woman."

"But, wait, how did she even get a letter to you?" Archer asked. "Luminous isn't in the New World. It's back in Paradise."

"Elementals have their ways of getting around. Wind and water Elementals can easily work together to pass underwater just like coated ships do. They occasionally travel with me. How do you think I got to the battle at Marineford so quickly?" Shanks replied. All eyes turned to him. He scanned his eyes over the young crew once more before letting his eyes rest upon Topaz. "I've been informed of you as well, young miss. You are quite the brave one for willingly joining a pirate crew and sailing into these turbulent waters."

"Thank you." Topaz nodded. "I will do whatever I can to protect her majesty."

"Speaking of which," Shanks said turning his attention back to Law. "I'd like to hear how exactly you are going to protect her. She has many secrets that need to be kept, as I'm sure you are aware."

"I don't have to tell you anything," Law snapped back.

_'Law? Can't you just tell him what he wants to know? You don't have to tell him your plans to take down that other emperor or anything related. But he's going to find out about you wanting to become a warlord when it happens. The Navy will announce your admittance into the warlord system, won't they?'_

_'I suppose you are correct. Fine. I'll tell him, but only what I want him to know.'_  Law frowned again when he noticed Shanks carefully taking him and Neo in. He wondered if the emperor was able to sense or hear what they were saying to each other. "Fine. I'll tell you my plans of keeping her safe, but you are going to tell us what you know about your bond with her. And you  _will_  answer any questions she might have for you about her parents and your relationship with them and Luminous."

"That won't be much on my part concerning the bond, but fair enough," Shanks agreed. He nodded towards the fire. "Shall we get comfortable?"

Law nodded in agreement. The two pirate crews then gathered around the fire. Law immediately put his arm protectively, and possessively, around Neo when she sat down beside him and curled into his side.

Shanks smiled teasingly at the young captain.

Law glared at him then started to explain how he was going to keep Neo's secrets. The tension amongst the two crews broke even more when stories and explanations were being exchanged. It was just about gone when they started drinking, but a small air of caution still remained between them and no one drank very much.

"I see," Shanks nodded. He was leaning against a log while listening to Law talk. He had a mug of boozing sitting beside him, but hadn't touched it yet. "That does seem to be the best course of action for this type of situation. I'm impressed, Trafalgar Law."

Law scoffed at the idea of impressing this emperor. He didn't care at all of what the man thought about him. A brief moment of silence passed between them before he gave Shanks a pointed look.

Shanks chuckled before speaking. "I know. It's my turn to speak now. Well, I'm not sure what to say were this bonding thing is concerned. It took Neo's parents by surprise too. They told me that I'd have to learn what all this bond is capable of on my own with the help of the princess. A far as I can tell all I can do is sense where she is and that she's alive. I only recently learned that I could send vague thoughts to her through her dreams. I suspect that this will grow stronger just like your bond with her has grown stronger. But since we only bonded once, I doubt we'll be able to do anymore than that. Only time will tell for sure."

"So you can't see or hear what Neo or I have said or done in the past since you've connected to her and when we speak to each other through our bond?" Law forced himself to ask that question casually.

Neo glanced at him then over at Shanks.

"No, I haven't been able to do that. Why ask a question like  _that_  when you're not allowed to have sex with her until your married?" Shanks gave Law a smirk that made the surgeon fume in place. The Red Hair Pirates snickered at their captain purposefully trying to provoke the younger captain. "You're not planning on taking away her purity before then, are you? If you are, me and my crew will cut you down here and now."

"Shut up!" Law snapped. "Of course I'm not! I was just asking a justified question! You're bonded to her just as I am!"

Shanks chuckled. He waved his hand dismissively. "No. I can't do that. And I don't believe I will be able to do so. So relax. You're private love life with her will remain private."

"Why did you pick this particular island to meet us?" Penguin asked.

Shanks glanced at him before returning his eyes to Neo and Law. "I picked this island because it's a neutral zone. No one ever comes here because there's no food. I believe some have stopped here briefly on their journeys, but quickly leave. It's not under an emperor's rule either. Plus, those bell shaped flowers do really glow. I've always liked them and thought the princess would like to see them. There are rumors of them being created from magic, but no one has ever confirmed this to be true or not. Besides, I knew you all would hesitate to come see me if I had sent the idea to meet in my territory. That's understandable. I'm just glad that she received my message and you all came here. For a moment, I didn't think she would understand and run from it since this experience with our bond is new to her."

"You know new things scare her?" Bepo asked.

"I do. Zinnia mentions that in her letter, but I can also sense it," Shanks replied. He gave Neo a soft, regretful, smile. "I'm sorry that you have to be scare of new things. It wouldn't have happened if only I had the strength that I do now back then. Your parents would still be alive and you would still be with them."

Neo stared at the red haired man. His eyes dropped down to the fire. She noticed his mind wasn't here on this island anymore. It was back on that day. She pulled her eyes from him and looked around at his crew. A few of them also had regretful looks on their faces while others looked sad but didn't have regret in their expressions. She quickly assumed that the ones who did look regretful were on this crew back then and knew her parents too. She could also tell from their expressions, and through her bond with Shanks, that they all felt really bad about what happened back then and the kind of life it left her with. With her eyebrows turned up, she looked at Law. He gave her an instant nod of encouragement. He already knew she wouldn't blame them for what happened and knew she would want them to know that. She nodded back before pushing herself to her feet.

She started to walk over to the red haired man. When she was about five feet from him, she paused for a split second before closing the distance between them. She kneeled down on Shanks' left side. She paused again when she noticed that his arm was missing. She kneaded her eyebrows and wondered when that had happened. Somehow she knew it had happened after he helped her parents escape from Luminous. She put that aside for the moment and turned her attention back to her task at hand. Being this close to the man, she was able to smell the booze on him. She found it comforting for some reason. Her mind flashed back to when she had visions of him and her parents shortly after leaving Amazon Lily. His scent mixed with booze must have imprinted on her senses. She suddenly felt just as safe with him as she did with Law.

Hesitantly, she reached for him. She cupped his face. He didn't resist in the slightest as she guided his eyes up to hers. She gave him a sweet smile. "Please, don't blame yourselves for what happened back then. You all were up against people who controlled nature and who were under the darkness crystal's influence. I don't blame you." Neo looked at his crew. "I don't blame any of you, for the death of my parents or for losing me back then. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't Kailen's fault. It was all the darkness crystal and Atlas' fault for betraying Luminous."

"Atlas? So it was betrayal?" Shanks eyes widened in shock, as did his subordinates who were there.

"When Kailen told us what happened I could easily tell that betrayal was a strong possibility. The way the attack happened didn't add up to past times when the darkness crystal came into existence," Law explained. He was now leaning back against the log with his arms crossed. He was keeping close eye on Neo, but his posture was relaxed now. "This was confirmed by Atlas himself when Neo foiled his plans and used her solar crystal to purify the darkness."

"I see." Shanks nodded. All the Heart Pirates saw a weight lift off the man's shoulders. "We all suspected betrayal too since the attack was far too precise and happened so quickly. But we never knew what really happened."

"You've been carrying around that guilt for a long time," Neo said, regaining Shanks' attention. She brushed her thumb over his cheek. "I'm glad you've finally let it go. And I want you, all of you, to remain free of that guilt. I will never blame you for something that was out of your control. And, in a weird way, a lot of good has come out of this." Neo looked over at her crew. They all smiled at her. Her eyes landed on Law. He returned her glancing with a knowing one. She turned back to Shanks. "A lot of good."

"You are a very sweet and forgiving princess." Shanks smiled. He placed his hand over hers. "I am glad you have found happiness."

"Please, just call me Neo," She begged slightly, earning a chuckle from both crews.

"Very well then, Neo," Shanks said.

"How much longer can you all stay?" Neo asked.

"We can stay for lunch, but then we need to set sail," Shanks answered. He gestured to his cook to get started on cooking.

"That quickly?" Neo asked. Disappointment settled into her chest and came out in her tone.

"I'm sorry, Neo," Shanks said apologetically. "I really wish we could stay longer, but we can't."

"I understand," Neo replied, lowering her eyes and hand from his face.

"Hey, we still have a few hours before we have to leave. How about I tell you everything I know about your parents? I'm sure Kailen left some stuff out since he was only a kid back then and not even born yet when I first landed on Luminous." Shanks suggested.

"I'd like that." Neo smiled.

Shanks nodded then proceed to tell them all of stories of her parents and of Luminous. He started off by telling them the whole story of how they landed on Luminous and how it was Mira who found them. Then told them of how Mira was obsessed with his red hair and was constantly trying to cut off a lock of it, eventually did too. How he got Rylan drunk and set lose mini tornados on the islands. The crews, now completely relaxed, laughed at all the funny stories the red haired captain was sharing with them. He even told them about having her parents on his ship when they were trying to escape Luminous. That story brought back the tension and bad memories so he quickly told it then changed the subject to his straw hat. He told them about his promise to Luffy, how he lost his arm and gave the now captain of the Straw Hat pirates his hat.

e also

All too soon it was time for the Red Hair Pirates to set sail. All of them, but for Shanks, was already onboard the ship. Shanks remained on the ground to say his finally farewells to his goddaughter. "Don't look so sad, Neo. I know we'll meet again someday. You can be sure that I'll be keeping a close eye on your adventures like I have already done so. And you can call me at any point in time if you ever need my help."

"Thanks," Neo said. She rubbed the heel of her hand in her eye in an attempt to keep herself from crying while Law squeezed her other hand. She knew she wouldn't have been able to spend much time with her godfather from the start, but she didn't think the time they did spend together would be so short. And she felt more connected to Shanks now that she had met him and heard all of his stories.

"We don't need your help," Law pointed out. "We can take care of ourselves."

Shanks nodded with a smile. "Of course. But still, if you ever get in a situation and you need me, don't hesitate to send me a message through our bond. I will help you all in anyway I can. Also, be aware that observation haki users will instantly be able to tell that Neo is different while others will just sense it. They won't know why they see her spirit differently, but they will and they might try to get answers."

"Yeah." Law nodded. "She met a marine not long ago who can use that type of haki. Luckily, he didn't push the matter."

Shanks nodded again. He turned to climb up the ladder, but paused to look back at Law. "By the way, you have my permission to marry her."

"I don't  _need_  your permission!" Law growled.

"Take care of him, Neo." Shanks winked at her. "Don't let him get too carried away with his pirate ambitious. If he ever gets out of control, don't hesitate to let me know. I'll gladly come and settle him down for you."

Neo laughed. "Sure. But I doubt that will be necessary."

"Of course it won't be necessary," Law grumbled.

Shanks tilted his head while Neo just stared at him. She chewed on her bottom lip while she debated something in her head. Dropping Law's hand, she ran to Shanks. He turned his body away from the ship just as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck. She could no longer hold her tears back. She cried while clinging to him. "Thank you. Thank you so much for what you did for me, my brother and my parents back then."

"Think nothing of it, Neo," Shanks replied. "You are my goddaughter. While we haven't known each other for every long, I still love you. And I will protect you. My entire crew knows of your existence. None of them will harm you or your crew if you happen to cross paths with them."

"Thanks. But I know that's going to be a bit difficult since we are on opposing pirate crews," Neo said pulling back from the hug slightly. She momentarily noted how strong he really was by how easily he held her in place against him with just one arm. His muscles easily pressed against her torso through their clothes.

"Perhaps. We'll only know what will happen in the future when the future gets here," Shanks said. He sat her back down on her feet then patted her head. "Don't worry about that or the future, just focus on the here and now. You'll have a lot more fun that way. Take care, okay?"

"Okay. You too." Neo nodded in agreement.

Shanks cupped her face and took one last long look at her before finally climbing onto his ship. They both watched each other while the ship, and the island, faded away from each other.

…

Neo sat staring into the fire. The snapping of the tinder was distant while her mind was going over all the things that had happened today. She had gotten to meet her godfather, learned a bit more about her parents, and basically gained an extra crew that was going to do all they can to protect her if and when the occasion arose. She glanced up at Law, who was sitting beside her like always. He too was lost in thought of what the day had brought about to them. She glanced around at her crew. They all were dealing with their own thoughts of the day. No one really was talking much about what happened. She didn't blame them. They had just got an up close and personally view of the enemy. That would shake anyone up. She felt a bit guilty about putting them through this. But she felt even more complete now. She had all the missing pieces of her past tucked deep within herself. And still, there was one thing that was missing.

Neo glanced back up at Law. She elbowed him on the arm to get his attention. "Let's go for a walk."

Law nodded. He obediently stood up with her.

She waved to the crew when they looked at her then walked off with Law's hand in hers. They walked along the coastline, silently enjoying each other's company. Neo glanced up at the moon. It was crescent shape and half hidden by the gathering clouds. She dropped her eyes to the bell shaped flowers as they passed by them. They were glowing, just like in her dream. She could sense a light trace of magic with in them, but she didn't know if they grew here automatically or if some magic creature planted them here. She also noticed that they didn't have a fragrance to them. They did give them more than enough light to compensate for the disappearing moon.

Law's voice soon broke the silence. "How are you feeling? You look a bit solemn."

"I suppose so. It feels a bit…surreal? I guess." Neo twisted a piece of hair around her finger. "Maybe I'm just sad. This is the second time I've meet someone from my past and had to leave them."

"But you feel more complete now. You're whole for the first time in your life," Law said. He paused when he felt her stop walking. When he looked at her, he found she was staring down at the ground. "What is it, love?"

"I'm not complete just yet," she replied, keeping her eyes down.

"Why not? What else is there?" Law asked. He tried to read her feelings, but she was closed off to him. He watched as she took a deep breath and slowly let it out. She then looked up at him with a sweet, innocent, devoted smile. The only kind of smile that a woman in love could possible give. He made his chest grow warm.

"Marrying you," she replied in low voice.

"Oh?" Law tilted his head. His eyes began to shine when she reopened herself to him. He could see what she was talking about. "Are you saying yes then?"

Neo took another deep breath. Both their hearts pounded rapidly. As she spoke her answer out loud, their hearts started beating in sync with the other. "Yes, Law. I want to marry you."

Law's lips spread into a bright smile. He took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. He moved his hands from her face to her hips as she put her arms around his neck. He then wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up off the ground. Their kiss lasted for several more minutes before lack of oxygen forced them to pull apart and breath.

"It's a good thing we're outside." Neo breathed out.

"Why's that?" Law questioned.

"Because the crew is going to scream out so loud when we tell them," Neo replied.

Law couldn't help but laugh. She was right. The crew was going to be extremely loud the second they tell them they're getting married.

"Might as well head back and tell them now and get it over with," Law said with a sigh.

Neo giggled and reclaimed his hand in hers. She then guided him back to the crew knowing he would put off telling them if he could. When they got back to the crew, they all were holding surprised looks on their faces.

"We didn't think you'd be back this soon," Conner said.

"So what's with the glowing expressions?" Jean Bart asked.

"Hey! They are glowing!" Archer pointed out. "Does this mean you two have some good news to share?"

"I assume a question has been answered?" Topaz inquired. She placed a hand on her hip with a smile.

Neo looked up at Law.

Law returned the glance then looked over at their crew and answered all their questions in just three words. "She said yes."

The crew momentarily just remained in their places. At the same time, reality broke into their blank minds on what their captain had just said. They all screamed out, but Tero who just smiled and shook his head, in joy just like Neo thought. Law was glad they were outside. With all this shouting it would bust their eardrums if they were confined in the sub.

"Neo! I'm so happy for you!" Penguin cried, both figuratively and literally. He pulled her into a tight hug, soon joined by several other members of the crew.

"Captain!" Bepo cried too. He pounced on the spotted man, bringing his best friend's face into his fluffy chest. "This is so wonderful! I'm so glad!

"Bepo! Can't breath!" Law choked out.

"I'm sorry." Bepo immediately dropped Law and ducked his head.

After regaining his breath, Law shook his head then smiled at the bear. The captain then glanced over at Neo. The crew was still bombarding her. They were hugging her, crying and already asking her wedding questions. He felt it was going to be a while before he could reclaim her by his side. A couple crewmates then walked closer to their captain. They gave him handshakes and pats on the back, with occasional teasing of their wedding night. Once he was able to break free from it all, Law sat down and leaned against one of the logs to wait for Neo to return to his side.


	62. Navy & Wedding Talks

Navy & Wedding Talks

"Hold it right there!" A marine captain cried out. He and his band of fifteen navy soldiers pointed their gun barrels right at their cornered prey. The group of six Heart Pirates instantly frozen in their tracks at the command and shot their hands up into the air.

"Please! Don't shoot us, Mister Navy Soldier!" Archer shrieked in a ridiculously high-pitched, mocking voice. "We didn't mean any harm! Honest!"

"Yeah. Right. That's why you chose to live your life as pirates," the captain huffed. "Arrest them, men!"

"Yes, sir!" the rest of the marines chorused. A couple of them reached for their handcuffs and shackles while the rest of the marines kept their gun barrels pointed right at the cornered pirates.

The Heart Pirates raised their eyes up to the sky when the wind started to twirl around them. They quickly lowered their eyes back down to the soldiers so they wouldn't give away the incoming storm that was hovering above them.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Shachi said with a smirk.

"Why not?" a soldier, who had his cuffs and shackles out, asked with confusion plastered on his face. "It's my job."

"Don't talk nice with the pirates!" the captain shouted. "Just arrested them!"

"Yes, sir!" The marine shivered. He proceeded to step towards the pirates with the cuffs out and ready to take them prisoner.

"Don't say I didn't warn I warned you," Shachi said with a shrug. He then lowered his arms with the rest of the crew chuckling beside him and following his lead.

"Hey! Put your hands back up!" the Navy captain hissed. He jammed his gun right into Shachi's cheek. "Up!"

"You really shouldn't have done that," Shachi said with a frown. "Our lady doesn't like it when people mess with her crew."

"Lady?" The marines blinked.

Shachi's frown curled into a smile when he noticed the red crystals hovering just inside the soldiers' gun barrels. The crystals flared up, engulfing the barrels in a red-hot glow.

"Uh, Captain?" a marine called. "Our gun barrels are melting."

"What?!" The captain turned to his platoon. His eyes widened at the red-hot glowing barrels. Steam rose off the barrels as hot metal filled the air around them. "You got to be kidding! Who the heck is doing that?!"

"You might wanna drop those," Archer said while pointing at the soldiers holding the cuffs and shackles.

After a collective 'Huh?' the Navy soldiers looked down to see the cuffs and shackles were glowing just as hot and red as the gun barrels. They shrieked and tossed them away.

"I told you our lady doesn't like people messing with us," Shachi said again. "You should have walked away when you had the chance."

"Shut up, pirate! I'm not gonna let some phantom woman-" The Navy captain cut his own voice off when a large, yellow flower sprouted up out of the ground around him. He blinked just before it's yellow petals closed around his body like a tight cocoon. He punched, kicked and bit at the petals, but they didn't give in to his assault as they held him tightly in its grip. "Get me out of this thing!"

"Right, Captain!" the soldiers shouted. They moved in to help their captain, but stopped short when green crystals appeared in front of their faces.

"What's going on?" a soldier asked. "What are these crystals?"

"Wait…wasn't there a report released recently about a woman, who can control the elements, and was a crewmember of the Heart Pirates here recently?" another soldier asked.

"That's right. Boy, you guys are slow," Archer said. He placed his arm on Shachi's shoulder with a grin. "I thought you marines kept up with us pirates. All well. It's time for you all to get trapped. It's been fun."

"Hey! There she is!" a soldier shouted. All the marines shot their eyes up to the air where Neo was hovering over them.

"What? She's just a  _kid_!" another soldier shouted.

Neo tilted her head and giggled. She willed her earth crystals to glow. The ground around the marines started shaking. They gasped when large flowers grew up around their feet and screamed when the large petals trapped them just like their captain. Just for show, Neo wiggled her fingers. Venus flytrap flowers grew up out of the ground. She twirled her index finger in a circle. And, as if acting on her command, the flower stems twisted around the Navy soldiers' already flower encased bodies until the monstrous looking flowers came up to the soldiers' faces.

The Navy soldiers faces grew worried with concern as they stared at the flowers in front of them.

Neo opened the mouths of the flowers, earning blue faced shrieks from the soldiers just before she had the flowers clamp their flowery jaws closed and kiss the soldiers on their cheeks.

"Huh?" The soldiers blinked in confusion. They stared at the plants before them, wondering why they weren't plant food, then looked over at the Heart Pirates when their former prey started laughing hysterically.

Neo lowered herself closer to the two groups. She bit her lip in attempt to not reveal her bell filled laughter to the soldiers, but the scene she just created was almost too much for her.

"I didn't think the big bad Navy could scream so girly like," Archer said between his cackles. He hunched over, slapping his hand on his knee. "That was priceless! I wish I had a camera!"

"Let's get going!" Shachi suggested, but was having trouble containing his own laughs at the pitiable state Neo put the Navy in. Unable to resist, he reached out and patted one of the venus flytraps like it was a dog. "Good, plant. Good, boy."

"That's not funny!" the Navy soldier shrieked. He glared up at Neo. "We know you're gonna kill us! So just do it already!"

Neo tilted her head with an angelic smile. All of the Navy soldiers glared up at her, waiting for her or her fellow pirates to deliver the fatal blow that would end their lives. She spun four wind ringlets around each of her ten visible crystals. Some soldiers closed their eyes while other maintained their harsh glares. She then guided her ringlets out towards the soldiers. She spun the ringlets around, kicking up the dust to give her crewmates the chance to take off without being seen before launching herself up into the air and disappearing herself.

The Navy soldiers coughed and sputtered at the dirt gathering in their mouths and noses. Once the dirt had settled back down into place, they looked around in confusion. All the pirates were now completely gone from their sights. "Huh?"

"Where did they go?" a soldier asked.

"Why didn't they finish us off?" another one asked.

"Did they just show us mercy? That doesn't make sense," a third soldier added.

"What doesn't make sense is why a  _child_  is on a pirate crew!" the captain snapped. "Or that a bunch of well trained Navy men got taken out by a little girl who didn't even hit them once!"

"Sorry, Captain," the platoon chorused. "But you got caught too."

"Shut up!" the captain hissed. He wriggled in his flower cocoon. "This is going to be so embarrassing if one of the higher ups sees me like this. I'll never get promoted. But still…that girl…why didn't she finish us off? Who is that girl? What kind of devil fruit power was that?"

…

Neo glanced down at her now freed crewmates to make sure they were still heading for the sub. She mentally counted them as they ran through the town then sighed in relief that they all were fine. She looked up towards the dock. Law's Room was covering the entire sub. He was redirecting and slicing up cannonballs that were coming from a Navy ship on the port side. She saw him glance over his shoulder when Bepo shrieked and pointed towards the starboard side. She knew he was freaking out from another Navy ship coming from that way. And she knew Law told the crew she would take care of it when they glanced up at her. She waved to them before carrying out her unspoken order.

The Navy fired their cannons at the Polar Tang.

Neo whipped out her winds and grabbed the metal balls easily. She flew them and herself closer to the Navy ship. Once close enough to see them, she shook her finger at them like a mother would do to a child who got caught doing something they should have. "Nuh-uh. You don't do that to  _my_  crew."

Despite not being close enough to hear what they were saying, she was close enough to see the panic she set off in them. She smirked while thinking they were probably saying things Law wouldn't want her to hear anyway. She then proceeded to toss the cannonballs back at them as she melted the cannons so they couldn't fire at her with them. She swung the balls around like she was trying to hit the soldiers, but only damaged the ship. She rammed the cannonballs into the walls, through the sails and broke the helm before dropping them onto the deck of the ship. She then increased her winds and took control of the waters to drive the ship into the island, causing enough damage to strand the large vessel there.

After taking a quick inventory to make sure she didn't seriously hurt anyone, she turned her attention to the remaining Navy ship that was still bombarding her crew. She flew over to it. Grabbing the cannonballs in her winds, she proceeded to do the exact same thing to this ship as she did the previous. Once that ship had run aground, she flew back to her crew.

Law scanned his eyes over her before ordering his crew inside and to take off from the island.

…

Meanwhile, elsewhere amongst the Navy soldiers in one of their many bases, A green haired Navy soldier was sitting quietly at a table in the mess deck while the soldiers around him chattered on happily about their victories over recent pirate captures or about letters from home they received. His eyes were glued down to an article in the paper about the Heart Pirates while he tried to ignore the many unwashed smells of his fellow soldiers. He would never understand why so many humans apparently were against taking baths. He chewed mindlessly on his supper when a younger soldier came rushing up to his table. He casually glanced up at the soldier before returning his eyes back to the paper.

"Hey," the soldier said as he joined his fellow soldiers in the mess deck. Some looked up at him while others continued eating with only quick glances up at him. He plopped his tray down before sitting down himself. "That girl has been seen again. You know, the one with the crystals and the ability to control the elements?"

"Have they figured out who she is and what her devil fruit is?" another soldier asked. "What about where she's from?"

Tory's body ticked at that last question. He swallowed his bread hard and took a drink of water before retaining his calm body posture.

"Nope. But there's been talk among the higher ups," the soldier replied. "More like complaints. That girl keeps melting all of our soldiers' guns. If that keeps up, you know it's going to hit the fan. The Navy's gonna have to spend a lot of money on making more guns."

"And we still don't know anything about her. We don't even know her name. All we know is she's a kid with some kind of devil fruit powers where crystals are conductors for the elements. But what all is she capable of? And why hasn't she done more damage already? I mean the elements are a powerful tool after all. You all remember all what Fire Fist Ace did when he was alive. He was practically unstoppable," a soldier said. A round of mumbling agreements and lingering distain for the Pirate King's son spread through the group of soldiers. "And this girl has all four of the elements. She seems more playful than ruthless like other pirates. Captain Jory, what do you think? You've met her before, right?"

"Hm?" Jory looked up from his paper, with a forced bored expression on his face.

"This crystal element girl with the Heart Pirates," the soldier repeated. "What's your take on her? You've faced her before."

"Oh, her," Jory replied in a bored tone. "She didn't seem all that special. I assume that she's only recently gained her devil fruit powers around the time that I encountered her and her crew. My guess is it'll still be a while before she can control them to their fullest extent. Fire Fist Ace only had fire to deal with. She has all four elements like you've said. Don't concern yourself with her. All she can do is melt things and trap people. She has yet to actually engage in a full on assault against the Navy. Focus more on her captain, Trafalgar Law, The Surgeon of Death, he's the one with the reputation of being a problem for the Navy. Besides, like you've said before, the girl is just a child. The Surgeon of Death is the real problem here."

Jory dropped his eyes back down to his paper while the soldiers dove into a round of agreements and talked about how they were going to capture the Surgeon of Death. He stared at the black words on the paper that questioned his princess's origins. He sighed internally.  _Be careful, Princess. I know you're starting to let yourself be seen by the Navy more so your bonded can get you set in their eyes, but still…I'm not in a high enough position to do much if something happens on this end. So far the Navy doesn't consider you a big threat. And, for now, I can easily guide their attention off your bonded and onto other pirate crews. But I don't know how long that will last, especially since I have no idea what your bonded is planning for the future. Still, whatever happens, I'm sure you'll be fine. I know you are powerful and you have plenty of powerful people looking out for you. If worse comes to worse, you can always retreat back to Luminous. I'll do whatever I can on this end. Just stay safe, Princess._

…

Neo sat on the floor of the deck. Her head spun as a few of her crewmates rattled of what all it takes to put together a wedding and how the bride was often the center of attention. Ice ran through her veins. Sweat dripped down her forehead. Their words mixed together, creating a muddied mess inside of her head. Her stomach lurched. Launching to her feet she sailed over to the railing and wretched.

"There, there, my poor baby," Penguin said soothingly. He got up from his spot on the deck and walked over to her. He took her hair in his hands. Tucking her tresses into one hand he placed his free hand on her back. With soothing rubs, he glanced at his four crewmates with a deep frown. They were standing around with guilty expressions on their faces.

"Sorry, Neo," Archer said. "This is the second time we've caused you to get sick."

"No." Neo shook her head. She paused to make sure she wasn't going to throw up again before turning to her crew. "It's not your fault. I apparently have a weak stomach when it comes to planning events like this. I just get so nervous when anyone mentions our wedding."

"You should talk to the captain about this," Archer suggested. "Maybe there's something he can give you. Or maybe there's a flower you can grow and hang around the sub that'll calm your nerves."

"There are a lot of scents that do calm the nerves," Neo replied thoughtfully. She then gave a weak giggle. "Might not be such a bad idea. I don't want to keep losing everything I eat. In coming waves caused by a pod of whales."

"I think you just need to take a break from any thoughts of your wedding," Penguin said, placing his arm around her waist just before the first, and largest, wave rocked their sub. They rode out the remainder of the ebbing waves before continuing their conversation. "You and the captain haven't even picked out a date yet. It's still going to be a while before you two have your wedding. No point in stressing out about it now. How about we cook up some snacks for a while? That'll take your mind off the stresses of the wedding."

"Yeah!" the men cheered. "Chocolate chip cookies! Please!"

Neo laughed at their enthusiasm. "All right, all right. I guess it has been a while since I've made them. I'm going to go brush my teeth first."

Penguin nodded, jerking his thumb towards his crewmates. "I'll meet you in the galley then. And I'll be sure these jokers stay out and away from you with their incessant wedding jabber."

"Hey!" the group protested. "We're not that bad!"

"Don't shout at me. You're the cause of all this," Penguin huffed.

Neo giggled before slipping away from her lovely, yet arguing, crew. She hummed softly to herself while navigating through the bluish grey walls of her home. She noticed the sub's floors were rather warm under her bare feet. And cooking was only going to warm up the sub even more. She was going to have to use her wind crystals to keep things from getting to hot in the sub. If not, Bepo would end up all hot and sweaty then take it out on the crew despite it being her fault for deciding to make them all some snacks.

"Poor Bepo," Neo said to herself. "I'll use my crystals for him. He'll be glad for that."

Neo pushed the door open to her and Law's room then made her way into the bathroom, sensing Law wasn't far behind her. She rinsed out her mouth before grabbing her toothbrush and toothpaste. Once her mouth and teeth were spearmint fresh once again, she exited the bathroom. She sensed Law near the door just before stepping out of their room. His eyes were filled with concern despite his relax posture of having his hands in his pockets. She smiled. "I'm okay, Law. Its just nerves."

"More wedding talk, huh?" Law asked. His eyes penetrated into hers; making her shiver at their intensity of concern they held for her. "That's the second time today, Neo."

"I know, I know. The crew's not going to talk anymore about it today." Neo placed her hands on his hips. She pushed upon her toes and pecked his lips with her own. Her spearmint breath washing over his skin when she spoke. "I'm fine. Penguin and I are going to make some cookies now. Is there anything you'd like?"

"Just you to be calm and relaxed," Law said. His eyes lingered on her lips for several seconds before kissing them.

Neo hummed into the kiss, making him deepen it. She slid her arms around his waist as he pulled his hands from his pockets and wrapped his strong arms around her shoulders.

"Well, that's a good start," Neo said when they pulled apart to breath.

"Glad I could help," Law replied, repetitively pecking her lips. "Mmm…spearmint is a good flavor on you."

"Good," Neo said between his pecks. "I should get to Penguin now."

"Nope. Not yet." Law placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her gently against the wall of the sub. He brushed the tip of his tongue over her lips to which she gladly parted for him, her body tensed. She danced her tongue with his before he enticed her to follow his muscle into his mouth were she searched his cavern until she got him to moan against her mouth. She smiled and pulled away for air. "You're going to walk away now, aren't you?"

"Yup." She pecked his lips before pulling herself from his dominant position over her. He gave her a playful glare as she walked backwards away from him. "I got to work on figuring out this whole teasing thing after all."

Law chuckled. He ran his eyes over her body, mostly her bare legs her shorts provided for him, while thinking about all the times she's teased him without realizing it. His brain instantly concocting a small plan to get her alone again later that night to finish what she was walking away from. "Trust me, love. You've got that mastered already."

…

_"I'm glad you were able to come see me. How are you doing?" Shanks asked. He was sitting down beside a fire that accompanied him and Neo in their dream communication world._

_Neo was looking around their surroundings with curiosity shining in her eyes._

_Shanks chuckled at her childlike interest in this place they created. He glanced around himself. It was just the same as the world he created when he first summoned her to come see him without the sub walls surrounding them. Now it was a world of it's own. They were in another field, which went on far beyond what their eyes could see, with the same glowing bell shaped flowers glowing softly below the moonlight above them. "Are you even listening to me?"_

_"Yes, Godfather, I'm listening," Neo replied with a giggle. She turned her attention back to the red haired man before walking over to him. She sat down right beside him with a smile. "I'm just surprised that we can create a world like this inside our heads. We can literally create anything we want here as long as it deals with nature. That must be because I'm of nature and you're bonded to me."_

_"I suppose it is a bit impressive. It's kinda like a dream world where we're in complete control of what happens," Shanks said, casting this world another glance before returning his attention to the young woman beside him. "I'm glad I can see you like this. You're starting to get noticed by the Navy. I'm a bit concerned."_

_"You know you don't have to be," Neo replied. "I'm not going to do much. I'm maintaining my sniper position and only confronting the Navy when my crew gets cornered."_

_"I'm still going to worry even though you are doing well." Shanks nodded. "Just be careful."_

_"I will." Neo nodded back. She then smiled brightly. "On a more happy note…"_

_"Oh?" Shanks grinned._

_"Law and I are getting married!" Neo squealed._

_"So you finally said yes to the little pirate surgeon," Shanks said._

_"Yeah." Neo nodded. Her cheeks tinted pink. "I know I'm still learning about life, but this just feels right. I want to be with him."_

_"Then congratulations." Shanks pulled Neo into a hug. "I shall throw a party with my crew in honor of your marriage. Be sure to let me know when it finally happens. I'm glad for you both. Just don't tell him I said that."_

_"It appears you're going to have a relationship with Law like Healer Zinnia has with him," Neo commented._

_"Probably. She sure did have her moments with him." Shanks thought back to the long-winded letter he received from the Elemental healer. "I'm glad she handled him as well as she did."_

_"Huh?" Neo glanced over her shoulder._

_"What is it?" Shanks asked._

_"I think my crew is calling me. I'm playing poker with some of them right now, but without real money," Neo said, turning her eyes back to the red haired man she was with._

_"I didn't mean to interrupt your game," Shanks apologized. "Sorry about that."_

_"It's fine. We've been playing for a while," Neo replied. "I'm glad you contacted me. I like that we can meet like this occasionally."_

_"I'm glad we can meet like this too. I'll see you later then," Shanks said before leaning closer to her and placing a kiss on her forehead._

_Neo closed her eyes. She breathed in his now familiar and welcoming scent before opening her eyes again._

"Talking with Red Haired?" Shachi asked when Neo finally opened her eyes.

Neo giggled sheepishly, her bells making her sound very mischievous. She picked up her forgotten cards with a nod. "Yeah. Sorry about that."

"Don't be," Bepo replied with a smile. "You're not going to get to talk to him much with all of our travels and escapades. If you get the chance to talk with him, then you should. We're not doing anything important right now, anyway."

"You think?" Neo tilted her head. She looked around at the crewmembers that were currently with her. Penguin was on her right, with her legs resting in his lap, Shachi was on her left with Bepo beside him, Tero then Topaz. They were sitting at the table just staring at her. She then looked down at their substitute poker chips, which consisted of chips, marshmallows, cookies, hard candies and other variety of foods they could find. "It's easier now to connect with him since I met with him a few weeks ago. Our bond grew a lot faster than I thought it would. I guess it's because I'm so use to using my magic now. It's coming so naturally."

"Bepo's right," Penguin said. "And since your bond is growing with him it's only natural that you'll want to spend time with him, even if it is in a dream like world. He's worried over you plenty. No doubt that's going to continue. He'll like it that you keep in contact with him."

"He was a bit worried," Neo said thoughtfully. "He's keeping an eye on us from what the papers say just like he said he would."

"That's what a worried father does," Topaz mentioned. She picked up a chip and popped it into her mouth.

"Father? He's my godfather," Neo said, confused.

"It's pretty much the same thing." Topaz shrugged.

"I guess so. I remember that's kind of how Law explained it back on Amazon Lily," Neo said. She kneaded her eyebrows. "So Shanks is my father now?"

"If you want to look at him that way. I'm sure Red Hair wouldn't mind it one bit. You are bonded to him. And he obviously cares about you a lot even though you haven't had much time with him," Penguin said. He patted her knee. "I say he is your father."

"Just don't tell the captain that," Shachi snickered. "He barely stood the fact that Red Hair is gonna be his  _godfather_ -in-law. Can you imagine how the captain would react to Red Hair being his  _father_ -in-law?"

The group laughed at the memory of their encounter with the seasoned pirate. Neo composed herself when she felt Law glowering, from another room, at their conversation. With a smile on her face, she said, "Law's not going to be very happy with you. He's seething right now. Sorry. I probably should have closed my feelings off to him for this conversation."

"I don't blame him," Tero said, placing some of his food chips in the pile. "I think we all would have reacted the same way that he did. I mean your godfather is an  _emperor_. And not just any ol' one at that, its Red Hair Shanks. That would be a pretty big shock to anyone. I wonder what the Navy would do if they ever found out about this."

"They'd probably have a heart attack," Shachi said with a bright grin. "Red Hair is a pretty intimidating man. The Navy fears him despite always putting on a brave face."

"And while we're on the subject of the Navy," Tero said, directing his words and eyes at Neo.

Her eyebrows raised on her forehead. She waited patiently for him to continue.

"You need to start calling out the names of your attacks."

"Hm? I do?" Neo cocked her head. "Why?"

"Because all devil fruit users do. If you keep your mouth quiet all the time while attacking, they're going to grow suspicious. We already have enough of that by using your crystals. We also need to come up with an origin story for you," Tero explained. "Where you're from can wait for now. The Navy's not going to care much about that until they, at least, learn your name and devil fruit powers. But it's imperative that you start calling out your attacks. We also need to limit you on how many attacks you use for now."

"Why's that?" Topaz asked.

"Because when someone first eats their devil fruit they don't come out all powerful and know what all they can do where their powers are concerned," Tero explained. "We need to build her up correctly. We can start off with what she has already done. Then, after some time passes, increases her attacks and shape them differently so the Navy will be sure to see she as any other devil fruit user. Right, Captain?"

"That's correct," Law said. The group turned their attention to the door of the rec. room. Their captain was leaning against the doorframe, casually taking in his crew and love. He pushed off the door and walked over to them. He stroked Neo's hair, catching a glimpse of the cards she was holding and forced himself not to smile at her hand. "Sorry about not thinking of this before."

"It's fine. You've a lot to deal with," Neo replied. "Was there something you wanted?"

"It's getting pretty late. I figured we could have another lesson before turning in for the night," Law said. He then nodded to their card game. "Are you almost finished?"

"Oh, uh." Neo looked down at her hand then at her fellow card players.

"I call," Shachi said. "Show me what ya got."

The group of card players all laid down their cards. They looked around at each other's hands, all eyes frozen on Neo's royal flush. They shouted and threw their hands up in the air in exasperation. "Ack! You've gotta be kidding!"

"How many times does that make?" Tero grumbled. He dropped his elbow on the table and rested his chin in his palm while popping another chocolate chip cookie into his mouth with his other hand. "Sixteen?"

"Seventeen," Bepo corrected before dropping his head to the table.

"I'm beginning to think it's a good thing the captain doesn't allow us to play you for money," Shachi said with a sigh. He draped an arm over the back of his chair. "We'd be flat out broke."

"Uh." Neo chuckled with a sympathetic look. "Sorry."

"You really do have a lot of luck with poker," Penguin noted. He picked up her discarded cards and looked at them with distain before slipping them into the deck.

"That's what you all get for teaching an angel a devil's game," Law said, dropping his hat onto her head. She smiled up at him. He then gave his crew a sadistic grin. "Perhaps I should let her play for money."

"No, Captain! Please!" Shachi, Bepo, and Penguin shrieked.

"If you do that, I'm deserting," Tero growled.

Topaz laughed, unfazed by the captain's threat since she didn't play much poker.

Law chuckled himself before turning his attention back to Neo. "Say goodnight now."

"Okay." Neo nodded. She stood up as Law stepped away from the group. She pecked Penguin's cheek before moving around the table to kiss Shachi's cheek, scratched behind Bepo's ears, patted Tero's hair-despite his grumpy expression-and hugged Topaz. "Goodnight, everyone."

"Goodnight, Neo and Captain," Shachi, Bepo, and Penguin chorus with smiles and waves.

"Yeah, goodnight," Tero said with a small, disinterested wave.

"Sleep well, you two," Topaz added.

Neo then headed over to Law, who was standing beside the door waiting patiently for her.

"Hey, what about naming your attacks?" Bepo asked.

"Oh, um…I have no idea what to call them. Why don't you all think of some for me? We can discuss them later," Neo suggested.

"We'll see what we can do," Bepo replied with a nod and a smile.

Neo returned the gestures before sliding her left hand into Law's. She waved at them as Law guided her out of the rec. room.

Shachi snickered once he knew the couple was out of earshot. "Another lesson indeed. There might be a lot to learn about the human body, but there's not  _that_ much."

"He is giving her another lesson, all right." Penguin smirked, passing out another round of cards. "Another lesson in  _kissing_."

"They sure do that a lot," Topaz noted.

"I don't know why he bothers trying to hide his true intentions," Tero said. He strummed his fingers on his cheek. "It's not like we don't know what they're doing. They act like love struck teenagers sneaking around who think their parents are too stupid to notice what's going on."

"It can't be helped," Topaz said, stacking up some of her food poker chips. "They're in love. And they have bonded through the princess's magic. Their relationship is different from a normal human one, even from Elemental ones. They  _literally_  need to be with each other. It's always going to be like that."

"So you have told me," Tero said with a sigh. "But still…they're a bit intense, don't you think?"

"They can get possessive of each other for sure," Penguin said. He picked up his cards and rearranged them in his hand. His expression softened. "For them, it's actually pretty cute. Both have suffered quiet a bit. I think the captain can really sympathize with her, even if it is just a little bit. He shows her so much affection because he wants her to know that she's loved."

Tero studied Penguin for a moment. He studied both the man and his words before a malicious grin then spread across his lips. "Or the captain's just horny."

Bepo's eyes bugged out of his head while spitting the drink he was taking back into his mug.

Topaz's cheeks flared up as she ducked behind the cards in her hand.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Shachi noted, casually picking at the corner of one of his cards.

Penguin frowned deeply. He shot a hidden glare at Tero that he knew the man felt despite not seeing it.

Tero shrugged. "What? He's a man after all. And since she's finally agreed to marry him, it's only a matter of time before their relationship becomes sexual. He'll want more alone time with her then."

"We are  _not_  going to discuss the captain and Neo's future love life," Penguin said with forced control. "Let's just get back to our game."

"Whatever you say, Big Brother Penguin," Tero said with a shrug.

…

"So what lesson are we going to have?" Neo asked once they stepped into their room. She reached for the main light switch to turn it on.

Law glided his hand under hers to stop her. When she looked at him, he pecked her forehead then reached for the nightlight, turning it on. His steel eyes glinting with suggestion as he planted light kisses on her forehead, cheeks and lips. He then pulled her farther into the room, closing the door with his foot.

"Oh. That kind of lesson."

"Were you expecting something else?" Law questioned against the skin of her left cheek. He scooped her up into his arms.

"Of course not," Neo replied. She placed her fingertips on his right cheek while pecking his left cheek softly. She then nuzzled her nose behind his ear, breathing in his scent before licking his earrings. She earned a vibrating chuckle and several heart thumps from his chest that sent shivers down her spine. Smiling, she placed multiple feather light kiss on his cheek again.

"You're sure impatient tonight," Law said with a smile. He carried her over to their bed. He sat down, keeping his feet over the edge so he could kick off his shoes before making himself comfortable with her planted firmly on his lap.

"It's your fault," Neo replied, kissing her way from his cheek to the corner of his lips. "You started this. And you just smell so good. I like your natural scent."

Law chuckled again. His lips met hers when she tried to kiss the corner of his lips again. "You're the one who instigated this when you walked away from me earlier. And glad you approve of the way I smell. I like your natural scent as well. You're very,  _very_  intoxicating."

"Good," Neo mumbled against his lips seconds before he slipped his warm muscle passed her sweetened lips. She tensed and arched against him.

"Mmm." Law hummed. He slowly drug his tongue around the dark corners of her mouth before retracting himself from her. Pecking and mumbling against her lips, he said, "Despite how good it makes you taste, I really hope you didn't eat too many sweets tonight."

"Don't worry, my love. I didn't," Neo mumbled back into their kisses. "I just nibbled on those sweets I made. I knew what you had planned after all. I didn't want to get sick and miss the real sweets I was getting tonight."

"You're such a good girl," Law said, trailing kisses away from her lips to her neck, licking and sucking her soft skin until he reached his desired destination. She tugged on a strain of his hair and moaned when he hit her sweet spot. He smiled against her skin before continuing his welcomed assault on her. Both their bodies raged with the hot fire of desire that had settled into their bellies as the captain locked his arm around her body and rolled her down to the bed. He drug his hand from her back then down the curves of her body before resting his hand on her hip, making her tense and arch again into him. He continued to suck on her neck for several minutes then licked the tender flesh, satisfied at the mark that was going to appear on that spot soon. He trailed his eyes over her tan skin to her own eyes, which were watching him carefully and expectantly, until they rested on his hat on her head. "You know, I've really missed you wearing my clothes. You haven't done that much recently."

"I can fix that easily enough. Now, kiss me," Neo softly commanded with another tug on his spikey, black mane.

"You really are impatient tonight," Law said again with another low chuckle vibrating his chest against hers.

"How can I not be?" Neo asked, taking his face in her hands. She pulled him down to her lips. She playfully licked his lips before pecking them. "I've grown up a lot. This is part of it, right? This desires of wanting to be this close to you, of wanting you to kiss me, of wanting you to…have sex with me."

"Right." Law nodded. She pecked his lips again. He cupped her cheek, studying her impatient eyes and her growing desires. "But we still have to keep tight control over ourselves."

"Until we are married," Neo retorted.

Law tilted his head at her out of character sharp tone.

She sighed, running her hands through his hair. "I'm sorry, Law. It's just…I'm curious. I want to know more. I know you've explained everything to me, but there's only so much you can learn from books. Life is about experience, isn't it?"

"A lot of it is. And I know it's frustrating," Law replied, brushing the back of his fingers over her arm.

"Then when will we get married?" Neo asked. "The crew's talked a lot about the wedding, but  _we_  haven't."

Law sighed. He removed her hands from his hair, before she could put him in a trance, then laid down beside her, propping up on his elbow. "I actually have been meaning to talk to you about that."

"And?" Neo questioned when he paused. She tried to read his feelings, but he was temporarily blocking them from her. She gripped a hold of his shirt. "It's not something bad, is it? You're closed off to me, Law."

"Of course it's nothing bad," Law said, poking her in the ribs. She squealed. "It's just…I want you to let me handle the preparations for our wedding."

"Huh?" Neo blinked in confusion. "I don't understand. I'm the bride-to-be. Isn't it my duty to plan the wedding? That's what the crew has said."

"Yes." Law nodded. "Normally, and in some cultures, it is the job of the bride to handle all the wedding planning. Sometimes the groom helps, sometimes he doesn't. It really all depends on the people involved. For us, it would be better if you let me handle the majority of the plans."

"But why?" Neo asked with a frown.

"Neo, you've thrown up twice today when the crew has just  _talked_  about our wedding," Law pointed out. Neo twitched as her cheeks flushed. "You did that too when we were preparing for our commitment ceremony back on Luminous. How do you think you're going to plan our wedding if you do nothing but run to the bathroom like that? And these are just  _plans_. I don't want you sick on our wedding day. Also, I doing this because I just want you to be happy and stress free."

Neo studied the soft, far off, familiar look of regret in his eyes for a moment before sighing. His feelings were swirled around her past. All of the cuts on her body, all the times she freaked out, when she was taken to Luminous, his ring and hat taken from her, her being poisoned and almost died, every single bad experience she had was repeatedly rolling through his mind. She cupped her hand around his neck. "Law, I  _am_  happy. As long as I'm with you and the crew, I'll always be happy.  _You_ have made that happen.  _You_  pulled me out of the darkness and gave me a life that I never even dreamed I could have.  _You_  are the light of my life, literally.  _You_  are  _my_  solar crystal. And if you don't want me to have anything to do with the wedding because you think it stresses me out too much then…I won't have anything to do with it. I don't even care if we have an actual wedding. Just as long as we're together, I'm fine with whatever happens."

"I'm not leaving you out of it completely," Law quickly said. "You'll still get to decide some things. Just in a more moderate controlled fashion. Besides, it's just going to be a small, in no way fancy, wedding. It's just us and the crew, plus the preacher whoever we find."

Neo opened her mouth to comment on that, but paused when she noticed a familiar spark in his eyes. His lips curled into a smirk when he fed her his thoughts. Growling, she poked him in the chest. "Oh! You! You already have everything planned out in your head, don't you?! You've had plans for weeks! You're just concealing it from me because you want it to be a surprise! Ugh! Law!"

"I can't help it. It's in my blood," Law replied with a devilish grin.

"Yeah. Right." Neo stuck her tongue out at him. "I should have known."

Chuckling, Law picked up her hand and kissed her fingers. "Yes. You should have. Now, there's a decision I want you to make right now."

"What's that?" Neo asked curiously, her frustration forgotten.

"Some men wear wedding rings along with their wife." Law brushed his thumb over her fingers. "Would you like me to wear one?"

Neo blinked a couple times in consideration. Her eyes dropped down to his hand holding hers. Even though it was his right hand, she tried to envision what he would look like wearing a ring. She couldn't. All she could see was him fighting, getting hurt, and the ring causing permanent damage to his skillful surgeon hand. She took his hand in both of hers and kissed it then looked into his eyes. "You fight more battles than I do. You could get hurt. I don't want you to wear anything that could possible cause damage to you."

Law nodded. "Then I won't wear one. But, if at any point in time you want me to wear one, I will. All you have to do is say so."

"Okay." Neo nodded back.

"And just so you know, I don't want you to expect sex on our wedding night," Law stated simply.

"Huh? Why?" Neo blinked rapidly. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and stared at him.

"While you're ready to be married, you might not yet be ready to have sex," Law replied. He reached out and brushed his fingers over her arm before sitting up. He pressed his forehead to hers, pushing his hat up on her head, and keeping his eyes locked with hers. "Remember, it's a very emotional experience. It's going to leave you confused even if you are ready for it to happen. I just want you to be comfortable in our marriage without feeling pressured to do something just because you think we should. While we have lived together for over a year now, being married will bring changes to our relationship. It might not be many or very big changes, but for sex, but it will change. And you know you need time to adjust to new things, even if it is with me."

Neo pulled her forehead away from his with another frustrated sigh. She curled into his chest and arms. "Will I ever be able to do something new without fearing it?"

"Your fear to new things is a conditioned response, love." Law pecked her forehead then started stroking her hair. "I wish I could tell you that you will get over it, but you might not. Just remember you have gotten so much better with it. You adjust a lot quicker to new situations and people. And that's a huge accomplishment considering your past. I am very proud of how you have grown up."

"That's because of you." Neo tilted her head so she could look at him. "I love you so much for everything that you've done for me. I know it wasn't easy for you."

"It's all right, love." Law pressed his lips to her forehead. He kept his lips there for several seconds just taking everything in.

"Can we kiss again?" Neo asked innocently.

Law pulled away from her before leaning his lips back towards hers. "As you wish, my love."

Pressing their lips together, Law slid his hands around her sides as slowly as he could. Neo's body tensed in response to his moves before he wrapped his arms around her back. He pressed her into his chest then leaned back against his pillow while dancing his tongue with hers and pressing her into his body as closely as he could.


	63. Disobey Part 1

Disobey

Part One

"Wow!" Neo gasped at the large, colorful, island before her as the sub glided along in the water to its port. The rolling hills on the west side of the island were covered in a large variety of flowers making the ground look like colorful waves frozen in place. A warm breeze brought the mixed smells of the flowers with the sea salt to her nose and teased her long hair. She fluttered her wings in excitement, lifting herself off the deck a couple of inches.

"You better clip those wings," Penguin said with a light, amused chuckle. He grabbed the tail, of the dark blue shirt of Law's, she was wearing and tugged her feet back down to the deck. "We're about to reach the town side of the island."

"I can't help it. I know Bepo said this island was known for these flower hills, but this is just amazing. I think he said the name of this place was Kiko Island," Neo replied, not taking her eyes off the fields. She folded her wings against her back but didn't banish them. Forcing herself to take her eyes off the island, she looked over at Penguin. "He also said this place has a pretty big book store. Will you take me?"

He returned her look with a guilty one of his own. Rubbing the back of his neck, he said, "Sorry. I kind of already made plans. Some of the guys are going to go get drinks and…"

Neo tilted her head in question when Penguin's voice trailed off. She started to flick her wings, but stopped short when she remembered she was outside the sub and near people. Her eyes widened slightly when she figured out what he was saying without his words. Her shoulders slumped, her lips curved down and she sighed. "Oh. I should have known with how the others were talking this morning. They were all but drooling over themselves."

"Hey, don't make that face," Penguin said. He stepped closer to her. Slipping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her to his side. "You're the prettiest when you're happy and smiling."

"I'm sorry. I'm just so use to having you all to myself. We don't really stop much for pleasure on islands since Law started collecting hearts," Neo said. She chewed on her bottom lip while adjusting Law's over sized shirt. "You know it's very tempting to convince Law to order you all not to engage in sexual intercourse."

Penguin laughed. He tightened his hold on her then pecked her temple. "Just keep in mind that we're  _your boys_. And we'll always return to  _you_."

"Yeah." Neo nodded with a smile. She scanned her eyes over the island again. They were getting closer to the port. She needed to either banish her wings or go inside the sub. "I know. I guess I'll go to Law."

"He could always take you," Penguin said as the two headed inside.

"I wish. He's already got plans with an appraiser. He's decided we've accumulated enough treasure and wants to exchange it for cash," Neo replied. "I think Jean Bart is going with him to carry it all."

"Where is the captain right now anyway?" Penguin asked.

"Down in one of the storage rooms. I think he and Jean Bart are still packing up some of the treasure. Hm? Topaz is down there too," Neo said while she felt out where Law was. The two siblings walked through the door of the sub. They waved at a couple crewmates, who were heading out onto the deck, before walking deeper into the vessel. The large yellow sub creaked and swayed as it finally pulled into the docks. More of the Heart Pirates scuttled towards the exit. Sensing Penguin's patients waning, she granted him the right to leave her side. "Oh! Just go already!"

"Thank you!" Penguin kissed her cheek.

"Just be careful, huh?" Neo clung tightly to his boiler suit. "I don't want none of my brothers getting hurt, especially you. I love you all too much."

"We all will be. The captain instilled caution in us all during our very first exam with him when we each joined the crew," Penguin said. He took a moment to study her eyes. Her big, blue, rounded eyes were staring up at him like a cute little puppy pleading to be taken home and cuddled. Feeling his resolve weakening, he sighed inwardly. He wondered how it was possible for any of them, especially the captain, to ever say no to her. He also thought about how much she had grown up since Luminous yet was still a child in so many ways. She had such an innocent charm about her. A charm that would get them all, possible even strangers, to bend over backwards to give her whatever she wanted. A charm that he hoped, wished, and prayed would always be a part of her no matter what she went through. And a charm that he was secretly grateful that she didn't abuse. He wasn't even sure if she knew she had this ability over them or not. "We'll be back later. Love you, little sister."

"Love you too." Neo wrapped her arms around his torso.

He returned the embrace for several seconds before finally pulling apart from her. He tweaked her cheek then scurried off to join his fellow crewmates.

She watched him disappear down the hall before lifting herself into the air with her wings. She flittered through the passageways until she reached her destination. Coming upon the door, she heard Law's and Topaz's voices in a low, but not quiet a whispering tone. She noticed their tone changing to a slightly louder one just before she entered into the room. She gave a quick glance at the people in the room.

Jean Bart was fiddling with one of the three sacks that held their treasure, Topaz was scribbling something in a notebook while nodding her head as Law spoke to her. The fire Elemental nodded. "Of course. I'll be sure to pick that up as well. I'll head out right now unless there is something else you need me to do before hand."

"No, your free to go," Law replied, casting a glance at Neo from the corner of his eye.

"Aw," Neo protested as she latched herself onto Law's back. His arms instantly hooking under her knees when she wrapped her legs around his torso and her arms around his neck. "Sounds like you're going to be busy on this island too. You're not seeking out sexual companionship as well, are you?"

"Neo," Law warned with a smile.

"Sorry. I keep forgetting that sexual intercourse is a private matter," Neo said nuzzling her nose behind Law's ear, making his heartbeat speed up and his cheeks flush. "We just talk about it so casually."

Jean Bart snickered, but wisely kept his mouth shut as he continued to close the bag he was fiddling with.

"Apologies, Princess," Topaz replied. She closed her notebook and tucked it under her arm. "I have a few things I need to pick up. Perhaps if I can get done on time, I can join you later for some girl time?"

"I'd like that. That is, if I can find someone to take me off this sub," Neo said with a pout. Topaz gave her a friendly, apologetic smile before exiting the room to carrying out her own shopping mission. "Everyone seems so busy today for some reason. And I'm still not allowed off the sub without an escort. Right?"

"Right," Law confirmed with a tight nod. "Looks like you're coming with me and Jean Bart."

"But appraisers are so boring," Neo whined. She tightened her hold on him. "They're nothing but greedy and they give me the creeps. And I can't even touch you in public. How am I supposed to entertain myself?"

"You'll survive," Law replied making Neo puff out her cheeks in mild annoyance.  _'Besides, we still can communication through our bond.'_

' _I know. It's still not the same. I like touching you. And I know you like me touching you to despite your attempts to hide it among the crew occasionally.'_  Neo nuzzled her nose behind his ear again before trailing the tip of her tongue against the shell of his ear, earning a satisfying shiver from him. She smiled against his neck at the reaction she got from him. He grunted in response before tickling her under her knees causing her to loosen her hold on him. She flapped her wings to right herself then held onto him even tighter. "Ah! Law!"

"That's what you get for teasing me like that," Law said with a deep chuckle.

"I'm ready to go when you are, Captain," Jean Bart said. The large man was patiently waiting and looking like a forgotten third wheel. He had his arms crossed over his broad chest and a smirk on his lips as he quietly watched the two flirt with each other. "That is, if you two are done flirting."

"Yes, we-" Law started, but was interrupted by Bepo.

"Neo!" Bepo shouted as he ran into the room.

"What's up, Bepo?" Neo asked curiously.

"Nothing much," Bepo said walking over to his captain and Neo. "I was just wondering, if you didn't make plans already, if you'd like me to escort you around the island. I know you really wanted to check out the bookstore here."

"Yeah. We haven't spent much time together lately." Neo nodded. "Is that fine, Law?"

"As long as it makes you happy and bored free," Law said.

"You're the best." Neo flutter her wings again. She lifted from his back and flew around to his waiting arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her firmly to his chest. She pecked his lips while wrapping her hold back around his neck. "Will you join us later? Or will we just meet back here?"

"We'll meet up for lunch once you and Bepo are done browsing the stores and we're done with the appraiser. You know those things can take time occasionally," Law replied through multiple pecks. Feeling the snickers Jean Bart and Bepo were holding in, he rubbed his hands on her sides. "You go on now. And try not to buy too many books. You've already turned the sub into a floating library."

"I don't have that many books!" Neo protested. " _You_  wouldn't let me bring all the ones I really wanted."

"You wanted the entire library in the castle," Law pointed out.

"So?" Neo pouted. "I love reading. And you should have let me brought them."

"Sorry, love." Law pecked her pouting lips. "Maybe someday I can build you an entire building for you to fill with as many books as you want."

"Really?" Neo's eyes light up, making Law's heart grow warm. "And you'll cuddle up and read with me?"

"Of course." Law pecked her lips once more. "Now, get going. We're leaving here shortly after lunch."

"Okay. I promise not to buy too many books until then," Neo replied as Law sat her down on her feet. She stole one more kiss from him before turning to the patiently awaiting bear. She hooked her arm through his and pulled him towards the door.

"You better change out of my shirt before you leave this sub," Law called out in a warning tone. "Put on your sandals and hide your wings."

"Oh. And here I thought you wanted me to wear your clothes." Neo winked at Law from over her shoulder.

"Don't you get smart with me," Law shot back with a smirk.

Neo laughed as she finally disappeared out of the room with Bepo smiling brightly beside her.

"It always feels so good to see her so happy," Jean Bart said.

"Yeah." Law nodded. He turned back to the large man and grabbed one of the sacks. "Let's get going."

…

"Huh?" Neo paused when her aching sandal covered feet hit the wooden deck the sub was docked at. A strange feeling of intense sadness washed over her chest when a strong gust of wind blew over the island. She placed her hand on her hair to keep it out of her face.

"What is it, Neo?" Bepo asked.

"I don't know," Neo whispered. She ran her eyes over the scenery before her. She carefully looked at the men and women standing around chatting happily, at the other people who were boarding and disembarking from their own ships, at some kids running around with a ball, her eyes then roamed over in the direction of the flower fields. "Something just feels very sad here."

"Sad?" Bepo took in the laughing people around them. "People look pretty happy to me."

"I know." Neo nodded. "But the island still feels sad."

"Would you like me to take you to the captain?" Bepo asked.

"No." Neo shook her head. "I still want to be with you. Let's proceed. Perhaps I'm just a little nervous. I still need time to adjust to new places and things after all."

"You're right." Bepo nodded. He offered his arm to her. "I'm right beside you. If at anytime you wish to return to the captain, I'll be happy to take you to him."

"You're the best, Bepo." Neo smiled. She linked her arm with his and allowed him to lead her inland. She carefully scanned her surrounds like she always did when encountering new places and people. No one seemed to notice they were there. They inhabitants of the island seemed friendly enough that Neo started to relax a bit quicker than usual, but that nagging feeling of sadness wouldn't leave her.

Sensing she was still on edge, Bepo started up a conversation in an attempt to distract her. "So have you given any thought to the names we picked out for your attacks?"

"I have." Neo nodded. She took half a step closer to Bepo when she unintentionally caught the eyes of a rough looking man.

Bepo tensed up a bit when the man continued to stare at Neo. Both relax when a woman ran up to the man and latched onto his arm, exchanged a few words with smiles before walking off.

Neo lowered her voice so only he would hear what she was saying. "I like what you all came up with. They're simple so they'll be easy to remember. I think Flower Trap is my favorite. It suits the move so well. I just hope I can remember them and be a convincing devil fruit user. I guess I'm going to have to practice those moves while shouting out the names."

"You'll do just fine," Bepo said encouragingly. He then pointed to a two story, log building. "Hey, we're here."

"Great." Neo smiled. She took the log building in. It had two greyish blue double doors, multiple windows with small flowerbeds mounted just below the windows. The two Heart Pirates made their way inside the building. Her eyes light up when she saw the rows and rows of books on both floors of the store. She grasped onto Bepo tighter while trying to keep her joyous squeals inside before pulling him over to one of the bookshelves. She breathed in the smell of books and worn leather.

Neo dove right into the books as Bepo took the time to look around their surroundings. He noticed there weren't many people in this place at the current point in time. Most people seemed to be on their own, lazily browsing through the books. There was a small group of teenage boys huddled together. They were looking in a book and whispering to each other. The mischievous, eyebrow wiggling, expressions they held informed Bepo they probably were looking at a book that they shouldn't have been. He glanced over at the store clerk. The man's shaggy brown hair was dangly over his face as his dark green eyes wondered over the pages of a newspaper he had laid out on the counter and looking as bored as he possible could. He then turned his attention back to Neo. She had wondered away from him, to the next bookshelf, so he knew she was comfortable in her surroundings. Making sure to stay in her sight, he wondered to a different bookshelf and started looking through the books on it. His eyes landed on a book titled, 'Fish Feast, A 100 Ways to Make the Best Fish Dishes Ever'. He plucked it off the shelf and flipped through the pages. His mouth began to water as his black eyes scanned over the recipes listed on the white pages in front of him.

Neo shoved the fantasy book back on the shelf. After a quick glance at Bepo, she smiled at the drooling bear before moved on to another bookshelf. She had no idea how long she was lost in the sea of books when suddenly a book with a woman in a long white dress and a man in a black suit caught her eyes. She tucked her three books, she was carrying, under her arm then lifted the intriguing book off the shelf and stared at the couple posing in a perfect picture on the front. She hummed at the titled on the book. "Your Own Fairytale Wedding, huh?"

Her eyes then dropped down to the woman on the cover. The woman's blonde hair was up in an elaborate bun with tight curls. There was a strange lacy fabric running down her back that Neo didn't recognize. And the white dress hugged the woman's form so unlike the dresses she had back on the sub and the ones she wore on Luminous. The woman held an adoring look on her face as she stared at the man beside her. Neo's eyes followed the woman's gaze. She tilted her head. The man was looking back at the woman with the same adoring look on his face that the woman held.

Neo's chest grew warm when she remembered the soft, carrying looks Law always gives her. Her lips curled into a smile as her heart raced steadily in her chest. Her mind wondering what he would look like in a black suit like this one. She then wondered if he was even going to wear a tuxedo on their wedding day. Back on Luminous they both turned down the idea of the crew dressing up for their commitment ceremonies. But now, Neo wasn't sure what she wanted Law to do. She didn't even know if Law wanted to wear a suit or not. She wasn't even sure what she wanted to wear. The crew had told her that it's typical for virgins to wear a white dress on their wedding day. She knew she was anything but typical. She did bring some of her white dresses from Luminous with her. And she had the dress Penguin bought her. She knew that Law would let her wear whatever she wanted. But what did she want to wear?

"Getting married?"

Neo jumped when a strange voice suddenly spoke up beside her. She slapped the wedding book against the other books when they started to fall from her grasp. The voice beside her then laughed.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to startle you."

Neo glanced up. Beside her was a man with light blonde hair tucked under a dark brown trilby hat, wearing an off white button up shirt and tan slacks. His light green eyes and lips were smiling at her, but she still took a couple steps away from him.

"Really. I am sorry for startling you like that."

"It's okay," Neo replied, cautiously. Lifting the wedding book up, she placed it back on the shelf.

"You're wearing a ring," the man said. "I take that and the fact that you're looking at wedding books that you are getting married."

"Uh." Neo paused. While she knew they weren't going to show each other affection openly in public, at least for now, Law never said anything about answering a question like this. Answering this question honestly wasn't showing affection. But she didn't do it. Something made her keep her mouth shut.

"You don't have to be so shy about it. You are getting married, right? " The man nodded. "So who's the lucky man to win such a pretty young woman's love? And when I say  _young_  I mean it. Are you sure you're old enough to even get married? You look like a kid."

"I'm not a kid," Neo replied with a frown.

"Okay, okay." The man held up his hands like he was surrendering. He then ran his eyes over her body.

The look he was giving her made her shiver. It gave her a bad feeling. It was like he was hungry for something. It made her glad she didn't wear a dress and that Law had forbidden her from wearing her Amazon Lily outfits off the sub. She was so glad she was wearing her jeans and a simple white shirt with blue on the edges of the sleeves and color.

"I guess you're just the type to age gracefully. In any case, that's a very lovely ring you're wearing. It must have cost your fiancée quite a pretty penny, but you surely deserve it if he's willing to pay a lot for it. He must really love you. Where did the ring design come from? Does it mean anything?"

Neo eyed the man suspiciously while he kept on chattering. She knew some people could be friendly, but this seemed too friendly.

"So back to you and your wedding…How old are you anyway? Are you two planning on a big wedding? What does he do? What's his job? Considering that's an expensive ring, he must have a high paying job. Or he stole the money. Is he a pirate? I hope he's not. But that would be something, wouldn't it? Such a pretty young woman getting married to a pirate. And you did walk in here with that bear in the orange boiler suit. I've seen that jolly roger before. It's the Heart Pirates one, am I correct? Are you marrying someone on that crew? The captain, perhaps?"

Neo's anxiety peaked at that point. She turned and rushed away from the man.

' _Neo, are you all right? Your anxiety is spiking.'_

' _I'm fine. It's just this guy started talking to me. He was asking a lot of strange questions.'_

' _About what?'_

Neo felt Law's own anxiety rising when he asked that.  _'About our wedding and us. I was looking at a book about weddings and he just appeared and started asking a lot of questions.'_

' _Is Bepo still with you?'_

' _Yes. I'm going to-'_

"Hey! Wait a second! I didn't mean to run you off like that." the man said. "Come back here."

Neo looked over her shoulder. Her skin turned cold as heart took a sharp, painful beat when she saw the man was reaching for her arm. Out of reflex, she started to summon her wind crystals, but quickly switched to a kick to the man's stomach. "No! Don't touch me!"

The man gasped from the impact of her foot. His body went flying backwards a few feet before he fell to the ground. The few people who were in the building paused their book browsing to look up at the commotion.

Snapping out of his drooling trance of the fish dishes, Bepo looked up as well. He saw Neo's leg stretched out while a strange man went flying backwards from her. "Neo!"

' _Neo! What happened?!'_

Neo took a few nervous breaths.  _'He tried to touch me. But it's okay. I'm okay, just a little shaken up. I was going to use my crystals on him, but kicked him instead. Bepo's right beside me now.'_

"Neo, are you okay? What happened?" Bepo asked. He scanned his eyes over her, looking for injuries, before looking at the man on the ground.

Before Neo could answer him, the bored store clerk came running over to the commotion. The two pirates tensed up thinking trouble was really about to start. They expected the clerk was coming over to kick them out. They relaxed, with surprised expressions when the clerk started yelling at the floored man. "Laden! How many times do I have to tell you to stop bothering my costumers?! This is the fourth time in three weeks!"

"Why are you yelling at me?! She's the one who kicked me! Besides, they're  _pirates_!" the blonde man shrieked.

Neo and Bepo looked around when murmurs started among the other shoppers.

"I'm yelling at  _you_  because  _you_  can't control that reporter mouth of yours! You deserved to be kicked! And who cares if they're pirates?! They're money is just as good as anyone else's! As long as they don't cause problems, I've never minded pirates coming in here!" the clerk roared. He pointed to the doors. "But I do mind nosy reporters disturbing the peace in here! You get out! Right!  _Now_!"

"Fine." The man adjusted his hat before standing up. He tossed Neo a glance and frown before stalking towards the door.

' _Neo?'_

' _It's fine, Law. The guy, apparently, was a reporter. I guess he was trying to get information on me. The clerk just kicked him out.'_

' _Do I need to come to you?'_

' _No. I'm okay, really. He didn't touch me at all. I kicked him before he could.'_

' _That's my girl.'_

Neo smiled when she felt Law's proud smirk from the appraiser building on the other side of the town.  _'We'll just pay for our books and go check out the flower hills. I'd like to do that before we leave. And we do have a little time before lunch.'_

' _As long as you stay with Bepo.'_

' _I will, Law. See you in a little while.'_

' _Yeah.'_

"I'm so sorry about that," the clerk said, turning to Neo and Bepo. "I didn't notice he snuck back in. He's not supposed to be in here."

"It's okay," Neo replied. "He didn't bother me too much."

"If you say so. Are you finished shopping? Or are you going to look around some more? It's okay if you do. Like I said, I really don't mind pirates at all," the clerk said with a smile. "As long as they don't cause trouble in here. I'm actually descended from pirates."

"Oh, that's nice," Bepo said. He waved the book in his hand. "I'm getting this recipe book. There's some fish recipes I'd like to try, if you don't mind cooking them up someday."

"You know I don't mind, Bepo." Neo smiled at him then looked at the clerk. "I'm finished too. I could spend all day in here, but then I'd find more books to buy. And I promised L-the captain that I wouldn't buy too many."

"Very well then." The clerk nodded. He then headed back to the check out counter. "I'll tally those up for you."

Neo and Bepo followed the man. They placed their books on the shelf and waited patiently for the man to give them their total. Neo's eyebrows raised when he gave them a fifty percent discount. "You don't have to do that."

"I want to." The man smiled. "Think of it as an apology for Laden and a small wedding gift."

"Oh…well, thank you," Neo said. She returned his smile with one of her own sweet ones.

"If I may, you have a very pretty smile," the clerk said, propped his elbow upon the countertop and resting his chin in his hand. "Your to-be-husband is a very lucky man. I wish you both well in your future."

Neo felt her cheeks grow warm at the man's words and a Bepo's snickers. She shyly tucked her hair behind her ear. "Thank you."

"I'll take that," Bepo said, grabbing their bag. He then placed his paw on Neo's shoulder and guided her towards the door. Once outside, both pirates looked around for the reporter. When they couldn't find him, they made their way back to the sub to quickly drop off their books before heading towards the flower hills.

They wondered through the town while simultaneously talking about Neo's attack names and keeping an eye out for their reporter friend to come back. After a ten minute walk, the two reached the flowers. Neo stretched out her arms just as a nice warm breeze blew from behind her. It washed her blue hair over her shoulders, waving her tresses like thin flags before dying back down. "This feels and smells so great!"

"It sure does," Bepo agreed. He flopped down on the ground, rolling down the small hill they were on until he came to a stop at the end. He stared up at the blue sky before closing his eyes. "This is a great spot for taking a nap. It's so nice and warm today."

"It sure is," Neo replied, stepping out of her sandals. Her achy feet relaxed against the lush green grass. She scanned her eyes over the fields, the sea where more ships were pulling up to the island then looked back at the town. "Too bad we're still so close to the town and passing ships. I would love to stretch out my wings here."

Neo dropped her eyes down to Bepo. The bear was just about to fall asleep. She giggled before summoning her wind crystals. She flew over to the bear and hovered over him like she was lying on her stomach. He peaked up at her with a smile. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when a heavy sadness gathered in her chest. She faltered in her wind control and fell on top of Bepo.

"Neo? What was that? Why did you lose control?" Bepo asked.

"I don't know," Neo replied. Keeping his arms around her, Bepo sat up. She looked out over the hills. "That sadness feeling just returned. And it's very close. It feels like animals."

"Animals?" Bepo blinked. He looked around them. "I don't smell any animals other than the ones back in town."

"They're here." Neo pushed herself upon her feet then walked away from their current spot.

Bepo followed her. He carefully looked around, sniffing the air for any slightest sign of danger or any other animals that might be making Neo feel this way. Neither of them paid attention to how long or far they had walking, but their excursion brought then to the edge of the island. They started down at a huge white house with an equally huge wooden log fence around it and its own personal docking bay for ships of all sizes.

The sadness Neo felt became even heavier in her chest. It became so thick that her head began to swim and her vision blurred. Her body wobbled and fell towards the edge of the cliff. "I don't…feel so good."

"Neo!" Bepo shrieked while grabbing her shoulders. He guided her back from the edge of the cliff, his heart pounding wildly at her near plummet down to the rocky ground below. Kneeling down, he propped her against himself.

' _Neo? Wh-t's wr-ng no-? I fe-l yo- get-ng di-zy. Ou- bo-d isn- w-ork-in- cor-ectly.'_

Neo took a couple slow, deep breaths. She didn't reply to Law until their connection was strong again. "I'm okay, Law, Bepo. Law, I've been feeling a strange sadness since I set foot on this island. It's animals. They're so sad. They're…we're at some house on the northwest corner of the island. It's tucked into a cove with it's own port. Something's going on here. Something bad."

"Someone's here!" Bepo roared before Law could answer Neo.

"Bepo says someone's here," Neo reported to Law through their bond. Just then two grey canisters dropped to the ground right beside the two pirates. They rolled to a stop then released a light grey smoke. Both started coughing at the smoke tickling their noses and throats and making their vision blurry. "Law! It _-cough-_ some kind _-cough-_ smoke-"

' _N-o?!'_

"Look at _-cough-_ pretty little  _fishies-cough, cough-swimming_  around the air," Bepo muttered. His body swayed before falling to the ground away from Neo.

"Be-Bepo! _-cough-_ " Neo grabbed a hold of his orange boiler suit. She tugged on it, trying to get him back up. "Get _-cough -_ up, Bepo! Law! _-cough-_ Help!"

"Don't worry, sweetie," another unfamiliar voice said. "That's what I'm doing. I'm here to help you."

"Uh?!" Neo whipped around. She tried to summon her crystals. They flickered into view a couple times before fading away completely. Her heart raced erratically as the blurry person before her moved in closer to her.  _'Law? Law!'_

"Easy now," the voice cooed.

Neo tried to scramble away from the person, but she felt her consciousness quickly slipping away from her as her surroundings started going dark. Her arms gave out on her and she slumped to the ground. The blur leaned in closer to her. It gave her a quick glimpse of his spiky white hair and overly rounded eyes before her vision went completely dark.

…

Panic pounding his chest and his palms growing damp with cold sweat, Law mentally nailed himself to the couch he was sitting on and unintentionally growled out loud. Jean Bart and the appraiser looked up in confusion at the man sudden display of hostility. Looking up from the jewels, the appraiser asked, "Is something wrong, sir?"

"Yes. There's something important that I need to go do," Law said in a forced controlled voice. Gripping ahold of his sword, he stood up, shoved his free hand in his pocket and casually strolled to the door. His hat over his eyes, he paused to toss his subordinate a look over his shoulder. "Finish up here, Jean Bart. I'll be on the northwest side of the island."

"Right." Jean Bart nodded in complete understanding when he got a glance of his captain's hidden angered, yet panicked, expression. He knew only Neo being in danger could cause his captain to look like that.

Law nodded back then exited the room. He walked calmly through the building then calmly walked a block. When he rounded the corner, he broke out into a run. He busted around another corner, startling a few people in the process, before breaking away from the town.  _Hold on, Neo! I'm coming! Whoever hurt you is going to pay! With their life!_

…

"Here you go! Thanks for shopping with us!" the cheery black haired lady chirped. She handed Topaz her package. "That's some fancy lace and fabric you bought. You have incredible taste."

"Thanks," Topaz replied back after a short delay. She took the package from the woman while trying to push a weird sad feeling from her chest. She carefully tucked the package into one of her three shopping bags. "You have an amazing selection of fabrics here. I really hope my crew decides to stop here again one day."

"Ah, pirate, huh?" the woman asked. She ran her eyes over Topaz's boiler suit. "I never would have guessed. You don't really look like one despite wearing that jolly roger. That's the roger for the Heart Pirates, isn't it? They're gaining quite the reputation, especially that hot captain of yours."

Topaz opened her mouth to tell the woman that her captain is marrying her princess, but quickly remembered that was classified information and quickly rerouted her response. She said, "I suppose you are correct in the fact I don't look like one. I'm actually still fairly new to this whole pirate thing. It's been quite the exciting ride."

"I'm sure it is." The woman nodded. "I'd like to sail the open seas, but that's not easy with five kids and a lazy husband."

"Five kids, huh?" Topaz laughed politely. "I'm sure you have plenty of adventures with that many kids running around."

"Indeed." The woman nodded. "They give me plenty of adventures."

"Well, have a nice day," Topaz said as she headed for the door. "I really need to get these back to the ship. I don't want them to get damaged."

"Of course. Have a nice day." The woman waved.

Topaz sighed with relief when she was outside. "That was close. I can't believe I almost slipped up. I should return this to the sub then join up with the-with Neo. Hm? She's outside of the town? I guess she finished shopping already."

Topaz glanced towards the northwest side of the island. She smiled. "I shouldn't be surprised she'd be in the flower fields. I wonder if she went there to try and get rid of this sadness I know she's feeling. I better hurry up."

The fire Elemental tightened her hold on her bags before picking up her pace. She shuffled through the gathering crowds of townspeople for a few minutes before finally arriving at her destination. She quickly traversed the sub's ladder, weaved through the halls of the quiet vessel and slipped into her room. She placed her bags beside her bunk knowing the crew respected her privacy. There was no need for her to hide the items inside the bag until later. Turning off her lights, she made her way back out of her room, closing the door as she went. She reached the railing of the sub when a sudden uncomfortable feeling of worry washed over her. "Something's wrong."

She swung her leg over the railing and quickly descended back down to the island. Once again on solid ground, Topaz sprinted in the direction of the flower field. She looked to her right when she spotted her captain from the corner of her eyes. She ran towards him as her feeling of worry began to grow. "Captain!"

"Hm?" Law casted the Elemental a glance when she joined him.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Something happened to Neo. I can't connect to her," Law quickly summoned up. "She's with Bepo somewhere on the northwest corner of the island."

"I had a feeling something happened," Topaz said.

Law gritted his teeth. The two picked up their speed. They ran until they came upon the cliff over looking the house that Neo told Law about.

"She's in there. There's a very weird sadness coming from that place," Topaz said.

"Yeah. She said she felt some kind of sadness." Law nodded. He gripped his hold on his sword tighter while the nails of his left hand pierced his skin sending the metallic smell of blood through the air.

"Are we going in? Are we waiting for the rest of the crew? Or what?" Topaz asked. "I have my crystals if we need them. Just tell me what we're going to do."

Law narrowed his eyebrows. His entire body and soul wanted to warp right inside that house, take his love and Bepo back then cut up whoever took them into a million pieces, but one single question was holding him back from doing just that. Were Neo and Bepo being held hostage? He growled in frustration.

"Captain?" Topaz asked again. "What are we going to do?"

Forcing the words out of his mouth, he said, "We wait. We have no idea why Neo and Bepo were targeted. This could be a trap. Or they could be being held at gunpoint. Our sudden arrival could put them in serious danger. We'll wait right here until Neo contacts me."

"Should I go back for the crew?" Topaz looked back in the direction of the town. "I might be able to find them. I know some of them were heading for the brothel for some companionship."

Law gritted his teeth again. He wasn't sure how he wanted to answer that. He didn't know if he needed his crew or if he and Topaz could easily take care of this. "Let's just wait for now. Jean Bart is finishing up at the appraisers. He knows I came here. He'll come as soon as he can. He'll bring all the crewmembers he can find on his way here. And I'm sure Penguin will sense that something's wrong and show up either on his own or he'll make sure to alert those who went with him."

"Waiting. Great." Topaz crossed her arms and did just that while putting her trust in her princess's bonded. She knew he wouldn't do anything to put Neo in any more danger than she already was. Just then a ship pulling into the private dock caught their attention at the same time. Both felt like they were kicked in the stomach. And both ducked down so they wouldn't be so easily spotted upon the cliff. "What's a Navy ship doing here?! I get it if they docked at the town, but  _here_? What is this place? Some kind of secret Navy base? Bepo never mentioned a base being here."

Law almost gritted his teeth into a pile of dust. A string of unhealthy curses, some he invented on the spot, ran through the captain's mind. He watched, feeling so helpless and angry, as some of the soldiers disembarked from the large vessel. They were too far away to tell what the rankings of the soldiers were, but he knew it didn't matter. The Navy in a house with a magicless Neo was not a good combination no matter their ranking. She was completely defenseless and helpless when disoriented.  _'Neo! Please! Come back to me!'_

…

"Hn." Neo groaned slightly. She rolled her head before opening her eyes. She groaned again, feeling like the first time she woke up on Law's sub. Panic jumped into her chest when she remembered what happened. She shot up into a sitting position and immediately wished she didn't. Her head pounded, causing the room to spin wildly. She placed her hand over her mouth when she gagged.

"Take it easy," a voice said. She shot her eyes up to the person walking towards her. Her vision was still a bit blurry, but she could now see the person more clearly. He was about her height, slightly chunk, with spiky white hair and wearing some type of goggles that made his reddish brown eyes look ridiculously large. He was also wearing a white lab coat spotted with something dark red. "That little potion of mind can be a doozy. But don't worry. I didn't use much so you should be feeling better in no time."

She backed up from the approaching man until her back hit against something hard. That's when she noticed she was in a bedroom and not in some cell chained up. She darted her eyes around the room. He stood between her and the only door in the room. To her left was a window that she could easily escape from if not for one thing. She shot a glare at the man who now stood five feet from the bed. "Bepo! What did you do with him?!"

"Bepo?" The man tilted his head. "That beast that attacked you?"

"He didn't attack me! And he's not a beast!" Neo snapped. Fear gripped her even harder when she realized the dark red spots on the man's long coat were blood. She pressed her fingers to her lips when she felt like she was going to gag again. "Where is he?! You…you didn't kill him, did you?!"

"No, no. I haven't killed him, yet," the man replied. "He's safely tucked away where he won't hurt you anymore."

"He wasn't hurting me!" Neo insisted. She tried to summon her crystals and connect to Law, but was too disoriented to accomplish either. "He's my friend! My family! Now give him back! What did you do to me? What is this stuff?"

"Just a little knock out gas that I whipped up in my spare time," he replied. "You'll be fine in about two minutes."

Neo gritted her teeth.  _Two minutes too long. I know Law's furious right now even without our bond. At least Bepo is alive. He's got to be around here somewhere._

She scanned her eyes over the room again. There was a large, coral colored dresser, two coral colored nightstands beside the bed and a large armchair in the far corner of the room. Nothing she could possible use as a weapon. And the strange man with her didn't appear to be holding any weapons of his own. But she still remained cautious since he could easily conceal any number of weapons under a coat like he was wearing.  _Guess I'm stuck here until I can connect to my magic again. But I'm getting a strange feeling from this guy. Does he seriously think that Bepo was trying to hurt me? Does he believe that he recued me? Maybe I'm not in danger, but I get the feeling that Bepo is in danger. That sadness is even stronger now that I'm inside this place. I can't tell if that or that strange smoke is causing me to feel sick._

"My name is Johan," the man said. "I'm sorry that bear attacked you."

"For the last time, Bepo  _didn't_  attack me. He's my friend," Neo insisted again despite feeling it was pointless. With no other options, and the sad feeling added to the gas, she laid back down on the bed. She carefully eyed the guy before her. He hadn't moved any closer.

"That beast is wild. He's not your friend," Johan said with a smile. "You're safe here. You don't have to worry."

Before Neo could say anything else, a deep-sounding bell rang a few times.

Johan rubbed his hands together before heading for the door. "I have other guests to attend to at the moment. Please, just lay here and relax. I won't let them know you are here."

_Huh? Why would that matter? What's going on?_  Neo lifted up her hands and looked at them. She was feeling her magic coming back to her.  _'Law?'_

_'Thank God! Neo! I was so worried about you!'_

_'I'm okay, a bit dizzy, however. I don't know what that gas was, but it's going away now. And I don't know where Bepo is. I'm worried, Law.'_

_'Bepo can handle himself. You need to get out of there. Now! The Navy just arrived. A couple of them are entering the house.'_

_'The Navy?'_

_'Neo, come to me.'_

Neo flinched. She pushed herself back up into a sitting position.

' _Neo? Did you hear me?'_

_'I heard you.'_

_'Then come back to me.'_

Neo bit her bottom lip.  _'I…I can't.'_

_'What do you mean?! Did the Navy see you?! Are you cuffed to sea prism stone?!'_

_'No…I just can't leave Bepo behind and…'_

_'We're not leaving Bepo behind. We're getting you out of there before the Navy sees you. Get out of there! That's an order!'_

_'I know, Law. It's just…I need to be here right now.'_  She thought back to him. She felt Law's panic slip into a dangerous silence. Her heart pounded hard in her chest and head as she waited for him to say the words she knew he was going to say.

_'Neo, I order-'_

_'No! Don't!'_  Neo grabbed her head, cutting him off.  _'Please, Law! Please! Don't order me to leave Bepo behind! He's in some serious danger here! And so are the other animals! I think the man who took us is going to kill Bepo! He has blood on his coat! Something's not right! I have to stay! I have to! Law, please!'_

Neo closed her eyes tight. She felt Law cutting her off from him. She knew she just upset him. She instantly hated herself for it, but she just couldn't shake off the feeling of needing to stay right where she was. And she knew it would be impossible for her to stay if Law ordered her out like he was going to. She contemplated shutting herself off to him so he couldn't try to order her out again, but then she'd be cutting herself off from him completely. She couldn't do that. She still needed him. She needed him right now. She needed him to understand.  _'Law, please? I know you want me to be safe. And I believe I am, for the moment. That guy said he wasn't going to tell anyone I'm here. I don't think he knows I'm a Heart Pirate. He thinks Bepo tried to attack me. He thinks he saved me from Bepo. Please, understand that I need to do this. I need to find Bepo. And I need to find out why all these animals are so sad. This whole island feels sad. I don't like it. I need to know what's going on. I need to stop it. Please, Law. I'm staying. Please understand that.'_

Neo opened her eyes. Tears were stinging her blue orbs, blurry her clearing vision. She waited for what seemed like an eternity for Law to connect back to her, for Law to order her out of the house, for Law to just reply at all, for him to stop distancing himself from her. She clutched her chest over her heart.  _'Law…I'm sorry. But I have to disobey you.'_


	64. Disobey Part 2

Disobey

Part Two

Neo sat hugging her knees, warm tears dripped from the corner of her eyes. Her breath came in wheezing gasped when she a cold grip grasp a hold of her chest. The wind whipped against the window, rattling the shutters. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she could start hyperventilating or lose control of her crystals. The wind died down.  _'Law, I'm so sorry. I have to do this.'_

She rubbed the tears out of her eyes before sliding to the edge of the bed. She placed her bare feet on the soft carpet; thankful she had taken her sandals off back in the flower field. If she had to sneak around using her feet instead of her wings or crystals, she would be able to do it more effectively this way. Pushing off the bed, she made her way over to the door. She paused when she felt Law opened back up to her. She felt that he had heard her before and decided to let her do what she felt she needed to without actually saying it to her. She still felt he was very upset with her decision. And, despite not saying anything, she knew he opened himself back up to her as a silent signal that he was still there if she needed him. The coldness in her heart vanished, but a large amount of pain still clouded her chest and mind. She did her best to ignore that for now and focused her mind on finding Bepo and the other animals.

Neo paused at the door, which the guy had left open despite not wanting anyone to know she was there. She listened for any and all noises. She heard voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying. With her heart pounding, she poked her head out of the room. She glanced down the long hallways. Noting that the decorations were simple just like the bedroom. There were some pictures hanging on the wall and a long rectangular shaped table was on each side of the hallways completely void of anything sitting on them. There were six other rooms on this floor. She noticed that all of the doors were shut. She had no clue if anyone was inside of them or not. She turned her eyes to her left where she saw the top of the stairs and where the voices were coming from.

With a deep breath, she stepped out into the hall. She walked to the opposite side of the hall and pressed her back to the wall. She walked along it until her eyes caught a glimpse of one of the pictures hanging on the wall. It was of a white tiger. The tiger had a large collar around its neck and was tethered to a thick wooden pole. She kneaded her eyebrows when she noticed the tiger was sad. It didn't make sense for someone to have a picture of a sad tiger on their wall. But that's not what she was here for. She forced herself to pull her eyes away from the picture and move farther down the hall. Once to the corner of the wall, she carefully glanced around it. Looking down at the lower level, she saw five Navy soldiers talking to Johan in the foyer. She glanced closer at the marine that was at the head of the group. She noted he was ranked as a commodore. Relief washed over at the ranking. At least there wasn't a vice admiral or higher ranking here. Surely if there was, they would be inside the house instead of the commodore. These soldiers shouldn't be able to sense her there. She still knew she needed to be careful. She also knew she needed to let Law know this.  _'There's only a commodore and four other lower ranking soldiers inside.'_

…

Topaz took cautious glance at the seething man beside her. His hat was casting dark shadows over his eyes. His body with stiff as his entire right hand was white from gritting his sword so hard. A deep frown was settled on his lips. His entire body posture and energy was just daring someone to tick him off. She shivered. He was a storm waiting to erupt its fury on some unsuspecting victim.

She carefully shifted away from the captain then sensed someone coming up from behind them. She glanced over her shoulder she saw Jean Bart running through the flowers. She waved at him then singled him to get low. The large man immediately dropped down to the ground and inched his way over to them. He was about to ask what was up, but looked over to the cliff and saw the Navy ship. He asked, "The Navy? Where's Neo? Did they capture her?"

Law's body twitched.

Topaz looked at him before returning her eyes to Jean Bart. She swallowed and answered the questions carefully. "No. We're not sure why the Navy's here. And Neo's still inside that house."

"Is she hurt?" Jean Bart asked. "She's usually with the captain by now."

"Yeah." Topaz rubbed the back of her neck. She wasn't sure if she should verbally answer that or not. So she didn't. She remained silent and hoped that Jean Bart would be able to piece it together himself. She locked eyes with him for a few seconds before looking away.

Jean Bart blinked multiple times in confusion. He ricocheted his eyes between the Elemental and his captain. He studied the scene and the thick, dark atmosphere around his captain carefully before realization slowly donned on him. "You mean she actually…?"

Topaz nodded.

Jean Bart looking once more at his captain then settled in to wait and see what they would do or what would happen.

…

Neo stayed in her position until she saw Johan wave his hand towards another room. The commodore nodded then headed into the room that Johan gestured to. Once they all were inside the room, she summoned a wind crystal. Keeping tight control over her winds, she lowered herself down to the main floor. She ducked behind a large vase to make sure no one noticed her. She glanced around the room, wondering where she should go and where Bepo might be. From her location she could barely seen into two other rooms, but had no clue what was in them. They didn't look like they had anything in them from what she could see.

Pushing away her thoughts, she tapped into her feelings, her instincts. She focused on the sad feeling, trying not to let it hammer her body and mind. Tears pooled in her eyes. It was almost over whelming to her on the lower level of the house. That had to mean she got closer to the animals. After a moment she was able to sense the sadness was coming from below her. She looked around the room again. She chose the closest door to her right. The sadness seemed to be leaking from that way so she headed there after taking another glance at the room the soldiers were in.

She rushed into the room, which turned out to be another hallway. She pressed her back against the wall. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears as she waited for any sounds indicating she had been spotted or heard. When she didn't hear anyone coming in her direction, she looked down the hall and located another room. She made her way to it. She peaked inside carefully to find it was a kitchen. There was a ton of doctor like tools lying around all over the table, counters and in the sink. Her body shivered at the sight of them. Her mind almost slipped back to waking up on Law's sub and being poisoned on Luminous. A cold grasp, panic and old memories started to filter into her mind. With a couple deep breaths, she shook her head and forced the thoughts away. She noticed a door on the far side of the kitchen. The sadness in her chest grew the longer she stared at it. That's where she needed to go.

She rushed over to the door. Without hesitation, she jerked it open and dove inside, careful to not slam the door behind her. The sadness slammed into her chest at the same time a bunch of chemical smells and blood hit her nose. It all was so strong that her knees buckled under her. She struggled to keep her balance while realizing she had found what she was looking for. She was about to find the answers to her questions. And she got the very strong feeling she wasn't going to like what she found.

With her hands shaking, her heart pounding, her stomach spinning, she tried to force herself to take the first step down the steep staircase before her. She couldn't. She pressed her back against the door. Her body turning cold. She wanted out of this place. Her lungs hitched.

' _Just breath.'_

Instantly, Neo drew in a breath. Some of the intensity she felt lifted away with just two words from him.  _'Thanks, Law.'_

Once again steady, she summoned her wind crystals and flew herself down to the bottom of the stairwell. She took in a sharp gasp once at the bottom of the stairs.

' _What is it, Neo?'_

' _I don't know. Some of it looks like a bunch of the doctor equipment you have back on the sub. The rest of it…I'm not sure. There's a bunch of needles, scalpels, some green and some purple color liquid in beakers. There's a table, an operating table, I think. There are a lot of machines lining up against the walls with wires coming out of them. One of them is right beside the table.'_ Neo told him while she walked around the strange lab. She paused to look at some papers that were lying on a cluttered table before moving over to some filing cabinets.  _'There's also a ton of paper work lying around on two desks. I don't understand what it all says, but I've seen some of the words in your medical books and it talks about animals. There's also a ton of filing cabinets and boxes full of more research. Law, what is this place?'_

' _Sounds like you found some kind of animal research facility. Is Bepo down there?'_

Neo pulled her eyes from the papers. She looked up to see another door. Several types of animals were behind it.  _'I think so. There's another door down here.'_

She rushed over to the door only to find it was locked and no keys in sight. "Just great. Guess I'm just going to have to melt it."

Summoning a couple fire crystals, she turned the flame hot blue and melted the lock within seconds filling the room with the smell of hot metal. Not wanted to wait for it to cool down, she used a wind crystal and pushed the door open then flew inside the room. Her body jerked to a halt when she saw the animals. The room was line up with cages fill with all kinds of animals, wolves, foxes, rabbits, moles, some birds. Animals that were very sad and scared. Her mind started to darken with all the sadness that came from them that she almost didn't notice a familiar voice calling out to her.

"Neo?"

"Huh?" Neo blinked, her mind coming back into focus.

"Neo!" Bepo cried.

She looked up to see the bear staring back at her in a cage that barely gave him enough room to sit up.

"I was so worried about you! I was afraid he had hurt you," Bepo said, tears streaming down his furry cheeks.

"Bepo! Law, I found him!" Neo cried as she ran over to the bear. She wanted to hug him, but the cage prevented it. Summoning her fire crystal again, she had him free within seconds. The bars fell, clanking to the floor. When he exited the small prison, she jumped into his hold while burring her face in his thick stomach. "You're okay!"

"I am now. I thought I was never going to get out of there," Bepo said while looking back over his shoulder at his former prison. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say those bars were made of sea prism stone."

"Sea prism?" Neo pulled from him and looked at the bars. She made sure to keep her connection open to Law so he could hear what she was saying. "I didn't even consider that. But, no, they're not sea prism stone. I don't feel the sea at all in them."

"That's good. I don't want you to have to play weak if we get caught here," Bepo said. "How did you escape from that guy anyway? He knocked us both out."

"He thinks he rescued me from you," Neo replied looking around. "Do you know what is this place exactly? Law thinks it might be for animal research."

"He's right. It is some kind of animal research facility," Bepo replied. "That guy that took us is preforming some kind of experiments on animals with white fur and feathers. I tried to get more information from him, but he was just so excited about my fur being white. I'm not even sure he noticed I could talk. I think there's something wrong with him."

"Huh?" Neo looked around at the animals she could see. She stepped away from Bepo to look at more of them. She kneeled down to a cage that held four white foxes. They huddled in the corner away from her, trembling with fear. Only then did she notice the color of their fur. "You're right. All these animals have white fur or feathers. Hey, easy now. I'm not going to hurt you." She slipped her hand through the bars and smiled. "It's okay. Come here."

One of the foxes slowly broke away from the others. It walked up to her, sniffed her outreached fingers before nudging her hand with its head.

"Can you tell me what's going on here? Why are all of you so sad?" Neo listened to the fox while Bepo looked around nervously.

"Uh, Neo, I don't mean to hurry you, but we really should get out of here. Did he tell you anything?"

"They're being experiment on like you and Law suggested. That guy, Johan, was hired by the Navy to try and change the color of the animals fur with different patterns and such, change their eyes, their sizes, trying to crossbreed them and change them somehow for something. The fox isn't sure. He says some animals become two different ones, but they shortly die afterwards," Neo replied. "Law, what's going on here?"

' _It sounds like he's trying to crossbreed them or combine their DNA or body parts by grafting them surgically.'_

"The fox said that Johan breeds them nonstop. So many animals have died here during these experiments. He says that some dragon wants them as pets and wants their fur, but as different colors in patterns. But dragons don't exist." Neo looked up at Bepo. "Right?"

' _It could be the Celestial Dragons. That would make this make more sense. The Navy has no use for animals in this way. But if the Celestial Dragons hired the scientist to do this then that would explain why the Navy's here in the first place. Neo, grab Bepo and the animals and get out of there before it's too late.'_

"Right." Pulling her hand from the cage, Neo flew herself upon one of the cages so she could see them better. She summoned her fire crystals. "Everyone, listen to me, we're going to help you escape from here. I can use my fire to set you all free. Just relax and stay calm. I'm not going to hurt you."

Once she felt they understood her, Neo used her fire crystals to melt all of the locks on the cages she could see. While Bepo made sure the animals didn't go anywhere, Neo continued to free the remaining ones. She then joined Bepo's side. They started to head for the door, but stopped when a clanking sound came from the back of the room. Bepo raised his paws up as Neo readied her crystals.

A disembodied female voice hissed, "Shh! Be quiet! Are you trying to get us discovered?"

"Sorry. I didn't mean to drop it," a male voice said.

The two pirates stood ready as a very well hidden door opened up in the corner of the back of the room. Once the two were visible, Neo snapped out her vines and grabbed them.

"Hey! W-wait a second! We didn't mean any harm!" The man kicked his legs.

"Really, Max?" the woman, with short black hair and bright blue eyes, asked. "Really? We're sneaking into the basement with tools to break the animals free. You think these people are going to believe we're up to no harm? I told you to be more careful before coming in here."

"I was being careful!" Max, the shaggy blonde haired guy beside her shouted. His light green eyes glared at the woman with him before looking at the two pirates. Both were wearing a dark grey colored suit similar to Bepo's. "Hey! You're just a kid!"

"And a bear and a child?" the woman asked. "We haven't seen you here before. Who are you two?"

"We don't belong here," Bepo replied. "We-"

"Hey! Lena! The animals are all free!" Max shouted.

"Will you keep it down?" Lena asked. "We're trying  _not_  to get caught."

"We already are caught," Max pointed out.

"Just shut up," Lena said while turning her eyes to Neo and Bepo. "Look, there's a misunderstanding here. We're not here to cause any trouble."

' _Neo, what's going on?'_

' _I'm not sure. These two people, a man and a woman, just came into the basement through some kind of secret passageway.'_

"Who are you two? Why are you here?" Bepo asked.

"We're here to free the animals," Lena explained. "We sneak in here whenever Johan is distracted by the Navy or has left the compound."

"Uh huh. Likely story," Bepo retorted.

"It's true!" Max insisted. "We've been watching Johan for along time! We're scientists too!"

"Keep it down, Max!" Lena hissed in a low voice. She then looked back at the pirates. "It's true. The Navy approached us several years ago about doing experiments on animals to change the color of their fur, to combine them into hybrids. We turned them down and they moved on until they found someone who would do this."

"But why?" Neo asked. She picked up one of the foxes when it brushed up against her leg. "Why put them through so much pain? What does it gain?"

"Nothing," Lena replied with a shake of her head. "There's nothing to gain from doing this other than to stroke the bloated egos and vanity of the Celestial Dragons."

"All this sadness and pain for vanity?" Neo asked quietly. She looked down at the fox in her arms. Tears stung and blurred her eyes. "I can understand killing animals to feed yourself or your family, but this I can't understand. It's too much. Bepo, I want to leave here. I want to go home." She hugged the fox. "The animals want to leave to. They want to just die if they can't be free. They would rather be dinner or die than stay here and be tortured like this. They also said that these two people have helped others escape. We can trust them."

"All right, Neo. We're leaving now," Bepo said, rubbing his paw over her back. "You can release them from your vines."

Neo nodded. She pulled her vines back and banished her crystals.

Max straightened out his clothes. "Well, that was interesting. I assume you are a devil fruit user?"

Neo nodded again while still hugging the fox in her arms.

"We can talk about that later. Right now, we have the bigger problem of getting all these animals out of here now that you've set them all free," Lena said kneeling down to a young white wolf. "They're not going to be easy to control. Usually we just take one or two at a time depending on their size. Also so Johan doesn't notice some are missing. He doesn't seem to keep a close eye on how many he has since he breeds them constantly. Not a very good scientist in my opinion."

"Don't worry about them. I can control them easily enough with my mag-powers," Neo said.

"What are you going to do with all these animals? They've been living in cages for so long. And a lot of them were born here. They won't be able to survive on their own," Bepo said. "They never developed their survival instincts."

"We have a facility on an island that deals with neglected and abused animals," Lena replied. "We're going to take them there. We'll do what we can to teach them to hunt for themselves but we're always going to be around to keep an eye on them."

"We better get going before the Navy realizes something's up down here," Max said as he head back to the door he and Lena came through.

"The Navy?!" Bepo shrieked.

"I forgot to mention them," Neo said. "They're upstairs right now."

"Correction. We're  _downstairs_ ," a deep voice said.

The group of animal liberators jumped and faced the door that led out to the lab. The Navy and Johan had entered the room without any of them noticing.

"Ah! What have you done?! You've freed all my test subjects!" Johan shouted while waving his arms wildly. "But how?! The keys were with me!"

"It was  _her_ ," the commodore said pointing a finger accusingly at Neo. "She's a blasted devil fruit user who can control the elements. She obviously used fire to melt the locks on all the cages. Attack men!"

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers raised their guns.

"Element Crystals, Fire Flare!" Neo summoned her fire crystals and easily melted the guns before they could fire a single shot.

"You little brat! Do you have any idea the kind of money you're costing the Navy?!" the commodore demanded.

"I don't care," Neo said tilting her head. She summoned her wind crystals and lifted everyone, including the Navy, off the floor. "Wind Lift!"

"What the heck are you doing?!" the commodore demanded. "Release us right now!"

"I don't think you want me to do that," Neo replied with a sharp look in her eyes. She looked down at the fox in her arms. "Not after what you did to these animals."

"Neo?" Bepo asked, concerned.

"It's all right, Bepo. I know what I'm doing," Neo replied. She then flew them all out of the room and into the lab. Angling all of them up the stairs, she turned her fire crystals on the lab. Her crystals flared up and shot out flames of fire over the lab. "Fire Flare!"

Everyone covered their faces with their arms when the hot heat washed over their faces. Small explosions started going off from the burning chemicals. The grey smoke took on a green tint as it wafted through the air causing irritation to their throats.

"No!" Johan screeched wildly. He struggled against Neo's winds, trying to get to his lab. "Not my lab! What's wrong with you?! I  _saved_  you!"

"You didn't  _save_ me!" Neo snapped. She pushed them all up the stairs. She paused to set the kitchen on fire before taking them all outside. She dropped Johan and the Navy onto the ship, melted the rest of the soldiers guns and cannons before pushing the ship upon the beach and lifting a large boulder from the ground to smash into the vessel, effectively stranding the Navy. "Element Crystals, Fire Flare! Wind Lift!"

"You little brat!" the commodore bellowed. He shook his fist in the air. "You're going to pay for this! I'm  _personally_  going to place a bounty on your head once I get back to Navy Headquarters!"

"Yeah. Sure," Neo mumbled to herself. "Do whatever you want."

"Wow! Your powers sure do come in handy! That whole experience was incredible! We're actually flying!" Max crowed happily while flapping his arms like a bird.

"Can't you be serious for once?!" Lena questioned. She sighed when Max just kept laughing and flapping his arms. She turned to Neo. "Sorry to inconvenience you, but would it be possible for you to fly us to our ship? It's anchored at a cave on the cliff just over there a bit more north from our position."

Neo nodded and started to lift them up to the top of the cliff so she could grab Law and the others waiting for them.

Bepo asked, "By the way, how did you two get into that basement? How did you even know that passage way was there?"

"That secret passage way that leads to the cave that I just told you about," Lena replied. "That house actually belonged to my great, great grandmother. I own the only original blue prints of that place. All of the other blueprints don't have the passage on them. The house was sold a long time ago. It only came under Johan's control when he started all of these experiments."

"Friends of yours?" Max asked when Neo lifted up the three other pirates waiting on top of the cliff.

"That's our captain and two fellow crewmates," Bepo replied without looking at the man. His eyes were locked onto Law. Law's hat was still over his eyes, but Bepo could easily sense the anger coming from his captain. That's when he realized that Neo had come for him instead of going to the captain. He knew something wasn't right about that. He turned his black eyes to her. Her bangs were now casting shadows over her eyes. "Neo, did you disobey the captain to come find me and these animals?"

Gritting her teeth, she nodded slowly.

"Is something wrong?" Max asked. Both he and Lena easily noticed the tension within the pirate group.

Topaz, Jean Bart and Bepo all exchanged looks, but didn't answer the question.

A minute later, Neo had lowered the group on the ship that was tied to a rock formation right beside a cave like Lena had said. A couple more people were on the deck of the ship. They gasped up at the scene when Neo had lowered them to it.

Lena shouted out orders to the men gawking. "Don't just stand there! Get these animals safely secured for transport! I want this ship sailing in four minutes!"

"Yes, ma'am!" they shouted before scurrying around to carry out their duty.

Lena then turned to the pirates. "Well, I never thought I'd get assistance from pirates, but I'm grateful for your help. You made our job a whole lot easier."

"Glad we could help. We're just happy these animals are finally going to be free," Bepo replied. He glanced at Neo and Law. They were standing three feet apart, but it might as well have been three thousand miles apart. Bepo felt his heart sink low in his chest. He found it hard to believe they were having their first fight.

Neo nodded, but didn't say anything when a man walked over to her and took the fox from her arms.

Topaz stepped closer to her and placed her hand on her shoulder. She said, "We really need to leave now. Neo might have stranded the Navy ship and melted their guns, but they'll still be calling for another ship. You all should get out of here too. They saw your faces after all. They could target you too."

"Don't worry it," Lena said with a wave of her hand. "I don't think it matters that they saw us. If they do come after us, we'll deal with it then. But, either way, we will be taking our leave now. Thanks again for your help."

"Not a problem," Bepo said as Neo lifted them into the air.

Neo flew them all back up to the cliff and kept them aloft while flying them back towards the town in uncomfortable silence. The tension was so thick that the three subordinates barely registered the winds whipping passed their ears while they repetitively exchanged concerned looks and stole glances at Neo and Law.

"Hey!" The group of three subordinates looked down when Penguin's voice reached them. He was standing on the ground, with Neo's sandals in his hand, waving his arms in the air.

Neo lowered them down to him.

"What happened? I got this strange feeling that something was wrong. And then that feeling got worse when I found Neo's shoes just laying on the ground and no one…what's going on? What's with the tension?" Penguin said.

The three subordinates exchanged looks again, still remaining quiet.

Neo lowered her head and gritted her teeth.

Law walked away from the group. The captain paused. Turning his head slightly back to the group. "Gather the crew. We need to leave immediately."

"Sure thing, Captain," Penguin said. Confusion plagued his mind as he watched his moody captain walk away before turning back to the group. His eyes went right to Neo. He noticed her entire body was trembling. Dropping her shoes, he rushed up to her when her knees buckled and she dropped to the ground. He put his arms around her shoulders. She grabbed a hold of his boiler suit and finally released all of her held back tears. "Neo…what happened?"

"She disobeyed the captain's orders," Bepo replied.

"What?!" Penguin gasped.

Bepo quickly filled Penguin in on what happened while Jean Bart and Topaz broke away from them to gather up the crew like Law had ordered.

Penguin rubbed his hand on Neo's back while Bepo finished up his story. Her crying dwindled down to soft sobs. "Oh geez. All right, well, uh, let's get back to the sub for now. Come on, Neo. We can't stay here."

Neo pulled away from him. She nodded then allowed him to help her stand up. With her hand firmly in his, he led her away from the flower fields.

Bepo grabbed her sandals and quickly followed after them.

…

Law trudged through the warm, quiet halls of the sub once he finally made it back to the vessel. Reaching his destination, he opened the door to their room and entered it. He didn't bother turning on the lights once he had the door closed. He walked over to his deck, letting his sword fall from his hold as he went. The clanking of his sword on the metal floor was distant in his ears as he sat down in his chair and just stared blankly at his paper and book covered desktop. His mind and body was cluttered yet, somehow, was also empty at the same time. Thoughts were buzzing around in his brain but he couldn't string any of them together into any sort of comprehensive sense. Only one thought was clear in his head: Neo had disobeyed him. For the first time since he had found her, Neo had disobeyed an order.

…

Penguin lifted Neo's hand to the ladder. When her fingers curled around it, he released her. "Climb up now."

Neo stepped upon the first rung and pulled herself up the ladder.

Penguin followed close behind so he could grab her if she fell.

Neo reached the deck. She waited for Penguin to join her side before they headed into the sub. Instead of heading for the stairs she turned and tucked herself in a corner on the floor. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she cried into her knees.

Penguin sat down beside her. Slipping his arm around her waist, he pulled her close to him. "It's okay, Neo. It'll be okay."

Soon the rest of the crew started filing into the sub. They all stopped, clearly worried about their girl. Penguin knew Topaz and Jean Bart filled them in.

"I'll get the sub ready for departure," Archer said before heading down the stairs. The rest of the crew followed.

"Do I need to get her anything?" Shachi asked.

"I don't think so," Penguin said. "At least not right now."

"We should make her something to eat," Topaz said. "Why don't you help me?"

"Sure." Shachi followed the Elemental down the stairs, leaving Penguin to take care of Neo.

…

Bepo walked down the hall to the captain and Neo's room for the fifth time. He knocked on the door. It creaked open a little. With no reply he stepped into the dark room. "Captain? It's been a while since we left. We have some food ready. Would you like me to bring you something?"

Law didn't replay.

"Well, maybe later." Bepo left the room and headed for the galley. He entered the room where the majority of the crew was waiting.

"How's the captain?" Conner asked.

"The same. He hasn't moved at all," Bepo said. "He should eat."

"He'll eat when he feels like it," Conner said. "We should probably just leave him alone for now."

Bepo nodded. He sat down and started picking at the sandwich in front of him.

…

Later that night, the Polar Tang was sitting on the calm waters just off shore of an uninhabited island. The Heart Pirates were scattered about the stilled sub. They all were trying to go about business as usual, but it was impossible. The tension that was between Neo and Law was affecting them all. They felt like if they spoke a word about what happened an explosion would erupt on the sub. They had no clue what to do. They had no clue what to say. Even Law and Neo's best friends couldn't do anything to thaw the tension that stubbornly hung in the air.

Bepo had gone to Law and Neo's room multiple times to try and get the captain to come out and talk to Neo. But Law wouldn't budge from his desk. He wouldn't even answer the bear. He just sat, quietly staring down from his shadow-covered eyes. The bear would then leave the room. They would ask if he had any success with the captain. Bepo would shake his head and a round of sighs would pass through the group.

Topaz picked up the bowl of steaming soup and headed for the door of the galley. She went right to Penguin and Neo. The two hadn't moved since they arrived back on the ship. "I brought her some soup."

"She still hasn't moved," Penguin said.

"Princess," Topaz said kneeling down. "You need to eat."

Neo didn't move.

Penguin and Topaz sighed. They looked up when some of the crew appeared.

"What are we going to do?" Archer asked. "I hate this. It's been over seven hours since this whole mess got started. Shouldn't one of them have cracked by now and gone to the other?"

"What you all need to do is let it go," Tero said. They all turned towards him. "This is there first fight. And it's not a simple fight over sometime like leaving the toilet lid up or leaving something lying around where it shouldn't be, or whatnot. Neo actually  _disobey_  the captain. No way that was an easy choice for her to do no matter if she was doing it to save Bepo and the animals. And it certainly wasn't easy for the captain to deal with her doing that. He's use to controlling things. And he has control over Neo despite only using it when she needs to be controlled. Plus, I think you're all forgetting about their bond. They're fights aren't going to be like normal human fights. I think this is affecting them on a deeper level. A magic one. They just need time to work things out themselves. This disobeying thing is new to them  _both_. They seriously got thrown out of their comfort zones today. The captain has been Neo's protective shield for, what's it been now, almost two years or so? And she's use to him being the protector for her. This is the first time that she's followed her own instincts and did what she knew was right. The captain is just going to have to accept that she's her own person now. She's not going to need him for every little thing that pops up. If she ever gets in over her head, she'll call for him just like always. But this was something she could handle. She knew that or she wouldn't have done it. And the captain was there to back her up if it was needed. Neo just needs time to adjust some more to making her own decisions. She's been doing that all along for a while now, but this one was way bigger than the decisions she's made before. She's too use to doing what the captain wants her to do. They'll be all right, though. They just need time."

"I suppose you're right," Shachi said. He sighed. "But it's still so hard to watch them both being this upset."

"Yeah." The crew nodded in agreement before forcing themselves to walk away from Neo and find something to distract themselves with until this mess finally blew over. Topaz took the soup away.

Tero gave Neo and Penguin one last glance before walking off himself.

Penguin watched as his crew walked away with defeated expressions on their faces. He turned his eyes back to Neo to find she had finally lifted her eyes from her knees. Her face was streaked with tearstains and her eyes were slightly red. He rubbed his hand on her back again, figuring she was all cried out. "Hey, let's go outside. You could use some fresh air."

Neo nodded. She allowed Penguin to take her hand and pull her to her feet. He guided her to the door, pushed it open, then led her out and over to the railing of the sub. That's when she pulled her hand from his. She crossed one arm over the railing while placing her other elbow on the rail and rested her chin in her hand. "Penguin, I hate this."

"I know," Penguin replied. He mimicked her position.

Neo stared down at the moonlit water while he stared out at the horizon. The moon was full, extremely big, and hanging low in the sky. It gave them enough light to easily see for over a mile. It also gave them a haunting feeling. It was like the night knew what happen between Neo and Law and was giving some ambiance befitting the mood.

"It'll be over soon. And look at it this way, at least your first fight with the captain has happened. It's over and done with. Well, it will be once you two have kissed and made up."

"I feel like we're never going to kiss again," Neo whispered. "I feel so messed up. I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry. How is that possible?"

"You're sorry that you're not sorry because you know you were right. You knew you needed to see what was going on in that place," Penguin said. "You did a good thing. The only reason you feel so bad is because you disobeyed the captain for the first time ever. You love him and want to make him happy and always do as he says, but that's just not possible, sweetie. You're an adult now. Decisions like today are going to happen again. You're going to get yourself into another situation where you're going to have to follow your instincts and do what you know is right despite the captain wanting to pull you from the situation."

"Being an adult sucks," Neo replied flatly.

Penguin laughed. He kicked the toes of his shoe against one of the railing poles. "It absolutely does. But it's life. No one ever stays a child forever."

"I guess your right. Still I-Uh!" Neo's eyes widened when she sensed Law opening himself up again from behind them. She whipped around to face him. He had his hands in his pockets and his eyes still covered in the shadows of his hat. She stared at his darkened face before dropping her eyes to the deck. She swallowed then chewed on her bottom lip nervously.

"Uh, you know, you're probably getting hungry by now. You both haven't eaten since breakfast after all. I'll head back inside and cook you up something yummy," Penguin said, taking his silent cue to get lost. He pecked Neo's temple before heading into the sub to let the lovers kiss and make up. He grabbed the door as he went but left it open about a foot to give them as much privacy as he possible could.

Neo pressed her back to the railing and grabbed a hold of it. She continued to stare down at the deck. Her head and heart was pounding, her mouth became dry as she tried to figure out what she should say. With a deep breath, she lifted her head and opened her mouth. "Law, I'm-"

Law rushed forward. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pressed her tightly against his chest, cutting off her words. "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Neo blinked, confused. She wasn't expecting to hear an apology from him.

"I'm sorry I hurt you. I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to make you feel so bad. I was just worried about you," Law said in a low, shaky voice.

Neo blinked again when she felt his body trembling against hers.

He tightened his hold on her before loosening it up so he could look at her. He cupped her cheeks in his hands. His shimmering eyes holding a whirlwind of emotions of regret, worry, self-loathing and of love. He had opened himself up completely to her at that point. All of his emotions flowed over to her.

"Oh, Law, don't put yourself down like that," Neo said. She gripped his wrists, feeding her love to him. "I was the one who disobeyed you. I was the one who-"

"Who did the right thing," Law said, cutting her off once more. "I was the one who was wrong. I raised you to always listen to your instincts. Then I turned around and tried to force you to go against that. I'm so sorry, love. I'm just so use to you being that scared little girl I rescued so long ago. The one who always came to me and clung to me when she was scared. But you don't need to do that anymore."

Law dropped his hands and eyes from her face. He was going to let his arms drop to his sides, but she grabbed a hold of his hands to keep him from doing that. He continued, "You've grown up. You don't need me to protect you anymore."

Fresh tears stung her eyes at his words. She squeezed his hands, desperate for him to feel her feelings on how wrong he was. "Law, don't say that. I'll  _always_ need you. I'll  _always_  need you to protect me no matter how much I have grown up or how much I will grow up. I just had to do what I did. I had to know what was going on. I had to free those animals. I had to save Bepo. Believe me…I  _hated_  disobeying you. I  _hated_  it so much. I hate what it did to us. And I wish I could say that I'll never do it again, but I can't. I can't say that I'll never disobey you again. I want to. I want to say it so badly…I just can't."

"I know, love," Law whispered. He pulled her forward to him. Releasing her hands, he wrapped his arms around her once more. Keeping one arm around her shoulder, he placed his right hand on the back of her head, holding her as close as he possibly could while she clung to the back of his shirt and cried into his chest. "I know. It's okay now. It's over. I'm right here. I'm sorry I closed myself off to you. I just needed time to think, time to process everything that happened today. I'll do better for you in the future when you tell me you need to follow your instincts. I'll try not to get so upset when you do too."

Law stroked his fingertips over her hair and held her comfortably to his chest until her cries died down.

When she finally stopped crying, she pulled back from him a bit. She looked up at him. "Are we done fighting now?"

"We are," Law replied. He loosened his hold on her more to reclaim her face in his hands before leaning down and capturing her lips with his. He placed several pecks on her lips before dragging his warm tongue over her lips seeking permission. She gladly parted for him, but didn't give him the chance to enter her. She slipped her tongue into his mouth before he could get the chance to claim hers. He smiled. It was rare for her to take the lead and dominate their kissing. He liked it when she did it.

Bending down a bit, he wrapped his arms around her waist, she slipped her arms around his neck, and lifted her up to sit her down on the railing. They temporarily broke apart for air. Panting softly, their eyes and lips smiled at each other before they leaned in for a deeper kiss. Neo wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him as close to her as she possibly could. Law ran his hands down her sides then slipped them under her shirt to run his warm palms over the soft skin of her stomach and back.

Knowing they both needed air soon, Law trial kisses away from her lips. He planted soft kisses along her cheek and jaw as he made his way down to her neck where he nipped and sucked. Hitting her sweet spot, he made her arch her back and tense against him. She angled her head a bit more to give him easier access. Minutes later, a cool breeze caused Neo to shiver and Law stopped his assault. He licked then kissed the now tender sweet spot before lifting up and kissing her lips. "We should go inside now. You're getting cold."

Neo pouted. "No I'm not. You're doing such a good job keeping me warm."

Law chuckled. He brushed his hands over the cool skin on her arm then grabbed his hat and placed it on her head, purposefully covering her eyes. "We're going inside,  _little girl_. Besides, Penguin should have us something to eat by now."

"But I'm not-" As if on cue, Neo's stomach rumbled. She pushed his hat up right and sighed in defeat at how well he knew her. "I'd rather just have you."

Chuckling again, he wrapped his arms around and lifted off the rail. She tightened her legs around his waist. He said, "You have me. You just also need to eat. But don't worry, I'm not let you go."

"Good." Neo pecked his lips again while he carried her into and through the sub. Once in the galley, they noticed their hot meal was sitting on the table waiting for them to enjoy it. Law sat down in his chair, keeping his promise of not letting her go he kept Neo on his lap. The two fed each other while stealing kisses. Once they had finished up, Law carried her to their room where they got comfortable on the bed. With her still on his lap, he took her lips again with his while running his hand tantalizingly slow over her body.


	65. Dangerous Weather P1

Dangerous Weather

Part One

Law struggled to keep his expression neutral and his body posture relaxed despite panic spiraling wildly inside of him as he stood in the room apparently used for registering new warlords. There were eleven marines in total with him in this room. Ten lined up against the wall and the eleventh one sitting in front of him at a large coral desk. Not a problem for him if something went wrong. Still, his pulse was throbbing rapidly just under his skin and in his ears. Sweat had gathered on his forehead, threatening to drip down his cool skin and give away his true feelings in the moment. He tried to keep his hand loose on his nodachi so he wouldn't turn his knuckles white, but almost kept it too loose and came close to dropping it a couple times. He knew the question was coming and he would have to actually answer it. It was inevitable. And now it was time for the truth, or what he and his crew decided the truth would be. He lifted his head, the brim of his hat rose up over his eyes. He looked at all the marines staring at him with forced patience. Line up against the wall like statues, they all held eager looks in their eyes. He could also see a hint of malicious intent and curiosity and sometime else that teetered around the suggestion that some of them thought Neo was cute despite the fact she looked like a child.

His blood raged like an active volcano. He wanted to rip their throats out right there for having such thoughts about her. Law had to forced himself to shift his thoughts. He had finally gathered his last heart and ordered the sub to head directly to Navy Headquarters. On their way there, Neo, like he knew she would, wanted to go with him. He had to order her to stay inside. His mind drifted back to earlier this morning.

_Law was standing in a storage room looking over the hearts he had collected. All of them were in small brown bags, throbbing away as if they hadn't been removed from their owners' bodies. He had counted them once more to make sure he had all of them. He did. His goal had been met. Now all he had to do was wait until they reached the Navy Headquarters._

_"Law!" Neo called before she came running into the room. She threw her arms around him._

_Law grabbed the lid to the crate and closed it knowing she wouldn't want to see the hearts inside despite them being covered. "What is it, love?"_

_"We're almost to the Navy Headquarters," Neo said._

_Law lowered his eyes to the floor._

_"What is it?" Neo asked._

_"You're staying in the sub," Law said._

_"What?" Her arms dropped to her sides. Her lips curled down into a frown._

_Law exhaled. "I don't want the Navy to get close to you. Not right now. I don't want them sensing your true nature. It's better for you to stay in the sub. The whole crew is staying on the sub."_

_"No, Law. You can't go into that place alone." Neo took two steps back from his, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm going with you."_

_"Neo, please, you need to stay here," Law said._

_Neo's lip trembled. Her eyes dropped to the floor._

_"Please don't cry." Law stepped closer to her. Placing his hand on her head, he pulled her towards him. "Understand it's better this way. We still have to be careful that no one notices who you really are."_

_"But…Law," Neo said. "This place is…"_

_"They're not going to hurt me," Law said._

_"You don't know that," Neo said._

_"The sub is going to remain ready to leave," Law said. "I've already ordered Archer and Jean Bart to stay at the controls. If the Navy even thinks about trying to attack us I'll warp back on the sub and we'll leave. You'll use your crystals as a distraction to give us time to escape. The Navy won't be expecting that. They won't be standing ready on their ships. Not here. They don't even know we're coming."_

_"You can't go out there alone, Law," Neo said._

_"I'll be fine," Law said._

_Neo slipped her hands up to his chest, gripping a hold of his hoodie._

_Law gave her a moment before slipping his arms around her, picking her up. Forming his Room he warped them, the crate, and his sword up to the main floor. Some of the crew was already standing there. It was clear to him that they shared the same thoughts as Neo. They didn't want their captain to go by himself. But they remained loyal. A few minutes later the sub slowed down._

_"We're at the Navy Headquarters," Archer said over the voice pipe._

_Law sat Neo on her feet. He kissed her temple. "Stay inside. I'll be as quick as I can."_

_Neo tightened her hold on him. Reluctantly, she released him._

_Law watched her for a few seconds before warping out of the sub._

He could still feel how upset she was. He knew she was curled up against the wall near the door, hugging her knees and trying not to cry while carefully sensing out where he was and if he was hurt at all. It hurt, a lot, that he had to do this to her. He tried to smooth everything out on the journey over here, but he knew she would still get upset. They were, after all, currently docked at the Navy Headquarters and she still had issues dealing with new things. And this was definitely new. There were so many soldiers here of all rankings. If something went wrong here, it would be next to impossible to escape. Or it would be if they didn't have Neo. Law knew without a doubt she wouldn't hesitate to reveal her true abilities if it meant keeping her family,  _especially him_ , safe and out of the Navy's hands. They already had an escape plan ready.

But he didn't want that to happen and he didn't want them to see her right now. He had no idea what might have happened if he let her off the sub with him at the Navy Headquarters. There were just to many strong soldiers here who already had a fairly strong interest in the young pirate  _child_. Questions of her were running wild through the papers as people tried to figure out who she was, what her devil fruit power was, what her name was, how old she really was, why a child was on a pirate crew in the first place, and some even questioned why she wasn't more aggressive with her powers while others brushed it off as her being weak.

Though he had no idea how it actually happened, they were able to keep her name out of the newspapers up to this current point in time. The mere thought of her name appearing in the newspapers turned his blood cold. He wasn't sure why it bothered him so much to have her name be public knowledge, but figured it was because of her birth medallion. That little trinket was still out in the world somewhere with her name on it. While there could be other females with the name Neo in the world, there was only one who could be connected to the crystals embedded on the medallion.

He didn't think anyone would make the connections between her, her not being human and Luminous since only a few humans knew of its and the Elementals existence. But it still made his body turn ice cold and his heart would race to the point of him feeling sick whenever he would read the newspaper after one of their escapades caught reporters or Navy attention until he found her name wasn't in it. Reporters would only call her Heart of the Elements, the pirate child with a twenty million beli bounty. He wasn't sure if her Heart of the Elements epithet was because she was a  _Heart_  Pirate or because there were also questions, thanks to Laden back on Kiko Island questioning her ring in an article he published, on her relationship to him. The happenings on that island also resulted in Neo getting her bounty thanks to that commodore carrying out his threat of personally giving her her bounty.

Law was glad it was a low bounty like he had hoped and planned for. She was a bit upset and confused about it for a while, but adjusted quickly to it with his help, and snuggles. Once comfortable with it the crew, of course, threw her a party to celebrate. But that unexpected adventure on Kiko Island had also took a small toll on Neo's confidence. She worried over how a human easily knocked her out with gas and wondered if there was some other kind of gas that could cause her to lose control of her crystals. She insisted the crew carry around the disabling powder she and Law learned how to make back on Luminous. So now the entire crew, despite their objections to it, including Law, carried around four pouches of that powder each.

"Well, Trafalgar?" the marine asked with a taunting smirk.

Law thought this guy was enjoying this too much.

"We have all of your subordinates listed here, but for one. Well, technically, we need more information on the other woman, Topaz, too. We need her information if she's still apart of your crew. She  _is_  still a part of your crew, right?"

Law took a slow breath. This marine was way too eager to learn about Neo. Over all, he was thankful for how everything was turning out. And if something ever when horribly wrong and worse came to worse, they always had Luminous to return to. Plus, despite him refusing to admit it out loud to anyone even Neo, they had Red Hair Shanks with them somewhere in the New World. He knew the emperor would protect Neo despite them being on opposing crews and the soon to be world knowledge of them aiming to take down Kaido. With another breath, he answered the questions while forcing himself not to stutter or hesitant as he spoke. "Yes, she's still on my crew. Her name is Neo. She and Topaz are sisters who hail from the Grand Line."

"So they're sisters from the Grand Line," the marine crossed his arms. He leaned back in his chair with an eyebrow raised. "And the name of their home island?"

Law forced his body not to twitch. He couldn't actually name an island since he knew the Navy would look into it to see if she really was from there. Luckily, he had this all prepared long before arriving here. "They don't actually have a home island. They've done nothing but travel their entire lives. They're orphans. They're parents died when they were very young. She's twenty one now. And Topaz is thirty five."

Law bit down hard on his tongue when he caught a couple marines smiling and whispering to each other at the revelation of her age. One of them said, "Seriously? She looks like a child."

"I guess she just ages gracefully," Law said. His hat dropped over his eyes, concealing his death glare and his multiple plans of torture he wanted to do to them.

"And her devil fruit?" the marine asked while scribbling down Law's information in his notebook. "She's a logia, right? She controls the elements after all. Which is odd. Usually Logias only have control over a single element. How is it possible she has control over four of them? And what's with the crystals? Are they some kind of conductors or something?"

"Her devil fruit is the Element-Element Fruit. And she's a paramecia not a logia. She's not immune to physical attacks," Law replied in a forced bored tone. He then gave the marine a cocky smirk. "And I have no idea why she has control over all the elements. Perhaps it's a new type of devil fruit. Perhaps she's not even a paramecia. Why don't you use all that Navy power and do some research on it?"

The marine frowned. "Fine. I'll label her a paramecia, for now. But you better not be lying to us."

Law didn't say anything. What could he say? He did just lie to them after all.

"And your relationship to her?" the marine asked.

Law's eyebrow twitched. Even though he knew that question was coming, there was just no way he could prepare himself for it. He still didn't want their relationship revealed just yet, but he didn't want to lie about it either. This would be the first time he's lied about it directly to someone's face. He hated it. Forcing the words from his mouth, he said, "She's my subordinate."

"Very well then," the marine said, scribbling more in his notebook. Once finished writing whatever it was it was writing, the marine looked up at Law. He placed his elbows on his desk and laced his fingers together, resting his chin on them. "It's now official, Trafalgar Law. You are now one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. We have nothing left to discuss. If you have a mission we will let you know."

Law nodded. With everything completed, he left the room and headed back for the sub.  _'It's done, Neo. I'm coming back now.'_

She didn't answer him. He could feel a fresh round of tears leaving her eyes as he tried not to run back to the sub. She was still very upset. And she would be that way until he finally was back in the safety of the sub, back in her arms. He forced himself to keep his pace strong and steady. He was still around marine soldiers. They were gathered around the halls in small groups, whispering among themselves, glancing at the new warlord, waiting and silently questioning him. He had to keep this charade up for a little bit longer, just a little bit longer.

A painfully slow three minutes later, Law had climbed up the sub ladder and entered into the already opened door, which Bepo had opened for him. The bear and the rest of his subordinates were clearly eager to hear his official announcement that he was now a warlord. His eyes went directly to Neo. She was, like he knew, sitting on the ground and hugging her knees. Penguin and Topaz were beside her. With his eyes still locked on Neo's froze form, he said, "It's done, Neo. I'm a warlord now."

Neo's fists clenched tight. He felt her a small wave of relief wash over her before more worries quickly followed. They were one step closer to leaving for Punk Hazard. He then felt new tears streamed from her hidden eyes. Passing his sword off to Bepo, Law walked over to her. Penguin and Topaz were already on their feet, relinquishing their duties in calming her to their captain. He scooped her up into his arms, her hands immediately clenching the front of his hoodie like always when she was scared. Murmurs of celebration faded from the captain's ears as he carried Neo to their room where he could properly calm her down. Sitting down on their bed, he held her comfortably and firmly to his chest for over an hour as she cried out the last bit of her strength. He knew it wouldn't be much longer before she would soon fall asleep from all the emotional stress he just put her through. Stroking her hair, he spoke softly to her. "It's all right. It's over now. Just relax and go to sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up. How about when you wake up you contact Red Hair? You haven't spoken to him in a while. You can deliver my warlord status to him before the papers do. Would you like to do that?"

Neo slowly nodded against his chest. "I'm sorry. This was just too much."

"It's okay. Just sleep now." Law placed a kiss into her hair. "You're safe. We're all safe."

…

Neo shivered at the cool air brushing across her skin and pulled the covers around her shoulders. When that didn't warm her up, she reached for Law, but couldn't find him beside her. She opened her eyes to see that he was already out of bed. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she found him over by their closet. He had his jeans on and a towel around his shoulders, dabbing his wet hair with it. She blinked again in confusion, unable to enjoy or even notice the surgeon was only half dressed. Most of the time when she woke up Law was already dressed, completely, for the day.

Sensing her now awake and confused, Law tossed her a smile over his shoulder. "Morning, love. You're up a bit early today because it's so cold in here and, if I were to guess, because your back is so tight. You haven't used your wings in over a month."

"Morning. I didn't even notice my back was so tense," Neo replied rolling her shoulders before summoning her wings and giving them a couple gentle flaps. She winced when a sharp pang spread across her back where her wings connected through her skin.

Law gave her a concerned look over their shared pain as she quickly banished them, the pain letting up instantly.

She shivered again and pulled the cover even tighter around her shoulders. "I guess my wings aren't meant for the cold when I haven't used them recently. Why is it so cold? It feels weird outside too. It's like it's raining, but it's not. There are grey clouds, but no rain clouds in the sky anywhere near the sub."

"We're near Kouri Island. Remember we talked a few weeks ago about getting us some snow gear that would be more suited for Punk Hazard's extreme weather conditions?" Law said pulling his shirt over his head. "You were excited about getting to see snow just the other day."

"You mean that's snow I'm feeling?" Neo asked now fully awake.

"Most likely. This island is a winter island and it's…" Before Law could finish, Neo bolted from the bed and was out the door. He rushed after her, fixing his shirt over his abs as he went. "Neo! Wait! You're still in your night clothes!"

Ignoring Law's calls for her to stop, Neo excitingly dashed down the halls of the sub. She rounded a corner, almost running into a Tero and Topaz in the process. They all quickly pivoted their bodies so they didn't collide. She called back over her shoulder. "Sorry about that!"

"What's the rush?" Tero asked. "And aren't you awake a little early?"

"I think she realized there's snow outside," Topaz said, crossing her arms, while watching her princess disappear down the hall without another word to them.

"She did," Law said as he rushed passed them in desperation to catch up to his excited and rogue lover. "And if she dives into that snow wearing only pajamas I'm going to  _ground_  her!"

Tero rolled his eyes while Topaz giggled at their frazzled captain trying to prevent Neo's escape.

After several more near misses with other crewmates, the front door was finally coming into her view. Neo summoned a wind crystal and pushed the heavy door open. Bepo was near the door. He dove after her to try and stop her, but missed. "Neo! Stop! You're gonna freeze!"

She ran out on the deck, ignoring the bear and the cold wood under her bare feet. She grabbed the railing with a gasped at the winter scene before her as the sub glided along the icy waters beside the island. Everything was a crisp, with a shining white cover that transformed the usual colorful scenes of the mountains, houses, trees, bushes and flowers of past islands into an almost solid white wonderland. The snowy blankets shimmered in the sunlight making her own eyes shimmer with glee. "Wow!"

Her foggy breath swirling out of her mouth pulled her attention from the snow-covered island. She breathed out again then giggled at her warm breath dancing on the cold air.

Bepo shrieked from somewhere behind her, " _Neo!_  Get back inside! Now! Captain! She's going to get sick dressed like that! Captain!"

A snowflake lazily drifting just inside her peripheral vision, grabbing her attention. She raised her hand up to catch the little flake. She watched it with peak interest as it melted in her warm palm. She squealed with delight, ignoring the cold breeze that created goosebumps on her flesh, and started to climb upon the rail.

"Ack! Neo!" Bepo shrieked again. He flailed his arms and legs wildly. "Stay! Sit! Bad Elemental!"

Before she could take off a strong arm locked around her waist and tugged her back against a solid force. She whined, her escape cut short. "Law!"

Bepo flopped onto the deck in relief. "That was close."

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady." Law said in a parental voice. He glided his eyes over the island as the sub continued to pull up to the island docks. No one appeared to be in sight so he picked her up bridal style and headed back for the door. "I don't want my fiancée freezing to death. What were you thinking coming out here dressed like that?"

Bepo, coming down from almost having a heart attack and picking himself up off the deck, followed after them.

"Says the one who came outside with wet hair," Neo pointed out. She ran her fingers over his damp locks. She summoned a wind and fire crystal and started to dry his hair. "You could get seriously sick coming out here with wet hair."

"Don't turn this around on me. I wouldn't have had to come out here if  _you_  didn't bolt on me wearing nothing but shorts and a tank top," Law said in his captain tone that warned her how serious he was. He walked her through the door, the snow-covered island now out of her sight.

She watched as Bepo grabbed the door to the sub and pulled it closed with him as he entered the vessel. Neo whimpered at her attempted playtime being completely cut off from her.

"I'm sorry," She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder. "I want to play in that stuff. That was snow. I've never seen it before. At least, I don't think I've seen it before. I don't remember. I might have only been on warm islands before or not have stayed long enough for the winter season. I've read about it in my books. It's supposed to be a very romantic setting. And it wasn't  _that_  cold."

She tightened her arms around his neck with a shiver and whimpered again. Some crewmates smiled at her child like display as the couple passed them in the halls. She ran her fingers through his now dry hair and banished her crystals. "And I can't touch you in public. Hiding our relationship really sucks!"

"Watch your language, Neo," Law warned.

"I'm sorry. It's true. I know you're doing it to protect me…and I love you for that but…"

"I know it stinks. It won't be for much longer. I promise." Law carried her into their room. He closed the door with his foot then sat her down on her feet. He gave her a gentle kiss. "Get dressed."

"Okay. But you're making up all the missed romantic snowy walks, sipping hot chocolate and cuddling by a warm fire to me later." Neo pouted.

Law chuckled. "Yes, love. Whatever you want."

"You're such a good little pirate boy," Neo cooed. She slid her hands over his shoulder until her arms were around his neck once more. She pulled him down to her and placed a feather light kiss on his lips before taking his bottom lip and sucking it lightly.

Law growled at her asking for a french kiss then refusing to let him do it by trapping his bottom lip. "Neo."

"Hm?" She giggled, releasing his lip. "Consider it the beginning of your payment in making me miss the romantic encounters we could have had on this island."

"Get dressed before I change my mind about that." Law placed his hands on her hips and squeezed them. He pecked her forehead then her nose then her lips.

"An empty threat, but okay." Neo pecked his lips once more before heading for the bathroom. She paused at her Luminous shelf and greeted her Elemental family. "Morning."

Law watched her intently with a smile. Once she was out of his sight, he walked over to their closet and started looking through their clothes. He debated on which of his hoodies would be the warmest for her to wear and what else he had she could use. He decided on a black hoodie with a small yellow jolly roger over the left breast. After pulling it out he reached in to the right and pulled out an old dark grey jacket he used to wear long before he found her. He turned to her when she came out of the bathroom dressed in jeans and a light blue shirt. He waved the clothes that were draped over his arm. "You can wear these. They should be warm enough until we get you some proper winter attire. Plus you need to wear socks and your boots. Your sandals are forbidden on this island."

"Aw, Law." Neo's shoulders slumped.

"No pouting. It's far too cold for you to wear your sandals. You don't have to put them on until we get ready to leave, but you will put them on. And you're putting on my hoodie right now," Law ordered while draping the jacket over the back of his chair as she took his hoodie and slipped it on. He gave her a disapproving frown before dropping his eyes to her slightly red feet. "Although, I really should make you put on a pair of socks after running out on the cold deck barefooted."

"And if I refuse?" Neo asked innocently, pulling her long hair out of the hoodie. She summoned two fire crystals and warmed her feet.

"Then I'll ground you for disobedience. You won't set foot off this sub until we leave for Punk Hazard, you won't cook for the crew, you won't read any of your books, you will clean the sub from top to bottom  _without_  your crystals and, for an entire week, you'll get no kisses from me."

Neo's eyebrows shot high upon her forehead at his punishment.

"Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir," Neo said sharply but obediently.

"Good girl." Law put his arm around her waist and hooked his thumb into her left hip pocket then guided her to the door. The two remained quiet as they walked through the sub's cold halls. He glanced down at her, wondering if maybe he went a bit too far with his threat. She wasn't closed off from him, but her mind and feelings were distant. It almost made the already cold sub feel even colder.

"That was a lot and mean," Neo said as she trudged beside him. She glanced up with her puppy dog eyes, stabbing him with guilt. "You know I hate shoes and socks."

"I know. But you have to wear them. It's far too cold outside for you not to. I don't want you to get sick." Law kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry. That was a bit excessive and mean. You can sit on my lap during breakfast. Will that make it better?"

"Yes." Neo nodded with a smile. She wrapped her arms around his torso just before the two entered the galley.

Topaz, who was at the table reading the newspaper, smiled at the couple before returning her eyes to the paper. A couple other crewmates were already in the room and were playing a couple rounds of poker while waiting for breakfast to be finished. They gave Neo and Law quick mumbles of morning greetings without looking up from their game.

Neo noticed the room was warm from the stove being on but it also felt a very different type of cozy than it usually did. The air was filled with chatter about the snowy island and with spices that was sat out on the table for their oatmeal and pancake breakfast. It made the room very inviting and Neo's stomach rumble quietly. She pushed up the sleeves on Law's hoodie as he grabbed himself a strongly desired cup of hot tea then joined the others at the table. Stepping closer to the stove, Penguin relinquished pancake-making duty to her and started to stir the oatmeal so it wouldn't stick to the pans.

"So what all are we doing on this island other than getting us fitted for proper Punk Hazard attire?" Neo asked once breakfast was on the table and her body on Law's lap.

"We're going to celebrate the captain's warlord status with drinks and the captain's going to finish tattooing his hand," Bepo said without thinking.

"Bepo!" the crew hissed while Law frowned at the bear.

"I'm sorry!" Bepo dropped his head. "I forgot!"

Neo took in the crew. All of them, including Topaz and Tero, refused to meet her eyes as they picked at their food or exchanged nervous glances with each other. She turned to Law. "Law?"

He flinched under her scrutinizing gaze and tone. Clearing his throat, he said, "I was going to tell you."

She moved to get off his lap. She was stopped when he circled his arm around her waist and firmly held her in place. With no escape, she crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her finger on her elbow. "Really? When? When the needle was stabbing into  _our_  hand and drawing blood?"

Law swallowed. "No, no. Long before that."

"The captain just put himself in the doghouse," Shachi mumbled but not quietly enough.

Law shot his subordinate a disapproving glare.

Shachi shifted and chuckled nervously under his captain's gaze.

Law sighed, turning his eyes back to Neo. "I was going to tell you before we disembarked. I didn't tell you sooner because I didn't want you to stress over it and get sick. You know you would have."

"Well, I'm sure  _not_  stressing over it now." Tears gathered in her electric blue eyes. Her orbs dropped from his. Her voice dipped low as she glared at his chest. "Why would I? You're only going to willingly stab yourself with a dirty needle."

"Love." Law tried to kiss her cheek but she pulled away from him and closed herself off. He sighed. "Don't close yourself off to me. The needle won't be dirty. I'll check it out myself before proceeding with it."

"I'm going with you," Neo stated flatly.

" _No. You're not._ " Law said firmly, but softly.

"Why?!" Neo demanded, finally raising her eyes back to him.

"Because you're too protective and possessive of me. The tattoo artist won't be able to do his job properly with you aiming your crystals at him," Law replied.

The crew tried to contain their snickers at the mental image that their captain just provided for them, but failed miserably. They all could see her sitting there with her crystals and their elements pointed directly at the island's tattoo artist with the poor artist trembling while trying to tattoo the captain's fingers. A couple snort laughed, some choked on their food, while others choked on their drinks when the liquid went down the wrong pipe.

Law frowned at them.

They shrieked, "Sorry, Captain!"

With a long sigh, he turned his eyes back to Neo. His heart sank when tears started to leak from the corner of her eyes. He brushed the back of his index finger under her lashes. "Neo."

"You're going to hurt yourself." Neo wrapped her arms around his neck. "It was bad enough when you waltzed right up to the Navy with all those pirate hearts and ordered me to stay inside. It scares me when you do things like this."

"I know it does." Law said gently thinking about how it took him over an hour to calm her down after returning to the sub from giving the Navy his gathered hearts. He rubbed her back between her shoulder blades where her wings came out. "I promise it won't hurt. It'll only be a minor annoyance. And you have your solar crystal if you need it."

He kneaded his fingers into the soft spots on her back where he knew it would relax her.

A soft sigh sounding in his ear, signaling her surrender. Her body was now completely relaxed against his. "You promise it won't hurt that much?"

"I promise. It won't hurt that much and it won't take very long. While I'm doing that Penguin's going to distract you with some fun in the snow. You need to get use to this environment after all."

Neo glanced over her shoulder. Penguin gave her a smile with a thumb's up. She returned the smile before tucking herself back into Law.

"Are you okay now?"

"Yeah." Neo nodded.

"Good. I'll give you a deeper back rub with the healer's cream later. I don't like how tight your back is from not using your wings. Finish your breakfast now."

"Okay." Neo picked up her fork.

…

"I really love your new puffy hat," Neo said as she simultaneously pecked Law's lips and pushed his hat down repeatedly. She had latched onto once they had finished getting dressed to leave the sub. With one arm around his neck and her legs around his waist, she stole as many kisses as she could while he carried her to the door. "I love your new jacket, you look so sexy in black, too. But I kind of miss you in your other hat and yellow hoodie."

"I still have them," Law said, speaking between her kisses and ignoring the teasing looks he knew his crew was giving him. "You can help yourself to them anytime you want."

Neo smiled. She removed her hand from his hat and twirled her finger around his goatee. "I already help myself to your clothes. When am I going to be able to help myself to  _you_?"

Law's cheeks flushed at her meaning while the crew snickered. Clearing his throat, he said, "Soon, Neo, soon."

"You've been saying that for weeks." Neo pouted. "What exactly are you waiting for? We're leaving for Punk Hazard soon and you want to be married before then."

"Yes. Just be patient a little longer. I promise it'll be worth the wait." Law grinned.

Neo tilted her head and took him in. Whatever he was planning he always kept it hidden deep within him. She never could get him to slip up and reveal it to her.

He placed his sword free hand on her hip and squeezed. "You have to let go now."

Groaning, Neo reluctantly unwound herself from him and shifted her attitude to subordinate instead of fiancée, love, bonded with a heavy sigh.

Bepo ruffled her hair, earning a bell filled giggle before the crew left the sub.

As they walked through the town, Law kept a secret watch on Neo's childlike curiosity for the snow as she kicked it, scooped some up in her hand, and let it fall between her hands before letting it fall out of her hold. Then a certain scene caught her eyes. She pointed at a group of kids throwing white balls at each other and looked at Penguin. "Is that what my books call a snowball fight?"

"That's correct," Penguin replied, taking in the same scene as she was. He then scooped up a handful of snow, sculpted it into a ball and tossed it right at Shachi's unsuspecting head.

"Hey!" Shachi growled, dusting the snow off of his hat. He grabbed some snow, rounded it into a ball and tossed it at Penguin who quickly dove out of the way. The snowball ended up hitting Tero on the shoulder.

Tero frowned disapprovingly before shoving his hands into his pockets and stalking away from the group.

Penguin laughed while grabbing more snow and engaging almost the entire crew in a mini snowball fight. Tero, Topaz, Jean Bart, Law and Neo were the only ones who didn't battle it out. They just stood back, taking in the childish display before them, Neo taking the most interest in it. Quickly the little game turned a bit more heated and rogue snowballs found their way over to the bystanders.

"Elemental Crystals! Wind Ringlets!" Neo called out. Her wind crystals appeared and she trapped the snowballs in wind shape rings. Dropping the majority on the ground, she took one in her hand.

Law watched her from the corner of his eyes as she inspected the cold object in her hand.

She turned it over and over in her hand, brushing her finger over its slightly crystal like texture, sniffing its watery substance, pinching a piece off of it she watched it crumble between her fingers. "Huh. Interesting."

She looked over at Law with a smile when she felt his heart beat increasing. He wanted to smile back at her, but both knew it was better if he didn't. So he sent her a smile through their bond and his feelings at how cute he found her childlike curiosity in moments like this.  _'Go ahead and throw it.'_

_'Can I?'_

_'Yeah.'_  Law looked around at his crew. He nodded towards Bepo.  _'Throw it at Bepo.'_

 _'Okay.'_  Neo turned to the bear. He was busy pelting two crewmates in the head with snowballs so he didn't see her throwing the ball at him.

"Hey!" Bepo protested. He ran up to Neo and engulfed her in a huge bear hug from behind. "You of all people!"

"Sorry, Bepo," Neo laughed as the bear rubbed his fuzzy cheek on hers. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Law told me to."

"Captain!" Bepo shot Law a disgruntled look.

The captain just shrugged it off with a smirk.

Neo tucked back into Bepo's warm body when a freezing wind bit at her exposed skin. "It's so cold! I can even feel the coldness through these boots and socks!"

"And that's why we're here," Law said in an 'I told you so' tone.

Neo frowned disapprovingly at him.

"Let's get our shopping done and over with."

"Ah, but I wanted to play some more," Neo whined. She turned her eyes back to the still snowball fighting crew.

"Not until you're properly outfitted. That one snowball turned your hands red from holding it so long," Law said, nodding at her hands.

Neo raised her hands to her face. She studied her reddish skin, looked back at the crew then at Law and sighed.

He smirked when she gave in without a word of protest. "Let's go. You can play later."

"Fine," Neo huffed. She turned around and all but threw herself at Bepo. "But Bepo's carrying me to the store."

"Sure thing," Bepo said with a nod. He picked her up and followed after Law.

"Such children," Tero scoffed at the display of his fellow crewmates. He was about to turn away from them when a snowball smacked him in the head. He shot a glare at Topaz who was tossing another snowball in her hand up and down in the air.

"You seriously need to relax once in a while." She smiled with a wink before tossing her snow ammo at him. He easily grabbed it and propelled it back. She ducked out of the way, but successfully pulled him into the snowball fight with the others.

…

"Uh." Neo blinked as she stared at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a long, thick black coat that fell to her ankles with a tall collar that almost touched her ears. "Are you sure about this, Captain? It's kind of long."

"Yes. You'll be grateful for the longer coat when we spend hours in below freezing temperatures," Law replied, stepping up behind her in the same style coat.

Neo tilted her head. She eyed the winter coat Law was sporting in the mirror, her eyes wondering up to the collar. A frown tugged at the corner of her lips.  _'I don't think I like this style.'_

_'Why not?'_

_'It blocks our necks too much.'_

Law chuckled mentally.  _'Trust me, love. Once on Punk Hazard's frigid island, you'll be very glad to have a coat like this.'_

 _'Not when I have you to keep me warm.'_  Neo forced herself not to smile when Law's cheeks turned pink and his hat fell over his eyes.

_'Just take that one off. And find you another coat to wear on this island. I'm going to have these customized with our jolly roger while we're here.'_

_'Yes, sir.'_  Neo sighed. She stripped off the coat and handed it to him before grabbing Bepo's arm. "Come on, Bepo. Help me pick out a coat."

"Sure thing," Bepo replied.

Law watched as the bear happily followed after Neo. He scanned his eyes over the store they were in. There were a few other guests shopping around, but it wasn't crowded at all. He felt Neo was secure and comfortable in this place and with Bepo so he turned his attention to one of the shopkeepers.

"Good afternoon, sir," the young brown haired woman chirped. Her green eyes sparkled at him as they drug over his features. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I need these customized." Law groaned internally at the obvious attraction this woman had to him as he held out the coats to her. He also instantly felt Neo's jealousy growing.  _'It's all right, Neo. She's just…'_

Neo sighed.  _'It's fine. Not really, but I know other women will always look at you. I also know you're going home with me, not her.'_

_'That's correct. Hurry up now and pick out a coat. You'll want to get some gloves too.'_

_'Okay.'_

"How about this one?" Bepo asked holding up a puffy, off white jacket. "I think you'll look really cute in it."

"Hm." Neo tilted her head and inspected the coat. "It is pretty cute."

She took it from Bepo, put on and modeled it for him.

He nodded approvingly. "Very cute. And I think the captain approves."

"Huh?" Neo glanced over at Law. He was looking over at her from under his hat and obviously trying not to smile. She shyly tucked her hair behind her ear. Tugging the coat off, she said, "I guess I'll get it then. It's pretty comfortable too. If only I could find boots that were just as comfortable as it is."

"Then you'll want a pair of those fluffy shoes over there on the shelf," a young female voice said causing Neo to jump and tuck herself into Bepo's chest.

_'Neo?'_

_'I'm okay. She just startled me.'_

Bepo's arms when around Neo while he carefully inspected the one who spoke. She was teenager with long, straight black hair that fell to her hips wearing a thick dark red sweater and jeans. Her deep green eyes shimmered with an apology. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. It's just I don't care much for wearing shoes either. I own pair of the boots I mentioned. See?"

Neo glanced down at the girl's feet when she held out one of her boots. The boots were a tan color and very puffy.

"They're very well insolated for extreme cold. You don't even need to wear socks with them if you don't want to. They're very snug, yet have plenty of room to wiggle around in."

"Are they really that comfy?" Neo asked. She pulled her eyes off the shoes and looked at the girl.

"Mhmm." The girl nodded. She waved while walking off. "You should give them a try. I have to go now. Have a nice day."

Neo walked over to the shoes. She wrinkled her nose at them, earning a chuckle from Bepo, but tried them on anyway. After walking around in them for a few minutes, she decided they were slightly more comfortable than her other boots and decided to get them after all. She grabbed a two pairs of gloves, both black, and rejoined Law who was waiting patiently for her and Bepo to finish up.

Leaving the store the group looked around for their crew. They found them still involved in their snowball fight. With their arrival the fight stopped and the pirates divided up again.

…

"How's your hand?" Penguin asked. He ran his hand over the middle half of the snowman he and Neo were working on, smoothing the snow out. The two were out in a field less than a quarter mile out of town. They decided to come out here so they have plenty of privacy to talk openly and so Neo could experiment with creating snow and ice with her crystals without raising questions. "Is that tattoo process becoming to much for you?"

"It's not too bad," Neo replied. She was rolling up the head of the snowman, without her crystals. She paused to wiggling the fingers of her right hand. "It's a bit more than a minor annoyance, but I don't need my solar crystal."

"That's good to hear." Penguin nodded.

Neo summoned a wind crystal and lifted the head of the snowman onto its body. She then poked her finger into it, making holes for the rocks they used as eyes and mouths. While she did that, Penguin poked a couple sticks into the body and both stepped back to admire their work. They had completely five snowmen in total. Two of them had been completed with Law's help. The captain decided he wanted to be there for Neo's first snowman before stealing a quick kiss, since they were far enough from the town, and heading off to get his tattoos done. "Beautiful snowmen if I do say so myself."

Neo laughed. "I completely agree. What now?"

"Mm." Penguin looked around their snowy surroundings. His eyes landed on a small manmade lake that some locals told him they used for ice skating when it's cold enough for it. "Well, it's not cold enough for ice skating. Is there anything in particular you feel like doing?"

"Uh…how about we go for a walk?" Neo asked. She scanned her eyes at the forest. "I think there's a trail nearby."

"Yeah." Penguin nodded. "It's supposed to lead up to a mountain trail. I don't think we have time to walk the whole thing, but we can at least walk to the base of the mountain."

"Sounds like fun." Neo linked her arm with his and they headed north towards the forest. Once close enough, they easily located the marker for the beginning of the trail. It was a small wooden plank nailed to a tree. The words painted in red said: Kouri Forest Trail. A little blue bird greeted the two as soon as they reached the trail. She let it land on her gloved hand and it sang to them before flying off to join another bird. The two pirates then walked onto the trail together enjoying each other's company. Her eyes darted everywhere, carefully inspecting the wintery trail before them, the breaks between the leaves where the light golden rays of the sun poked through and spotted the forest ground, a couple white rabbits bolting out from under some brush paused to wiggle their noses at them before dashing off. She gasps softly when a breeze blew snow off the leaves of the trees. "Wow! It looks like magic dust! This place is so much fun!"

Neo summoned her wind and water crystals. She used them to create little ice icicles on branches, created disfigured ice sculptures of the crew- much to Penguin's amusement- then destroyed them so people wouldn't see them, and created snow waves as they walked along the trial. She then created some snowballs and tossed a few at Penguin and at surrounding trees. Her eyes then sparkled with mischievousness. "You know, I should totally ambush the crew when we go back to town."

"That might be considered cheating since you're a master at controlling your crystals now. But, hey, I'm all for it. I'd love to see their expressions when you pelt them with a barrage of snowballs or a mini avalanche. I can just picture their shocked faces popping out of the snow like daises." Penguin laughed. He loved seeing Neo so excited over the winter environment around them. He became concerned when she jolted to a pause beside him. "What is it, Neo?"

"I'm not sure," She replied. She scanned her eyes over their surroundings. The winter wonderland suddenly felt dark and dangerous to her. Shadows seemed to be creeping closer to them as she stared at them. She stepped closer to Penguin and grabbed his arm, forcing herself to remain calm so she didn't alarm Law even though she sensed him focusing on her. "This place just felt dark and creepy all of a sudden."

"Well, snow, while it is beautiful, can also be very deadly and dangerous," Penguin said. "You should know that since you're part of nature."

"You might be right." Neo nodded. "I guess I just saw the beauty of it all before noticing the dangerous side of it."

"Would you like to go back to the captain?" Penguin asked.

"No." Neo shook her head. "I want to see the mountains up close before we head back. I think there is some kind of animal at the base of it right now. I'd like to see what they are."

"Well, it looks like we're close to getting out of the forest," Penguin said, noting the opening in the trees about forty yards from where they were standing.

Giggling, Neo took his hand and the two ran to the end of the forest part of the trail. They both gasped in awe at the sight of the large mountains and at the herd of reindeer grazing lazily at the bottom. Some looked up at them while the rest disregarded them and continued to graze.

"What are they, Penguin?" Neo asked, tugging on his sleeve with one hand while pointing to the animals with the other.

"They're reindeer," He replied.

"Reindeer?" Neo blinked.

"It's a deer that lives in cold climates. Remember that little creature back on Sabaody? The one with the horns?" Penguin asked. He raised his hands to his head, creating simulated horns. "He's part of the Straw Hat crew."

"Oh, yeah." Neo nodded. "I remember him. He was cute. If I remember correctly, his name is Chopper, right?"

"That's right. He's a reindeer too," Penguin said.

"Huh?" Neo's eyes widened. She tossed her eyes back over to the reindeer before her. "But he doesn't look anything like these reindeer."

"You forgot he ate the Human Human Fruit," Penguin said.

"I guess I did forget that," Neo said while blinking rapidly. She looked down when she felt something nudge against her hand. A baby reindeer had wondered up to them. She instantly noticed the creature's curiosity in her and his mother's concern as she walked cautiously up to the pirates. She giggled. Placing her left hand on the baby's head, she reached out her other hand to his mother. "Hey, Mama. It's okay. We're friends."

The mother flicked her ears before nuzzling her nose against Neo's outreached hand.

Penguin watched with a smile until a couple more reindeer walked over to them and started nuzzling him too. He chuckled. "I guess they see me as a friend as well."

"Uh huh. The mama here says they're use to people being close to them because of the trails, but I'm the first that smells different from everyone else. They like my smell." Neo nodded. She affectionately rubbed behind the ears of the baby reindeer. The baby released several soothing honks at the attention. A soft, and worried, expression spread across her face. "I wonder how Chopper is doing. The newspapers keep saying the Straw Hat crew is still missing."

"Most likely they're training instead of actually missing," Penguin said, resting his hand on the back of a male reindeer. "Considering that's what Straw Hat was obviously going to do with the Dark King back on Amazon Lily. And that odd behavior he exhibited by returning to Marineford after the war was probably some kind of message to his crew. I'm sure they're all fine and we'll probably start hearing about them again soon."

"I hope you're right," Neo said softly.

Penguin carefully took her in. He didn't find it surprising at all that she was worried about them, at least Chopper. The two did make a connection back on Sabaody. He knew if they ever were to meet them again Neo and Chopper would no doubt become instant good friends.

Suddenly, Neo straighten up and summoned her wind crystals. "Element Crystals! Wind Block!"

"Neo, what are yo-Ack!" Penguin shrieked when over thirty very sharp, very large ice icicles embedded in the ground uncomfortable close to them. He straightened himself up and looked around. "What the heck was  _that_?!"

"Penguin," Neo said in a quiet, serious tone that he wasn't use to her using.

Her tone made him feel like a huge wave of dread slammed down on his body. It was rare for her to become serious like this. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the reindeer had become tense as well. Their necks were lowered, their hooves pounding into the ground. He knew something wasn't right.

"We have a problem."

Penguin, resting his eyes back on her, stared at her for several second before following her intense stare back to the woods. He carefully scanned his eyes over what he formerly saw as a peaceful forest. The woods suddenly seemed darker, more menacing. His body tensed when he saw someone, shrouded in the shadows walk towards them. The shrouded figure began to take the shape of a woman. But what really got his attention was the inhuman feeling she was giving off. "Oh, great. She's…"

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "An Elemental. One that's not friendly."

"Well, isn't this a surprise," the woman said. Once the sun washed the shadows away, she place her right hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side. The back of her dark blue hair was cut short, but her bangs fell over her left dark blue eye and down to her chin. Her winter jumpsuit was solid white, giving her the perfect camouflage to blend into the snow around them as well as white gloves with the fingers half cut off and a pair of goggles hanging around her neck. "I'd seen the articles in the paper about a child who could control all four of the elements via crystals, but didn't think it was actually possible. I didn't know that  _one_ had been born again. And I certainly didn't expect  _that one_  to be mingling among humans, pirates no less."

"Well, life's just full of surprises," Neo replied. She stepped closer to Penguin and lowered her voice. "Be careful. She wields both the wind and water crystals. There are others, humans, around too."

"Crap," Penguin cursed. "We've been caught in an ambush?"

"That's right!" the woman shouted. She swiped her hands up in the air and brought them down like she was swatting something. It created hurricane force winds that barreled down on the pirates and reindeer from above. The reindeer tried to scatter, but the Elemental swiped out her hands again, creating a secondary gust that trapped them in their immediate area.

"No! Let them go!" Neo shouted. She summoned a couple more wind crystals and tried to take control of the winds the woman created to free the reindeer and before it could pin them to the ground from above.

"Bad move,  _Princess_!" the woman cried.

When she shot out her right hand, Neo noticed a strange bump in the palm of her hand. The woman created several shards of ice that appeared to come out of her fingers. The ice flew right at Penguin and Neo. Neo broke her attention on the reindeer to blow ice away from them. The woman slammed her winds down on the two pirates. The woman then used her own body weight to pin Neo down.

Neo's anxiety shot to the sky, her body temperature plummeted, her breathing came in short, sharp gasps and memories of the past flashed through her mind. Both memories from her childhood and on Luminous hammered her mind causing her to take control of nature around her. Trees began to grow up and out, the wind rapidly started to climb to the force of a hurricane, the ground rumbled beneath them and dark clouds gather overhead with thunder clapping and lightning flashing wildly.

"What the heck?!" The woman looked around at the out of control environment.

"Get off her!" Penguin desperately tried to call out. But the defining sounds created by Neo drowned out his voice. He couldn't even hear his own voice. All he could do was lay there helplessly and wait for his captain to take hold of Neo's mind.


	66. Dangerous Weather Part 2

Dangerous Weather

Part Two

Law struggled to keep his expression neutral and his body relaxed as he felt Neo's rising anxiety hammer into his chest and mind. He cast the tattoo artist a quick glance- he was busy with tattooing Law's ring finger so he didn't notice the pirate's attitude shift- before letting his hat drop over his eyes. He clenched his teeth and tried to break through the panicked wall Neo had suddenly put up around herself.  _'Neo, calm down. What's wrong? What happened?'_

Focusing on her as much as he could, Law tried to penetrate the walls with his presence and thoughts. He knew of only one thing that could get her this upset. Someone had pinned her. He forced his own anxiety down while reminding himself that Penguin was still with her.  _'Neo, I order you to calm down and tell me what happened.'_

_'Law…'_

He relaxed when she finally replied back to him even though he could still feel her mind and body thrashing wildly in a desperate attempt to get whoever was on her off.

' _She grabbed me! I'm pinned! She pinned me! What do I do?! What do I do?! I'm losing control!'_

' _No, your not. Just breathe and push her off of you. You can handle this. I'm right here. And Penguin is still with you, right? Just focus.'_

…

Neo forced herself to take several shaky, deep breaths. Calming her mind and body, she turned her head to her right, she looked at Penguin's worried and the reindeer's panicked expressions. They were being pushed into the ground by the Elemental's winds almost to the point of breaking the earth beneath them. And her own loose control over her crystals wasn't helping anything. Feeling anger replacing her anxiety, she focused that rage onto the woman pinning her down. She summoned her all of her crystals to her and released her hold on nature. The flora when back to normal size, the ground, lightning and thunder became silent as the dark clouds faded back to their normal grey.

Using her fire crystals, she placed them at the woman's chest and flared them up into blue flames right against the woman's body. She heard the woman swear before feeling the pressure on her body lifting off of her. Propping up on her elbows, Neo concentrated on the wind pinning down Penguin and the reindeer. She forced herself to take control of the wind. Once she had control over it, she shoved the gale up into the sky and dispersed it out towards the sea.

With the howling winds now gone, Neo heard Penguin gasp with relief from the pressure as she pushed herself to her feet. Stumbling over to her brother, she ran her eyes over the reindeer. They were shaken up, but okay. When they looked at her she ordered them to leave. "Hurry up and get out of here. It's not safe." Neo dropped to her knees. She grabbed Penguin's shoulders. "Are you hurt?"

"Not really," Penguin coughed. "But I can still fight."

"Well, that was an unexpected reaction," the woman noted, patting out the remaining smolders on her now burnt clothes. She carefully took Neo in while taking a few steps closer to the duo. "Was I imagining things or do you have a serious issue with being touched? I don't really recall that in any of the articles I read about you. I could be mistaken though. But, then, that's not surprising as there's a lot you've kept hidden from the public."

Neo turned her sharp, angry blue eyes to the woman.

The woman laughed. "Now that's a scary look. Did I anger the pretty little princess? If I recall correctly, the papers also mention that you're not aggressive unless one of your crewmates gets hurt or is on the verge of getting hurt."

"What do you want?!" Penguin demanded. He stood up and glared at the woman. "Who are you?! Why are you attacking us  _considering_?!"

' _Neo?'_

' _I'm fine now, Law. There's an Elemental here who's not friendly. She pinned Penguin and some reindeer. I was able to free them, thanks to you. But she's a water and a wind Elemental. And, I'm not sure, but I think she's up to something. She was able to hide herself from me somehow. I didn't sense her at all until it was almost too late. I can feel others, humans, hiding in the forest nearby. We're trying to get information out of her right now.'_

' _All right. I'm almost done here. Can you handle her?'_

' _I'm not sure since I haven't dealt with snow and ice before now. She's clearly a well-trained Elemental. I'm guessing since she's in the New World that has a lot to do with it. She's older than Topaz too so she's got a lot of experience under her belt. This isn't going to be easy.'_

' _Just stay calm. You can handle this. You're her princess and she knows that. And be careful. Since you are a royal she'll probably try every dirty trick she can think of if she really is an enemy. I'll be there soon.'_

_'All right.'_

The woman cocked her head to the side with a smirk.

Neo kneaded her eyebrows when the woman didn't answer Penguin's question. Instead she created another gust of wind and increased the speed of her winds. The winds blew up the snow and creating both a loud howl around them and a visual barrier.

 _What is she doing? This isn't an aggressive move at all._ Neo carefully inspected the woman's movements as Penguin tensed up beside her. She flicked the elements around her crystals in a warning fashion when the woman walked closer to them. Still not feeling an aggressive motivation from the woman, she slowly began to understand what was happening. The woman was blocking their conversation from whoever was hiding around them.

"Tell me,  _Princess_ …why are you pretending to be a devil fruit user?" the woman asked.

"Probably for the same reason you're hiding your real identity," Neo said.

"And what makes you think I'm hiding?" the woman asked. She propped her hand on her hip and cocked her head with a smirk. "I'm openly using my crystals here."

"You're openly using your crystals, but your crystals are no where in sight. Those gloves you're wearing, that's where your crystals are." Neo pointed to the woman's hands. "I'm guessing you've designed those gloves specifically for concealment. That's why there's a small dome shape in them under your palms. And that's why the fingers are cut off. The elements can freely come out of them giving people the impression that the wind and water is coming from your fingers. And, before you started questioning  _your princess_ , you increased the winds so there would be not only a sound barrier between us and whoever's out there, but also a visual barrier. You're clearly hiding the fact your not human from those who are. It's perfectly clear that you don't want people to know about Luminous or the fact that we Elementals exist despite openly attacking  _your princess_."

The woman frowned at Neo's easy deduction of the situation. "Well, aren't you the perceptive little princess."

"And, as your princess, I want to know the meaning of this," Neo said, her tone slipping into her royal one. "Who are you? Why are you attacking us? And how is it possible you were able to  _hide_  yourself so well from me?"

"Don't think everyone's going to bow down to you just because you're a royal,  _Princess_!" the woman hissed. "I'm no longer loyal to the throne of Luminous! I  _refuse_  to bow down to you!"

"Good. I actually don't like it when people bow to me. It makes me feel weird. But with how you were just treating my crewmate and the reindeer, I'm actually kind of tempted to  _force_  you to bow before me. Despite that we have the right to know who you are and why you're attacking us," Neo said.

"Fine. My name is Ren. And I can hide from you so easily because my skills are far superior to yours,  _Princess_. It's easy for me to blend in with this island's weather since I've spent years in the harsh environment of the New World. Those pansies back on Luminous are extremely weak compared to me. They've gotten far too comfortable living on an island that's been nothing but peace for years while I've been out here in the  _real_  world for the majority of my life," Ren said. She then sighed. "They have so much potential if they would actually use it and stop hiding on that island. The Elementals could rule over this world."

"It has not been as peaceful on Luminous as you might think." Neo cut her words off there. Since Ren was also an Elemental, she felt that the woman deserved to know what actually happened on the island before she returned to it and purified the darkness crystals. Ren clearly demonstrated that she was still loyal to Luminous since she hadn't revealed her true nature to anyone, but Neo's instincts refused to let her say anymore.

"And the point of attacking us?" Penguin asked.

"As for the point of this, well, let's just say that I have been hired to take on you all out for a certain client of mine." Ren smiled.

"So you're an assassin," Penguin said. He ran his eyes over the swirling snow wall blocking them from the rest of the world. He wondered how many could be hiding behind that wall.

"If you want to call me that," Ren said with a bored shrug. "I never cared much for titles, but whatever. As long as it keeps my belly full with food and pockets full of money it doesn't matter what people call me. All that matters now is for you two to prepare yourselves to fight."

"You're out of your mind if you think you can take us down so easily," Penguin said with a smirk. "Since you've targeted us you should know who our captain is, right?"

"It should be obvious that I do. I'd make a poor  _assassin_  if I didn't even know who my targets were. He's Trafalgar Law from the North Blue, the Surgeon of Death, newly appointed Warlord of the Sea, user of the Op Op devil fruit," Ren recited. "He's well known for his cruelty to his enemies. And, in my humble little opinion, one of the hottest men on the planet."

Neo forced herself not to react to the woman's words. She clenched her fists and teeth, trying desperately to maintain that carefree, cocky attitude that she's seen Law demonstrated so many times. Relaxing her hands and teeth, she said, "If you know who our captain is then you should know ticking him off is a very stupid thing to do. Attacking us is a death sentence."

"Not to worry," Ren replied nonchalantly. "I'm already prepared for him and the rest of your crew to come running to the rescue. They won't even be able to get into the forest. Not even your captain's warping ability can help you now."

"Then that means the real ambush is for the captain and the rest of our crew, not us? We're just the bait to get them to come here?" Penguin questioned.

"Something like that," Ren hummed then smirked. "So let's dispense with all these annoying pleasantries and get on with it. Let's she how you fair in my elements,  _Princess_!"

Ren's dark eyes glinted with danger. She dispersed her winds, causing the barrier around them to disappear and revealed fifty men all dressed in the same style gear as her. They were covered from head to toe so Neo and Penguin couldn't see or tell if they were men, women or both.

' _Law! You and the crew be extremely careful when coming to the mountains! This Elemental, Ren, has set up an ambush for you all! She's apparently an assassin that's been hired to take you and your crew down! And they're all wearing head to toe white so they're going to blend in with the snow really well! And I'm sure she knows that Topaz is here despite not mentioning her yet. So she's going to be able to tell when Topaz gets closer. Tell her to be careful too.'_

' _All right. We'll be careful. I'm almost done here, two minutes, then I'll gather the crew and well headed that way.'_

' _I'll be sure to relay any other information to you she might give up.'_ Neo glanced over at Penguin. She gave him a light nod, signaling him that she had informed Law of what was going on here. Penguin nodded back and the two took their battle poses. "Elemental Crystals! Wind Lift!"

Ren's subordinates cried out when Neo lifted them off the ground. The elder Elemental shook her head with a low laugh. "That won't do at all. It's not very fair of you to take on my men with all that power. They're normal humans after all. Not a single one of them has a devil fruit. So let's even the odds a bit."

"What are you talking about?" Neo asked.

"I thought you were smarter than that. My men will fight  _him._  And  _you_  will fight  _me_ ," Ren replied.

Before Neo could process what the Elemental had said, Ren lifted herself into the air with her wind crystals. The enemy shot over to Penguin with striking speed, grabbed him then lifted him into the air fifty feet.

" _Ren!_ " Neo hissed. She released the men she was holding onto and followed the Elemental into the air.

"Let's see how fast you are,  _Princess_! Follow me!" Ren called back over the howling wind she created and was riding. The Elemental woman flew herself and Penguin towards the mountains.

"What  _is_  she doing?!" Neo asked herself. She picked up her own wind speed so she wouldn't lose them. The cold wind bit at her face as she flew around a bend. She glanced down and caught a glimpse of a reindeer running as fast as it could.  _I hope the other reindeer are somewhere safe. And that that one gets somewhere safe too._ Neo glanced up when she saw something. She gasped and almost faltered in her wind control. In the valley between the mountains was a huge ice cage that covered one fourth of the valley floor. It had platforms along the top of it and close to seventy men standing and sitting on the platforms. They were waving various weapons in the air while shouting inaudible threats. She took a closer look when she followed Ren over to it.

"Take a close look,  _Princess_ ," Ren said. "Notice anything familiar here?"

Neo carefully dropped her eyes down to the cage and men. The cage, obviously, wasn't familiar at all. She's done nothing with ice before. Upon a closer look at the men, Neo's chest tightened as the air vanished from her lungs. She noticed some of the men below were from the Wind Walker crew. The first crew Law took his first pirate heart from. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, yes,  _Princess_ ," Ren laughed. "All these men came here seeking revenge. I sought them out so I can let them have it."

"No!" Neo shouted. She shot herself towards Ren. Figuring what the woman was going to do, she quickly angled herself down seconds before Ren pivoted her own body towards the cage. She wrapped her winds around Penguin's body when the Elemental dropped him then quickly disappeared from her view.

"Drop me!" Penguin shouted.

"Don't be stupid!" Neo cried back. She started to pull Penguin back to her.

He glanced over Neo's shoulders to see Ren reappearing and charging right at Neo's back. "Duck!" Penguin screamed. He shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out one of his powder pouches.

Neo ducked her head just before he tossed the package mere centimeters from her eyes.

Ren cursed under her breath. She tried to dodge the small packet but it clipped her at the corner of her left eye. Her wind control faltered and she plummeted several feet before washing off the power and regaining her altitude. With a growl, Ren charged at the two Heart Pirates. Creating an ice sword for each of her hands, she stabbed and slashed them at the two. "I should have known you'd know how to make that powder! Well, that little trick won't work again! I'll be sure to keep the wind circling around my face!"

Neo shifted and dodged herself and Penguin out of the onslaught of sword slices while simultaneously using her fire crystals to melt the ice swords to which Ren would just regenerate with her crystals.

Penguin growled, "Neo! You have to let me go!"

"I won't!" Neo shouted back.

"You know this isn't going to work! She's far too fast for us to escape! And you're too concerned about protect me! You know that's not how you're supposed to fight! Do the right thing! Drop me and fight!" Penguin demanded. "The captain wouldn't like that you're doing this! You know better! Now drop me!"

Neo bit her bottom lip to the point of almost drawing blood. Her heart gave two sharp beats before she lowered herself and Penguin to the ground. She gave Penguin a sharp look. "You are forbidden to die here."

"You know I won't," Penguin said with a smile. "We've beaten these guys before, right? And, hey, at least you kept me out of the cage. That's something, right?"

Neo nodded stiffly.

Penguin nodded then turn and ran to the men who were sliding down the ice poles of the cage.

Neo forced herself to pull her eyes away from Penguin. She glared up at Ren, who was just hovering in the air.

Ren asked, "Are we doing to fight now or what?"

Rage bubbled in Neo's stomach. She closed her eyes for a second. When she reopened them, she took complete control over her wind crystals and slipped into their invisible stream. Shooting up to Ren, she balled up her right fist, wrapped a stream of wind around it and struck the woman with all the force she had within her. She sent the dual element woman flying head over heels. Neo quickly followed. When Ren righted herself, Neo dropped her feet into the woman's stomach and pushed her into the snowy ground below. She glared down at the woman underneath her. "We fight. But remember it was  _you_  who started this. I hate fighting."

Ren coughed a couple times before being able to gather air into her lungs. She gasped, "And yet here you are on a pirate crew and willingly attacking me."

"Only because you attacked my crewmate and have set up an ambush for the rest of my crew," Neo hissed. "And you'll soon see what a mistake that was."

"I'm so sure," Ren said with a confident grin. Several ice spikes rose up out of the ground. Neo flew away from them while melting them with her fire crystals.

Ren flew up into the air and continued to bombard Neo with more and more ice shards and spikes.

"Wind Ringlet!" Neo cried out. She gathered ice shards and propelled them back to Ren who easily batted them aside with her winds with a flick of her wrist.

"Come now,  _Princess_. There's no need for you to pretend that you're a devil fruit user. None of the humans can hear you at this distance and speed," Ren said, glancing back towards the ice cage. "Besides their too busy with their own fight. I wonder how long he can last again them. What do you think? Five minutes? Ten minutes? Two minutes? Why don't you take a look for yourself?"

 _Don't listen. Don't look back. She's just trying to throw you off guard. Penguin is fine. Penguin is strong,_  Neo told herself. "Just shut up and fight me!"

"Aw, you're no fun. But every well." Ren created ice swords again then charged forward with break neck wind speed. "Let's continue."

Neo dodge, but got a cut on her right cheek. She hissed at the pain. The warm blood instantly turned cold against her already cold cheek. She wasn't sure, but she felt like the temperature around her was dropping and wondered if that was nature's doing or Ren's or if she was just imagining things. Flaring up her fire crystals, she managed to melt the sword. But when Ren pulled it back to her, the sword just grew back. They locked into a repetitive battle of sword swipes, sword melting and sword regenerating.  _This isn't going to work. She clearly has more speed, endurance, agility, and, well, practically everything else over me. But I have all four elements and she only has two. I can beat her, but how? Up till now I've been using only the basic attacks of my crystals. Perhaps it's time I step it up now. I might be able to take her by surprise that way since she's been following our travels and been paying very close attention to what I've been doing. Okay. That's it. I think I might know how to turn this fight into my favor. I hope it's the right decision._

…

Topaz stared down into her glass of water with narrow eyebrows trying her best to ignore the nauseating smells of alcohol, unwashed men, and their cackling laughter. She was carefully tracking Neo and thinking she should have went with her and Penguin instead of coming here with the rest of the crew. Her eyebrows narrowed even more when suddenly a bad feeling gripped her when the wind shifted under the control of an Elemental.  _Crap! When did…how did that Elemental appear without me sensing her? And if I didn't sense her then neither did Neo._

"Are you sure you wouldn't like something a little stronger?" a voice asked.

"Huh?" Topaz glanced up. Beside her was a tall, dark brown haired guy with a charming smile that popped out two cute dimples on his cheeks. His deep green eyes sparkled at her with heart stopping charm.

"I asked if you'd like something stronger to drink," he said while sitting down in a chair beside her. "You look a bit tense. And I would love to have a drink with a lovely lady such as yourself."

"That's very nice of you, but I really don't drink. I have a serious, uh, unstable reaction to alcohol," Topaz replied with a friendly smile.  _What am I doing? I don't have time to make small talk no matter how cute he is._

"Seriously?" The man blinked.

"Yeah." Topaz nodded. Her bad feeling started to grow then. Turning on her bar stool, she scanned her eyes around the tavern and located her crewmates. They were sitting at a table with drinks in their hands and smiles on their faces, unaware of the brewing dangers outside. "It runs in the family. So zero alcohol for us."

Topaz stood up.

The man asked, "Where you going? I can understand not wanting to drink if you can't, but I was still hoping we could talk for a while. Maybe get to know each other?"

"Sorry, but I need to go find my little sister," Topaz said with an apologetic smile.

"Is something wrong?" the man asked.

"Yeah," Topaz mumbled. Before the man could say anything else, she rushed away from him and over to the crew.

"What is it, Topaz?" Bepo asked when he noticed the concerned look on her face.

Lowering her voice, she said, "There's an Elemental on the island. A dual element, water and wind. Neo's fighting her right now."

Instantly, the crew was on their feet and bolting for the door. Bepo lingered behind to slam money down on the table for their drinks before rushing after his crew.

Shachi shouted, "You should have said something sooner!"

"I wish I could have. The Elemental is very skilled. Where's the captain?" Topaz said as they ran through the town.

"He should be in there!" Conner shouted. He pointed to the tattoo parlor just seconds before their captain came bolting out of the door.

"Captain!" Bepo cried.

"Let's go!" Law ordered while doing a quick mental count to make sure all of his crewmembers were there before leading them in the direction Neo and Penguin was. "Be on your top guard! There's an ambush waiting for us somewhere between here and the mountains!"

"An ambush?" Shachi asked.

"Yes." Law nodded. "The Elemental has friends who are waiting for us. They're decked out in all white gear so they're going to be hard to find in all of this snow."

"If the wind would blow the correct direction, I could sniff them out," Bepo said. The group rounded the block, scaring and scattering some local town folk. The mink shouted back at them from over his shoulder. "Sorry about that! Emergency!"

"That's probably going to be impossible. Both Neo and this other Elemental are using the wind in their battle," Topaz informed them.

"How is she doing?" Tero asked.

"She's holding her own for now. But since this Elemental hid herself from Neo so well it's obvious her skill level is very high. Neo might-Hn!" Law winced when pain shot through his right cheek.

"Captain?!" the crew shouted.

"I'm fine. Neo just got her cheek cut." Law held out his hand. Forming a Room, he warped his crew out of the town. "Room! Shambles!"

He warped them until he landed them at the spot where he had separated from her and Penguin a little over an hour ago. His chest tightened when he saw the snowmen that they had made. It hurt him that she was just having so much fun a short amount of time ago and was now in a battle for her life. Shaking his head, Law forced those thoughts out of his mind. This was the life they chose. He turned his eyes to the forest and carefully scanned his eyes over the terrain. "Be careful. Remember there's an ambush here somewhere."

"Right." The crew nodded.

"Let's go," Law said. The crew made their way quickly, but cautiously, towards the forest. They all knew that they had to make it look like they didn't know an ambush was waiting for them.

"Aye!" Bepo cried out when several white blurs leaped up from the snow and tried to attack them. He kicked out his foot, catching the blur's gasped in shock when his boot collided with his diaphragm. Other crewmates kicked and punched the attackers, easily knocking them out.

"Look out!" Tero cried when one tried to sneak up behind Topaz. He dashed over to help her. Before he got three feet, she had sensed the man behind her.

And just before his club could smash in her head, she spun around, chopped the man on the wrist causing him to drop his weapon then grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back until she could hear bones snapping. The man wailed out at the pain. She chopped him behind the neck, causing him to slump over into an unconscious heap.

"What?" Topaz smirked. Placing her hands on her hips, she raised an eyebrow at the man just staring at her in slight disbelief. "I haven't trained all these months for nothing."

"Right," Tero huffed. The two then jumped back into the ongoing battle.

"Geez! How many of them are there?" Shachi asked. He backed his back up against a crewmate. They kicked and punched the seemingly never-ending men hiding in the snow.

Several of the white clad men jumped on top of Bepo, covering the bear. Jean Bart the grabbed the men and started flinging them off one by one until there were just a few left.

Bepo then kicked them off of him. "Aye! Aye! Aye! Aye!"

"Bepo, you all right?" Jean Bart asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Bepo looked around as more white spots began to lift up off the ground and charged at them. "There's our ambush."

"No kidding," Archer said just before one of the white men kicked him in the side, sending him flying.

"We really don't have time for this!" Shachi cried out. "We have to get to Neo and Penguin! They're going to be in serious trouble if they have just as many people to fight as we do over here! And I'm sure Neo's got her hands full with that Elemental!"

Law swiped his sword at two more men. Their white jumpsuits and chest split open. Their blood squirted out of their wounds, staining the pure white snow beneath them. He glanced towards the mountains. He knew Shachi was right. If he knew Neo and Penguin at all, Neo would have tried to protect Penguin in the beginning. His subordinate would have then reprimanded her, causing her to let him fight whoever was around while she focused on the Elemental.

"Room!" Law held up his hand. His Room spread out over the field, engulfing a large proportion of it. He sliced his sword in the air causing over fifty of the men to separate into six different pieces. He sheathed his sword, rested it on his shoulder, and started rotating and swiping his hands in the air. He attached the men with each other and their surroundings before warping his crew closer to the forest. "Shambles!"

Just as they popped back into view, over a hundred more white dressed men popped out and attacked. Conner shouted, "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Where in the world are all of these guys coming from?" Archer asked as they began to dodge and attack the enemy again.

"She must be trying to wear us down," Bepo said, kicking an enemy away from him.

"Captain!" Shachi shouted. "You should go on ahead and warp to Neo and Penguin! We can handle things here!"

"Right." Law nodded. "I'll-"

"Wait!" Topaz cried out, cutting the captain off. "Do not leave my side!"

Law's eyes sharped at the woman telling him what to do.

Topaz elbowed a guy in the face before pointing up to the sky. "There's a storm coming! And it's not being created by nature!"

Law raised his eyes up to the sky. Dark grey clouds were swirling above them.

Topaz continued, "It's the Elemental! I don't know what she's up to, but it's not good! All of the animals have suddenly disappeared! I'm not even sure if Neo notices it yet!"

"She's right, Captain!" Bepo called out. He kicked and punched a few more men before jumping over to his captain's side. "I can feel a very intense storm coming as well."

"I'm not saying you give up on going after them," Topaz said. She kicked a guy away from her then ran closer to Law. She dropped her voice low so no one outside of the crew could hear her. "I'm just saying stay close to me. That Elemental is going to create an ice storm. She might be aiming to freeze us all to death. I can keep the crew warm with my crystals."

"But that'll reveal your magic to others!" Bepo shrieked in a low, forced controlled voice.

"Not if the ice is bombarding the island." Topaz shook her head. "No one will be around to see it. Not even her men."

"What?!" Bepo shrieked out loud that time. "What do you mean?!"

"I mean, with as aggressive as this storm feels, I'm starting to doubt she has any loyalty to her men here." Topaz kneaded her eyebrows in a serous way. "I think she intends to kill them along with us."

…

Penguin panted hard as he ran through the thick snow beneath his feet. Despite how much fun he was having with Neo earlier, he was really starting to hate snow. It was not good terrain for running in. The only consolation he had was the enemy was having trouble running in the snow as well. He was more gifted in the athletic field than those behind him, so he was able to gain plenty of space between himself and them. He knew he wouldn't be able to fight them all at once. So he used an old trick he knew about. He would run for a while then, when the fastest runner was separated from the group, he turned and fights them until he got them knocked out.

But there was a down side to this as well. There was only one of him and over seventy of the enemy. He was wearing down while they ones he hasn't fought yet were gaining on him with their full strength. It wouldn't be much longer before he wouldn't be able to fight anymore. And he had no clue how Neo was fairing.

He glanced up in the sky. Neo and Ren were still battling it out in the air. They were just tiny little specks to him, so he had no clue which one was which or who had the upper hand. Glancing back over his shoulder, he noticed another one had separated from the group.  _Well, at least they haven't caught on to this trick. Or perhaps they're just too stupid to notice it._

He spun around and slammed his fist into the face of his attacker. The man instantly went down. Penguin bolted away from the spot then repeated the attack a couple more times before his body started screaming that it couldn't take much more. He glanced back over his shoulder. There was about thirty-five of the enemy left. He had to come up with a different plan to take them out, preferably all at once, if he was going to live through this. He wondered what that could possibly be. He was trapped in a mountain valley with only snow and rocks, some too small some too large, to do him any good.

Penguin pin wheeled his arms when his boot caught on a hidden rock beneath the snow. He fell forward and face planted in the cold powder. Groaning, he pushed himself up. "Speaking of rocks."

"And now we got you,  _Heart Pirate_ ," one of the enemy pirates said. They all gathered around him with menacing grins on their unwashed faces.

Penguin winkled his nose. He was glad they were outside. It looked like these men haven't bathed in weeks. He opened his mouth to release a smartelic reply, but paused when the man in front of him suddenly went flying over his head with a startled cry. He blinked in disbelief when he saw one of the reindeer now standing where the man use to be. The reindeer spun around and gouged his horns into another enemy. He looked to find that the reindeer herd had returned and was actually helping him to fight. Even the baby reindeer was stomping on feet, biting legs and other soft body parts. Some of the enemy now laid unconscious on the ground while some actually shrieked like little girls and ran away. He shook his head with a smile, knowing full well that these creatures didn't come back on their own. "That girl. I don't know whether to lecture her about focusing on her own battles or hug her for saving my neck. Perhaps I'll- _Achoo_ -do both- _Achoo_ -. Great. Now I'm getting a cold.  _Achoo!_ "

Penguin patted one of the reindeer's neck when it came over and nuzzled his arm. He looked up to the sky and narrowed his eyebrows at the gathering dark grey clouds. "Those weren't there a moment ago."

…

Neo picked up her speed with her fire attacks. The more Ren swiped at her with her swords the more Neo tried to melt them.

Ren chuckled. "Seriously? Is that all you've got? I expected better from a royal. What's wrong,  _Princess_? Did you get far too comfortable sitting on the throne of Luminous?"

"I've never sat on the throne!" Neo cried back, dodging a sword swipe.

"Oh? Really?" Ren smirked. She swiped her swords at Neo then tried to skewer her with ice shards she shot up from below.

Neo sensed them coming and redirected them at Ren who easily batted them away.

"Now that's interesting. Why don't you tell me about it?"

"Sorry. But that's one story you're never going to hear," Neo replied. She flared up her fire crystals at Ren's sword again.

Ren smirked at Neo's repetitive, predictable nature. The dual element Elemental pulled back her melted ice sword. She started to form it back with her crystals, but released a sharp gasp when Neo shot out a spiral vine right at her hand that exploded with fire from a crystal hidden inside the spiral. The surprise attack melted the sword and the Elemental's hand.

Neo's stomach turned at the awful smell of burning flesh and body fat. It was like a mixture of beef and fatty pork with sweet, acrid, lingers-in-your-nose type smell that made her wondered if it was going to be something she would eventually forget or if she as stuck with the smell in her mind and nose forever.

"Well, I guess you do have some surprises lock away inside of you," Ren said while examining her burnt skin. "You're not as repetitive as you seem. And I see you've sent some help to your pirate friend." She glanced down at the ground. She frowned when reindeer had finished off her little army.

"Attack my crew as a huge mistake as I've already said," Neo said with a few pants.

"Perhaps." Ren shrugged. She pointed up to the sky with her uninjured hand and smiled. "But I'm still not out of this little game just yet."

Neo glanced up at the sky. Her eyes widened as her stomach and body temperature dropped. Through the pounding of her heart in her ears, she somehow heard Ren asked, "Tell me,  _Princess_ , I know you can handle extreme weather conditions since you are who you are, but how well do you think your crew can handle an ice storm beating down on them?"


	67. Dangerous Weather Part Three

Dangerous Weather

Part Three

"No," Neo gasped when she looked up at the storm clouds above her. She now noticed the small slips of warm and cold air currents leaving from Ren's crystals. Sleet started slicing through the air. It pinged off her face and fell to the ground below her. And she missed it. How did she miss that coming? She should have felt it coming. She should have felt Ren manipulating the wind. The Elemental was right in front of her. And yet she  _missed_  such an obvious danger bearing down on her and her family, on the entire island. Neo gasped again. Her brain began filling with images of Mertensia and the people who lived there. Her breaths started coming in short, sharp gasps. Her heart pounded in her chest and her ears. She grabbed her head. "No…the entire island…not again…"

_'Neo, calm yourself down. This isn't Mertensia. You're not that one who's out of control. Ren is. This island and the people who are on it are not going to be destroyed because you are here to protect it. You can take her down. Now do it!'_

"Right!" Neo shouted, snapping out of her panic attack. "Stop it! Leave them out of this! You're here to take my crew and me down! So go ahead and face  _me_! But leave this island's inhabitants alone! They're not involved in this at all!"

"That's very naïve thinking there,  _Princess_ ," Ren snarled. "You chose this life of a pirate, didn't you? You are on a pirate crew after all. This is what happens when strong people in this world clash. The innocent and weak will be destroyed because they are just that, weak and helpless. They have no right to live if they don't have the power to protect themselves and survive."

"I don't accept that! Everyone deserves to live no matter what their strength level is!" Neo shouted.

"Still with the naïve thin-" Ren shook her head and spoke. Her voice was cut off when Neo picked up a boulder with her earth crystal and slammed it her back. Ren coughed up blood while dropping several yards from the air.

Neo raised her wind and water crystals to the clouds and took hold of the storm. When she started to disperse it, she felt Ren grabbing her ankle. She started to scream, but a strong gust of wind slammed into her stomach, cutting her panicked scream off. "Ah-"

"I won't let you take control of my storm!" Ren hissed. Her dark blue eyes bored into Neo's.

Neo kicked at Ren's head in desperation to get the woman to release her. But Ren's arm length was longer than Neo's legs.

"And I won't let you hurt my crew or this island's people!" Neo spiraled vines down towards Ren's body. She aimed for several pressure points, but stop short before hitting the woman. Before making contact, she snapped opened the vines and flared up her fire crystals again.

Ren's eyes widened. She hand dropped from Neo's ankle just as she wrapped water around herself to prevent from getting burned again.

Neo anticipated the move. She snapped out more vines. She grabbed Ren's ankles and cracked the vines like whips, using the wind as more force, and sent the woman's body flying down to the ground while using her earth crystals to summon up a large boulder. The boulder cracked and crumbled as Ren's body crashed into it. She then shot several water blasts at the woman before adding in a gust of wind to try and freeze the woman into place.

Ren gathered her crystals and absorbed Neo's attack into her crystals then fire them back at her. She frowned. "What the heck what  _that_ ,  _Princess_? Are you seriously trying to  _freeze_  me to death?"

"No," Neo said flatly, guiding the attack away from her. "I will not kill you."

"Seriously?" Ren cocked her head in disbelief. "You're on a pirate crew, I'm attacking you, your crew and trying to kill everyone and everything on this entire island and you're not willing to kill me to stop it?"

"That's right." Neo shot several medium size boulders from her earth crystals at Ren before one large one followed by a hidden fire and wind attack.

"Do you have any idea how stupid is of you to release that kind of information to the enemy? It gives them the upper hand when they know something like that," Ren said. She formed large icicles to block and shatter the boulders. She increased her icicles to form a shield when Neo flared up her fire and winds once the boulders were destroyed. "You're getting better with these combined attacks,  _Princess_. But you are still far too weak. And no desire to kill makes you even weaker."

"I've never kept it a secret that I have no will to kill. That part should have been obvious when my crew has been in previous battles," Neo replied. With Ren blocking and shattering the boulders and trying to stop the fire and wind from engulfing her, Neo using the distraction spiraled more vines towards the Elemental.

"Are you kidding me?! Why do you keep repeating the same exact moves?!" Ren hissed.

Neo smirked. Her vines shot open revealing a- half the size of a mountain -large venus fly trap. Ren's eyes widened in shock just before the flower chomped down on her. "Was that the  _same_  move?"

"Ah!" Ren's frustrated scream was muffled within the plant's thick walls but became louder when she shot out her winds and water, ripping the plant walls to shreds. Once freed, she glared at Neo with pure hatred as her crystals glow brightened and began to pulse. Whipping her winds and water around, she caused the storm to pick up strength. The sleet fell down over the island and the temperature dropped at a more rapid speed. Ice started clinging to their clothes and hair. "Are you trying to mock me or something?! You seemed so angry that I'm attacking your  _crew_  and yet here you are just joking around! What's wrong with you?!"

"Oh, I am angry. I'm just controlling it so I don't accidently take control of this storm and cause it to grow in strength instead of losing strength." Neo cocked her head a bit. She closed her eyes. Cries from nature were erupting in her ears from the pain the storm was causing. Even animals that were buried underground were feeling the effects of this Elemental's storm. Nearby, she could feel the reindeer shivering right next to Penguin. They were telling her they were trying their hardest to keep the man warm, but were starting to become very cold themselves. She knew if animals that had build in fur coats were having trouble in the storm then Penguin and the crew were having a harder time as well. She felt the reindeer gather around closer around Penguin, but they were growing desperate.  _I'm sorry for prolonging this battle. Just hold on a little bit long, my friends. I promise I will stop her. Law, Penguin, everyone, all the animals and people of the island, just a little bit longer._  Neo reopened her eyes and frowned. "I guess I'm just being a bit naïve in hoping that you'll stop this on your own. You're connected to nature just like I am, but you don't seem to care that you're hurting it. And I really do hate fighting. If I never had to fight, then I never would. But I will always fight to protect my family no matter what the circumstances are. This ends  _now_!"

Closing her eyes again, Neo focused on the reindeer and Penguin. She wanted to put some of her fire crystals down around them, but knew she wouldn't be able to keep them there and fight Ren full force.  _Hold on, Penguin. Reindeer, please keep him as warm as you possible can. I hope to end this battle soon. Just hold on for me._  Focusing on the cries of nature and picturing her family being trapped in this storm, Neo gathered her fury once more. She opened her eyes. Slipping her body into the winds she created, she charged forward at Ren.

"Now that's more like it," Ren said with a smile. She slipped into the wind stream as well. The two Elementals then clashed. Ren combined her wind and water to create more ice shields, ice shards and ice staffs, to fire at Neo. They traded blow after blow, trying to strike the other one down.

Neo kept her winds around her so Ren couldn't touch her again. She punched, kicked, and swiped each of her elements at Ren as fast as she could. She shot out vines, wrapped them around Ren's body. She then gathered all of her crystals. She swirled around all four of the elements towards Ren. The elements twisted and blended together as they flew through the air and crashed into Ren's gathered wind and water shield. She pushed them forward, trying to break through the barrier. An explosion of wind pushed Neo backwards. She caught herself just before her back could slam into a jutting out rock on a cliff. Panting hard, Neo wiped the sweat from her forehead before it could freeze there.  _What do I have to do to put a stop to this? I have plenty of magic left, but my physical abilities are still limited compared to seasoned fighters. My body is wearing down. Am I going to have to become the elements? That's mostly for defense and it drains my magic so fast. But I might not have a choice._

Neo summoned her solar crystal to give herself an energy boast. Just as it appeared, Ren's elbow slammed into Neo's chest, sending her flying to the ground. All the air in Neo's lungs was forced out when her back collided with the ground. "No, no,  _Princess_. Using your solar crystal to heal yourself and regain you're strength would be cheating. Play fair now."

Ren gathered her air around her body and jetted herself down to Neo's seemingly unconscious form. Just as she was about to collide with her, Neo's body turned into fire. The woman screamed and shot herself backwards at the last second. Panting and gasping from almost getting her body completely roasted, Ren said, "Well,  _that_  was unexpected. I recall my parents telling me that royals had the ability to turn their body into the elements, but I didn't think it was actually true. This just got a whole lot mo-"

Ren's voice was cut off when Neo blended into the ground below her. The ground then rose up like a giant hand and grabbed the woman. Neo, as the ground hand, then punched into the ground, trying to knock the woman out. Neo slipped back into her normal form. Her knees wobbled as her breaths came in hard labored pants, the fog from her warm breath curled into the freezing air before becoming tiny frozen crystals that dropped to the mountain valley with silent plops into the snow. Looking up at the spot where she slammed Ren into the ground, she hoped that was enough to knock the Elemental out. But it wasn't.

She looked up at the sky. The ice storm was still going strong. She looked back down when Ren's laughter came from the rubble. When the rubble fell down to the ground, Ren was standing there, unscathed by Neo's attack. Instead, she had formed an ice shield around her body, protecting her from damage. Neo pants increased as she stared at the woman in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me."

"As I was saying, this just got a whole lot more interesting," Ren said with a smile. She picked up the speed on the storm yet again. The temperature plummeted into the negatives. "But let's make it even  _more_  interesting. You've got three minutes to defeat me now."

"What?" Neo asked. The wind was whipping her hair around wildly. She almost wished she had her ribbon with her. But it probably would have gotten damaged in the battle. She didn't want that. So she used a couple wind crystals to guide the wind away from her hair so it didn't block her view.

"The temperature is now well below freezing, but that's not what you should be worried about. Take a look up,  _Princess_ ," Ren said pointing to the sky.

Neo looked up. Her eyes widened. Through pauses in the storm clouds, she saw strange beams of ice were shooting down from the sky from several of Ren's crystals that were circling each other in the sky. Through the sheets of ice falling down, she couldn't see what the beams were hitting, but she could feel nature's shocked cries calling out whenever one hit something. "What the heck is that? What's going on?"

"It's a special little attack that I created about fifteen years ago while battling in the New World. I call it my Ice Beam Barrage. It instantly freezes whatever it touches into solid ice," Ren explained. "Do you know how quick the human body freezes? Your precious crew won't be able to survive once one of these beams hit them. The only way to save them is to knock me out or kill me."

"Stop it!" Neo screamed. Feeling her anger rising again, she focused on trying to pull the beams to her while trying to knock out Ren.

"That won't work,  _Princess_ ," Ren said easily blocking Neo's element engulf punches. "You don't have enough skill to simultaneously fight me and try to redirect my Ice Beams."

…

Penguin sneezed and shivered against the reindeer that was still nearby him. Pulling his hat down lower on his head, trying to cover the remaining exposed skin of his that he was sure was turning blue. He looked out into the sheets of ice that battered down on him and his surroundings then looked up at the sky. He could no longer see Neo and Ren. And he hated it. Before, Neo might have been just a peck of dust in the air, but at least he could still see her. He was able to tell that she was fine and still able to fight. Now, he was in the dark about that battle.

He stiffened when he saw a dark figure moving towards him. He blinked when the figure divided into multiple ones. They walked through the falling ice and, once close enough, revealed themselves to be the rest of the reindeer. He smiled. "Well, hello."

He relaxed back down on the ground as they gathered around him. The baby reindeer walked right up to him until he was hovering over Penguin's lap. The baby reindeer then lay down on the man and curled up. The mother reindeer curled her body around Penguin's right side, making sure to block the howling winds with her head the best she could. One of the other reindeer copied the mother's moves and lay down on Penguin's left side, adding in more shield from the winds. "Let me guess, Neo told you to come here and do this. That girl. She's always so worried and protective of us when she should be focusing on her battles."

Penguin looked up at the sky again. "All well. She's always going to be like that. We are her family after all. She doesn't want to lose us. I get the feeling all you reindeer might know and understand that. I just hope the others are safe. Surely Topaz can keep them warm enough to survive this until Neo can stop Ren. I also hope the captain doesn't do something stupid like run right out into this stuff."

He shivered again when the storm picked up its force. Glancing back out to where the valley of the mountain should be, he wondered if the other pirates were still alive or if they had frozen to death yet. He figured if they weren't dead yet, they were going to be soon. There's no way a normal human being, or even most devil fruit users, could survive this kind of storm for very long. He ducked down against the reindeer. Turning his face away from the ice hitting him, he hoped and prayed this would end soon. He was starting to lose feeling in his limbs. "Neo's not going to be happy if I die here."

…

Law gasped when he felt like he got an elbow to his chest. It was Neo's pain. Every blow he felt being dealt on her made him grown hot with anger. Growling in frustration, he sliced more of the enemy before looking in the direction he knew Neo was in. He wanted to go to her so badly, but with the bombardment of the enemy constantly coming at them and the increasing strength of the storm was preventing that. Even if he could break free from all of this, he wasn't quite sure what he could be able to do to help her. He's never fought an enemy who could create a storm like this.

And for all he knew, Neo and Ren were engaged in an air battle. He wouldn't be able to help even if he could get to Neo. And that frustrated him even more. How could you possibly fight an enemy when they were out of your reach and your sight? He had to completely rely on Neo to fight this battle. And he hated that. He hated that he could feel her tiring. He hated that he could feel her wanting to use her solar crystal to heal herself, but the battle was too fierce for her to do that. And he hated that he couldn't do anything to help her. He couldn't even send her comforting thoughts out of fear of distracting her from her battle.

"Captain!" Bepo's distant voice cried out. Law looked up to see the bear plant his foot into an attacking enemy that was about to attack him. "Is something wrong? You don't usually get this distracted in battle…unless…is Neo hurt?! Is she okay?!"

"She's okay," Law replied. "But she's wearing down."

More ice and wind pelted the wearing down Heart Pirates. Conner said, "It's freezing! I can't feel my fingers anymore."

"My legs are about to go numb!" Archer shouted.

"We're in serious trouble," Tero added.

Law glanced at them. His entire crew too was wearing down as was the enemy in their probably custom made jumpsuits that were clearly more suitable for extreme weather, but were obvious not doing them much good now. He huffed.  _Topaz was right. That Elemental has no loyalty to her men. They're out here freezing to death because of her. And she clearly doesn't care._

"Look out!" Topaz shouted.

Law looked at her seconds before she summoned her crystals right over him and Bepo just before an ice beam pounded down on them. She flared up her fire against the beam. The ice melted, giving off streams of steam that instantly froze in the cold air then melted due to the heat until the beam cut off. She spiraled her fire upwards to make sure the remaining water from the beam didn't fall onto her crew.

"What the heck was that?!" Bepo shrieked while flailing around. "That wasn't normal!"

"It wasn't normal," Topaz said as she ran over to them. She looked up at the sky. Another beam dropped down. It fell right on top of some of the enemy, instantly freezing them to death. A couple Heart Pirates were near the beam, but just barely missed getting frozen themselves. "Hey! Heart Pirates! Come over to me! Now!"

The crew kicked away their current battle partners and ran over to the fire Elemental. Shachi asked, "What's going on?!"

"I guess that Elemental really did have a few tricks up her sleeve. I've never heard of this kind of attack before. She really is powerful if she can create these beams and simultaneously fight Neo," Topaz said.

"How are we supposed to fight in this?" Jean Bart asked. He looked out at the invisible field. More ice beams were dropping down, freezing to death anything living thing touched before the beams faded away causing the temporary visibility of the sky to close up again.

"We're not," Topaz said. She created more fire crystal to warm up the crew while locking eyes with Law. "This is it. Neo and the Elemental have locked into the final battle. This is the endgame."

Law dropped his eyes from the Elemental's warm gaze. He looked down at the ground before looking in the direction he knew Neo was in.  _Come on, Neo. You can do this. You can stop her._

…

"Well, I thought I felt a fire Elemental on this island as well," Ren said as she blocked Neo's attacks blow for blow. "She did very well in stopping that one ice beam. I wonder how long she can keep it up if I drop one on her continuously. Do you think she can protect herself and the rest of your crew long enough for you to defeat me? Let's find out."

Neo's eyebrow twitched. She slammed her fist into Ren's face, snapping the woman's head back. It almost took Neo by surprise.  _She's wearing down now too! I have to end this quickly! Topaz is strong, but I doubt she'll be able to constantly use up her crystal's magic for very long! She's most likely already tired from having to fight in this weather just like the rest of the crew!_

Neo turned her body back into fire. She wanted to pause to see what Ren was doing when she moved her crystals, but she forced herself not to. Ren pretty much told her what her plan was anyway. The dual Elemental was going to direct her ice beams down onto Topaz, onto the rest of the crew since they were together. She trusted in Topaz ability to protect them from the harsh winter storm. So she focused on turning her body into the elements and striking them at Ren. Jutting out vines, spinning leaves like knives, trying to burn anything she could touch, using her winds and water as back up to enhance her attacks, she nicked and sliced at Ren's skin and clothes. She then would switch back to fire when Ren tried to attack with her ice or water attacks. "You're not going to kill my family!"

…

Penguin sighed when his body stopped shivering. He looked out of the corner of his eye. He wondered how Neo was doing before dropping his eyes down to the little reindeer in his lap. All of the reindeer, despite behind designed for cold weather, was having a difficult time in this Elemental enhanced storm. He pulled out his right hand from underneath his armpit. Despite it being gloved, he knew his skin had turned blue. He didn't need to see it. He could feel it. He could feel all the feeling leaving his body. Still, he patted the brave little reindeer in his lap.

With a humorous chuckle, he said, "You've done well. All of you have done very well. Neo would be very proud of you. Thank you for all you have done."

Curling up against the reindeer, Penguin sighed and closed his eyes.

…

"What is this?!" One of Ren's men asked. They looked up at the darkened sky as the ice pelted them nonstop. "Is she trying to kill us?! She knows were out here fighting for her!"

"I don't think she cares!" Another one shouted. He pointed to two ice statues. "They're already frozen solid! We're all going t-"

Before the man could finish, an ice beam fell down on top of them. Some tried to run, some tired to raise their arms in defense, but all of them were frozen in place the second an ice beam hit them.

…

"Mommy! I'm scared!" a little blonde, pigtailed girl said. Her cries floated through the air. The other kids and adults looked at her with sad eyes. They were huddled together in a local hotel lobby. The power had been knocked out shortly after the ice storm had begun. The hotel staff had gathered their guests into the lobby around the fireplace to try and keep them as warm as they could.

"Hush, sweetie. It's going to be okay," her mother cooed while wrapping her arms around the frightened child.

"It's those blasted pirates!" a man growled. "That Heart of the Elements is the cause of this! Who else can control the elements like she can?!"

"We should alert the Navy immediately!" another man cried.

"We can't," a third one pointed out. "The storm is interfering with the transponder snails. We won't be able to get the Navy here until after the storm stops."

"We'll have to trap the pirates here!"

"They're ship is in the docks! We can block it from them!"

"Yeah!"

A strong gust of wind then blew down through the chimney, blowing out their warm fire. Chaos and panic washed through the room as some men rushed around to try and relight the fire. "Hurry! Get it lit again! We're going to freeze if we don't get it lit!"

"Mommy!" the pigtail girl cried and grabbed onto her mother. "I don't want to freeze!"

"It'll be okay, sweetie." The girl's mother hugged her tighter.

"That tears it! Once this storm is over we're holding the pirates here until the Navy arrives! Who's with me?!" a man asked.

"Me!" The majority of the men, and some women, cheered and raised their hands.

…

"Well, at least it's warm in here," Shachi said. He let his eyes roam around the fire room. It was about eight feet above Jean Bart's head and wide enough to fit twenty or thirty more men inside comfortably. He and the other Heart Pirates were standing anxiously around the fire dome Topaz had put around them. For the most part, they remained silent so the Elemental could concentrate on her fire dome. She had to make sure to keep it the right temperature to keep the freezing cold elements out while at the same time not frying her crewmates and captain. Shachi sighed, thinking of his best friends out in this storm. "I just hope they're okay. Neo can handle this, but Penguin…"

Shachi's voice trailed off as a solemn air washed over the crew.

Tero said, "They'll be fine."

"I do believe this is the first time I will not complain about the heat," Bepo said looking around their fire room. "That weather out there is insane."

"You're the one with the fur coat," Tero said. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at the bear. "And you're complaining about the cold weather?"

"I'm sorry," Bepo said, bowing his head in a grey aura.

"For what?!" Tero demanded. "I was just asking a question! If you, the one with the furry coat is cold then…oh never mind! Forget it!"

"Crap!" Topaz cursed when she felt Ren's crystals shifting in her direction. She flared up her crystals even more as an ice beam fell down on top of her fire dome.

"What is it, Topaz?" Jean Bart asked.

"That cursed Elemental! She's changed her attack! Those ice beams that she created a little while ago? Well, she's now focusing her ice beam attack completely on us now in one solid, continuous attack!" Topaz informed them.

"What?!" the crew shrieked.

"Don't worry!" Topaz quickly said, adding more crystals to the outside of her dome. She flared them up to their maximum strength, but was in a deadlock with the beams. "I can take it! She's wearing down now fast! It shouldn't be much longer before she's finally finished!"

"As long as Neo can hold out," Archer said, begged, prayed and pleaded. "Come on, Neo! You can take her!"

"Yeah!" the crew, but for Topaz, Tero and Law cheered. Topaz was too busy focusing on her own battle. Tero was cheering for her in his own quiet way.

And Law was too concerned about his love to cheer her on. He could feel her slowing down and her magic dropping dangerously low while her body was being pummeled with attacks. He tried to keep his face as neutral as possible so he wouldn't worry his crew on how many hits, and the type of hits, Neo was taking. If this battle kept up much longer, Neo wouldn't be able to protect herself from Ren or the harsh winter storm.

…

"Ho ho! Family, huh?!" Ren asked. She focused a hundred of her crystals over Topaz's location and repetitively shot down ice beams on her awaiting fire crystals. She then created ice shards to pierce Neo's skin to which Neo would flare up with fire then went back on the attack quick stabs of vines and thorns. "I do believe that is the first time I've hear someone call a pirate crew their  _family_. You are a very odd little  _princess_. If circumstances were different, I would really liked to have heard your backstory. But it is what it is. And a job is a job. Besides, I bet that one that was fighting just over there is already dead, along with the reindeer that you asked to protect him."

"Shut up! He's not going to die! He is forbidden to do that!" Neo hissed. Shifting back into fire, she tried to singe Ren's body again. But the constant switching back and forth between the elements had taken a huge toll on her magic. Her fire flickered out of existence as her real body took over.

Ren formed another ice sword. She jutted it forward just as Neo's body shifted back into her physical form. Neo's eyes widened at the sword making its way to penetrate her flesh. But before the icy blade could reach her, it faded out of existence. Ren huffed. "Well, it looks like my magic is just about out. It's all I can do to keep this storm going. And, since you're just about out of magic too, we'll just have to finish this the old fashion way."

With that, Ren snapped out her hand and grabbed Neo's wrist. In a fast, single move, she snapped Neo's body to the left, jerking her shoulder out of its socket.

Neo cried out when a sharp, burning pain ripped through her right shoulder and spread out through her entire body. "Ah!"

…

"Hn." Law dropped his sword and grabbed his shoulder when Neo's pain shot through him. He fell to his knees, clenching his shoulder while sucking air in sharply.

"Captain!" the crew cried.

"What's wrong? Neo's hurt, isn't she?" Bepo asked, kneeling down beside his captain and best friend.

"I think Ren just pulled Neo's shoulder out of its socket," Law informed them. Through the pain, he lifted his right hand to create his Room.

"Captain! We can't!" Bepo said. "That storm is still out there! We won't be able to fight even if we do get close enough!"

"I'm not waiting any longer!" Law snapped. The cloud circled around his hand and spread out over the fire dome. "Room! Shambles!"

Law warped them away from their current location. The second they popped into another area of the field, Law warped them again and again and again.

…

Ren then brought her knee up and jammed it into Neo's stomach. Allowing Neo to drop from the air and crumble to the ground, Ren looked back towards the town as her own altitude lowered. Panting hard, she studied how Topaz's magic was coming closer to their location. She turned to face back towards Neo only to get Neo's fist slammed onto her jaw. Ren's body spun twice before hitting the ground. She spit out blood and a tooth before brushing the back of her sleeve over the blood dripping down her chin. When she tried to stand back up, Neo, using all of her crystals, slammed the elements into Ren's stomach. The woman cried out as she flew through the air.

The second Neo saw the woman's back make contact with the ground again, she slammed one final, all four elements attack on her body. It forced all the air out of Ren's lungs and caused the ground around her to crack and crumble. She panted as she watched Ren's body dip down into the shattered earth around her. She'd summoned an earth crystal and wrapped a vine around her arm, holding it close to her body so it wouldn't hurt as much from all the moving around. But the dislocation of her shoulder was still shooting pain through her entire body. She summoned her solar crystal to try and stave off some of the pain. She knew she couldn't actually heal this type of wound completely with her solar crystal. And she knew she wouldn't be able to use her solar crystal if Ren stood up again.  _Please, just stay down this time. Stay down._

Neo looked up when the sun began to break through the dispersing clouds and the temperature started to rise. A wave of relief washed over her. The battle was finally over. And she could feel Law coming closer now. She wasn't going to have to fight anymore. She flinched when a loud bang resonated through the air just before a flaming hot pain pierced the lower left side of her stomach. She coughed. Blood shot out of her mouth. The warm juice trickled down her chin and landed on the snowy blanket at her feet.

…

"Ah!" Law gasped and collapsed to the ground again before he could do another warp. He grabbed his lower left stomach. His face twisted in pain.

"Captain?" the crew asked.

"It's Neo, isn't it?" Shachi asked.

"She's…she's been shot," Law replied. His eyes flickered with danger as heat bubbled up in his chest from anger. Multiple death scenarios flashed through his mind of what he was going to do to Ren when he got his hands on her.

"Ren's down! She's been defeated!" Topaz shouted. She banished her crystals as the ice stopped falling and the clouds faded away.

"Room! Shambles!" Law cried out. Holding up his hand once more, he warped his entire crew to Neo.

…

Neo placed her left hand on her stomach then raised her hand to her face. The entire palm of her black glove was now soaked in blood. Her eyes drifted over to Ren before her legs gave out on her. Her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Her solar crystal's glow dimmed, but kept washing its healing magic over her injured body.

"Not bad at all,  _Princess_. But you're still too weak to face off against the massive figureheads you're going to run into on these seas. You hesitate too much. I could have killed you just now. Well, I would have if I could see straight. You took far more out of me than I thought you would have." Ren huffed and puffed through her own tired body. She held out the smoking gun towards Neo before it dropped from her grasp and landed in the snow with a low thud. "I'm just about out of magic. I might have just enough to escape from your crew. Oh, look there they are."

Ren forced herself to sit up just as the Heart Pirate crew appeared mere feet from her and Neo's location. She summoned the dwindling remains of her magic. Her crystals flickered in view. She created just enough wind to lift her batter body into the air as Law's sharp eyes locked onto her.

Creating another Room, he warped only himself to her. When he appeared, he swiped his sword at her in an attempt to cut her head off. Her skin split opened, but she deflected herself just enough to avoid getting her head severed off. Forcing his Room to grown even larger than he's made it go before, Law hissed, "Get back here!"

Ren forced her winds to keep her body just above the boarders of his Room until the film stopped growing. But with the damage she sustained in battle, her winds died down and her crystals vanished. Her body dropped from the air and right into Law's awaiting Room.

"Room! Shambles!" Law warped Ren right in front of him. Once her body was in his sights, he ran his sword through her chest. Her arms dropped to her sides as the life drained from her eyes. His eyebrow twitched when Ren's lips curled into a smile.

Her voice cracked as she spoke out her final words. "At least I don't have to tell  _him_  anything now. I was actually conflicted on what I was going to report back to  _him_. You have freed me from  _his_  clutches. But…be forewarned, Surgeon of Death.  _He_  is watching you. And  _he_  is watching her with peak interest."

"What?! Who are you talking about?!" Law demanded.

"You know who," Ren whispered. With the last of her strength, she pulled her body from Law's sword and fell to the ground. Her smile faded as her eyes closed for the last time.

…

"Where is he? Where is he?" Shachi asked repetitively to himself. He, Jean Bart and a few others had split off from the rest of the crew to find Penguin. His eyes darted everywhere over the mountain valley. But all he could see was white, white mounds of oddly shaped statues. His stomach turned at the thought of that Elemental freezing her own men to death. One of them ice statues could be his best friend. One of them could be Penguin.

"Hey! What's that?" Jean Bart asked.

Shachi looked up to see a multi-bump bundle starting to shift. It stood up, shook off all the ice off its body to reveal an entire herd of reindeer. The reindeer parted to reveal Penguin's body. The baby reindeer slipped off Penguin's lap. The baby stood by his mother while the pirates rushed over to them.

"Penguin!" Shachi cried, immediately placed his fingers to Penguin's throat, flinching at how cold Penguin's skin was. His own heart raced in his chest as he tried to search for the slightest sign of life. A smile spread on his face when he felt the faint pulse of Penguin's heart. "He's alive! Let's get him back to the captain!"

"Right!" the crew shouted.

Penguin opened his hidden eyes and smiled. His teeth chattered as he spoke. "H-hey, guysh. 'bout t-time yoush gots h-here."

"Hey, Pen," Shachi said. "We're here now. The fight is over. Neo's a bit injured, but the captain is with her. She'll be fine. We're taking you back to the sub now."

"G-gweat." Penguin shivered. "I need shumm vewy, vewy  _hot_  te."

The crew laughed as the baby reindeer stepped closer to Penguin and Shachi. He nuzzled his black nose to Penguin's cheek then looked at Shachi. Penguin looked at the creatures. "You guysh w-were aweshome. Neo w-would be proud of you."

Shachi smiled. He added, "I get it. Neo asked you all to take care of Penguin, didn't she? Well, you all did a very good job. Thank you for your help. We'll take care of them from now on. Both Neo and Penguin will be just fine. Our captain is the best doctor in the world. He'll take good care of them. We need to go now. You can come with us if you want too. You probably want to see Neo once more before we go. But we have to hurry. The captain is fiercely protective of her and will want to take care of her wounds as soon as possible. Jean Bart, can you carrying him?"

"Yes." With a nod, Jean Bart picked the cold man up and they headed back to the rest of their crew. The reindeer exchanged looks like they were having a discussion on whether or not they should follow the pirates. The baby reindeer flicked his ears before rushing after the men. The rest of the reindeer followed soon after.

…

Now unable to get any answers from Ren, Law forced himself to turn away from the dead body at his feet. Neo was far more important than anything Ren would have to say. He walked over to the crewmembers that were gathered around Neo's unconscious body.

"Neo?" Topaz called softly. She placed her hand on Neo's forehead. Her heart gave a sharp jolt when Neo didn't respond to the touch. She glanced at Neo's solar crystal. It was hovering right beside Neo, casting its healing glow over the damaged princess. Law sheathed his sword and knelt down beside the women. "Is she going to be alright, Captain?"

Dropping his sword, Law didn't say anything as he ran his hands and his eyes over Neo's body. He first, and very quickly, checked out her dislocated shoulder. Since she was unconscious, he took the moment to untie the vine around her arm and body and popped it back into place. More pain shot through his own shoulder. He winced, half glad she was still unconscious so she didn't have to feel all that pain he just caused her. He then wrapped the vine back around her to keep her arm secure. Once that was done, he turned his attention to her stomach wound. He cursed under his breath. "The bullet didn't go all the way through. We have to get her back to the sub. Right now!"

"Why don't you just remove it with your powers?" Archer asked in confusion. "That should be an easy operation for you to do out here. You've done i-"

"No!" Law snapped. The crew went silent. Law's hat had cast dark shadows over his eyes. He wasn't going to use his powers on her. His body posture was stiff, but held the threatening pose of death should anyone defy him.

"Hey! We found Penguin! He's alive, but he needs medical attention!" Shachi called out seconds later. His smile faded when he noticed the tense atmosphere around the crew. "What's going on?"

Law pulled Neo into his arms. With dark shadows still cast over his eyes, he said in a low, very dark tone, "I'm taking her back to the sub. Don't  _ever_  tell me to use my powers on her. I  _won't_  do it.  _I won't!_ "


	68. Dangerous Weather Part Four

Dangerous Weather

Part Four

The crew stood still. Quietly, they exchanged confused glances at each other before carefully glancing at their captain. Law held very still as he held Neo to his chest. He didn't move until the baby reindeer walked up to them and nudged Neo's shoulder. When he didn't get any response, the baby reindeer nudged Neo again then lowered his nose to the blood on her coat. The baby released a startled noise of protest and stomped his hoof on the ground. Law stroked the baby's neck once. "Easy. She's going to be just fine. Her solar crystal is helping her heal. But I need to get her back to our sub so I can take out the bullet. I'm sorry she can't say goodbye to you. I know she would have loved to see you all before leaving, but we have to go now. The Navy is probably going to be coming soon. Despite me being a warlord, I really don't want to have to try and explain all of this."

Law then stood up with Neo in his arms. He looked at Penguin who was as curled up as he could be in Jean Bart's hold. Topaz had four of her fire crystals hovering in a low flame near him. "Topaz, be sure to keep the flame at a low temperature for now. We need to slowly raise his body temperature up."

"Aye, Captain." Topaz nodded.

"Let's go then. Bepo grab my sword," Law ordered.

"Aye." Bepo nodded. He grabbed the nodachi off the ground.

Law created his Room and warped them back to the sub as quickly as he could. "Room! Shambles!"

Law narrowed his eyebrows and growled when they arrived back at the sub. Over fifty townspeople were gathered right in front of the sub. They were wielding pots, pans, bats, and pitchforks.

Topaz quickly banished her crystals.

One of the men pointed his bat in the pirates' direction. "You're not going anywhere! That  _freak_  almost killed us all!"

Law's entire body twitched as his hat fell over his eyes when the man called Neo a freak. His blood began to boil when the crowd cheered and agreed with the man. If he didn't have Neo in his arms, he would have killed every single one of them right where they stood. Twisting his hand, he created a Room around them all. "Room!"

The townspeople shuddered and took a step back. One man tried to hold onto his bravery. He stepped forward. With a trembling voice, he said, "We're not afraid of you! She almost killed us! Don't you know that?!"

"No! She didn't!" Shachi cried out. "It wasn't her! She stopped the storm! The one responsible for this is lying dead back in the mountain valley! Her companions are dead as well! Go see for yourself!"

"Don't bother, Shachi," Tero said. He cracked his knuckles. "We're pirates. We're going to get the blame no matter what the circumstances."

"I know that," Shachi protested even though he knew it wouldn't do any good. "But Neo…"

"Get out of my way," Law hissed. His hat lifted up, revealing his dagger filled glare to the townspeople. They all shuddered at the glare. Some stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. "Shambles!"

The townspeople raised their arms to protect themselves. After several seconds of not receiving a hit, they lowered their arms to find the pirates were no longer in their sights. They mumbled their surprises and relief while some started to walk off. "This is crazy."

"That pirate is a warlord. We have no chance against him. Why did we do this?"

"We could have died!"

"We've alerted the Navy to their activities and their location. Let them handle it."

"Yeah. The Navy is better equipped for dealing with pirates."

"But Trafalgar Law is a warlord. He works for the Navy now."

"You don't think they were telling the truth, do you? Should we go check the valley?"

…

"Jean Bart! Bring Penguin to the infirmary then assist Archer and Bepo and get us away from this island! Bepo, I want this sub moving within  _two_  minutes!" Law barked out orders once inside the sub. He rushed Neo through the halls and into the surgical room. "Shachi, Tero, get some warm water in bowls so we can soak Penguin's hands and feet! We also need to get him out of those clothes before they become too wet! Topaz, start increasing the heat of your flames a few degrees every three minutes."

"Aye, aye Captain!" the crew chorused before scurrying around to fulfill their orders. Jean Bart took Penguin into the medical bay and sat Penguin down on the table before rushing out of the room. A couple other crewmates stayed beside Penguin to help him strip down to his boxers.

"Sorry about this," Penguin said. He tossed a smirk over his shoulder at Topaz. "You're getting a free show here. Tell me if you like what you see. If you do, we can work out a regular showing each week."

Topaz laughed. "Don't worry about it. I'm use to all of you guys by now. I don't mind seeing a little extra skin now and then. At least your sense of humor is in tact. Glad you're okay, Pen."

"Thanks, Topaz. Seriously!" Penguin said with a sincere smile. "You protect our crew during that storm. You're the best."

"Hey, we're all family here." Topaz smiled back. "I'll always do what I can to protect you all. And not just because Neo is my princess."

"Looks like Neo's not the only one who's grown up a bit," Penguin said. "You're not calling her princess as much anymore."

"Oh! Hush!" Topaz shoved Penguin's shoulder playfully.

Ignoring the playful banter of his crew, Law rushed Neo over to one of the operating tables, laid her down, and started to remove the vine around her and her coat. While he was removing her coat from her, she whimpered at the pain in her body before her eyelids fluttered open. "Hn…I-hurts…"

"She's waking up! Get me some anesthesia! Now!" Law barked, dropping her coat on the floor. He cringed when their shared pain stabbed into her body from all the moving her had to do to her.

"Right away, Captain!" A crewmate shouted. He dashed over to the medical supplies and dove into the cabinet.

"It's okay, Neo." Law brushed his hand over her hair before laying her back down on the table. She tried to lift up her right hand, but when she couldn't she lifted her left one instead. Law pealed off her glove, dropped it on the floor with her coat and vine, before taking her cold hand in his. He breathed and rubbed his hands over hers. "We're on the sub now. You're going to be just fine."

Her lips moved, but her voice didn't form. She mouthed one word to him. "Penguin."

"He's here too. He's alive," Law replied. Neo nodded lightly then winced at the pain shooting through her body again. "Where's the anesthesia?!"

"I got it, Captain!" the crewmate said as he ran over to the table.

"I'm going to put you to sleep now so I can remove the bullet," Law said while administering the anesthesia. "It'll be over soon. Okay? I'll see you in a little while."

Neo kept her eyes locked onto Law. Her vision blurred and quickly shifted to black.

Another crewmate pushed the surgical tools over to the table. "Here you go, Captain."

"Thanks," Law mumbled while cutting off Neo's shirt. He laid a sheet over her before gloved his hands and setting to work on removing the bullet that was lodged in her stomach while trying not to twitch at the pain in his own stomach from working on her.

Penguin lifted his eyes to the table across from him. He quietly watched as his captain preformed surgery on Neo. He wanted to ask a million times how she was doing, but knew it was best for him to remain silent. Law was, after all, the best doctor he knew. He forced himself to shift his focus to Shachi and Tero when the two men returned with the warm water for his feet and hands.

Shachi addressed him. "How ya doing, buddy?"

"Great," Penguin replied humorously. He ducked his cold hands and feet into the warm water. "I now know what a popsicle feels like. I love it."

Shachi laughed. "You're fine."

"Of course I am." Penguin smiled. "I had my own personal reindeer heaters after all."

"Can you feel anything yet?" Tero asked. He dipped his finger into the water, wondering if it was the right temperature or not.

"Yeah." Penguin winced at the pain in his hand. "There's some tingling and a burning sensation."

"Good." Tero nodded. "Pain means you've kept all your limbs."

"How's it going over there?" Law asked, not taking his eyes off Neo.

"He's fine. Feeling is returning to his hands and feet," Tero reported. He crossed his arms. "Just minor frostbite."

"How's Neo?" Penguin finally asked. His eyes locked onto Neo's sleeping form. His stomach turned at the blood soaking the white sheet over her. His heart sinking at the thought of her having to deal with more pain like this. But he knew she still had her solar crystal. It was dutifully hovering beside her. He grabbed onto that and forced his regrets and worries down.

"She's just fine," Law replied. He kept his eyes glued onto Neo as he kept working on her. "The bullet has already been removed. Luckily, there's no major damaged to her inner organs. And she didn't lose much blood thanks to her solar crystal. She'll be completely healed in no time."

"That's good," Penguin said with a relieved sigh.

…

Law sat quietly as he watched Neo sleep and listened to the distance beeping of her heartbeat from the heart monitor. The pain in both their bodies had lessened up greatly since her surgery was completed. Her solar crystal was still doing its job properly. He glanced at the glowing crystal, which was hovering over the new wound on her stomach. His anger swelled up in his chest when he thought of how she now had yet another scar on her already marred body. It was another scar she was going to have to heal with the healer's cream.

Neo shifted and moaned softly in her sleep from the anger he was unintentionally sharing with her. Not wanting her to wake up too soon, he forced himself to release his fury. Any minute she would be waking up from the anesthesia and he didn't want to startle her in any way. He knew she would be a bit scared from waking up in the medical bay again so he remained by her side. He was going to make sure he was the first thing she saw. While waiting for her to awaken, he checked that the heart monitoring patches were secure and her breathing mask wasn't too tight. Like always, he was taking every precaution he could with her. He put antibiotic cream on her new wound while also administering antibiotics through an IV.

When Neo shifted again, Law could feel her starting to wake up. He placed his fingertips on her cheek and carefully turned her so when she opened her eyes he'd be the first thing she saw. Then her eyes cracked open. He smiled and stroked his thumb on her cheek in an attempted to stifle her anxiety as she remembered what happened and realized where she was. It caused the beating of the hear monitor to increase. "Hey, love. You're all right. You're in the medical bay. Both you and Penguin are just fine. He's resting comfortably now in the bed right beside yours."

Law nodded towards the nearby bed.

Neo followed his gaze. She sighed when she saw Penguin sleeping peacefully under a thick blanket. The beating and beeping of her heart began to slow down.  _'And Ren?'_

"She's dead," Law replied, returning his eyes to hers. He noticed her going over everything that happened, wondering if there was anything she could have done to stop Ren. "Don't punish yourself like that, love. Ren chose that life. She chose to hunt us down. There was nothing you could have done to change her mind. It's kind of like back on Luminous, with Atlas and the darkness crystal. You know there are many types of darkness's in this world. And she was consumed by one of them. So just let it go. I don't want you worrying over this. It's done and over with."

' _Law?'_

"What is it, love?" Law tilted his head when he felt her thinking something over, but was keeping it concealed from him.

' _I need more training. I need to get better at multitasking with my crystals. I don't want something like today to happen again. I need to be able to protect you all while fighting at the same time.'_

"Neo, you-"

' _Law, you know we're going to be facing stronger opponents now, especially when we go to Punk Hazard. I could have lost Penguin today because I couldn't fight and cover him with heat from my fire crystals. I know we say I was going to be the sniper of the crew, but I keep getting drawn into upfront battles. I need to do better. Please, Law?'_

Law sat quietly mulling over her words with her eyes tightly locked onto his. He knew she was right. His plan was to keep her as a sniper, but that clearly wasn't going to work in every situation they entered into.

' _I need to learn how to fight side by side with you as well. We might have to do that at some point. I want to be able to fight beside you and not have to worry about accidently hurting you. We can start tomorrow.'_

"I understand what you mean. While I'd rather you not, you are correct." Law stroked her hair. "But you are  _not_  going to work on this tomorrow."

' _Law! You know I'll be healed enough by then!'_  Neo kneaded her eyebrows at him.

"I know that. And I also know Penguin will be too once you used your solar crystal on him. But you, and Penguin, are taking a week off from every kind of fight we might engage in between now and then," Law said in his captain tone. He crossed his arms and gave her a pointed look. "And that's an order,  _little girl_."

Neo huffed into her mask.  _'Fine. But I'm still expecting that back massage later.'_

Law chuckled. He leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead in a tender kiss. "Yes, love. That is still waiting for you when you get out of this room and back into ours. Now sleep. I know you're tired."

' _And I know you are as well. Lay with me.'_  Her tired eyes turned round and pleading.

He chuckled again before laying down beside her.

She started to roll onto her right side, but suddenly stopped when pain shot through her shoulder. She whimpered through the mask and increased her solar crystal's glow.  _'My shoulder still hurts.'_

"I know it does." Law nodded. He rolled his shoulder before shifting closer to her, knowing she wanted to snuggle into him. He pressed his forehead to hers. "It won't for much longer. You just need to relax and heal more."

Unable to breathe in his familiar scent, she peered into his eyes. Studying his grey orbs until she noticed he was hiding something from her.  _'What is it, Law? Why are you hiding your thoughts from me?'_

"I'm sorry, love. It's nothing. I was just a bit scared that is all. You got shot after all. That would scare anyone no matter how tough they believe themselves to be." Law pressed his lips to her forehead. Tugging down her air mask, he placed light kisses down between her eyebrows, over the bridge of her nose, the tip of her nose until he landed his warm lips on hers. When he felt her realizing he was trying to distract her from his hidden feelings, he forced his tongue between her tired lips. She gasped into his mouth when he started stroking his warm muscle over hers, effectively shorting out her brain as he easily guided her tongue into his mouth where he sucked mercilessly on it until he got her to moan for him. He then pulled back with a couple soft pants and mumbled against her lips. "You'll get more of that later. Sleep now, my love."

Unable to argue due to the combination of her head spinning from the short, but intense make out session, and the pain that was slowly leaving her body, Neo let her eyelids drop closed.  _'Stay with me?'_

"Of course." Law fixed the air mask back around her mouth. He pecked her forehead once more before pressing his own forehead to hers to be sure he was close enough for her comfort while she slept.

…

"Gin," Penguin said while laying down his cards on the bed between himself and Neo.

"I'm better at poker," Neo said letting her cards fall from her hands.

"Want to play that instead?" Penguin asked.

"Not really," Neo said. "I'm mostly bored with having to stay in the medical bay."

"What's the captain doing?" Penguin asked.

"He was in our room. But now he's heading down stairs for something," Neo said. She paused, her stomach rumbled. "I'm getting hungry."

"I'm a bit hungry myself," Penguin said.

Neo grinned. "Shall we do something about that?"

"The captain hasn't released us yet," Penguin said.

"Oh, we're not going to fight or anything," Neo said. "We're just going down to the galley."

"Okay," Penguin said. "But I'm blaming you if we get into trouble."

Neo giggled. The two slid of Penguin's bed and headed for the door. She took his hand in hers before stepping out of the room. Instantly she felt Law disapproving glower for not obeying his orders to stay where they were suppose to. With another giggle she sent him the thought,  _'But we're hungry. And we've been in that room all day without a break. I want to cook for our babies.'_

' _Babies?!'_

Neo felt Law's entire body flinch as he scoffed at her in disbelief at what she had said. She located him in the lower decks of the sub, probably doing inventory of supplies. And she wasn't quiet sure, but she thought he was holding something fairly heavy, and dropped it, when some pain shot through her right foot.

' _The crew is not our babies!'_

' _Yes! They! Are! And I need to take care of them!'_ Neo insisted with another giggle. She felt his mind growing flustered at the thought of grown men as their babies. ' _Besides, tomato soup sounds really, really good after being in all that cold weather. We're both fine, anyway. And I still want that back massage. My back is nothing but one giant knot.'_

' _Fine.'_  Law relented.  _'You can make soup. But after that you are coming to the room with me. I'm going to rub your back like I promised. We've waited fair too long for me to do that. And there's something I need to discuss with you.'_

' _I love you, Law! You're the best!'_  Neo giggled again. She knew from the beginning she'd get her way. She knew Law could feel that her body was no longer hurting. He was just being over protective like always. She pulled her mind back to the present when Penguin spoke up.

"Are we in trouble?" he asked.

"Of course not," Neo said. They entered into the galley. Before long the spices of their tomato soup filled the room. The two sat beside each other at the table. "How does it taste?"

"It tastes wonderful." Penguin hummed as he took another slip of his steamy soup. "I bet it smells just as wonderful too. Not that I can tell with this cold."

"Sorry my solar crystal can't fix your cold completely. It's kind of odd how man can't cure the common cold, but can cure other dire illnesses and stuff. I thought for sure my magic would be able to. I guess not." Neo turned her eyebrows up while lifting her own bowl of soup to her lips. She didn't feel like using a spoon, so she wasn't. She was just sipping it out of the bowl like it was a cup. "So I grew some fresh herbs and added them to the soup. I also made some fresh orange juice. Is there anything else you want that I can make for you?"

"No. This is good enough. I'm positive the captain doesn't want you to do anymore today than you already have," Penguin said. A couple crewmates then wondered into the galley, lured by the tantalizing smell of the tomato soup simmering on the stove. "And I know he's already miffed at you for making this soup."

Neo sniffed while adjusting Law's black and yellow hoodie over her shoulders. "Oh, he's nothing but a worry wart. If he really didn't want me doing this then he would have already dragged me back to bed."

"I'm glad you both are feeling better," Archer said after grabbing himself a bowl of soup and joining the two at the table. The two others that were with him soon joined them at the table as well. "And it seems the captain is feeling better too."

"Hm?!" Neo paused. The bowl to her lips, she blinked rapidly. Now confused, she lowering the bowl down from her lips and asked, "What do you mean? Did he get sick too from the cold? I don't feel it. And I don't think he can hide that from me."

The four crewmates exchanged looks.

Neo looked at each and every single one of them before resting her eyes on Penguin. "Penguin?"

"No, of course the captain didn't get sick," Penguin said. He took another sip of his soup before continuing. "It's just…we thought you already knew since you're connected to him."

"Already knew what?" Neo asked, clearly growing concerned. She narrowed her eyebrows when she noticed Law becoming stiff.

Penguin sighed. He forced himself to say the words. "The crew told me that the captain refused to use his powers on you again. You know, back in the valley when you were-uh-shot?"

"So that's what he was hiding." Neo lowered her eyes to the red liquid in her bowl. "I guess I didn't pay much attention to it since Law kissed me the way he did. I did feel that he was trying to hide something from me. I should have known that was it."

"Sorry, Neo. I didn't mean to upset you," Archer said.

"Hm." Neo shook her head. "No. Don't worry about it. I'm not really upset. I'm a bit confused, however."

"I don't understand why the captain is so afraid of using his powers on her," Conner said. They all turned their eyes to him as he continued, "I mean, he's used his warping ability on her many times and without any sort of hesitation. So why does he refuse to use the rest of his powers on her? He could have easily taken that bullet out of her stomach back in the valley. He would have done it to us to make sure he prevented infection."

"Only the captain can answer that," Penguin said. His eyes came to rest upon Neo. "And only one person can get him to answer it."

Neo sighed once all eyes were on her. She brought her bowl up to her lips and took a sip. "I'm not sure even I can get him to open up about this. He's trying to hard to keep it from me."

The crewmates then shifted the conversation.

Neo didn't listen to what they were saying. All she could do was stare into her soup and think about Law. She wondered if he was feeling her concern over him. He just seemed so distant at the moment. He wasn't concealing his thoughts and feelings from her. He was just distant. And she didn't like it.

' _Neo? Neo?'_

' _Yes?'_  Neo replied once she felt Law breaking into her thoughts.

' _Finish up there and come to the room.'_  Law ordered.

' _Okay.'_  Neo pulled her bowl up to her lips and guzzled down her now cold soup. Once finished she stood up, noting some more of the crew had come in to have some of her soup, before walking over to the sink. She rinsed out her bowl and set it aside to be washed later.

"Where you going?" Penguin asked.

"Law wants to see me in our room," Neo said. "He doesn't like how stiff and tense my back is. It's been a while since I gave my wings a good work out. They hurt."

"I'll take care of the dishes for you later," Topaz offered.

"Thanks, Topaz." Neo smiled at the Elemental woman while exiting the galley. Wondering down the halls of their home, she wondered how she could possibly get Law to tell her why he was so afraid of using his powers on her. With her mind was lost in thought, her body managed to get her to their room. She closed the door and pressed her back against it. Looking up timidly, her eyes locked onto Law. He was standing at his desk just blankly staring at his notes that were scattered over it. She knew he already knew what she wanted from him. But neither spoke. Pushing off the door, she walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around his torso and laid her head on his back. She asked, "Why? Why won't you tell me? We're supposed to be a couple. We're suppose to be able to talk to each other about anything."

His heart clenched. He placed his right hand over hers and squeezed. "Neo, love, we are a couple."

"Then why?" Neo's body began to tremble against his.

He sighed when he felt her tears gathering in her eyes. "Neo, don't cry." Loosening her hold, he turned around and wrapped his left arm around her shoulders while placing his right hand on her head. He buried his nose in her sweet scented hair and held her tight to his chest. "I'm sorry."

"I don't understand," Neo said pulling away from him a bit. She turned her glassy tinted eyes up to him. "You've used these powers for so long. You're a master of them now. So why won't you use them on me? I know you want to went I'm injured."

Law stared into her eyes. Her loving, trusting eyes were full of worry and questions. He knew he should just tell her. He knew he had to tell her. He just wasn't sure how to do that. Growing up a pirate never allowed for weakness to be shown. You had to be tough to survive. And he was. He managed to build up walls around him so that he could survive. He survived his family being killed, his town being destroyed, then Corazon being killed, breaking away from Doflamingo, starting his own pirate crew, becoming a warlord. He built up wall after wall so he would never show weakness to anyone. But somehow this blue haired young woman had broken through all of that. She had broken into his soul far deeper than anyone ever had. She had become his love, his life, his everything. She was able to peer into his mind and soul like no other would ever possibly be able to. She was the one he told everything to, all of his secrets had become hers. Yet he was still trying to hide this from her. He tightened his hold on her, pulling her back to his chest. Forcing the words out of his mouth, he admitted it. "I'm scared, Neo."

"Of what?" Neo asked softly. She rested her head over his heart and listened to its soothing melody.

"Of hurting you," Law whispered.

Now more confused than before, she lifted off his chest. Kneading her eyebrows at him. "What do you mean? You'll never hurt me."

Law sighed. He gathered his thoughts, trying to figure out the best way to put this without causing any misunderstandings or hurting her. "I don't ever what to hurt you. And you know that I never intentionally will hurt you. It's just…I've used these powers for bad things. I've hurt and killed so many people with them. I just don't want to do that to you, even by accident."

"So that's why you're so afraid to use them on me," Neo muttered back.

Law nodded. His entire mind and body opened up to her then.

She could feel the thick pressure of his worry settling in her chest. It felt like she was looking into an abyss that was solid black. "I think I understand. It's kind of like when I was afraid to use my crystals. I didn't want to hurt you or the crew. But back then we were more like captain and subordinate. We weren't lovers who are bonded like we are now. We're more connected and so the fear of hurting each other is more far worse than it was back then."

"I'm sorry, love." Law stroked her hair then placed his hands on her hips.

Neo shook her head. "Don't be. This was something I should have known already. But you know you don't have to be afraid of hurting me with your powers. I know you won't. You know you won't. You're just lacking in confidence. If I had to guess, some of it probably stems from me being poisoned on Luminous. You were unfamiliar with that type of poison from the Nightthorn Jessamine. That was the first time you've encountered a situation like that since Corazon first gave you the Op Op fruit, huh?"

"Yeah." Law nodded. "I was so terrified when Cora was hurt and I couldn't do anything for him because I was so new to my devil fruit. And then he died. I was right there. And I couldn't do anything to help him. I don't ever want that to happen again. I don't ever want to lose you to anyone."

"You won't, Law. I'm right here. And I'm not going anywhere. Okay? We'll work on this. We'll get you over this fear before we leave for Punk Hazard." Neo cupped his face. She brushed her thumb over his cheek before pulling him down into a kiss. She gave him a firm kiss then a lighter one.

Following her silent request, Law slipped his tongue passed her lips. He slid his hands up and down her sides while exploring ever corner of her mouth as slowly as he possibly could. He then bent down so he could wrap his arms around her waist. Standing up with her in his hold, she wrapped her legs and arms around him. Tilting her head, she pushed his tongue back into his mouth so she could explore him for a while. He smiled into their kiss.

Keeping their lips connected lightly, she asked. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Law panted.

His warm breath washed over her lips making her want to kiss him more. So she did. She pushed her tongue back into his mouth and twirled around his.

He could only finish answering her question when she broke for air. "I just love it when my shy, quiet lover becomes more dominant when we kiss."

"Really?" Neo pulled back so she could look at him. She tilted her head curiously. "You want me to be more dominant?"

"Only if you feel like it." Law nodded. Feeling her back twinge in pain, he slipped his right hand between her shoulder blades and started to press his fingers into her, making her tense. He then walked her over to their bed. "I know it can feel a bit awkward when stepping out of your comfort zone. It's a bit odd for me to let you take the lead sometimes. But I adjust after a while. And I'm really starting to like it."

"Hm." Neo hummed while Law sat her down on their bed. As she spoke, he slipped off his boots. "I'm getting the feeling, especially since you're hiding part of your thoughts from me, that this conversation has a more sexual meaning to it than you're letting on with your words."

"It might." Law smirked. He opened the nightstand draw and pulled out the healer's cream.

Neo released a frustrated huff. "Just a little bit longer. This is torture."

"Don't worry, love. We are  _extremely_  close to finally being married," Law said sitting down on the bed. He leaned over to her and nibbled on her ear.

"And then no more hiding these thoughts from me?" Neo asked while trying not to get distracted from the pleasure he was giving her. "You'll be an open book about them?"

"Once we get sexual active," Law said. He worked his way from her ear to her neck. She gasped when he reached her soft spot. He smiled when he felt her melting into his touch. "But not before then. And when we start sharing those thoughts, I'll take it slow. I don't want you to get over heated. Now, take off your shirt so I can take care of you."

Neo whimpered. "But you're doing so well as you are."

Law chuckled. "I know. But this is about your back not about me giving you a love bite."

"And, yet, you keep sucking m-hn-neck," Neo moaned when he sucked harder on her tender skin. She reached up for his black locks and, knocking his hat to the bed, she raked her fingers through his tresses. "Are you sure you want me to take off my shirt while you're like this?"

"Yes. I'm switching into Doctor Mode," Law mumbled. He then pulled away from her, earning a pout. He pecked her pouty lips once more. "Now, off with your shirt."

"Yes,  _Doctor Trafalgar_ ," Neo snapped playfully with a grin. Pulling her legs under her, she then slipped both his hoodie and her tank top over her head, fully aware of his eyes slowly roaming over her white bra, breasts, and curves. She snickered at his thoughts of wanting to kiss every part of her exposed skin. "So much for  _Doctor Mode_."

"Don't get sassy with me. I said,  _switching into Doctor Mode_. I didn't say I was already there," Law said with pink cheeks. He poked her in the ribs causing her to squeak. "Now lay down,  _patient_."

"You're the one who thought that," Neo said. Crawling up to her pillow, she hugged it as she laid down on their bed. She looked over her shoulder and winked at him. "I'm ready,  _Doctor Trafalgar_."

Law chuckled and shook his head. Moving his own position, he scooted closer to her. He sat the jar down on his bed and unlatched her bra then carefully laid the straps out of the way. He picked up the jar and twisted its lid off. He dipped three fingers into the lavender scent cream before placing the jar back on his bed. He then smeared the cream between Neo's shoulder blades and started working it into her skin with deep, slow kneads and rubs. He smile when she gave off a moan of pleasure as the stiffness in her back immediately released. Once the cream was worked into her skin he repeated the process two more times before feeling satisfied that her back was now back to normal. He then proceeded to massage her entire back and shoulders while trying not to think about how she was almost topless before him. Slowly, he could feel his  _Doctor_   _Mode_  giving way to his fleshly desires of wanting to flip her onto her back, ripping her bra off completely and clamping his mouth around one of her mounds, then the other one, until he got her into a moaning mess. He put up a shield around his thoughts, hoping she was to distracted by how good his massage felt to notice where his thoughts had went, without his permission no less.

"Hey, Law?" Neo asked, pulling his from his guarded thoughts before he could actually enact his little fantasy.

"Yes?" Law asked back, trying not to let his face flush from his thoughts.

"I've been thinking about something Ren said."

"Oh?" Law raised an eyebrow.

"Do you think it's possible that we Elementals can do far more than what we think we can?" Neo asked.

"What do you mean?" Law questioned, confused. His hands paused on her back. They remained in place as she rolled over onto her back.

"Well, Ren was clearly more powerful than any other Elemental back on Luminous, even Tao who is also a dual element. She did make a good point in how the Elementals have done nothing but live a life of peace on Luminous, with the exception of being taken over the darkness crystal." Neo tucked her right hand behind her head while placing her left hand on Law's, which was now on her bare stomach.

"Neo, what are you getting at?" Law asked. He kneaded his eyebrows at her.

"Well, Ren's magic was off the charts, take my word for it. I have all four of the element crystals and I had so much trouble taking her down. I know I'm still not that strong."

Law tilted his head in a way that said 'You're wrong'.

She shook her head. "You know I'm right. I do lack a lot. I'm still not as experienced as everyone else. You've been fighting pretty much your entire life. I've only been doing it for about two years. I still have a long ways to go. But I can't help but wonder if there's more to my magic and crystals than the Elementals back on Luminous even know. Ren adapted to the New World because she had no choice in using her magic. Back on Luminous, the Elementals don't. Sure they use their magic some, but not like they would out here in the human world."

"Are you saying…?" Law's voice trialed off.

"I'm asking…" Neo paused. She bit her bottom lip before continuing. "Do you think it's possible for my magic to… _evolve_  in some kind of way? Or that maybe  _I_  will evolve in some kind of way? Right now I can transform into the elements and I still have my conscious about me. But what if I turned into some kind of creature that's beyond that? Beyond human or Elemental thought? Maybe something more Elemental, but also less?"

Law's body temperature dropped at the thought of Neo becoming something else. His hand clasped around hers. She curled her fingers around his hand when she felt him tremble. He asked, "Did…did you have some kind of dream about this?"

"No." Neo shook her head. "It's just a thought and possibly a feeling. I could be wrong. Ren just got me thinking, that's all. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you like that."

"It's okay." Law brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. "Your questions are justified. But I don't want you to worry about it.  _If_  it comes to that, we'll deal when it happens."

Neo nodded again. "So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Right. I almost forgot." Law released her hand so he could recap the jar of cream. He tossed it back into the nightstand drawer and closed it. He turned back to her. "We're adding in another cook."

"What?" Neo asked flatly. Her eyebrows narrowed slightly and the corner of her lips pulled down into a light frown. Keeping her eyes locked onto Law's, she shot up into a sitting position, forgetting that her bra was undone. The cotton fabric fell down her arms.

"Relax, love," Law said. Though he didn't look directly, he did notice her bra falling from his peripheral vision. This caused his heart to skip a few beats. "I'm doing this for you."

"Oh?" Neo crossed her arms. "How so?"

"Because when we're married you're not always going to have time to cook as much as you do," Law said, struggling to keep eye contact with her.

"And why not?" Neo asked, her eyebrows and frown narrowing more.

"Because," Law drawled while leaning into her neck.

She instantly tensed when he nipped and licked her neck.

"There are going to be a lot of times when you are busy preforming wifely duties. And you know the crew won't want to cook every single meal each time that happens."

"Hm…hn…" Neo moaned and tilted her head, giving him better access to her neck. He ran his hand up her right side, kneading her flesh with his fingers and palm. "M-maybe…but it better be a guy. No other woman, hn, is allowed to cook for, ah, my babies, especially my bonded."

Law growled against her neck before sucking hard on her soft spot. He mumbled into her skin, "Of course, love. The new cook will meet your approval before setting food into the galley or on the ship. And the crew are  _not_  our babies."

"They  _are_  to," Neo insisted. She reached up and tugged on a lock of his hair.

Obediently, Law lifted from her neck and captured her lips with his. After two minutes of intense tongue wrestling, Law trailed kisses away from her mouth and across her neck while she pulled him with her as she laid back on the bed. She panted softly as he made his way across her neck and over the top part of her chest. His hands trailed along her sides until he got high enough to brush his thumbs over the sides of her breasts.

She tilted her head back, moaning from the pleasure he was giving her. She smiled. "So are we going to do what you were thinking a few minutes ago?"

Law pulled back from her with wide eyes and a flushed face.

She giggled at his fire red cheeks. Tilting her head innocently, she asked, "What? It's not sex, right? And you want to, don't you? And, you know, you're so very cute and very sexy when you blush!"

The two slipped into a silent stare. Neither read the others thoughts or feelings, but neither hid them either. Law let his eyes dropped down to her almost completely exposed chest. Leaning down, he placed a feather light kiss over her rapidly beating heart. He pressed a firmer kiss over her heart when her breathing increased. He could feel she was divided on actually doing what he had thought about doing. At this point, he was divided on it as well. He placed a couple more kissed over her heart and thought about how far he wanted to go.

"Please, Law? Just once?" Neo whispered softly.

With hesitation, Law began to place light kisses over her chest until he got to her medium-small size breast, tugging the fabric out of the way and took her into his mouth with one gentle suck.

She gasped at the shocking, yet frightening, pleasure detonating in her body. She clenched her eyes tight and started to tremble.

Law quickly released her. Slipping his hand behind her back, he pulled them both up into a sitting position. She clung to his shirt while he fixed her bra back into its correct position. He then wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"No." Neo shook her head. Her voice was slightly shaking, but the small amount of fear that had risen in her was gone. "I asked you to do that. And it was nice. A little scary, yes, but very nice. I liked it. You're not upset that I asked you to do that, are you?"

"Of course not," Law said with a sigh. He held her for a while before a deep chuckle vibrated against her chest.

"What's so funny?" Neo pulled back from him.

"I was just thinking about how much of a natural tease you are." He took her face in his hands. Brushing his thumbs over cheeks, he tilted his head and smirked.

"I am?" Neo blinked.

"You are. I never would have guess it back when you first came to live with us that would you have just a natural gift in teasing me so much." Law kissed her forehead.

"And that's a good thing?" Neo asked.

"Yes. But it's  _only_  for  _me_ ," Law said in a warning tone. "You  _may not_  tease any other man like you tease me. Not even the crew."

"You know I won't." Neo smiled. "I can only do this to do because we are bonded. I trust you on such a deep level. My body, my thoughts, the things we share and are going to be sharing, are only for you."

"Good." Law pecked her lips then suddenly pushed off the bed.

"Hey!" Neo, disappointed and confused, whined as she watched Law walk away from her. "Where are you going?!"

"To take a very, very,  _very_  cold shower," Law said without stopping or looking back at her half dressed state as he entered into the bathroom. He smiled when he felt her confusion and disappointment shifted into a humorous, bell filled laughter. He walked over to the shower, turned on the cold water, and stepped under the falling water without bothering to take off his clothes. He let the cold water rush over his clothed body while dropping his forehead multiple times on the shower wall. "How is it possible such a shy, timid girl could be such a tease? Cursed hormones. We seriously need to get married before I lose control completely."

…

Tapping his finger in deep thought, Doflamingo stared at the transponder snail that he knew wasn't going to ring. She was dead after all, confirmed in today's newspaper. He pulled his eyes from the silent snail and looked down at all the gathered newspaper articles he had on  _her_ , old and new. They were scattered on the round table in his room, along with her bounty poster that had her now frozen bounty of forty million beli on it. He ran his eyes over them again and again. Carefully taking in each and every word about her.

He looked at the titles of the articles:

- _New Heart Pirate. Law's Lady?-_

_-A Child Pirate?-_

_-Crystal Elements, A New Kind of Devil Fruit?-_

_-Who is She? How Old is She?-_

_-Heart of the Elements Strikes Again!-_

_-Trafalgar Law, Warlord! Female Subordinate Named!-_

He then dropped his eyes to the articles themselves, noticing, and studying carefully all the similarities in them:

" _I could believe it when I saw her! She was nothing but_ _a child_ _!"_

" _That new Heart Pirate is_ _a child_ _. Who lets a kid run around like that?"_

" _Who let's_ _a child_ _have a devil fruit, anyway? What_ _kind of devil fruit_ _is it? Is it really a paramecia?"_

" _I'm not sure, but she_ _didn't_ _really_ _seem human_ _to me. I could_ _see something_ _while_ _using my observation haki_ _. It was like_ _her spiri_ _t was_ _different_ _from everyone else's."_

" _There's_ _something odd_ _about her. It was like she_ _wasn't human_ _. There was_ _something od_ _d about that_ _other female crewmate_ _too."_

" _What kind of crystals are those? Does anyone know how powerful she is? She's_ _controlling the elements_ _after all. But she_ _doesn't seem all that strong_ _._ _Is it a trick?_ _"_

" _She seemed almost_ _hesitant to attack_ _. She_ _seemed more playful_ _than anything else."_

" _I couldn't believe it when she just_ _turned and flew away_ _. She_ _could have killed_ _me, but she didn't. She didn't seem all that into fight. It's like she_ _doesn't have an aggressive streak_ _in her at all, unlike other pirates. She's really_ _like a child_ _."_

" _She_ _only became aggressive when I attacked her crewmate_ _."_

" _New Warlord, Trafalgar Law's blue haired female crewmate is named_ _ **Neo**_ _. She's twenty-one years old and hails from the Grand Line. Topaz, the other female crewmate, is said to be her older sister."_

Shifting his hand, he started tapping his finger over her name on her bounty poster. Neo. His eyes ran over her name and her crystals for a solid ten minutes before he pushed himself out of his chair. He walked over to his closet and jerked the doors open. Squatting down he starting moving boxes, shoes, and lazily thrown in clothes out of the way until he found what he was looking for. Tucked away in the back of his closet, almost forgotten, was a small wooden treasure chest just slightly bigger than his hand. He pulled it out and walked back over to his chair. Slamming the chest down on the table, he dropped into his chair. With a deep, thoughtful frown, he stared at the chest for a good while before opening it. He reached in and pulled out the only item inside. With his left hand behind his head, he dangled the item in front of his eyes while leaning back into his chair. A sadistic, predatory grin spread across his lips as a deep, guttural laugh bubbled up from inside of him and spread out over his room as he watched the diamond shaped, silver pendant with four mysterious crystals embedded in it and the three-letter name engraved in the center swing back and forth in front of his eyes.


	69. Married

Married

Neo pulled down the sleeves of Law's black and yellow hoodie then crossed her arms over her chest when a cold shiver ran down her spine. Walked down the halls of the sub heaviness settled in her chest and her face growing warm. Pausing at the rec. room door, she peered inside of it. Her eyes went directly to a crewmate that was sprawled out on one of the couches taking a nap. She couldn't help but feel a bit envious of him. Sleeping sounded really good right now to her. She had to force herself to look away from him when the over whelming desire to flip her crewmate off the couch with her crystals penetrated her mind. She looked to the others who were in the room. Shachi, Penguin, Bepo, Tero, and Jean Bart were sitting at the table playing poker, chatting low enough that she couldn't hear what they were saying and occasionally nibbling on the snacks they had scattered around the table.

Bepo then spotted her. He smiled at her bring their whispered conversation to a sudden stop.

She raised an eyebrow at them. "What are you all doing?"

"Playing poker!" Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo squeaked while holding up their cards looking as guilty as the day is long.

"Neo, come," Law said.

Neo pulled her eyes from her  _not so innocent_  boys and looked at Law when he beckoned her. The surgeon was on the other couch reading a book. He didn't even look up when he called her. She wasn't sure where the rest of the crew was at the moment. They were being somewhat secretive these past couple of days as they whispered to each other and would stop when she came near them. With another shiver washing over her body, she entered into the room and went right over to Law. When close enough, he lifted his left arm up for her. She sat down and immediately pulled her feet upon the couch and curled up against his side. She laid her left arm over his abs while tucking her right arm between them so she could absorb his warmth.

Law, feeling the heaviness inside of her, pressed his lips to her forehead. His eyebrows narrowed when his suspicions were confirmed. "You're warm. You might be coming down with something. You're a bit flushed too."

"I'm cold," Neo whimpered softly while curling more into him, unaware of the concerned looks the crew was giving their captain and her.

"There you are!" Topaz said before anyone else could say anything more. She bounced into the room with a smile. Her enthusiasm faded when she noticed Neo's pinkish cheeks and her position against Law. "I've been trying to catch up to you. Are you feeling okay? You look a bit ill."

"She might be coming down with a cold or something," Law answered.

Topaz eyes flashed with worry.

"Did you need something, Topaz?" Neo asked, lifting her head off Law's shoulder.

"Well, I was going to ask if you would mind growing me some orange primrose flowers," Topaz replied. She took a few more steps into the room. "But if you're not feeling well…"

"It's fine. I can grow them," Neo said. She summoned an earth crystal and started growing the flowers. Sweet fragrance filled the air. "Uh, how many did you want? And what do you want them for?"

"I think fifty will be more than enough," Topaz said thoughtfully. "Actually, that might be a bit much, but I might mess up on the c-"

"Topaz! Have a cookie!" Bepo jumped up from the table and stuffed a chocolate chip cookie in the Elemental's mouth.

"Hm?" Neo tilted her head. She blinked multiple times in confusion at the bear. "Bepo, why did you do that?"

"I'm sorry," Bepo said, ducking his head in a grey aura.

"Never mind him!" Penguin shouted as he and Shachi slid into Neo's view, blocking Bepo and Topaz from her. "He just wanted to share a cookie with her! You know we all love your cookies!"

"That's right!" Shachi nodded rapidly. He held up a cookie in his fingers. "And this batch of cookies seem extra delicious this time around! You really out did yourself!"

"Hm." Neo hummed softly. She carefully took her brothers and sister in with kneading eyebrows.

Bepo carefully lifted his eyes back up, Topaz shifted from foot to foot, Penguin and Shachi were still gushing over her cookies, the crewmate on the couch had woken up, lightly coughed and looked away from her while Jean Bart and Tero just sat at the table, picking at their cards and snacks.

Neo shivered and tucked back against Law with another suspicious hum. Her eyes pulled back to him when he cleared his throat.

"Neo, if you are done with the flowers, I'm going to take you to our room," Law said closing his book. He tucked it between him and the couch arm. "If you are getting sick, I want you in bed right now. We'll need to get you something to stop the fever too."

"I'm done," Neo said.

Topaz walked up to the earth crystal and gathered the bundle into her arms before rushing out of the room with them. "Thank you, Neo."

"Uh, sure thing," Neo replied in confusion at the woman's fast exit. "What's going on?"

"Nothing!" Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin shrieked.

"Neo," Law said in a warning tone, pulling her attention from the crew. He turned his body towards her. He put one arm behind her back and the other under her knees before standing up with her in his hold. "Bed. Now."

"But, Law," Neo protested, "the crew's acting strange again."

"No arguing. If you are getting sick, I want to nip this in the bud," Law said. He then headed for the rec. room door.

"The captain's right," Penguin said with a wave. "You should go to bed early. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Neo," the crew chorused.

"Fine. Goodnight, boys," Neo said reluctantly. She wrapped her arms around Law's shoulders and watched the crew disappear from her eyes.

Once the two were out of the rec. room and far enough down the hall, Tero shook his head at the display that just happened. He narrowed his eyes at Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo. "Smooth, guys. Real smooth. You're lucky she's sick and is not really comprehending what's going on here."

"Can remain calm under the stresses of battle, but can't keep their cool when keeping a secret," Jean Bart mumbled while glaring at the three younger men and bear. He popped another cookie in his mouth and chewed.

"We're sorry. We'll try harder in the future," Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo chorus while hanging their heads.

…

Neo released a tired sigh then turned her eyes into his neck. She shivered and nuzzling into him. She said, "All right, I'm getting sick. I just want to sleep."

"Good girl. Before that let's get you some medicine," Law said. He turned into the medical bay to get her some medicine to try and help stop her oncoming fever. Once inside, he sat her down on his chair, earning a whimper from her from having to separate from him. With a soft chuckle, he kissed her warm forehead then dropped his hat onto her head before walking over to his medical supplies. He grabbed a bottle of liquid acetaminophen, plus a spoon, and walked back over to her. Pouring the liquid into the spoon, he gave it to her then returned the bottle to the cabinet and laid the spoon in the sink to wash later. He then walked back over to her, scooped her back into his arms, and carried her downstairs to their room.

Once inside their room, he laid her down on his side of the bed. He took his hat from her head and placed it on the nightstand before turning back to her. She lifted her body up for him when he tugged on the covers. When she had settled onto his pillow, she grabbed and tugged on his sleeve. Pouching out her bottom lip, she asks, "Will you lay with me for a while? Please?"

"Okay." Chuckling at her childlike cuteness, Law kicked off his boots. She scooted over for him to lie down beside her. He held up his arm for her to come to him. He wrapped his left arm around her shoulders while placing his right hand on her back to rub it. "Better?"

"Much better," Neo said, snuggling into him. With a giggle, she added, "I really love my Surgeon of Snuggles!"

"Surgeon of Snuggles?" Law asked with one eyebrow raised. He paused his back rub to poke her in the ribs.

"You are!" Neo squeaked. She snuggled back into him when he went back to rubbing her back. She peered up at him with a sleepy gaze. He stared back at her with a soft gaze of his own. "You are my Surgeon of Snuggles. You always give them to me, especially when I need them. I don't think I've ever told you this, but I really love how you always  _show_  me that you love me. I also love when you  _tell_  me you love me, but there's just something more…special and powerful behind your actions of showing me out you feel." She paused to cover a yawn. She looked back up at him and continued, "I think it might have to do with how you treated me when you found me. You showed me that I could trust you because that's what you knew I needed. And it really means a lot that you do that. Don't ever stop."

"I won't, love," Law said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He tightened his hold around her. "I promise. You should sleep now. Okay?"

"Okay." Neo nodded against his chest. Her eyes closed to the rhythmic rubs he did on her back. In less than a minute, she had fallen sound asleep for him.

Law stayed with her for a few more minutes before carefully slipping out of her hold. He tucked the covers around her, pecked her temple, and then slipped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him. With his hands in his pockets, he made his way back to the rec. room.

Bepo was the first to speak up when the captain arrived. He asked, "Is she really getting sick? Does she suspect anything? Did we goof?"

"She might possibly be getting sick. It might just be a twenty-four hour thing, however," Law replied. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "I'll know more tomorrow when she get's up. And I don't think she was conscious enough to make any connections with what's going on."

"That's good. At least she'll have tomorrow to rest. We'll be arriving at the next island tomorrow too," Bepo said. "She'll want to get off the sub. Do you think you can keep her inside all day?"

"I know I can keep her inside all day. All I have to do is order her to do it. And, for extra measures to make sure she does, I'll threaten to take away her books and her cooking privileges. So don't worry about it. I'll make sure she stays in bed and drinks plenty of fluids." Law nodded. "It'll be fine."

"That's good," Penguin said with a nod. "We can actually use that. You can order her to stay in bed tomorrow while we put the finishing touches on everything."

"And we'll be able to make the cake a whole lot easier without her running around the sub," Shachi added. "It's a good thing we added another cook then. I'm not sure our cooking skills are good enough to make a cake suitable for a wedding."

"It doesn't matter. You know Neo doesn't care about things like that," Law said.

"She might not, but we do!" Shachi and Penguin shouted. "This is your  _wedding_  we're talking about, Captain!"

"So what?" Tero asked. He draped his left arm over the back of his chair and gave the two ranting men a frown. "The captain and Neo already told us that this was just going to be a simple wedding. There's no point in putting a ton of pointless effort into something they don't want. Besides, it's all about keeping Neo calm during the ceremony. Right?"

"You're right," Shachi and Penguin conceded. "But we're still going to make this memorable."

"Of course you are." Tero grinned.

"So how are you feeling in all of this, Captain?" Jean Bart then asked.

Law raised his eyes to the large man.

"Are you nervous? You're getting married in two days. Your nerves must be sky rocketing," Jean Bart said.

"Of course he's not nervous," Shachi said, plopping down on the couch. "This is the captain we're talking about here. He'll be as cool as ever."

"He's right. You don't hardly ever get nervous about anything," the crewmate said. He sat back against the couch and gave Law a suggestive smirk. "I'm positive you're not one bit nervous about getting married, but your nerves are probably shaking like a leaf in a wind storm about the wedding night. I'm sure you have that all planned out in your head."

Law stiffened and stifled a growl when his crew suddenly took in a great interest in his love life with Neo.

"Enough!" Penguin shouted. "No one is allowed to discuss such private matters! What's wrong with you all?!"

"What's the matter, Penguin?" Shachi questioned with a huge grin. "With the exception of the captain, we've all talk about our love lives before."

"This is different!" Penguin screeched, his teeth gnashing wildly. "This is  _my baby sister_  we're talking about here! I don't want any of you perverts asking such questions or making such remarks from this point on! If the captain and Neo want to talk about it with us then they can! But  _only_  if they choose to do so!"

"She's our little sister too!"

"Okay! Okay! We won't talk or tease them about it!"

"Yeah right!" Penguin snapped.

Law shook his now throbbing head with a sigh before leaving the rec. room. He didn't want to hear anymore of this. He paused when Bepo called after him. "Hey, Captain!"

"What is it?" Law turned back to the bear.

"I was just wondering, if you don't mind me asking," Bepo stammered a bit.

Law blinked a bit in confusion at why his best friend, to which he's known for several years, was suddenly shy around him.

"How are you feeling? I mean I know marriage is a big deal. And usually family is involved…and since, well, you know…"

"You're wondering if I'm upset that my family isn't here to witness this," Law surmised.

"Yeah." Bepo nodded. "I'm also a bit worried, I guess. This is a big step. And I know you have your concerns despite not voicing them to anyone."

"I suppose it does bother me a bit when I think about how my family isn't here to see this." Law pressed his back to the wall with a sigh. "Then I think about how her family isn't here either. We're both in the same situation. But we both have you and the rest of the crew. Neo sees us all as her family. And in this situation…I do too."

Bepo tilted his head with Law mumbled those last three words. He noticed his captain's cheeks were tinted pink, but wisely remained quiet on the subject. He continued to remain quiet when he noticed his captain's eyes softening with worry.

"I'm nervous, Bepo."

"About what exactly?" Bepo asked quietly.

Law stared down at the floor. The hum of the sub's engines, and the distant chattering of the crew, passed between the two for a couple minutes before Law spoke up again. He ran his hands through his black locks. "I'm nervous that I'm not going to be a good enough husband for her. I'm worried that I'm going to mess up and make mistakes."

"What are you talking about, Captain?" Bepo asked, confused. "You've done a wonderful job with her. Being married to her really isn't going to change all that much. You two are practically married already anyway."

Law chuckled. He started off talking at a normal speed, but his words then came fast and started to get jumbled up. "I suppose we kind of are already married. But I'm still worried. Since my parents were killed I never really had a role model on how a husband should act with his wife. I remember some things my dad did for my mom, but…I just don't know what exactly it is I'm suppose to do. All I've known for years is how to be a pirate. In the long run, how is that going to affect her? Will she still be glad she married me years down the road? Will she regret it? Will I regret it? Are we rushing into this? Maybe we should wait a little bit longer. She might not be ready yet. I might not be ready yet. Maybe I'm not ready yet since I'm having doubts now. And-"

Bepo clamped his hand down on Law's shoulder when the worried captain started talking far too fast for him to understand.

Law stopped talking and looked up at Bepo.

"Captain, calm down. It's all going to be just fine. I just know it."

"And how do you now that?" Law questioned. "I'm the one getting married and I don't even know that."

"I know you're going to be just fine because of what all you two have already been through. You know that you two are meant to be together. And I also know that you'll be fine because of all these feelings and second guesses you're having," Bepo said encouragingly. "I'd be worried about you if you  _didn't_  have these feelings. You already know what you need to do. You've been doing it for a little over two years now. Just keep doing what you've already been doing. You both will be just fine. And the crew's here to back you two up like always."

"Thanks, Bepo." Law smiled.

"Anytime, Captain." Bepo nodded with a smile of his own.

…

"But I feel fine. Why can't I go outside? I want to explore the tropical forest," Neo complained from the porthole. She glanced out at the thick, green trees and bushes, the colorful flowers and wildlife that passed by then looked back at Law who was leaning against the wall by the door. "It's so big. And there are animals here that I haven't seen before. I think I saw a parrot. It's warm outside too. It's not like I was really sick or anything. It was just a small cold."

"I still want you to rest for today." Law pushed off the wall and walked over to her. He pecked her temple then guided her back over to their bed. "You can go out tomorrow and explore. We're not leaving this island anytime soon. Why don't you send a message to Red Hair Shanks that you want to talk to him tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Neo crawled onto the bed then tilted her head in confusion. "I know I haven't talk to him in a while, but why wait until tomorrow?"

"He's probably busy right now. It'll be best if you just sent him the message you want to talk to him before actually meeting up with him in your dream world," Law replied.

"I usually do that," Neo said thoughtfully. "But I really don't have anything to tell him. I already told him weeks ago that you're now a warlord, he knows about my training, and you don't really want me to tell him you're afraid of using your powers on me. And, speaking of which, when are you going to use your powers on me?"

Law twitched when she gave him a pointed look.

She crossed her arms. " _Law._  We're leaving for Punk Hazard in  _two_  weeks. You have to do it before then."

"Don't worry about that right now. Just relax," Law said.

"You can't keep running away from this." Neo poked him in the chest.

"I'm not running. I'm preparing myself, mentally, for that," Law replied stiffly.

Neo sighed. "Fine. I'll give you a few more days. Then we are working on that. We still need to work more on my training too. It's easy to fight with you, but I'm still a bit too slow on executing my moves. And I still haven't figured out how to increase my attacks. I have to rely on them more than my own physical attacks until I can get more strength in my body."

"Well, you have all day to think about that." Law sat down on the bed. "We still have a little time before we leave. And we can always train some on Punk Hazard. It'll be good for you to train in Punk Hazard's harsh environments."

"I wonder how that island is going to affect me." Neo tapped her chin in thought.

"I don't think it'll bother you too much. It's an island of fire and ice now," Law said, adjusting the blanket around her hips. "You'll probably just have to adjust to it like always and then will be fine."

"Probably. I have gotten a bit stronger. I adjust a lot easer to new environments. At least the nature ones not so much with people." Neo sighed.

"You're doing just fine when dealing with new people. Now, is there anything else you need?" Law asked.

"You to cuddle with me." Neo smiled. "It's boring in here without you."

"I'm sorry about that. Right now, I have some things I need to take care of. I'll come cuddle with you later." Law chuckled when Neo pouted.

"What could be more important than cuddling with your bonded?" Neo asked, turning her eyes into round, innocent puppy dog ones. A smirk twitched at the corner of her lips when she felt Law faltering.

"Don't give me that look. I fall for it practically ever time," Law huffed.

"Why do you think I do it?" Neo smiled innocently.

"You know I would cuddle with you if I didn't have some things I really needed to take care of. Until then, I'll send some crewmates to entertain you while I'm busy. And you have your books," Law said. He grabbed one, which he brought to her earlier that day, off the nightstand. He bopped her on the head with it playfully. "If you need anything else, ask one of the crew to get it. I don't want you out of this room until tomorrow. Do you understand me?"

"Okay. I'll stay in bed for you." Neo took the book and placed it on her lap. "Happy?"

"Yes," Law said. He kissed her forehead then her lips before pulling away from her.

Neo sighed as she watched him exit their room. Once the door was closed, she followed him, through their bond, heading for Topaz's room. She hummed in curious thought at what he could possible have to do that involved her before shrugging it off. He has, after all, asked Topaz to run errands for him before. That's probably all he was doing now. She then closed her eyes and sent a message to her godfather that she wanted to meet with him soon. When the message was sent, she opened her eyes then her book and settled into reading.

…

Reaching his destination, Law knocked on the fire Elemental's door.

A few seconds later, Topaz cracked it open and carefully peaked out. "Captain?"  
"How's it going?" Law asked.

"It's almost finished," Topaz replied, pushing the door opened a little bit more. "Would you like to see it?"

"No. I'll wait until tomorrow," Law said with a shake of his head.

"What about the rest of the preparations?" Topaz asked.

"They're almost done as well. I'm heading into town right now to put some finishing touches on my end of everything," Law said.

"And is Neo going to behave herself and actually stay in your room?" Topaz asked.

"I believe she'll stay put. I had her call for Red Hair so she can meet up with him tomorrow," Law replied. "She didn't seem to think it was anything more than just a typical meeting with him."

"That's good. She'll love that she can see him tomorrow. Just be sure to explain why you wanted her to meet with him." Topaz narrowed her eyebrows when they both hear a noise coming from down the hall. They looked to find it was only a couple crewmates. The crewmates waved at them before moving on their way. "And the cake?"

"It being decorated as we speak. They'll hid it in one of the men's quarters since Neo hardly ever goes in them." Law shoved his hands in his pockets. "And since we're anchored at this island until this matter is finished, we don't have to worry about the cake getting damaged. I'll warp it to the island before the ceremony."

"That's great. I forgot about your warping ability. I was wondering how we were going to get it off the sub without dropping it," Topaz said with a relieved sigh. "And what dress is she going to wear?"

"She's decided on wearing one of her white dresses she brought from Luminous. She also wants to wear Penguin's ribbon, but hasn't figured out how exactly she wants to wear it. She still hates having her hair up." Law chuckled. "I think I'll leave that up to you and Neo to figure out."

Topaz tapped her chin in thought. "I'm sure I can think of a way for her to wear it where it won't be in the way and won't cause her discomfort."

"That'll be fine. I'll be going now." Law turned and headed back down the hall.

"Hey! What exactly are you doing in town? I thought you already talked to the preacher about Neo and how she's the only one of you two who's going to wear a ring and about the location of the ceremony when we arrived this morning and how you're not wearing a tux and all," Topaz called after the retreating captain. "What else is there left to do?"

Law tossed the Elemental a smirk over his shoulder. Without a word to her, he disappeared around the corner.

"What is that man up to? All well." Topaz closed her door.

…

The next day Neo shifted as she started to wake up from her slumber. She yawned and stretched out her arms before realizing something was amiss. Shooting up in bed with a startled gasp, she realized what it was. Law wasn't in the room or anywhere in the sub. "Law! Law, where are you?!"

_'It's all right, love. I'm still here. I'm out on the island. Sorry I couldn't be there when you woke up. Did you have a bad dream? I didn't feel it.'_

"No." Neo rubbed the heel of her hand in her eyes. "It's just…you're always here when I wake up. And you weren't. Then I didn't sense you on the sub. It scared me."

_'I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare you.'_

"It's okay," Neo relented. "You contacted me right away, but don't ever do that again."

_'I won't.'_

"What are you doing outside of the sub? You're not fighting. Or are you?!" Neo asked, her anxiety rising as she focused in on where Law was. She noticed he wasn't too far off from the sub, but since this was a new island, she wasn't sure exactly where he was.

 _'No, love, I'm not fighting. I do want you to put your dress on and come meet me after you drink your juice that's waiting in the galley for you.'_  Law said, feeling her heart beat slowing back down.

"Dress?" Neo looked down to her right. There lying on the bed was one of her white dresses she had brought from Luminous and on top of it was her ribbon. She reached over and ran her hand over the smooth fabric of the dress. "You want me to wear a dress? Law, what's going on?"

_'Just put it on and go to the galley. Hurry up now. We don't have much time.'_

"Okay." Neo gathered up the items and scooted off the bed. Starting down at them in confusion, she didn't even bother looking at her family pictures before disappearing into the bathroom. A couple minutes later, she was dressed and stared at herself in the mirror. She tilted her head with a soft sigh. She never would get use to how different she looked in dresses. It was a dress with spaghetti straps that hugged her chest while the pleated skirt flowed down to her knees. She plucked her ribbon off the sink and headed for the galley.

While walking down the oddly quiet hall, she noticed the entire sub seemed void of any of her family. "Hm. I guess they're on the island as well. I wonder what they're doing."

She then entered into the galley where a medium size glass of apple juice was waiting for her. Beside it was a little note that read:  _Drink this then go out onto the deck_. She studied the note while drinking down the apple juice. Once the juice was finished, she rinsed the glass out, placed it on the counter, and then headed for the deck. The door was already partly opened for her so she stepped right out into the warm, bright sunlight. She looked around in more confusion when she noticed the sub had been moved. They were no longer at the docks of the island. Instead the sub was tucked into a cove at a different part of the island. And the water was apparently deep enough to pull right up to the island.

Neo walked over to the edge of the sub and looked down. Penguin and Topaz were on the island dressed in different clothes than they usually were. Penguin was wearing a white button up shirt with an orange primrose sticking out of the pocket and black pants that seemed oddly out of place with his typical hat while Topaz was in a long, dark orange, slightly form hugging, dress and a orange primrose tucked in her hair above her right ear. They glanced up at her with big, bright smiles.

Penguin waved to her. "Hey! Come on down!"

"Okay," Neo said to herself. She summoned a wind crystal. With her hand holding down her dress, she lifted herself down to the island. She landed on the ground and looked at the two before her eyes dropped to something in Topaz's arms. The fire Elemental was holding something made of lace that was attached to a smooth silver circlet with the orange primroses Neo created two days ago. "What's going on? What is that thing?"

"Oh, you just look so beautiful!" Penguin cooed. He pressed his hands to his cheeks before stepping up to her. Pulling the ribbon from her hand, he wrapped it around her neck and tied it in place in a neat little bow. He then stepped aside for Topaz.

"Hold still now," Topaz ordered softly. She placed the circlet on Neo's head. Stepping behind the confused Elemental, she guided the lace down Neo's blue hair, fluffing and fussing over both the lace and Neo's hair until she got it to lie perfectly in place, flowing down to her hips.

While Topaz fluffed and fussed behind her, Penguin fluffed and fussed over her bangs in front of her.

Neo blinked. "Uh…what's going on? Where's Law exactly? I can sense him nearby. And where is the crew?"

"They're all waiting for you, Princess," Topaz replied. She stepped back in front of Neo and inspected hers and Penguin's work. "Do you think we need to do anything else?"

"No! It's perfect! I think she's as beautiful as ever!" Penguin said with a sigh. He then sniffled. "I think I'm going to cry!"

"Well, hold it in. We're not even there yet," Topaz said, elbowing the man beside her.

"Not there yet?" Neo asked.

"Come on!" Topaz and Penguin both said with their grins just as bright as the sun. They each took one of Neo's hands in theirs and lead her away from the sub. Getting the feeling no one was going to answer her questions, Neo allowed herself to be led to wherever it was these two were taking her. She pulled her eyes from them and took in their tropical surroundings. She wanted to fly off and explore this unfamiliar territory and wildlife, but obediently remained in her friends hold.

"Huh?" Neo pulled her eyes from the forest when she felt Law extremely close to her. Her eyes widened when she saw the rest of the crew as well as two men, one dressed in black clothes and a black collar with a little white just below his chin and the other dressed in regular clothes and holding a camera, she didn't know standing under the canopy of the forest. The crew, dressed in clothes similar to Penguin's, was lined up in two lines, but for one of their new crewmates who was sitting on a nearby rock with his guitar in his hands. Law and the two strangers were at the end of the line. Her confusion melted into shock when she noticed that Law was dressed in a black tux with three orange primroses tucked in his left breast pocket. "I know I keep asking this, but what is going on?"

"I think the captain will answer that when you get to him," Penguin said.

Neo looked at him in time to see him nod to the crewmate holding the guitar. Topaz then released her hold on Neo's hand, took a few steps in front of her, and started walking down the makeshift isle. Penguin squeezed Neo's hand when it started to tremble in his hold.

"Penguin, is this…?" Neo's voice trialed off when all Penguin could do is smile. This was her and Law's wedding. Next thing she knew, the crewmate was playing an unfamiliar tune, and Penguin was walking her down between the two lines of crewmates. Unsure what she should look at or even be doing, her eyes went everywhere. She scanned her blue orbs over the smiling crew, the surroundings, and the strangers until her eyes fell upon something she didn't see before. Now close enough, Neo noticed her two pictures of her parents, Shanks and Kailen were propped up on a small table near Law with a candle she assumed was the unity candle the crew talked about. She looked up at him. "Law?"

"I know pictures don't take the place of the actual people," Law said. "But it didn't feel right without them here. So I asked Topaz to open the case while you were sleeping."

"Law, this is…this is our…?" Neo started, but couldn't finish when her stomach began to spin.  _'I think I'm going to get sick.'_

' _Just breath, Neo. Everything will be fine. I'm right here.'_ Law nodded with a smile.

Without a word, Penguin kissed Neo on the cheek and released his hold on her to his captain then joined the rest of the crew.

Law took her hands in his and gave them a gentle squeeze.

Neo smiled as tears gathered in her eyes as both their hearts fluttered wildly.

Law then nodded at the man dressed in black.

Neo stole a quick glance at the man and noticed he was holding a book with the word  _Bible_  printed on the front.

The preacher cleared his throat and started talking. "Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses, to join Trafalgar Law and Neo in matrimony commended to be honorable among all; and therefore is not to be entered into lightly but reverently, passionately, lovingly and solemnly. Into this - these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together - let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

When no one objected the preacher continued, "Our Father, love has been Your richest and greatest gift to the world. Love between a man and woman which matures into marriage is one of Your most beautiful types of loves. Today we celebrate that love. May your blessing be on this wedding service. Protect, guide, and bless Trafalgar Law and Neo in their marriage. Surround them and us with Your love now and always. Amen. And now these two will take a moment to share their vows with each other."

Law squeezed Neo's hands. "I Law, take you Neo to be my wife, my partner in life, my one true love and my one true bonded. I will cherish our union, our bond and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live."

Neo took a slow, deep breath, thankful that Law spoke first so she could remember what she was supposed to say. "I Neo, take you Law to be my husband, my partner in life, my one true love and my one true bonded. I will cherish our union, our bond and love you more each day than I did the day before." Her voice cracked as she spoke. A couple tears dripped down her cheeks. Law gave her hands another squeeze. "I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live."

Once the vows were said the preacher spoke up again. "And now is the time for the exchanging of the rings. This part of the ceremony will be different as the bride is already wearing her ring due to circumstances that happened prior to this joyous occasion. But the groom would like for his bride to place his ring on his finger."

"Ring?" Neo said with alarm in her voice. "Law, we decided you weren't going to wear one."

"I know. But I don't have to wear it on my finger. It just didn't feel right. I want people to know that I'm serious about us," Law said. He reached into his pocket. When he pulled his hand out, he turned his fist over then opened it. Lying in his palm was a silver chain and a silver ring. Neo picked the ring up and inspected it. It was almost identical to hers. It had the same heart shape design on it but it didn't hold any gems like hers did. Her eyes shot to Law. He put the chain around his neck. "For today and during times on the sub, I'll wear the ring. When we have to fight I'll wear it around my neck or leave it on the sub for safe keeping."

"Oh, Law." Neo brushed her tears away only to have more fall.

"If you will please place the ring on his left ring finger then light the unity candle," the preacher said.

Neo nodded. Nervously, she took Law's hand and slid the ring on it. The bride and groom then stepped over to the unity candle.

Law picked up the match and lit it. He then took Neo's hand in his and they lit the candle together.

"By the power vested in me by Million Bells Island, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride," the preacher said.

Leaning down to Neo, Law pressed his lips to hers.

Neo closed her eyes and kissed him back to the cheers of the crew.

"I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Trafalgar Neo!" the preacher concluded.

The crew erupted in more cheers then rushed forward to congratulate the couple. Penguin wrapped Neo in his arms while crying. "I so ha-habby! Y-you finawe m-married! M-my widdle s-s-sistar is m-married!"

"Penguin," Neo said, trying not to cry more herself. She rubbed her hand over his back. Once he freed her from his iron grip, she received more hugs and kisses from the rest of the crew.

Law was content in watching her while receiving handshakes and back pats from the crew.

Bepo was the only one brave enough to actually hug the captain.

After that Law exchanged a few words with the preacher and the photographer while the crew dove right into the after party. They revealed the cake and rest of the prepared food to Neo. The cake was four tiers with white icing outlined in orange icing around the edges and had the left over primroses circling around the bottom of it. "So this is why you wanted all those flowers."

"Yes, your majesty." Topaz smiled. "Forgive me for not telling you the truth about it. Are you upset with me?"

"Not at all! This was wonderful! Thank you so much!" Neo threw her arms around the older woman. "You are a wonderful big sister! I love you! I love you all!"

"And we love you, Mrs. Trafalgar," Topaz replied.

"I really like the sound of that." Neo giggled and blushed. Just then Law walked over. She instantly turned to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You! You did such a wonderful job hiding this from me! But how dare you let me wake up without you there!"

"I'm sorry, love. It won't happen again." Law leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. He then pulled her away from Topaz and started swaying around with her in his arms.

"I didn't know you knew how to dance," Neo said, trying her best not to step on his feet even though she was way lighter than him and shoeless.

Law chuckled. "Well, there are still  _some_  things you don't know about me yet. We both are still learning about each other."

"I suppose your right," Neo replied.

They danced for several songs before Law pulled her to the side of their partying crew. They sat down beside each other. Law said, "Contact Red Hair."

"Huh?" Neo turned her shocked eyes up to him. "Right now? But we just-"

"Yes." Law cut her off with his finger to her lips. "I want you to go to him right now. When you get to him, tell him about this and that I want him to see you. He'll know why."

"Oh, um, okay then. If it's really okay and what you want," Neo said tilting her head.

"Go ahead, love." Law kissed her temple.

She nodded then closed her eyes and made her way to her shared dream world.  _A few seconds later, Neo arrived on the same island they always met at. She looked around at the bell shaped flowers until she felt his presence. She turned and smiled at him._

_His eyes widened while he looked her up and down. His eyes then shimmered as a bright smile spread across his lips. "I assume, considering the way you are dressed, that you and the little pirate surgeon finally got married?"_

" _Yes!" Neo squeaked with glee. She bounced happily before wrapping her arms around his waist. "I'm married! We're married! We finally got married! I'm so happy!"_

" _Well, congratulations, my child, my daughter!" Shanks said. He wrapped his arm around her and hugged her as tightly as he could without crushing her. "I'm glad you are so happy. But shouldn't you be with your husband and crew?"_

" _Law wanted me to come here," Neo said pulling back from him. "He was very insistent on me seeing you right now. And he said you would know why."_

" _I see." Shanks nodded._

" _See what?" Neo asked curiously._

" _At some weddings the bride and her father share what's called a father/daughter dance," Shanks replied. "I guess the little pirate surgeon didn't want you to miss out on that."_

" _Oh," Neo drawled. "Because you're my godfather. You are like a father to me."_

" _Correct." Shanks nodded. He then held out his hand to her. "May I?"_

" _Of course!" Neo nodded with a huge smile. She placed her hand in his. Shanks then guided her around in a special dance for a while before kissing her and insisting she return to her husband. "I'll miss you."_

" _I'll miss you too," Shanks said with another kiss to her forehead. "Give my best to that pirate husband of you. I'm going to go celebrate with my crew now too. They're going to love this."_

" _Give them my love. And don't you all drink a whole lot now," Neo said in a concerned, almost motherly like tone. She poked Shanks on his chest._

" _We won't," Shanks said before they both left that world._

Neo looked right up at Law when she returned. "You wanted me to dance with him because you know I see him as a father."

Law nodded.

Neo cupped his cheek and pulled him down into a kiss.

"Hey, hey!" Shachi then called. "There'll be plenty of time for that later! Let's cut the cake!"

"Yeah!" the crew cheered.

Neo then stood up. Pulling Law with her, the two made their way over to the cake. They cut it, shared a piece then Neo started dancing with the crew again.

Law was content to stand off to the side. He was leaning against a tree while he watched Neo and the crew dance around and celebrate their union. He went to bring his drink up to his lips when he suddenly felt a familiar presence beside him. The familiar presence placed his hand on Law's shoulder and whispered into his ear.  _"I'm proud of you, Law. You take very good care of her now. You hear me? If you don't, I'll come back from the dead and kill you."_

"Cora?!" Law gasped and turned around when the presence disappeared. He looked around, but found no sign of the man.

"Law!" Neo called out.

Law turned just as she plowed into him with a beautiful string of bell filled laughter.

Her laughing stopped when she noticed his expression. "What is it, Law? Is something wrong? You look a bit pale."

"No, love, nothing's wrong," Law said stroking her cheek. He smiled, thinking of how Corazon was somehow at their wedding. "Everything is prefect."

"Okay then." Neo smiled. "Let's dance some more!"

Law chuckled as she dragged him back to the crew.

…

Neo fanned out her hair while staring at herself in the mirror. Her stomach was turning like a whirlpool. Even though Law had said they weren't going to have sex on their wedding night, she was still nervous for some reason. Giving herself one more glance in the mirror, she turned and left the room. Just like always, Law greeted her with a kiss to the forehead when she exited the small room. He then entered into himself as she stepped over to her Luminous shelf. She stared at the pictures with a smile before climbing into bed.

A short time later, Law exited the bathroom, turned off the light, and joined her in their bed. She laid against his chest with a sigh.

"What is it, love?"

"I guess I'm still a bit confused on why we're not going to have sex tonight," Neo admitted. "I mean  _you_  want to. You've had so many sexual thoughts about me and this night."

"I know I have. You're just not ready yet. If you were, you would have already made your move."

"I might not be." Neo pushed herself up into a sitting position. "But you are. I can do it for you."

"No, Neo, this isn't about what  _I_  want," Law said sitting up himself. "This is about what  _you need_. And you need to wait until you are ready. Besides, I'm not as ready as you seem to think I am."

"What do you mean?"

"It's going to hurt you. You know I don't want that," Law said raking his fingers through her hair. "I don't ever want to hurt you. So I am perfectly fine with waiting until you are ready."

"But how will I know when I'm ready?" Neo mumbled.

"You'll just know. It's pretty much instinctual," Law replied. Putting his arm around her, he pulled her back down to the bed with him.

"You are so wonderful in being so patient with me. You really are the best." Neo brushed her thumb over his bare chest. She then tilted her head to look at him with narrowed eyebrows. "But we are going to do it eventually, right?"

Law chuckled. "Yes, love. Eventually, we will. For now, let's just enjoy this moment. We're married now."

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "We're married."


	70. Intimacy

Intimacy

"This is insane!" Archer shrieked. "We can't let her continue to do this!"

"I have to agree," Tero said. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyebrows. His eyes, as well as everyone else's, were locked onto Neo. "I know she's getting better at multitasking and insisted on doing this, but this is just too much. I don't care if she is a royal with all four elements at her command. She's going to get hurt doing this."

"Captain! Please make her stop!" Bepo cried, tears streaking down his worried, fuzzy face.

Law sighed internally. He wanted to do just that, but knew he had to let her continue. He also knew that at the very second he felt she couldn't take anymore, he would warp her out of this battle whether she objected to it or not. There was no way they were going to end up a dead after only a week of marriage. He forced those thoughts out of his mind while locking back onto how Neo was feeling. He and his entire crew had their eyes locked onto the battle before them unable to look away even when they spoke to each other. All of them were tense with worry and would spring into the air and help her if they knew how to fly.

The crew was just departing from an uninhabited island when a pirate crew, who didn't have their jolly roger on display, had ambushed them at the same time a fairly violent storm popped up. Neo, despite Law's heavy objections, took on the entire battle herself when it was revealed the attacking pirate crew didn't have any devil fruit users. They were just some random crew who got the bright, stupid, idea to take on the warlord and his crew while pretending to be civilians.

Neo was using all of her crystals simultaneously. She used some of her wind and water crystals to hold back the storm and sea, leaving the sub untouched in the effects of the battle and storm while using her crystals to attack the other pirates and keep herself dry. She first melted their guns then would throw back their cannonballs when they were fired at her or the sub. She started out strong, but doing this for an hour, her split focus was starting to take its toll on her. Law could feel her weakening. Topaz felt it as well, but she remained dutifully silent.

The crew shouted and cursed when one of the opposing pirates got a rope around Neo's ankle and jerked her down to the deck of their ship. She struggled against the man, but with her dwindling magic, he managed to pull her to him.

"Come here, little pretty. Up close, I can see how that warlord fancies you and has taken you as his wife. He's a rather lucky man. But his luck ends here. I'm take you as my own."

Anger and fear of being touched and taken away from Law bubbled up in her chest. She shout out while bring the palms of her hands down to the man's ears. "Let go of me!"

An inch before Neo's palms collided with the man's ears, a low boom of thunder erupted from her hands. The man's eardrums exploded causing blood to spill out of his ears. The rope fell from Neo's foot as the man collapsed in agony. She shot back up to the air while staring at her hands in disbelief. "What just happened?"

"Captain, did Neo just create thunder from her hands?" Shachi asked.

"I don't know," Law replied, his eyebrows narrowed in confusion.

"Well, she does control storms," Topaz offered. "Perhaps she just learned how to control that in a different way?"

Neo continued to rise into the air until her magic faltered and her crystals flickered away. She started to plummet to the sea when Law's Room appeared around her. Next thing she knew, she was dropping into his arms. Panting hard from her exhaustion she managed to squeak out his name. "Law."

"That's enough," Law ordered in his captain tone.

His tone and eyes were a bit sharper than normal so she knew not to argue with him this time. She just nodded in acceptance to his order. With what little magic she could summon up, she disbanded the storm above them, calming the elements.

"Curse you, woman!" one of the opposing pirates shouted over at them. "You'll regret this!"

"Seriously? After all Neo did to them they think they still have a chance of take her down now?" Archer asked. "Stupid."

"Some people just don't learn," Conner said while shaking his head. "They have nothing left to fight us with. Let's just get out of here."

Law nodded in agreement. There was nothing left to be done here, but take care of Neo. He looked over his now relaxed crew as they eyed her carefully for injuries. He dropped his own eyes to her and said, "Let's get underway then. You've done more than enough here."

Neo nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. Ignoring the weak threats from the other crew, the Heart Pirates disappeared into the sub and went about their normal routines. As Law carried her through the sub, Neo said, "I still can't believe how fast the news of our marriage traveled."

"As much as I would have liked to kept that a secret a little bit longer, it doesn't really matter," Law replied. His mind wondered back to the day after their marriage. Sure enough, there on the paper in bold letters was the announcement and even a picture from their wedding. It angered him so much that the photographer, or so he assumed, leaked out their marriage. He thought he had threatened the man enough to not say anything. Perhaps he should have known better. He really didn't know who leaked it out. It might have been the photographer, it might have been the preacher, or it could have been some random stranger who saw them on the island and did some pilfering until they found their wedding photo negatives. While it did anger Law that Neo was now in this position of being a pirate and a warlord's wife, he also had to admit he was glad that their relationship was out. The world now knew they were off limits to the unwanted affections of strangers. They could officially lay claim to each other in public. "Now everyone knows you are mine."

"And you are mine," Neo replied back. She lifted up and pressed her lips to his before laying her head back on his shoulder with a tired sigh.

…

Law was scribbling his pen over the paper furiously when he suddenly stopped. He looked up towards the door of their room. He knew nothing was wrong, but he felt like something was going on that shouldn't have been. He located Neo, who was in the rec. room, before laying down his pen and headed for the door. She wasn't blocking her feelings or thoughts from him, but it was very clear she was up to something.

The closer he got to his destination he started to hear his crews' voices, or a couple of them. They were muffled behind the not completely closed door of the rec. room, but he could easily tell they were indeed up to something with the chuckles and snickers he heard. He then heard Neo's voice warning them that he was near before he pushed opened the door. He ran his eyes over the room and the people inside.

All three females, Bepo, Shachi, Penguin, and two other crewmates were inside. The crew froze in their tracks, their faces turning white and guilty. Neo was the only one who didn't hold an, 'Oh crap! We're so in trouble', look on her face. She just collapsed her hands in front of her and obtained an innocent look in her eyes. She smiled sweetly at him while his eyes locked onto the black, out of place, marks on her skin. "Hey, my love. I thought you were working."

"I was," Law said, running his eyes over her exposed skin. He frowned. All along her shoulder, arms and hands were tattoos identical to his; even the 'death' on his fingers was now decorating her fingers. He crossed his arms and began tapping his finger on his elbow. "But I got the distinct feeling that something was going on. Those had better not be real. And there better not be any under her top."

"Of course not, Captain!" all the male crewmates shrieked with red cheeks. "They're not real! And we'd never do that! We love and respect her too much!"

"It's just paint, Captain," Bepo said more calmly.

"We were just having some fun," Ikkaku said. She propped her hands on her wide hips. "And we were curious as to what Neo would look like with tattoos. But since we don't have the actual ink and stuff we had to improvise. I don't think she looks half bad. I think she should get some real one that are identical to yours."

Everyone in the room froze in shock at the woman's suggestion. Law's eyebrows narrowed, a deep growl threatening to release from his throat. Everyone waited to see what the captain's next move would be. They all relaxed when he just released a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. He said, "It's getting late. Neo, it's time for bed. And you're still tired from your battle yesterday."

"I suppose so," Neo said with a smile. She joined Law over by the door and grabbed onto his arm. She waved the crew before following him out into the hall. "Good night, everyone."

"Good night, Neo," they called back.

"You know you're so cute when you get so over protective." Neo giggled. She snuggled into his arm as they drew near to their room. She waved the back of her hand at him. "It really is just paint. It'll wash off."

"Then wash it off," Law said in a semi-serious tone. They entered into the room and he pointed to their bathroom. "Now."

Rolling her eyes with a smile, Neo pushed upon her toes and kissed his cheek. "Okay, but only because it's starting to itch. It has nothing to do with you telling me to do it."

"And, Neo." Law placed his finger under her chin. He tilted her head and locked eyes with her. "You are  _forbidden_  from ever getting real tattoos. No needle, but for my medical ones, are allow to ever touch your delicate skin."

"Oh, I think if I ever wanted one I could easily convince you to let me," Neo purred. She pushed up on her toes again and pressed their lips together. He grabbed her hips and squeezed them before slowly dragging them around to her back. She sensed him wanting to deepen the kiss, but decided she wasn't going to let him. She lightly licked his lips before walking away from him, leaving him desperately wanting more than what she gave him.

Law chuckled and watched her disappear into the bathroom with one of his button up, cotton shirt she started wearing, without pants or shorts, before walking back over to his desk. Both knew she would never get tattoos. She didn't even like it when he finished his own tattoos on his hand. He sat down to finish up what he was writing before.

A few minutes later, Neo emerged. She walked over to the bed then turned her eyes to Law. "You know…it wouldn't hurt for you to take a break once in a while and have some fun. You don't always have to be  _the captain_  to the crew."

"I  _am_  the captain," Law said flatly.

Neo pouched out her lips in thought while he gathered up his papers and stacked them neatly on his desk before standing up. Feel like he was ignoring her, Neo summoned a wind crystal and trapped him in a small whirlwind.

His eyes widened in shock before going back to normal. He glanced over at Neo who winked and stuck her tongue out at him. "Neo."

"I said have some  _fun_ ," she replied.

"Neo, put me down immediately," Law ordered.

Neo sighed and lowered him to the ground. She turned to climb into bed. Muttering to herself, she said, "Fine. But it really wouldn't kill you to have some fun once in a while."

"Oh, I do have fun," Law whispered into her ear.

She squeaked in surprise at the sudden closeness and his warm breath washing over her skin. She turned to look at him over her shoulder.

As soon as she was turned enough, Law hooked his arm around her and pulled her onto the bed with him. He pinned her wrists down on the bed by her head. While trailing kisses over her neck, he spoke to her. "But my fun is a bit different than yours. And I'll  _never_  touch you like that."

"You're talking about -ah- hn- torturing your enemies," Neo said, trying to fight back her moans as Law's lips and tongue moved over her skin. He hit her soft stop, causing her to arch into him. "I'm talking about  _fun_."

"Mmm." Law hummed against her neck, vibrating her skin, making her tense, and shiver. He lifted up from her neck and smiled. "Let's have a little fun right now. I need to  _punish_  you for teasing me a few minutes ago. You know better than to do that."

"Yes," Neo said. Pulling her hands free, she ran her fingers through his black hair and pulled him down to her. "I do. That's why I did it. So  _punish_  me, my pirate lover."

Pressing their lips together in a heated kiss, she instantly slipped her tongue into his mouth and tasted every corner of his dark cavern until she elicited a moan from him. She smiled against his lips before he decided to retaliate. He captured her tongue and sucked on it, earning several moans and whimpers from her. He then released her tongue and mouth, allowing her to regain her breath so she didn't pass out on him before he could enact him  _punishment_. He trailed kisses down to her neck where he nipped and sucked mercilessly until he hit her tender spot, causing her to arch against him again.

He smiled at her reaction then started to trail his right hand down her side. His hand trailed down the dip of her waist to her hip and as far as he could reach down the smooth skin of her leg until he brought his hand back up. When coming back up her side, he slipped his hand under her nightshirt. He continued to trail up her skin, causing her to moan and pant softly in his ear at the tickle sensation until he got to her breast. He lightly brushed his fingers over her mound then squeezed softly multiple times. She whimpered at the treatment, arching her back again. Her fingers tugging on a strain of his hair, impatient for his lips to come back to hers.

Obeying her silent command, Law released her neck and recaptured her lips. They danced their tongues in a playful battle for dominance. Getting lost in their little game, Neo, unknowingly, trailed her fingers through Law's hair, once again putting him in a trance while they kissed and caused him to giving in to his desires of wanting to take this farther. He released his hold on her breast so he could start to unbutton the thin fabric that separated him from her flesh. He skillfully unbuttoned her top with one hand until he reached the last two buttons. His hand skimmed against her clothed beasts causing his senses to come rushing back to him. He abruptly stopped kissing her and pulled back before he could undo the last two buttons. His face was flushed, his heart pounding, as he avoided eye contact with her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…I wasn't trying t-"

"Law." Neo reached up and placed her finger over his lips, silencing him. He pulled his eyes back to hers. She smiled tenderly. Her finger slid from his lips. She brushed her finger over his goatee before she cupped his cheek. "Don't stop."

When Law didn't move, Neo sat up. Keeping their eyes locked together, she pressed her forehead to his. A swell of affection erupted in Law's chest when he saw the undying light of love and trust in her eyes. She snaked her hand back into his hair, lightly massaging his scalp until his eyelids were half closed. She then stopped and brushed their noses together. "It's okay, Law. Don't stop."

Carefully, Law searched her eyes and her feelings. He felt she was still nervous about this, but it was very clear she was also ready for it. Slowly, he raised his hands back up to the last two buttons of her cotton shirt and snapped them open. She pressed their lips back together as he took hold of the fabric and slowly brushed it off her shoulders and down her arms. Once her left arm was freed she wrapped it around his shoulders, pressing their lips tighter together in a more passionate kiss, then did the same with her right arm. Law ran his warm hands over the bare skin of her back before wrapping his arms around her as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He lifted her up and moved her into the correct position on the bed then broke their kiss. "Neo, at any point in time you want me to stop for any reason…"

"I know, Law." Neo nodded. "I know."

He leaned down and nuzzled against her, his goatee tickling her soft skin. "We're going to take it slow. The more relaxed you are the less it'll hurt."

"Okay." She nodded again.

With a deep, slow breath to calm his own nerves, Law kissed her lips for a minute before working his way over her skin. He trailed kisses across her neck and shoulders while his hands ran slowly over her sides, kneading and massaging her body. He paused when his lips got to her left shoulder. His eyes locked onto the scar left behind from the mercenary's sword. An old familiar heat of anger bubbled up in his chest at the memory. That was one scar that wasn't going to fade away, even with the help of the healer's cream. She would be stuck with it forever. With an over whelming desire now burning within, he wanted to go back in time and kill that man over and over again for hurting her. His mind became plagued with the thoughts of how much she had been hurt in the past. And how he was getting ready to cause her even more pain. He didn't want that. He couldn't do that to her. He had to stop this before he hurt her. A soft rake of her fingers through his hair, snapped Law back to their room. He looked at her.

She had felt his anger and thoughts. Her eyes were softened with an apologetic look. "You don't have to stop. It's not your fault, Law. You didn't do this to me. And I'm sorry I can't heal it completely. Do you think it's ugly?"

"No, love." Law lifted up and placed a kiss on her lips. "You are very beautiful. Your scars will never hinder that. I'm sorry for hesitating and make you feel my anger. Would you like to continue?"

"Yes," Neo mumbled against his lips. He reached over to their nightstand. Her heartbeat increased when he pulled out a blue tube from the drawer. "What is that?"

"Just some lube." He flashed her the tube. He ran his hand over her thigh. "It's just another step to the main part of this. Just relax."

Neo nodded. She leaned back into her pillow with a sigh.

When Law returned to her, he placed another kiss on her lips before he resumed kissing over her marred, but smooth skin. He kissed over her heart, pausing to take in the fast pulse under his lips then trailed down the crevasse of her breasts before taking her left mound into his mouth and started sucking softly. She tensed up and drew in a sharp breath, clenching her hands in his hair. They had done this part before, but it was different this time. She felt more ready for it.

He glanced up at her with a pause. Her face was flushed, but she was clearly adjusting and enjoying it. With a slight go-ahead nod from her, he continued. Sucking harder with each second, he made her arch her back and softly beg for more while clenching and unclenching her hands in his hair.

He switched sides. Taking her right mound in his mouth and he gave her the same treatment as before. Not wanting her to spend her energy before getting to the main part, he moved down to her stomach where he continued kissing every single one of her scars. She tensed up again when he slipped his tongue into her naval and kissed around it. He smiled against her skin. It didn't matter what he did to relax her, she was always going to tense up like that.

He placed the tube on the bed before hooking his fingers into her panties and pulled them down over her legs. He tossed them on the floor before placing soft kisses over her thighs. Feeling her heartbeat and anxiety rising again, he glanced back up at her. Neo blushed when their eyes locked. Their minds whirled around the fact that this was the first time he's seen her naked and he wasn't looking at her as  _a doctor_. He was looking at her as  _a man_ , as  _her husband_. She swallowed and gave him a nod to proceed. He nodded back. Reclaiming the tube, he uncapped it and squeezed out the contents onto his finger. Setting the tube aside, he laid back down beside her and kissed her temple. "This might hurt a bit."

She nodded, nervous. He kissed her in an attempt to distract her as he move his finger to its destination and slipped inside of her. She drew in a sharp breath of surprise.

He kissed her again and whispered softly to her. "I'm sorry. Just try to relax for me."

She followed him like always. Taking some deep breaths to relax herself.

Once he felt her body still again, he slowly moved his finger while returning his lips to her neck then slipped in another one when she was good and relaxed.

She moaned and flinched at the unfamiliar movements and pleasure he showed her. She rolled her head back while closing her eyes, taking in how good this felt. She grabbed his shirt and tugged on it.

Understanding her meaning, he retreated from her, sat up on his legs and pulled his shirt over his head.

Neo sat up. She pressed her lips to his tattooed chest before brushing her fingertips over his caramel colored skin. She trailed her fingers over his chest, down his rippling abs until she got to the top of his jeans. She paused when she noticed the bulge in them. Swallowing, she placed her fingers over the bulge and pressed gently.

Law moaned at the touch, his eyelids flickering half closed in bliss.

She shyly looked up at him. "That was good? You liked that?"

"Yes," Law whispered huskily. He leaned down and nipped her neck and shoulder then licked her ear. "Do it again."

She did. Pressing her fingers into him, he moaned again. She then brought her fingers up to his jean button and undid them. Grabbing the zipper, she tugged it down halfway before stopping in hesitation. She pulled her hands back and bit her bottom lip.

Law kissed and nipped her shoulder before continuing with what she had started. Turning from her, he slipped his jeans and boxers, dropping them on the floor before turning back to her.

Her cheeks flushed, her heart raced as she took in his arousal for the first time. Studying him in his completely natural state with her typical childlike curiosity. With a shaky yet curious hand, she reached for him again and curled her fingers around him. His skin was warm, tight, exciting her. Receiving mental encouraging thoughts from him, she tugged gently. He let out a low and heavy groan as he buried his face into her neck, his breath fluttering across her tender skin. He murmured to her as he began to suck and nibble at the weak spots on her neck. "Keep going."

She did. Carefully gliding her gentle hold over him until her body trembled with uncertainty of what she was doing and feeling. She released him.

He brought his right arm around her shoulders and kissed her hair.

She whispered, "I'm scared."

"I know. It's okay. That's normal." Law, holding her secure to him, leaned over to the nightstand. He reached in the still open drawer and pulled out a condom.

She lifted off of him when he ripped it open.

He held it out for her. "Put it on. You remember how I show you to do it?"

"Yes." She took the protection from him, opened it, and put it on before kissing him, gliding her tongue in and out of his mouth. With his hand rubbing over her back, he guided her back down to the bed.

His hands slid down her sides, rubbing them soothingly and massaging all the right places on her, loosening up her coiled muscles before pushing her knees apart. When she tried to close her legs again, he kneaded his fingers into her thighs until she relaxed them.

She lifted her head off the pillow, her unsure eyes darting over this face and down to his length. "L-Law…"

"Shh." Law leaned back up and kissed her deeply. While distracted with his deep kiss, he aligning himself and slowly he pushed inside of her. Despite his preparation, she still hissed and threw her head back with a startled, pain filled cry when sharp stabs rocketed through her small body.

She grabbed hold of the blanket, almost piercing the fabric with her nails, as her heels dug into the mattress. She clenched her eyes shut, but was unable to stop the tears from streaking down her face at the prickling hot pain erupting inside of her.

He cursed when he felt the same sharp pain shooting through his own body. He pushed up on his hands and kneels and started to pull out. "I'm sorry."

"No! Don't stop!" Neo grabbed his shoulders before he could completely pull out of her. She released one of his shoulders to brush away her tears. Putting on a smile, she cupped his cheek. "It…it's not that bad. It just surprised me more than anything. It's okay. Really. I want this. You know I do. You can feel it. Please, Law, don't stop. It'll only hurt a bit for a while, right? I can take it. Please, Law?"

Law studied her carefully. He knew she did want this. He knew she was ready. He just wasn't ready. He didn't want to cause her pain.

Feeling his hesitation, she ran her fingers through his hair, lulling him into a relaxed trance state. "It's okay, Law. I can handle this. Please, don't stop. Not now. Just go a little slower. You can do that. Right?"

"Okay," Law whispered. She pulled her hand from his hair, returning it to his shoulder. He took a deep breath before nuzzling against her neck. "Just hold on to me. I'm going to take care of you."

She nodded and slid her arms around his shoulders.

With another deep breath, he pushed back into her.

Biting her bottom lip, she tried to stifle her desire to cry out in pain without success. A soft cry slipped past her attempts. The stinging sensation in her most intimate area was just too much. Warm tears slipped past her closed eyelids as she started to dig her nails into his flesh. But she quickly stopped, only leaving behind white half moon shaped indents. Both knew she wouldn't do it. She would never hurt him, even if it meant dealing with all this pain on her own. Instead, she pressed the pads of her fingers to his skin, pressing down in a weak attempted to force the pain to release from her.

For a while, he didn't move much. He just laid still as he possible could while letting her adjust to him and this unfamiliar act. Listening to her tattered breath and painful whimpers, he kissed her tears each time they rolled down her cheeks and whispered how much he cared about her in hopes it would help her.

Law remained patient with her, careful with her. This wasn't just about his pleasure no matter how good being inside of her felt, no matter how much he wanted to buck wildly against her to satisfy his own fleshly desires that he's been holding back for so long. This was about her. Making her as comfortable and receptive as possible. She was his everything. She was the only one who could pluck at his heartstrings in a way that was still somewhat unfamiliar, but had become very welcomed and desired. He had felt such emptiness inside of him with all of the pain and suffering he had went through and with all the rage he had towards Doflamingo. She had some how been able to fill that emptiness inside of him while also holding the gentle touch that quelled his hateful rage against the man who murdered Corazon. Her sweet, naïve, childlike nature had completely became his undoing. Anything she wanted, he would give it to her without hesitation.

As for him, Neo knew Law had become her strength, her lifeline, her very life. He had shown her that she wasn't a freak, a monster, or a murderer. He helped her learn how to stand on her own two feet, how to use her magic, how to not be so afraid of everything and everyone even though she would always have that initial fear and need to adjust to new things. He would always be beside her to help her, just like he was doing for her right now. She had been damaged, both physically and mentally by her own tragic past. And he had somehow fixed that. She knew he didn't have a clue as to what exact he was doing when he first brought her to the Polar Tang, to his sub, his home. She knew he didn't have to bring her in, but he did. He had managed, somehow, to break through the walls of fear that she had put up between her and the rest of the world. He had managed to heal her. He took hold of her in his rough, calloused hands. His hands that have killed so many people. His hands that have been covered in blood and was so sadistic and threatening to others could turn so gentle and carrying when it came to her. While he might try to deny it in front of others, she knew he was the soft and caring type deep down. He showed her that side often since that first time he pulled her onto his lap and hugged her after she revealed to him her past. He had become her everything. She would do anything for him, whether it scared her or not.

With a soft exhale, Neo's body completely relaxed despite the lingering pain and she started to glow white. She wrapped her legs around his hips, her glow passing to him. She slid her right hand over his back and up to his hair. Fiddling with the ends of his raven locks, she kissed his shoulder then nuzzled her nose into his neck. Her warm breath fanned out over his skin, causing him to shiver when she spoke. "Hn, Law…you're so warm. It feels so nice. Will you move now?"

Law clenched his teeth. He wanted to move, but was still too afraid of hurting her. She knew that. How could she have not known how he was really feeling? After all, they were bonded. Both knew they were no longer two individual people. Long before this most intimate of moments, they had bonded beyond all logic and reasoning. They had become one through their similarities in there childhood, through her magic, through all the trails they have faced since fate, Corazon or God, which ever, had brought them together.

Sliding her fingers farther up his hair, she once again massaged her digits into his black hair, carefully lulling him into a minor, relaxed trance. She kissed his cheek then licked his ear before speaking in a soft, mature, seducing tone neither of them knew she had. "It's all right, my love. You have prepared me for this. You have told me everything I need to know. You know this will only hurt for a little bit. We've waited long enough for this moment. Do it now, Law. Don't be afraid. I am ready."

Upon her request, he started to move. Slowly pulling out of her then slowly sheathing himself back in. With each painful whimper she released to his movements, he wanted to stop. When she felt that from him, she stroked her fingers over his hair and whispered softly in his ear that she was all right. Soon the pain they felt began to fade. Her painful whimpers were replaced with pleasure filled moans and soft cries of his name. The pleasurable cries from her lips built up his confidence to move faster. He did a bit, but held back and kept his gentle, soothing strokes.

He then hit her soft spot, releasing a satisfying moan of gratification from her. Her body writhed beneath him, her back arching up off the mattress, pressing her bare chest against him as he started slowly built her up to her climax. Still keeping a gentle pace, he rocked his hips more with each pleasurable moan and groan that passed her lips. "Go a little faster."

He did. Pulling back out, thrusting into her he made sure to his her spot each time until she was crying out his name multiple times. She rolled her head back when the pleasure he built up in her finally released. It rocked through her tiring body, creating white specks in her vision. "Law…aas that…?"

"Orgasm," Law answered, kissing up her neck until he dipped his tongue into her mouth. She ran her hands over his back and up to his shoulders where she massaged her hands into his skin. He snatched one of her hands and pinned it above her head, he laced their fingers together, wanting her to move her hips. Her skin brushed across the silver ring on his finger causing a warm flush of affection for him to grow inside her. She knew she needed to give him something in return. This wasn't just about her. It was about them. So she searched his feelings until she located his desire of what he wanted then repetitively rolled her hips against him causing him to squeeze his eyes shut. He buried his face in her neck while groaning her name. "Neo-"

She had always been good at following his lead and now didn't seem to be any different. He jutted his hips into her a few more time before finally reaching his own climax inside of her. And then everything was still between them. His spent body laying half on hers as they panted softly in each other's ear. Pushing up on his hands and knees, he slowly pulling out of her, noticing their shared glow fading away. He assumed her magic was there to officially or magically sealing their consummation. He was going to have to look that up later in their Luminous books to be sure. He also noticed that she had placed the back of her arm over her eyes. He knew she wouldn't be able to look at him for a little while. That was fine. It was normal after all. He would do whatever she needed to finish adjusting to this. He then grabbed the covers. Tugging it down as she arched up her body for him. He placed the blanket over her tired, sweat-covered body and pecked her lips before rolling towards the edge of the bed.

She gasped, afraid he was leaving, and grabbed his shoulder. "Law!"

"Shh." Law placed his hand over hers and kissed her fingers. "It's all right, love. I'm not leaving you. I just have to take off the condom."

He didn't move until she retracted her hand from him. He felt her eyes locked onto him as he walked over to his deck and removed the condom, tossing it away in the small wastebasket under his desk. He then grabbed a tissue and wiped himself clean before heading back to the bed. He rubbed the back of his neck tiredly while pulling up the blanket. Lying down, he noticed her eyes watering and knew what was coming. Once he was close enough, she rolled over to his chest and cried. He slipped his left arm under her body while placing his right hand on her head, holding her close as he could.

"Law…"

"It's all right. Let it out. Just let it out," Law said softly stroking her hair.

"I'm scared I won't be good enough for you!" she cried. "I don't know how to do this! It hurt! But then felt so good! I'm crying again! I'm scared! I'm happy! I'm worried! I'm confused! Shouldn't I be happy?! Why am I so confused?!"

"That's just part of this. And you are good enough. This, like everything else, is a learning experience. We'll figure it out. We'll figure out what works for us. It'll all be fine. And remember, I told you our first time would be emotional for you. It's natural you feel confused, scared, worried and conflicted." Law continued to stroke her hair as he spoke soothingly to her. "But it's just fine. This will all pass and you'll feel better."

"Y-you're not upset with me?" Neo sniffled. She tilted her eyes timidly to his. "You're not upset that I feel like this?"

"No. Of course not." Law brushed her damp bangs from her forehead then pressed his lips to her skin. He went back to stroking her hair, guiding her back down from her guilt and into a more relaxed state as she leaned into his chest. He stopped stroking his hand when he felt her exhale with a sigh of relief. "Feel better?"

"Mhmm." She nodded before looked back at him. "What about you? I know this was hard for you too."

He nodded. He brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek. "It was. I was so afraid of hurting you. I did hurt you."

Neo shook her head. "It did hurt a little bit. But I am fine. You can feel that."

"I feel that. You're okay. We're both okay." He smiled sweetly at her. She stared into his warm, grey eyes before a yawn passed over her lips. "You should sleep now."

"But I want to stay with you," Neo said, fighting to keep her eyelids open.

Law chuckled at her stubbornness. "It's fine, Neo. You can sleep. I know you're tired."

Giving into her fatigue, she snuggled into his chest and warm embrace. With another soft sigh, her eyelids started to fall closed. She whispered softly, "I love you, Law. I love you so much."

"And I love you," Law whispered back just before she finally fell asleep. He planted a kiss into her hair before tightening his hold on her and started to fall asleep himself.

…

Inhaling the familiar scent of Neo's hair, Law sleepily opened his eyes, initially confused by the feeling of their blanket over his completely naked body caused his eyebrows to shoot up on his forehead before the events of the night before filtered back into his groggy brain. He lowered his eyes to the sleeping blue haired woman in his hold. They hadn't moved and inch since they'd fallen asleep. His arms were still wrapped firmly around her slender waist and hers were still pressed against his chest.

Careful not to awake her up from her much needed rest, Law carefully cranked his neck to look towards the porthole. The amount of light shining through the cracks of the curtains told him that he had slept a lot longer than either of them normally did. It was probably around an hour after the time Neo usually woke up. That meant that breakfast was ready and the crew was up, most likely wondering where they were. A light streak of panic flashed through Law's mind when he wondered if their late arrival to breakfast was going to reveal to the crew that he and Neo finally consummated their relationship. The panic quickly faded away when he remembered that practically the entire crew were one track minded perverts. Most already hinted at the thought that he and Neo already had consummated their relationship on their wedding night. Only a couple knew for sure that it hadn't happened and wouldn't happen until Neo was ready for it to happen.

With a sigh, Law laid back down. He really didn't care what his crew thought of this. He only wanted to make sure they didn't tease Neo too much, preferably not at all, until she was comfortably adjusted to their sexual intimacies. Pushing his crew from his mind, he turned his eyes back down to her to watch her sleep. While his body was craving a hot shower the desire to remain beside her until she woke up was even greater. He knew she would need to see him when she first woke up. And he was going to make sure he was still by her side so she could. Still, he needed to change his position a bit. Sleeping in the same spot all night had made him stiff. He slipped his left arm out from underneath her. He stretched and twisted a bit until the stiffness was worked out then propped up on his elbow, resting his head in his hand while fiddling with her blue locks in his other hand.

As he watched her sleep his mind began to wonder over the time she had been with them. He thought about how much she had grown since that first day. He also thought about all of the firsts she's had with them, with him. He held the majority of her important firsts. He had gained her trust first, he had her first smile, first kiss on the cheek, first hug, first real kiss and now he had her first time. She also had his first time. A smile pulled across his lips at that thought. He ran his fingers through his hair and chuckled when the realization of how she had been more ready than him for this. He thought for sure he would be the one to calm her, which he did, but she had also calmed him so many times last night.

He had to admit to himself that, since he was a pirate, he thought his first time would have been somewhat clumsy while also being rough and wild with a woman he didn't know or love. He never really ever imagined that his first time would have been when he was married to a woman he absolutely loved with ever part of his very existence. Nor did he think that he would love and crave such a gentle touch when aroused. But he did. The way Neo had touched and caressed him last night, the way she wanted to claw him senseless but refused to cause him any pain no matter how much she was in. He wanted more of that. He needed more of that. He never noticed, until that moment, how much he had come to depend on her sweet, childlike naiveté to keep him grounded.

Law leaned over and pressed his lips to her bare shoulder. He pulled back when he felt her skin was cool to the touch. Carefully, he pulled the blanket out from underneath her arm and tucked it around her then settled back down to wait for her to finally wake up. Soon after that, she did. Law watched as she groaned and shifted before opening her eyes. She stared at his tattooed chest for a few seconds before lifting her eyes to his. He smiled when her tired eyes filled with realization of the events that happened between them the previous night. Her cheeks flushed as she pulled the blanket more snuggly around her, covering her mouth. He chuckled at her shyness before speaking. He tucked her hair behind her ear then brushed his thumb over cheek. "Good morning, my love. How are you feeling? How's your body?"

"Tired. And a bit sore," Neo's muffled voice replied. She freed her mouth from the blanket when she felt guilt stirring in his chest. "But I'm okay. I don't need my solar crystal."

Law nodded. He placed his hand on her side and gently rubbed her. "Breakfast is probably ready."

"I don't feel like eating," Neo replied. She covered her mouth with her fingers and yawned. "Would it be all right if I just sleep a while longer?"

"Of course it's all right. You just relax." Law pressed a kiss to her forehead then pressed their foreheads together. "When you wake up again you should take a nice warm shower. It'll help your body."

"Okay," Neo mumbled softly as she started to drift back to sleep.

Law stayed with her for a few more minutes to make sure she was soundly asleep again before forcing himself to leave her side. He grabbed a change of clothes and headed for a quick shower. He paused to smile at his sleeping lover before finally leaving the room. With his hands in his pockets, he made his way down the halls and into the galley where the majority of his crew still was.

"Good morning, Captain!" they greeted.

"Morning," Law mumbled as he sat down in his chair. Not feeling like eating just yet, he grabbed himself some tea and sipped on it.

"Where's Neo?" Topaz inquired. "You two are always together when coming to breakfast."

"Oh, she's still sleeping," Law replied casually.

The crew suddenly paused. Law kept his calm composure even as all their eyes shot to him.

Jean Bart asked, "Is she all right? Is she sick again?"

Not wanting to reveal anything, Law closed his eyes and held his cup to his lips to hide his smile. "No, she's fine. She just had a rough night."

"Ah." The crew nodded assuming their captain's love just had another nightmare and needed more sleep. They turned from him and started chatting again.

Penguin, being the closest sitting to Law, was able to catch the familiar, satisfied smirk of sexual desires fulfilled on his captain's lips. His face flushed when Law had noticed him figuring out the real reason Neo wasn't at breakfast.

Law shot his subordinate a warning glare, even though he knew it wasn't necessary. Penguin almost cared as much about Neo as he did. The captain knew Penguin wouldn't dare talk, or even joke, about this freely with the crew.

Penguin nodded rapidly in understanding and turned his attention back to his dwindling meal.

…

Neo sighed with relaxing pleasure as the warm water rushed over her aching, tired body. Law was right. This did make her feel better. She smiled at how Law was practically always right about everything. At this moment, she would have loved to stay under the water for eternity, but knew that was impossible. She was going to have to finish here, get dressed, and go out and greet the day and crew. She had ended up sleeping a lot longer than she thought she would. It was almost eleven o'clock. The crew was going to be wondering where she was.

Her face flushed at the thought of the crew knowing about what she and Law did last night. Not wanting to alarm Law, she calmed her thoughts and heart. What they did was normal. She knew there was nothing for her to be embarrassed about. It was bound to happen at some point and the crew would know no matter what or when it did happen, it was inevitable. But it still bothered her a bit. Last night was so intimate. She couldn't even beginning to fathom how some of the crew could do that so openly, so freely, so casually and as often as they did. She felt so exposed in a different way than normal with Law. She also felt even more connected to him now. And she knew for sure he felt the same way.

He always seemed to know exactly what she needed. And last night was no different. She was hurting and scared, but he made it easier for her despite wanting to quit all together because he was hurting her. They had both ended up comforting each other through that entire experience and it had strengthen their bond, not only on a magic level but also on a human level. She smiled, feeling that they were even more one person now instead of two. With another sigh, she reached for the shampoo and got on with her shower.

Once showered, dried, and dressed, Neo exited the bathroom. She paused to smile at her family photos, which were now accompanied by some wedding photos. Her heart fluttered with warmth and affection at what all Law had done for her for their wedding, the pictures, seeing her godfather, wearing a tux and a ring despite deciding he wouldn't wear it in the normal fashion. She never thought about having her family pictures there or visiting her godfather during that time. It, somehow, made it all more complete. Her absent family was able to be there in different way. She loved Law even more for doing it all for her.

She wanted to curl up right then and there with Law and never leave him. But she knew that wasn't possible. With in a week they were finally going to leave for Punk Hazard. And Law was working even more often on his plans with each day that grew closer to their departure day. She knew he wanted to make sure he had all the angles covered to protect her. For a split second she wondered if she should just stay behind with the crew, but that quickly died out like a fire spark on the wind. Both knew it would be impossible for them to separate for long periods of time. If they died on this mission, then they would die together, not separated.

Neo pushed herself away from the corner when she felt Law coming towards their room. He was coming to check on her now that she was awake. She was sure he had come in a couple times while she was still sleeping to check on her despite being able to do that from a distance with their bond. She knew he wanted to make sure she was stable with what happened last night.

She walked over to their closet and pulled out both their favorite yellow and black hoodie he used to wear. She really felt like having him around her. And since she couldn't literally stick with him all day, well she knew she could actually do that and he would let her, but she knew he needed to work on his plans and other stuff so wearing his clothes would help her. She could always go to him if she really needed his affections. She slipped the hoodie over her head just as he entered their room. They both smiled when their eyes met the others. She pulled her hair out of his hoodie as he walked across the room to her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest while he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Hey."

"Hey," Law echoed back. "How's your body?"

"Just fine. The shower helped," Neo replied, snuggling into him. She then lifted her head so she could look at him. Pink dusted her cheek as they both shared memories of last night with each other through their bond. "But it would have been even better if you were in the shower with me. You did said and promise we were going to do that."

"I remember, love. And we will. I promise." Law kissed her forehead. "Are you ready to leave our room now? The crew is starting to wonder where you are. A nightmare has never caused you to sleep in this late."

Neo whimpered. "They're going to tease me."

"No they won't. They know better than to tease you too much. They'll have to face my wrath if they go overboard," Law said with an airy chuckle. He pressed kisses to her forehead, cheeks, and lips until he made his way down to her neck, earning a soft moan when hitting her tender spot. "Besides, Penguin was the only one who figured out the truth. And you know he won't tease you. Mmm, you taste so good."

"Are you trying to get me back into the bed I just crawled out of?" Neo asked with a light chuckle. She tilted her head, giving him better access to her. He sucked hard a couple more times before licking the soft flesh.

"No, love. We're not doing that again for a few days at least." Law replied, still kissing and sucking her neck, he ran his hands up and down her sides on the outside of her clothes before slipping them under the fabrics and doing the same thing. "I want your body to heal completely before we do that again."

"And yet you keep kissing me and running your hands over my-ah!" Neo jumped when Law squeezed her mounds unexpectedly. She growled playfully at him when she felt him smirk against her neck. "You better watch it,  _Mr._   _Trafalgar Law_."

"Oh, I am watching,  _Mrs. Trafalgar Law_ ," Law mumbled against her neck. "Your body is mine, always has been. I  _will_  touch you whenever I please."

"I don't doubt that at all. But your body is also mine. And that means I can touch you whenever I please," Neo replied, slowly moving her hands to the front of his jeans. She smiled when she felt him twitch.

Law sighed at the point she clearly was making. Pulling away from her neck, he pecked her lips. "All right. I always hold to my word. No sex right now. Your body needs to heal."

"You're such a good pirate boy," Neo muttered against his lips before kissing them.

"Then let's get out of here before my human weakness takes over and I take you to bed again," Law said.

Neo giggled while he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to the door. He walked her to the galley where they finally were forced to separate for the time being.

Penguin, the new cook and two other crewmates were the only ones currently in the galley. The air was filled with sea pig meat and spices from the stew the cook was making, it made Neo's stomach rumble. When the crew saw the couple at the door, they waved and greeted them.

Neo waved back then turned to Law. He asked, "Are you stable now?"

"Yes." Neo nodded.

"Good." He pecked her lips. "You know where I'll be if you need me."

She nodded again. They kissed once more before finally going their separate ways. Neo ran her hand over her rumbling stomach and entered into the galley. She walked over to the cook and asked, "Need any help?"

"If you want to since this is your kitchen, but I've got it covered if you just want to relax," Basil, the new cook, said with a warm friendly smile. "I know your nightmares can be a problem for you. The crew told me that you don't usually sleep in this late, so it much have been quite a doozy."

Neo tilted her head as she took in the man. She mentally sighed when realizing how right Law was about adding another cook. At first she wasn't sure about this man, but he won her over with his friendly demeanor and cooking skills. He came from a large family that lived on a farm. He knew more than she did so she was excited about having another cook help her learn more cooking techniques and dishes. In turn, the man was also excited when he flipped through some Luminous recipe books Neo had brought with her since they held many dishes he's never done or even heard of. "I suppose resting would be good. It was…different."

"Why don't we go out on the deck for a while?" Penguin asked.

Neo turned her eyes to him and smile. In his hands was her favorite snack, cheese, crackers and lightly sweetened tea.

"You could probably use the fresh air. And it's such a nice day today. No point in staying inside the entire time."

"I think that would be very nice," Neo said. She then turned her eyes back to the cook. "As long as you're okay here."

"Totally." Basil nodded with a smile.

Neo nodded back then followed Penguin to the door. They both smiled when they found Bepo was already out on the deck taking a nap. Three other crewmates were at the far end of the deck with their fishing lines dropped in the water. They were chatting and didn't notice the two new arrivals.

"Why don't you fly us up top so we can have some private time?" Penguin suggested.

Neo tilted her head at his tone. His voice sounded soft and calm, like he use to speak to her when she was still afraid of them.

"I was just thinking that if you wanted to  _talk_  it would be better if it was just the two of us."

Neo felt heat rushing to her cheeks. She dropped her eyes from his face and twisted her toes on the warm deck floor. "Law said you figured it out."

"Come on," Penguin coaxed gently.

She nodded. Summoning a wind crystal, she lifted them up to the mass of the sub. They sat down together and fell into comfortable silence. He waited for her to open up if she wanted to.

"I feel different," Neo then said after fifteen minutes of silence.

"Is it a good different?" Penguin asked.

"I believe so." Neo smiled. She finished off her last slice of cheese and crackers then pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. "I feel a bit more…mature? I know I still have some growing up to do, but I still feel more mature. Or something. It's nice."

"Yeah. I've heard people say that can happened afterwards." Penguin placed his hands behind him and leaned against them. "You seem to be handling this rather well."

"Maybe a bit better than I thought I would." Neo pressed her chin to her knees. "But I believe that's only because of Law. If this had happened with anyone else, I know I would be this calm about it. That was such an intimate act. I really don't understand how the crew can be so free and casual about it."

"I guess you're right. But not everyone finds that special someone to share such a special act of intimacy with. Some don't even care about the emotional part of it," Penguin said. He turned his eyes up to the sky. "They just want to fulfill their desires of the flesh."

"I wish everyone could have that special someone. And share that act with them and only them, especially you and the crew. But that's probably my naivety talking," Neo admitted with a sigh.

"Not at all, Princess," Penguin said with a smile.

Neo raised an eyebrow and smirked at him calling her by her royal title.

"That's actually very sweet of you to say. It shows you care about people. Which you do."

"I guess so. At least after I get over my initial fear of them," Neo said. The two smiled then broke into a hearty laughter. Once their laughter subsided, she leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thanks, Pen. I really needed this. I'm really going to miss you when we leave for Punk Hazard."

"Anytime, little sister." Penguin laid his head against hers. "I'm going to miss you as well."


	71. Break

Break

Neo panted as she dodged to the left. She grabbed Tero's arm and flipped him over onto his back. The black haired man quickly rebound. He flipped over onto his side and swung his foot at her ankles. She saw the move coming and jumped to dodge the attempted. Tero, with lightning fast reflexes, was back on his feet in a split second. He bombarded Neo with several punches and kicks to which she easily blocked before retaliating against him. She threw several punches and kicks of her own at him, her braid hair bouncing around as she moved. When she saw an opening, Neo kicked out her foot. She caught Tero in the chest, and off guard, and sent him flying back several feet. A flash of fear and regret slammed into her, causing her chest to tighten.

' _Easy, love. I'm sure Tero is fine.'_

Neo panted hard as she watched the black haired man sit up. He rubbed his right hand over his chest while waving his left at her, signaling he was indeed okay.  _'He is. It just doesn't matter how often I do this with him, I'm never going to get use to hitting my babies.'_  She bit back a giggle when she felt Law glowering.

' _Okay, love, they're your babies.'_

_'Our babies.'_

_'Don't push it, my love.'_ Law thought to her after a short pause.

' _You'll come around.'_ She giggled as Law scoffed. Lowering her fighting stance she walked over to Tero. "Sorry."

"You really need to get over apologizing every time you hit me," Tero said. He placed his arms over his bend up knees.

"Not going to happen," Neo replied with a smile. "I don't like hitting you even though I know this is all necessary."

"It is. You've improved quite a bit since we've started," Tero said with a genuine smile. He ran his hand through his now damp hair, causing his bangs to stick up straight. "I have to admit that I'm impressed. Your hand to hand combat skills have improved greatly."

"You think so?" Neo tilted her head.

"I know so. You are now taking me down quicker with each session we have," Tero replied. He pushed himself to his feet. "When we first started this you weren't able to come anywhere near landing a punch on me. And now you're tagging me left and right and even winning a few matches. If I'm not careful, you're going to surpass me."

"I doubt that," Neo said with a smile. "You still have more years of fighting experience than I do."

"I suppose so." Tero nodded.

"So,  _sensei_ , do you think I'm ready to go with Law to Punk Hazard now?" Neo asked.

"I suppose you are as ready as you'll ever be," Tero replied. He then added, thoughtfully, "Although, you really do need to continue with your training while on Punk Hazard. I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to do so since there's not going to be much other stuff to do there. I just have no clue how that could be made possible. The captain sure as heck isn't going to fight you. He still won't even use his powers on you. What's up with that?"

"He's still trying to over come his fear of hurting me," Neo replied softly.

"Well, he better get a move on. You two are leaving in just a few days," Tero said. "That man. He's finally loosened up a bit when we're training. He doesn't even watch us anymore and yet still won't use his powers on you."

"Trust me," Neo said while thinking about how Law and the rest of the crew didn't hover over her hand-to-hand combat sessions anymore. She smiled and shrugged. "He might not be in the room, but he is still watching me very closely. He worries. I'll get him to use his powers on me when the time is right."

"For both your sakes, I hope you do. You two don't need to be going into this mission with him afraid to use his powers on you. You could end up getting poisoned again and won't have any other back up to help you two," Tero said with a touch of worry in his tone that Neo's never heard before.

She blinked multiple times at him in disbelief.

His eyebrow twitched in annoyance when he noticed her staring at him. "What?"

"You do care." Neo smiled.

"Whatever," Tero scoffed. He tossed his head to the side with pink rising on his cheeks.

"You're blushing!" Neo squeaked. Sliding up to him she poked him in the chest. "Just admit it. You have come to like me too. It might not be as much as the others, but you do care."

"Shut up." Tero crossed his arms and turned from her. "I'm only concerned as your teacher, nothing more."

"Uh huh." Neo rolled her eyes. She then walked up to him. Pushing up on her toes, she placed a kiss on his cheek. He flinched under her touch, but didn't pull away. "Seriously…thank you for doing all of this for me. The rest of the crew was far to attach to me to really help me get physically stronger. You are amazing."

"Yeah," Tero grumbled while heading for the door, his cheeks still pink with embarrassment. "Whatever."

Neo smiled at the embarrassed man's lack of actually denying he cared. It was fine. She knew, while he could be very strict and harsh at times with her, he really did care. He only showed it in his own way, which was different from the majority of the crew. She was fine with it. She really did need someone who was more upfront and confrontational with her, someone who wouldn't hold their punches because they were afraid of hurting her. Tero filled the roll perfectly. He saw what needed to be done when the rest of the crew, including Law and Topaz, just wanted to coddle her.

"Yeah." Neo nodded as she headed for the door of the training room herself. "Tero is a good man."

"Done with training today I see," Law said when he met Neo at their bedroom door.

"Yup." Neo nodded. She then let her shoulders slump. "And now all I want is a nice, long, hot soak in the bathtub."

"Is that  _all_  you want?" Law asked, suggestively and with a smirk.

"Hm?" Neo blinked multiple times. "Other than you? What else would I want? I always relax in a hot bath after training with Tero."

"This time is going to be different," Law said. He took her hand and led her into their room.

"How so?" Neo asked.

Law chuckled. He leaned down and nipped her neck while closing the door. "Love, you have grown up so much. And, yet, you can still be so naïve. It's really cute on you. I hope that never changes no matter how much you grow up. But, for this, you should know what I'm talking about. You can read my thoughts and feelings after all."

"Hm?" Neo carefully searched his thoughts. She squealed with delight when she finally found what she was looking for and what he was talking about. She threw her arms around him. "Oh! Law! Really?! We're going to shower together?! Finally?!"

"Yes, love." Law, with his arms pinned to his side due to her hug, planted a kiss on her head. "We're going to shower together. Sorry I've been too busy to do it until now."

"It's fine," Neo said with a bright smile. She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the bathroom.

"But remember," Law started.

"No sex in the slippery shower," Neo finished. "I know, I know."

Law chuckled at her enthusiasm as she tugged him into the bathroom and closed the door. She released him to turn on the water. With her fingers almost touching the knobs, she paused. Turning back to him, she asked, "What would you like the temperature set at?"

"Whatever feels good for you," Law replied. He leaned against the sink with his arms crossed. "You're the one who was training."

"Hm." Neo chewed on her bottom lip, thoughtfully before turning back to the shower. She turned the knobs on. Wiggling her fingers under the cascading drops, she adjusted the water until she got it to a good temperature right between warm and hot. She started to turn around. "Okay, I think that'll be good. We can always adjust it. So what no-" She paused when Law's hands grabbed her hips.

He placed his lips on her neck. "Now. I undress you."

She shivered at his low, sexy voice. He kissed her neck again while speaking to her as he began to undress her. He tugged the ribbon out of her hair, laid it on the sink, and then started unwinding the braid. "First, I get rid of your braid. It looks very cute on you and gives me easier access to you neck, but I still like your hair down best."

"As do I. So don't worry. That won't change." Neo turned her head so Law could kiss her.

"Good. And now I get rid of your shirt," Law mumbled against her lips. She pecked him multiple times as his fingers curl around the edge of her shirt. He pulled it over her head, tossed it in the hamper then proceeded to move on to the rest of her clothes while telling her what he was taking off before he did it all the while placing kisses on her lips or other parts of her body.

"This is a very sexy way of getting undressed," Neo said as she started to remove Law's clothes. She ran her gentle touch over his abs, earning a shiver from him. She smiled before placing a kiss on his chest. "Very sexy. But I get the feeling you're trying to seduce me despite saying no sex in the shower."

"We're not going to be in the shower forever," Law replied with a devilish smirk.

"You know," Neo said, placing another kiss on his chest. "You could have giving me a little warning that we were going to have sex every night once we started with the sexual intimacies."

"We don't have sex every night," Law protested. He placed his finger under her chin, tilting her to look at him. "But I can easily change that."

Heat rose up on Neo's cheeks. "I know you could. But I wouldn't have a single drop of energy left. Despite having gotten a little stronger, you still far out rank me where stamina is concerned."

Law chuckled while removing his boxers. He then took her hand and led her into the shower. Letting the water fall over their bodies, he tucked her now wet hair behind her ears before he reached for the shampoo. She let her eyelids fall closed in bliss as he worked his skillful fingers through her hair. He smiled at her obvious enjoyment of his shower treatment. He guided her under the water, carefully brushing away the shampoo from her eyes so they didn't sting. Next he grabbed the body wash and washcloth. He lathered up the jasmine scented soap then glided it over her in tantalizing, suggestive strokes.

She groaned and whimpered at his teasing. "This is wonderful, but also torture. You are making me want you so bad."

"Then let me distract you from how good this feeling," Law said with a low chuckle. "We're going to be taking a break from our pirate lives."

"Huh?!" Neo's eyes shot open. "Why?"

"We're leaving in three days. I want you to spend sometime with the crew before we do," Law explained. "You know anything can happen once we leave. I just want you to relax with them for a while, having some fun. I know how much you love them. And I know you're really going to miss them and our home. Wouldn't you like that?"

"I would like that," Neo replied. She sighed. "I am going to miss them. This place has been my home for over two years now. And this is the first time I'm leaving it. The first time I'm leaving its protective, familiar walls. I try not to think about it, but it scares me a bit. Leaving my home, my family…I know I'll be with you. It's just…I'm worried about the crew. I know they are strong and can take care of themselves and will be on Zou pretty much the entire time, but I can't help but worry about them."

"I know you're worried. But they will be just fine. And, despite Bepo not remembering much about the place, they will be protect when they get there. He is a mink after all. They're not going to be fighting or anything. You can order them to avoid all unnecessary fights if you want to. They'll obey your orders as if they were mind. You are my co-captain now. Okay?" Law drug the washcloth up her leg, over her stomach and kissed her wet lips. Neo nodded. "Good. Now it's your turn to wash me."

"Hm…now that's a good distraction," Neo said with a smirk while reaching for the shampoo.

Law released a throaty chuckle and hoped she didn't arouse  _him_  to the point he breaks their 'No sex in the shower' rule.

…

Neo sighed to herself as she ran her eyes over the papers in her hands. She was curled up in Law's desk chair with her legs bent up and her heels pressing against the seat. She adjusted the strap of her dark blue Amazon bikini before biting her bottom lip. She was so lost in thought she almost didn't sense Law entering their room. She stretched out her legs a bit when he slipped one arm around her back. He then slipped his other arm under her knees and lifted her off the chair. He sat down and placed her on his lap. He kissed her cheek. "Love, what are you doing in here? You're supposed to be outside with the crew. We docked nearly an hour ago."

"I know. I just got distracted," Neo mumbled, eyes still glued to the papers in her hands.

Law glanced at the papers she was holding. She was looking over the stats of Doflamingo and his underlings.

"I should be able to handle Doflamingo's family officers without much trouble. I know they're still more skilled than I am considering how long they've been fighting and how they all have devil fruit powers. But I don't think I'm going to be much help to you when confronting Doflamingo himself. His strings can literally cut through anything. And the only physical attacks I have in my crystal arsenal are my earth crystals, which he can easily dice up. I might be able to sneak attack him with seawater or something, but he's so strong. I probably won't be able to hold him still for every long."

"Try not to worry about it." Law kissed her cheek. Anger stared to igniting in his chest at the mere thought of his love fighting that monster.

Feeling that, Neo ran her fingers through his hair, bring him back into a calm state.

"If I have anything to say about it, you won't go anywhere near a fight with  _him_."

"Law," Neo said in a slight warning tone. She cocked her head at him. "You know we have to cover all the angles. And you know that I'm not just going to stand by and let you face him all on your own, especially if he hurts you or tries to kill you. I won't be able to stand still. I can control my anger more easily now, but you know I'll become a raging hurricane if  _that man_  tries to kill you in front of me."

Law chuckled at the mental image of Doflamingo flailing uncontrollable in the storm he knew Neo would unleash if the older warlord did try to kill him. "As much as I'd love to see the look on  _his_  face once you released your magic on him like that, I'm still going to do everything in my power to keep you from confronting him. Now…"

Law plucked the papers out of her hands and dropped them onto his desk. He then ran his hand over her leg multiple times. "Outside with you. You're on vacation. You're supposed to be having fun with the crew not stewing over the enemy."

"Okay." Neo wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Let's go."

"You're going. I'm staying."

She pulled back and pouted at him.

"This break is about you and the crew."

"You  _are_  part of the crew." Neo frowned. "You're really tense about leaving. You need to relax too."

"I'm sorry, love. I have some things I need to take care of before we leave," Law said. He sighed when her eyes glistened with tears. She cuddled into him, breathing in his scent. "Please, don't be upset. We'll have plenty of time to spend together. You go on now. The crew really wants you with them."

"Okay," Neo relented with a soft sigh.

"Hey." Law tightened his hold on her when she tried to climb off of him. She sat back down and looked at him. "Don't be upset with me. Maybe I can join you at some point later on. All right?"

"Fine." Neo kissed him before getting up from his lap. She was just about to the door when he called out to her.

"Neo," he said in his most 'I'm serious' captain tone. She turned her innocent eyes back to him. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?" she asked.

"Your outfit?" Law pointed to her Amazon bikini. "You are still forbidden from wearing  _that_  off the sub."

"Ah, Law. We're the only ones on the beach." Neo fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously at him.

"We might be the only ones on the beach, but we're  _not_  the only ones on the island." Law crossed his arms and gave her a pointed look. "We're still in walking distance of the town. You change out of that outfit right this second."

"Mmm." Neo tapped her chin and sent him thoughts suggesting she wasn't going to listen to him.

"Neo," Law warned with a petrified expression.

She laughed before walked back over to him. Placing her hands on his hips, she pushed up on her toes and kissed him. "I know, my love. My body is only for you to see like this, with the exception of the crew of course. I won't let anyone else see me wearing this."

"Good girl," Law replied with a nod. "Don't you ever give me thoughts of you refusing my orders on this again. That wasn't funny."

"I thought it was. You look so cute when petrified," Neo said with a mischievous bell filled giggle.

Law sighed at her teasing and captured her lips in a short heated kiss before helping her change her clothes. After play fighting with Law on what she was going to wear, he wanted her to wear layers upon layers of clothes, she ended up leaving the sub in a white tank top with a small black jolly roger near her left hip and her jean shorts.

Once out on the deck of the sub, Neo summoned her wind crystals and lifted herself down to the island. She glanced around at her beach-clad crew. Some of them were sitting around a fire, a few of them were setting up for a game of beach volleyball, Penguin and Shachi was spreading out a beach blanket that she knew was for her. The second the blanket was on the sand, Bepo flopped down on it and started snoozing.

"Hey! Get off that!" Shachi shrieked. "We laid that out for Neo! Not for you to take nap on!"

"It's fine, Shachi," Neo said. She glanced up at the sky. There were only a few low clouds floating lazily on the warm breeze. She breathed in the salty and sunscreen filled air as the sun heated up her skin. "It's just a nice day. I'm tempted to take a nap as well."

"I hope not. At least not yet," Penguin said. He waved the sunscreen bottle in his hand. "We've got some games set up. You better put some of this on before you burn."

Neo nodded and took the bottle from him. While she applied the white cream to her skin, Shachi looked around for their captain. He asked, "Is the captain coming outside?"

"No." Neo sighed. "He's refusing to. He says he's got work to do, finalizing his plans, but I think he doesn't want to have fun. And, honestly, I think he's a bit worried about you all too. You know how he doesn't like to really express those emotions."

"Yeah." Shachi nodded. "I'm seriously bummed that he won't let us go with you all to Punk Hazard. It's hard to think about how we're not going to see you and the captain for months."

"Believe me, I know exactly how you feel," Neo said softly. She lowered her hands to her sides. Her eyes glistened with tears. "I've lived with you, the majority of the crew, for a little over two years now. I've become so use to having you all around me. And now your not going to be. I want cry every time I think about it. I feel so guilty leaving you all."

"You don't have to feel guilt," Penguin said. He stepped closer to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "We all know and understand how much you need to be with the captain. It would be torture for you two to be apart. And anything can happen. Neither of you two have the guarantee that the captain would come back alive. It's for the best that you go with him instead of staying with us. You know that."

"I know. But it's still hard." Neo rubbed the heel of her hand in her eye. "You all are my family."

"And we always will be," Shachi said joining Penguin in a tight hug around Neo.

"We'll always love you, Neo!" Bepo cried out in his sleep.

"He's right," Shachi said after an annoyed glare at the bear for talking in his sleep again.

"Now, no more tears," Penguin said, brushing the tears from her cheeks. "This is a vacation! Time for some fun!"

"Yeah!" Shachi cheered. The two men helped Neo finish applying her sunscreen then joined the rest of the crew in a couple rounds of beach volleyball. After their games ended the crew dove into the sea for a swim so they could cool off from their heated volleyball games.

Neo called up some dolphins that were nearby. The crew played with the dolphins until their growling stomachs forced them out of the water in search for some lunch.

"We should head into town for a while," Topaz suggested before popping the last bite of her hamburger into her mouth. She adjusted the strap of her one piece, dark green swimming suit before wiping her fingers on her cut off jean shorts.

"I suppose so. Is there anything in particular you all want to look at?" Neo asked. She then glared playfully at her crew. "Besides the local tavern."

The crew chuckled guiltily while rubbing their necks. Topaz shrugged, flashing a smile at Penguin. "We just want to look around."

Neo hummed while darting her eyes back and forth between Topaz and Penguin. "Okay. What are you two up to?"

"Nothing," they replied with shrugs.

"Uh huh." Neo narrowed her eyes at the two then looked around at the rest of the crew. No one else seemed to be in on whatever Penguin and Topaz was planning. "You better tell me what's going on."

"It's a surprise of sorts," Penguin said, tugging on a short sleeve black shirt. He grabbed Neo's hand and stood up with her. "Let's get going."

"Fine. Just let me tell Law," Neo relented.  _'Law, we're going into town for a while.'_

_'All right. Have fun.'_

"Let's go." Neo said before letting Penguin pull her towards the town. Like always, she carefully glanced around the town and at the townspeople. The air was filled with typical island chatter, salty sea air, and the smells of the local seafood based meals fading on the wind. She was so distracted by the scenery that she didn't noticed they had entered into one of the local stores until Topaz elbowed her lightly on the arm. She brought her eyes to the orange haired woman before looking around the building. "What the…you can't be serious. This is what you two are up to?"

Topaz and Penguin grinned sheepishly. The two had brought her into a store full of swimming suits.

Neo scanned her eyes over her surroundings. There were tons of different styles and colors of swimming suits lined up along the walls, handing on racks and laying on shelves. There were also tons of swimming trunks for men, beach balls, goggles and other beach attire, but her eyes kept coming back to the female section of swimming suits. "Law is not going to like this. I can't even wear my Amazon outfits off the sub."

"The captain's going to love it," Penguin said. With his hand still in hers, he pulled her towards a section of the swimming suits.

"Uh," Neo whimpered, unsure about this.

"Trust us, Neo," Topaz said, placing her hand on the nervous princess's shoulder. Neo looked at the older woman. "He's a man. He's going to love this."

"Plus, he only forbid you to wear your  _Amazon bikinis_  off the sub. He's never forbid you from wearing another types of bikini off the sub," Penguin pointed out with a bright smile. "This will actually help your relationship with him. Besides, no one really goes to that part of the beach. People just stick to this side of the island since all the stores are here."

"You two came into town before now, didn't you?" Neo asked. Her eyebrows narrowed slightly.

"Yes. We did," Topaz admitted. "We figured the captain would resist relaxing with the rest of the crew. We also know the only one who can get him to come outside is you."

"And how exactly am I suppose to do that?" Neo tilted her head.

"By using your body," Penguin answered. He released her hand and started filtering through the swimming suits, surprisingly not becoming a drooling mess at all the provocative clothing and women trying on the suits.

"Huh?" Neo blinked.

"Consider this a much needed lesson in how to get the captain to do what you want by using your body against him," Topaz said.

"But I don't want to use my body against him. I don't even know how to do that," Neo replied. She tapped her chin in thought. "Or I don't recognize it. He says I'm a natural tease, but…"

"Don't worry about it," Penguin said. He plucked off a yellow bikini and looked it over before wrinkling his nose at it and put it back. "We'll coach you today on what you need to do. Then tomorrow, when he refuses to come outside, you can enact the plan of luring him outside. It'll be good for the captain to relax a bit before leaving."

"I do want him to relax. He's just so tense over all of this," Neo mumbled.

"Then consider this matter settled," Topaz said. She then stepped up to the bikinis and started looking through them with Penguin. Penguin held up a string bikini that looked like eye patches. "That one's way too revealing. We need to keep Neo comfortable while also not causing the captain to have a heart attack."

"Good point." Penguin nodded. "We need one that's just slightly a bit more revealing than her Amazon bikinis while still keeping her mostly covered.

"And where exactly am I going to hide this thing?" Neo planted her hands on her hips.

"I'll hide it in my room until tomorrow," Topaz replied, not looking at Neo. She plucked a red bikini, with three small yellow flowers decorating the front, off the shelf. "This one's cute, but I don't think this color will go with Neo's hair."

"We're just going to have her try these on," Penguin replied. He piled several bikinis on his arm before looking around the store. He mentally counted how many men were in the room. There were only five currently. While he didn't want the strange men in the store with Neo trying on bikinis, he really didn't have the option of kicking them out. He would just have to keep a close eye on them to make sure they didn't come too close to his little sister. Slipping his arm around her waist, he guided her to the dressing room where she tried on over twenty suits of various styles and colors. "Perfect!"

"You think?" Neo asked while walking over to a mirror.

"Totally. We should have guessed a blue one would suit her best because of the shade of her hair. The black sporty style one was very cute on her too," Topaz said holding up the very black bikini she was talking about. "You should get both and have them customized with our jolly roger."

Neo tilted her head while she stared at herself in the mirror. The blue bikini was actually a dual color with only about two inches of her breasts showing. A small section at the top of the top piece and the bottom piece was a soft yellow while the rest was a blue two shades darker than her hair. The straps on her shoulders and hips were about a half an inch thick. She wondered why any woman would wear something like this. It was clear that the straps could easily break. But something about the bikini was still very alluring to her. She knew Law would love it.

"You look very cute in that one," an unfamiliar voice said.

Neo's heart took a sharp jolt as she dove back behind the changing room curtain with red cheeks.

The brown haired man blinked in confusion at Neo's quick retreat.

 _'Neo? Is something wrong?'_  Law asked.

 _'No. I'm fine.'_  Neo replied, trying to calm her heart.  _'I was just startled.'_

_'You are with the crew, right?'_

_'Yes, my worried lover, I'm with Penguin and Topaz. I think the rest of the crew went to the tavern.'_

_'All right. As long are you're with someone and fine.'_

_'I am. See you later.'_

"Get lost!" Penguin growled. He kicked himself for not paying close enough attention to the other shoppers and letting this stranger get too close.

"What's that matter with you?" the man, dressed in beach attire, asked. He raised his black sunglasses over his dark brown hair. "I was just giving her a compliment. She does look extremely cute in that bikini. If she's not seeing-"

"She's married!" Penguin hissed.

"Seriously? Bummer," the man said, shaking his head. Without another word, he turned and walked away.

"I'm sorry, Neo. I wasn't paying attention," Penguin said from the other side of the curtain.

"It's okay, Pen. I'm changing now so we can leave," Neo replied. She slipped out of the bikini then back into her normal clothes before pushing back the curtain. "So what now?"

"We can look around town a bit more," Topaz suggested. "The crew probably won't head back for the beach for a while still. And we still want to get these two bikinis customized. There's an embroidery shop nearby."

"Okay." Neo nodded. The trio then walked to the check out counter. They paid for Neo's purchases then headed for the embroidery shop. It was a small one-story building with white walls. Inside the walls were covered with tapestries of colorful embroideries done by the old woman. Neo told the old woman what she wanted, a little yellow jolly roger on the left breast of the black bikini top and a little black jolly roger on the left side of the bottom of the blue and yellow bikini. Upon hearing that the trio were pirates, the old woman suddenly went on a rant about how selfish pirates are and how much of a pain they could be before revealing she was in love with a pirate who had broken her heart. In the middle of the woman's story, the Penguin broke in and said they really had to leave. All of them were sure the woman didn't hear him when she continued to rattle on about her lover pirate while they made a quick exit out of the tiny shop. They returned to the shop two hours later, per instructions, to find the job was done but the woman was still going on about her pirate lover with a dreamy expression. They paid for the job then made a quick exit.

Making their way back to the sub, they laughed about what an odd experience that was. Neo lifted them all onto the deck of the sub so they could hide her bikinis in Topaz room before heading back out to the beach. They sat around the fire until the rest of the crew started wondering back into camp. Keeping with their relaxed atmosphere, Neo and the new cook stuck with hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner. After dinner, the crew settled into roasting marshmallow while Jean Bart shared some scary stories he and his former crew had went through back when he was a captain of his own ship. Law had joined them for dinner and stayed for a while to listen to the stories. Neo tucked herself into Law's side as they listened to the former captain.

The next day started like always. The crew woke up and had breakfast together before they started to head outside for the last day of their vacation. Topaz had discreetly escorted Neo back to her room where she passed off the blue and yellow bikini. With some last words of encouragement and guidance from the older Elemental, Neo took the bikini back to her and Law's room. The captain was diligently writing at his desk like he had been the day before. She frowned when he didn't even glanced up at her. She didn't like how much attention he was paying to his plans. She felt a bit better about what she was getting ready to as she turned from him and entered into their bathroom. A quick changed and she headed back out. With a relaxing breath she walked over to her lover. From behind him, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek. "Law, you've done enough of that. Come outside with me."

"Maybe later, love," Law replied.

"Aw, come on, Law." Neo loosened her arms on him and moved to his front. She placed herself on his lap and took his earrings into her mouth. She sucked slowly on them for a while before trailing kissed down to his neck until she located his soft spot. She sucked softly on the spot while threading her fingers through his hair, lulling him into a trance.

"Neo," Law warned. "That's cheating."

She smiled against his neck before removing her hand from his hair. She glided her fingertips over his temple, his cheek, his neck, then down his chest until she got to the top of his jeans. She then snapped open the button and pulled down the zipper as far as she could take it since she was sitting on his lap. He tensed under her when she teasingly rubbed close to him. Still sucking on his neck, she continued to run her hands over his skin until she got him to moan for her. She smiled against his skin when she felt him becoming undone by her.

"Hn, Neo, you-" Law grabbed her hips. His voice cut off when he noticed something was off about her body. He looked down. His cheeks flushed and his eyes began to blink rapidly. She bit her bottom lip and smiled at the confusion swirling inside of his mind. "Neo? What are you wearing?"

"A bikini," Neo replied.

"And why are you wearing a b…a bi…" Law's words hitched in his throat.

"Bikini," Neo finished for him.

"Right. A bi…a bi…" Unable to say the word, and unable to bring his eyes off her, he continued to stare at her slightly exposed chest. "And why are you wearing  _that_?!"

"It's for you," She replied. She kissed his cheek before lifting off of him. Take a few steps before turning back to him to model it. "Do you like it? Penguin and Topaz said you would. I also got a black one. It's not revealing like this one, but I think you'll like it just as much. Black is a favorite color of yours after all."

"Another…Penguin did what?" Law asked sharply, while still unable to take his eyes off her. "Penguin saw you in a bi…a bi…"

"Bi-ki-ni," Neo said sounding out the syllables.

"He saw you in multiple bi…bi…"

"He's seen me in my Amazon bikinis. It didn't bother you then, not much anyway," Neo pointed out. She slipped her hands behind her back and twisted a strain of her long hair. Part of her was worried she might have upset Law, but she didn't feel him upset about this. He was more shock than anything. "I want you to come outside with me. You need to relax too."

"I have…finish up…here," Law said, clearly starting to have trouble forming complete sentences. His eyes were cutting sharp over the curves of her body. "Penguin…you…bi…bi…"

"Oh, very well then," Neo said with a sigh. "I guess I'll just have to rely on the crew to entertain me."

She slowly made her way to their door, carefully swaying her hips like Penguin and Topaz instructed her to do. She felt a bit awkward in doing this, but the expression and confusion she formed in Law made it worth it. She was actually having fun messing with the stoic man like this. With one last glance over her shoulder, she smiled at the divided look on Law's face before disappearing into the hallway.

Once outside, she flew herself down to the beach and was greeted by her crew. Those who didn't know about the little shopping trip froze in their tracks and started at their quiet girl dressed in a somewhat revealing bikini and being off the sub in it. Bepo was the only one who didn't have a reaction as he was once again napping on the beach blanket that was laid out for Neo.

"What the heck?!" a couple of them shrieked.

"What in the world are you doing off the sub dressed like that?!" Archer asked. "Since when do you even own one of them? Not that I disapprove, but still."

"Does the captain know you're out here dressed like  _that_?" Tero asked. His own eyes running over her body in disbelief. "I thought you were forbidden to wear such clothes off the sub."

"He knows," Neo replied, twirling a lock of hair. "And, technically, he's only forbidden me from wearing my Amazon bikinis off the sub. He never said anything about a regular bikini."

"So did it work?" Penguin asked expectantly.

"I believe he'll be out here any minute," Neo replied with a bell filled giggle. "As much as he trusts you all with me, I highly doubt he'll stay inside with me dressed like this."

"Glad it worked and you didn't get in trouble," Topaz said with a bright smile.

"Should have known you two had something to do with this," Jean Bart said accusingly. He shook his head then headed off with a few crewmates to do some fishing. The rest of the crew then fanned out to entertain themselves or soak in some sun.

Neo sat down on the beach blanket with Topaz, Penguin, and Shachi. She grabbed the sunscreen and started to apply it to her skin. As she glided her palm up her arm, a familiar shadow fell over her.

Topaz and Penguin stiffened at the glowering aura their captain, dressed in black swim shorts with a yellow jolly roger and yellow spots going across the legs, was admitting for what they had done. They quickly stood up from the blanket.

Penguin said, "I think I'm going to go do some fishing. Fresh fish for lunch or dinner sounds wonderful, doesn't it?"

"Indeed it does," Topaz said hastily as they rushed off. "I'll join you."

"Uh." Shachi froze in place. While he didn't have anything to do with this bikini caper, he got the feeling he should not be anywhere near his captain and, especially, Neo at the moment. So he jumped to his feet and dashed off without another word to anyone.

Neo then glanced up at Law and gave him her most innocent look she could possibly manage before he plopped wordlessly down beside her. With his eyes closed, he crossed his arms over his bend up knees. She continued to wipe the sunscreen over her body, carefully stealing glances at him, as Law just stewed beside her.

A few minutes later, he finally spoke up. "Did you really have to do that? Tease me with your body while dressed in a bi…in a bi…in a bi…in one of  _those_?!"

Neo bite back a giggle at his inability to say the word. "Yes, my love. I had to do it. It was clearly the only way to get you outside. So, since you're here…will you lather up my back? I don't want to burn."

Law grumbled and remained unmoved.

She giggled that time. "Oh, fine. I guess I can have Pengu-"

Law snatched the sunscreen from her hand. He squeezed far too much of the white cream onto his palm while grumbling to himself.

Neo pulled her hair over her shoulder for him. Despite his current rough disposition, he rubbed her back just as careful as always. Once he was finished, she leaned back against Bepo to soak up some sun while Law wiped the remaining sunscreen on himself.

Neo closed her eyes and enjoyed the sun warming up her skin. She smiled each time she felt Law's eyes gliding over her bikini-clad body and his mind helplessly wondering over sexual thoughts of what he could do to her if they were in their room. She could also feel him wanting to tell her she wasn't suppose to be wearing bikinis off the sub but, at the same time, he realized his mistake in only saying her  _Amazon bikinis_. Back then neither would have guessed she would become this comfortable in her skin to wear such an outfit off the sub. But no strangers were around so that helped a lot.

Law glided his eyes down the curves of her body before inevitably planting his gaze on her partly exposed breasts. He quickly cut off his thoughts from her. When she felt Law suddenly close off his thoughts from her, she opened her eyes and looked at him. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet and down the beach.

"Uh, Law, where are we going?"

"For a walk," Law replied in a sharp but controlled voice.

Neo looked back at the crew. Some had noticed them wondering off but didn't question it or try to stop them.

After walking a quarter of a mile down the beach, Law turned to the right and pulled Neo into the thick forest. Once about thirty yards into the forest, Law pressed Neo's back against a tree and pressed his obvious arousal to her. "See what you did to me? And now you are going to pay for using your body against me like you did."

"Uh, but we don't have a-"

"Yes, we do," Law said before started mercilessly sucking on her neck causing an instant moan to come from her lips. He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the tiny package then trailed the still wrapped condom all over her skin. Teasingly tugging down her top, he freed her then took her in his mouth and sucked mercilessly on her again, earning pleasure filled moans and cries of his name. He then hooked his thumbs over the tiny straps on her hips, both feeling him getting turned on even more. He was about to snap the thin straps before reality broke back into his heated thoughts. They would have to return to the crew. Her ripped bottoms would cause questions and embarrassment for her. So he tugged them down her thighs instead before ridding himself of his bottoms. Covering himself with the condom, he leaned into her ear then hooked his hands behind her thighs. "You better hold on to me, my teasing lover."

Neo's hands automatically went to his shoulders seconds before he lifted her up and entered her. She rolled her head back in pleasure at the erratic rocking of his hips against her while careful to not go too hard since she was against a tree and not their soft bed. Impatiently, she tugged on his hair for a kiss. Her heart skipped a beat at his deep, throaty chuckle.

He brought his lips to her ear. "No, no, my sweet, sexy, little tease. You will not get any kisses from me this time. That is your punishment for teasing me like you did."

"Hn, Law," Neo whimpered helplessly as he continued his act against her.

…

"I was wondering when you two were coming back," Shachi said an hour and a half later when Neo and Law returned to the camp hand in hand.

Neo's face flushed as her body stiffened beside Law.

Law mentally chuckled at her reaction before answering his subordinate. "It was a very  _beautiful_  sight we were seeing. We were just taking our time and enjoying  _everything_."

Neo felt her face grow even redder at his words. She was so thankful that Shachi didn't notice that Law was hinting at more than just the island scenery. If it were possible, she would have mentally growled at Law for putting her in this position, but her brain was fuzzy with everything he did to her in their time away from the crew.

"You look a bit warm," Topaz said, taking in Neo's red face.

"She just got a little  _hot_  on our walk," Law said with an internal smirk. "She'll be fine once we sit down and cool off."

"That's probably a good idea," Topaz said with a nod. "I'll get us something to drink. Since you grew some lemons the other day, how does fresh lemonade sound?"

Not able to trust her own voice, Neo just nodded in replied.

Topaz nodded back. "Very well then. I'll go make it immediately. I'm sure the rest of the crew is thirsty as well."

"I'll help you," Shachi offered.

Topaz nodded again and the two headed for the sub.

Law then guided Neo over to the beach blanket where Bepo was still napping. They sat down together. He put his arm around her waist, resting his hand on her thigh, and kissed her temple.

Neo sat there for a while before finally being able to speak up. "No matter how good it was that was harsh. Really, Law? You know how much I love your kisses."

"I do," Law replied. Finally, he kissed her lips. "Maybe next time you'll think twice before using your body against me like that."

"Hm." Neo hummed as she rested her head on his shoulder. Her mind wondered over the events of the day. With how good their encounter was she wondered if no kisses were worth it and how or when she was going to do it again.

Law chuckled at her thoughts before placing a kiss on her temple.

…

"No," Law said stiffly. A thick, heavy atmosphere had lowered into their lightly lit room. Two hours after dinner was over, Neo pulled Law back to their room. Both knew he needed to finally use his powers on her. He was still refusing. His mind and chest was still plagued with worries of hurting her. Both of them felt like they couldn't breath from the stress this was causing.

The captain was standing at his desk. His back was to Neo as he glared at the papers containing Doflamingo's information. He clenched his teeth and fists so hard it was starting to make their bodies ache.

"Law, you have to," Neo insisted softly. "You've put this off long enough. We're leaving  _tomorrow_. You know you have to do it. And do it  _now_."

Neo walked over to the corner of the room where Law always propped up Kikoku. She grabbed the sword, almost forgetting how heavy it really was, and walked back over to Law. She rubbed her hand on his back for a minute, eventually getting him to turn to her. She then slipped her hand into his hair and started working him into a trance state.

He didn't want her to do this, but he didn't resist her touch.

Once his body had relaxed, she pulled her hand from his hair and took his wrist in her hand. She guided his hand to his sword. "It's okay, Law. You're not going to hurt me. You know you're not. All you have to do is separate my body and put me back. That part never hurts anyone. You've done it a million times. You are a master at your powers now. Do it, Law."

Law gritted his teeth even more as he fully took his sword from her. She stepped back from him a few feet. Tears pressed against the back of his eyes as he unsheathed the nodachi. Letting the sheath drop from his hold, he held up his hand. He swallowed dryly before speaking. "R…Room."

Neo stood ready when his blue film washed over the room just enough to cover them. Feeding her thoughts to him on how good he is with his powers, how he's not going to hurt her and how much they love each other, she encouraged him to finally do it. He sliced his sword over her twice, it as all he could do. "S…Shambles."

Neo pushed down her anxiety of this new situation and did her best to keep her  _wanting to raise_  heartbeat low. She knew the calmer she was the more it helped Law remain calm. She knew he wasn't going to hurt her at all. She smiled once her body was divided at her knees, hips, and shoulders. Just like she knew, it didn't hurt at all. "You did it, Law."

Law nodded and put her back in her true form as quickly as he could. He then dropped his sword and fell to his knees. Covering his hand over his eyes as tears began to leak out. He muttered softly, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Neo rushed to him. Dropping to her knees, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her. Cradling his head to her shoulder, she stroked her hand over his hair and neck with one hand while rubbing his back with the other. She whispered softly to him, "Shh. It's over, my love. You did it. You can now use your powers on me. Just breath."

He grabbed a hold of her shirt and clenched it hard in his hands while taking deep breaths to calm himself down. A few minutes later, Law lifted off her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"No need to be. I just wished you had told me sooner about how much you were afraid of using your powers on me," Neo said. She brushed her fingertips over his bangs before cupping his cheek. "We could have worked on this long before now. You know, sometimes you focus too much on taking care of me. You need to let me take care of you more. You don't always have to be so strong around me. You know it's okay to show me your weak side."

Law chuckled lightly. "I guess I'm still just so use to being the protector and the care taker of you. I always had to be strong for you."

Neo's heart fluttered at the loving thoughts he sent to her. "Well, we'll work on that. We're one after all. We take care of each other. When you can't be strong, I'll be strong for you. Just like you've always done for me. Right?"

"Right." Law nodded. He then swooped her up into his arms, causing her to release a startled cry of surprise.

"What are you doing?" Neo asked as he carried her over to their bed.

"Like you don't know," Law replied with a mischievous grin. He then fed her their shared memories of being in the woods earlier that day.

"Law!" Neo's cheeks flushed. "We just did that!"

"And we're doing it again," Law replied. He laid her down on the bed and hovered over her. "This is the last night in our own bed for who knows how long. We're going to make this time count before leaving tomorrow."

"But we-" Law slammed his lips onto hers. Pulling her tongue into his mouth and sucking on it until she caved to him. Quickly, he stripped them both of their clothes, all the while letting his hands roam over her body until he fished for a condom and entered her. He worked his body over and in her until he had her into a mess of cries, pleas and begs for more. "Oh, geez, hn, Law! Hn! There! This is going to happen a lot, isn't it?"

Law smirked against her neck before recapturing her lips in a heated, playful battle of dominance until she turned the tided on him. Using her earth crystals, she wrapped her vines around them both and turned them so she was on top of him. He smiled at her taking the lead in the moment and let her do as she pleased to him. She kissed over his tattooed skin, occasionally taking guidance from him on what he really wanted from her until they collapsed to the bed in heavy pants of exhaustion. Wrapped up in each other's arms, they fell asleep, momentarily freed from their worries and uncertainties of what would happen tomorrow when they finally departed from their sub, their home, and their family.


	72. Departure & Arrival Punk Hazard

Departure & Arrival

Punk Hazard

Law sat quietly on the edge of the bed and just watched Neo sleep. The sub was filled with an odd, somehow eerie, quietness and stillness. It felt as if the sub itself knew what was happening and was also sad at the captain and Neo's departure. In just a few short hours they would finally be departing from the sub, the crew, their home. So many emotions and questions were running through Law's mind. Mostly they hovered around the fact that this was the first time Neo was going to be separated from the protective walls of the sub and crew. While she would be with him, he knew this was going to be a big adjustment for her. He knew she would be fine, since she would be with him, but it still bothered him. She was so use to having the crew around. So use to having her family around to talk to, to play with, and to do things with. And she was so protected within these walls and with the crew. Now she wouldn't have either of them. It was going to be just the two of them. And the mere thought scared him quite a bit. But the moment had arrived nonetheless. They were leaving today.

Law reached over and stroked Neo's hair, tenderly waking her up from her much needed slumber. She had trouble falling asleep last night, even with him rubbing her back. She was worried. How could she not have been? She was worried about leaving her home, her family, about what all would or might happen once they were out at sea by themselves, then with everything dealing with Punk Hazard and Doflamingo. It had taken him over two hours of back rubbing and snuggling to finally get her to fall asleep for him. He almost caved in and gave her something to help her sleep, but decided not to when she finally started drifting off for him.

"Hn." Neo groaned in her sleep and pulled the blanket tighter around her. "I still sleepy."

Law chuckled at her childlike reply. He leaned over and kissed her temple. "Come on, my love. I know you're still sleepy, but it's time to wake up. You can take a nap later if you need it."

Neo cracked her eyes open. She looked at Law. A deep sadness settled into her eyes and chest. "We're leaving today."

"Yeah. We are." Law brushed the teardrop away with his thumb when it leaked out of the corner of her eye. "Can you get up now?"

"Yeah." Neo nodded somberly. Sighing, she sat up, stretched out her body then followed Law off the bed.

He kissed her forehead before she wondered into the bathroom to get dressed for the day. He watched her disappear into the smaller room. When he pulled his eyes away from the door, they landed on her corner. He walked over to it. He looked at her large white bear before looking up at her pictures. She wanted to take every single one of the pictures with her, but didn't want to take the chance they would get damaged, lost or stolen. So she decided to leave them behind where they would be safe and protected.

With a heavy sigh, Law turned from the corner. He ran his eyes over the room and wondered if they had everything they needed packed to take with them. His mind ticked off the list of things they had to bring with them. Most important was the healing cream for Neo's back and wings. The only place she was going to be able to use her wings was in the room they stayed in on Punk Hazard, as long as they didn't end up sharing a room with other people. He didn't think they would. There shouldn't be anyone, or many people, on the island. He knew there was some. He just didn't know how many or how strong they would be. He figured they shouldn't be all that strong, but he knew to take care, especially with Neo.

While standing there in thought, Neo exited the bathroom. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his back with a sigh.

He placed his hand over hers and rubbed his thumb over her skin.

"Are you okay, Law?"

"Yeah," Law replied, a bit too flatly.

"Law," Neo said, with obvious doubt in her voice.

Law sighed and turned to face her.

She pinched his goatee. "You've been on this sub for years. And you've been with Bepo for ten years. I know you're going to miss them both and your crew. You can't hide that from me."

"I can try." Law smiled.

Neo rolled her eyes, causing him to chuckle.

"Okay. I'll admit it. I'm going to, sort of, miss them."

"I suppose that will have to do," Neo said with a sigh.

He smiled again before leaning down and kissed her. He then slipped his arm around her shoulders and led her to the galley to have their last, hopefully only for a while, meal with the crew. The two tried to ignore the deafening silence that had settled over the entire sub, but it wasn't really possible. They entered into the galley to find the entire crew was already inside. The crew greeted them with halfhearted greetings.

Neo's heart swelled up with affection as her eyes filled up with tears at seeing Penguin over by the stove and the new cook sitting at the table. The new cook winked at her. It was obvious he chose to step back and let her and Penguin cook this meal together. So she walked over to the stove while Law sat down at the table.

Penguin rubbed her back before the two settled into cooking breakfast. Soon the room was filled with the smell of eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy. They sat everything on the table before sitting down to try and enjoy their meal. Neo was sitting on Law's right side like always. Penguin was beside her and Topaz was beside him. Bepo was sitting on Law's left side, trying his hardest not to cry, which he failed. Many times the mink cried dramatically all over his food and even sometimes on Law. The surgeon, despite showing some outward appearances of annoyance, actually enjoyed the bear hugging and crying over him. Neo did her best not to snicker each time this explosion of emotions happened and kept her husband's secret enjoyment secret.

Not long after they finished up their slowly eaten breakfast, Neo and Law gathered up the small amount things they were taking with them then met the crew out on the deck. Neo paused to take in the world around them. Just off the shores of an uninhabited by people island, she noticed that nature was oddly silent too. It was as if nature itself was reflecting how she was feeling at the moment. The sea was still, the wind was still, and the animals were also still, even the sea creatures below them were slowly floating in place or gliding around the water.

Neo sighed when she saw the small wooden ship tethered to their sub. Law decided it would best if they separated from the rest of the crew long before reaching Punk Hazard. He figured it would be best this way for Neo. He was concerned that if the crew went with them all the way Neo would lock them all together with her vines and refuse to let them go. So he  _commandeered_ another ship for them to use.

While Law warped their belongings onto the new ship, Neo stared, teary eyed, at their crew. The main fifteen, which went with her to Luminous, were all starting back at her with tears of their own. The newer crewmates looked solemn but held no tears in their eyes. Even Tero was obviously a bit emotional this morning despite him trying to hide it with an annoyed expression. With a sudden bolt of emotion, Neo summoned her earth crystals. She wrapped a vine around the entire crew and pulled them into a huge group hug. "I can't believe I'm leaving my babies! I don't wanna go!"

"We don't want you to go either!" the crew, or most of them, cried.

"It'll be f-fine," Shachi said with sniffles.

"Yeah!" Bepo nodded furiously, dramatic tears streaking his white fur. "Time will pass by quickly! You'll be home before you know it!"

Law flinched at his subordinate's words. Doing his best to hide the feeling from Neo, he knew there was a huge chance they weren't coming back. He, himself, figured this would be the last time they ever saw the crew. But he couldn't let Neo feel that, even though he knew it was a possibility. He wanted her to hold on to the possibility, no matter how slight it might be, that they would return to the crew and the Polar Tang.

"Try not to worry, Neo," Topaz said in a smoothing, motherly way as she rubbed Neo's back. "The crew will be just fine."

"Protect them with your crystals if you have to," Neo said to the fire Elemental. "Don't hold back because you're worried about our secrets. Your safety is top priority."

"Yes, my princess." Topaz nodded. "I will use my crystals to protect the crew if the need arises."

"Thank you, Topaz," Neo said, her voice cracking. Warm tears streamed down her cheeks. "Thank you for everything that you've done for me. I know it wasn't easy for you to come with us."

"Think nothing of it, Neo." Topaz tucked Neo's hair behind her ears. "It is my pleasure to serve you. You have become more to me than just my princess. You  _are_ my little sister. You always will be."

"And you are my big sister." Neo nodded. More tears streamed down her face as she hugged the Elemental. They pulled apart so Neo could move on to the rest of the crew. She ran her eyes over them before narrowing her eyebrows. "You all behave yourselves. You eat all your vegetables and fruits. Do  _not_  over do it on the sweets or the alcohol. And do  _not_ , I repeat,  _do not_  even think about getting into any unnecessary fights. If you do, so help me I'll have Law order you all into the work out of your lives and then have him divide you all up into a million little pieces and leave you all to put yourselves together again. You all go  _straight_  to Zou!"

"Don't worry about it, Neo," Shachi said with a chuckle. He ruffled her hair before hugging her. "We promise we won't get into any unnecessary fights. And we'll head straight to Zou."

Neo nodded affirmatively. She ran her tear filled eyes over the crew once more before hugging them all. She thought she hugged them all, but realized one was missing. She roamed her eyes over the deck until she found him. Separated from the crew, leaning against the sub wall with his hat hanging low over his head and his arms and legs crossed, was Penguin. An incredible painful jolt stabbed into her heart.

Law locked his eyes onto Neo when he felt her heart take a sharp jolt. He knew from the beginning this particular goodbye was going to tear her apart. So he sent her comforting thoughts and wrapped his presence around her as much as he could.

Forcing her feet to move, she walked over to him.

This particular goodbye was going to be the hardest. She, after all, had a different connection with Penguin than she did with the rest of the crew, but for Law of course. She had kicked him. Back when she woke up on this sub, completely and totally petrified of everything and everyone one, she kicked him, hard. He was very cautious around her after that for a while, unsure if she was going to do it again. She had spent a lot of time with him since then. He was the main one who taught her how to read, write, and cook. He had become a teacher to her, a best friend, a brother, a confidant and was the very first to notice where her and Law's relationship was going to head. They, without a doubt, had the closest and tightest brother and sister bond amongst the crew. They all knew this separation was going to be the hardest on them.

Once a half a foot separated the two, Neo's voice disappeared. She parted her lips multiple times, but no sound came out. Penguin was having the same exact problem. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. There was so much to say in such a short amount of time. At the same time, they wondered what exactly they could or should say here. Neo's voice cracked as she finally got his name out. "P-Penguin…"

Pushing off the sub wall, Penguin opened his arms a split second just before she dove into them. He wrapped his left arm around her shoulders while placing his right hand on her head, holding her as close as humanly, or Elementally, possible. Tears were pouring down Neo's cheeks like waterfalls. Tears were also streaking down Penguin's eyes as they held each other. She clenched the back of his boiler suit and cried some more. Choking out his words, Penguin said, "You'll be fine. We'll be fine. Time will pass quickly. You and the captain will be home before you know it. You're strong now. You can handle anything this mission throws at you."

Still unable to speak, Neo nodded multiple times. Slowly, the two pulled back from each other. Penguin wiped away her tears, but more replaced them. He cupped her cheeks. "Take care of yourself, baby sister. And take good care of the captain. Don't let him get too crazy out there. Okay?"

"Mhmm." Neo nodded. "I…I will. You…you take care too. I'm…going to m-miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too," Penguin said softly.

"Neo," Law called as he walked up to the siblings. Neo glanced over her shoulder at him. His eyes softened and his heart ached from the sadness and tears in her eyes. "It's time to go."

"O-okay." Neo nodded. She turned back to Penguin and cupped his cheek before forcing herself to walk away from him. She walked right into Law's arms. He wrapped his arms around her while she buried her face in his chest and clenched his shirt.

Law looked over his crew. He nodded at them. "Take care, all of you. If you die on her, I'll personally haul your sorry butts out of the grave and kill you."

Soft chuckles passed among the crew. They nodded. "Aye aye, Captain."

Law nodded once more then, knowing Neo wouldn't be coherent enough to fly them, warped them to their new, temporary ship.

Shachi untied the tether and tossed it down to his captain. The crew gathered at the railing to watch as Neo and Law's ship floated off into the distance. Shachi sighed. "Well, that's that. No more time for sulking. We need to set sail ourselves."

"Right," the crew mumbled as they headed inside.

Penguin remained by the railing. He continued to stare out at the horizon where he last saw Neo and Law.

Bepo and Shachi exchanged looks before walking back over to their friend. Shachi placed his hand on Penguin's shoulder. "Hey, you are going to be okay?"

"Yeah." Penguin nodded. "I'll be fine. The first day is always the hardest. And time will pass faster than we think it will."

"It will." Shachi smiled.

"Let's go inside now," Bepo said. "We've got a long trip ahead of us."

Penguin rubbed the back of his arm over his eyes. He then nodded. "Right. We have to head for Zou."

With one last look at the horizon, the three Heart Pirates turned and headed into the sub. Bepo closed the door. All of them were doing their best to ignore how instantly lonely it was in the sub without their captain and their little sister. A big hole was now present in their home and their lives.

…

Neo sighed as she kept her arms around Law's torso and her face buried in his chest. He kept one arm around her, with his hand on her hair, while he steered the helm of the ship in the correct direction. Once he caught the winds in the sail, he let nature do the work for him. He then pulled Neo to the small bench near the helm. With his sword against the wall, he sat down and guided her to his lap, knowing this departure was emotional and she would fall asleep soon. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her hair. "It'll be okay. Today will be the hardest of them all. Tomorrow will be better."

"Mhmm." Neo nodded slowly. "How long will it take us to get to Punk Hazard again? I'm going to go crazy on this ship with nothing to do."

"It should take us about three or four days to reach the general spot that the island is in. Then it's just a matter of time. When we're close enough you should be able to sense the island's conflicting elements," Law explained.

"Right," Neo said. She covered a yawn with her fingers then placed her hand over Law's. She glided her fingers over his skin and his wedding band until she lulled herself into a nap.

Law held her in his lap for a long while before laying her down on the bench, giving her his hat as a pillow, as he attended to the ship to make sure they kept in the correct direction. He knew that would be best. He didn't want her to wake up in this strange ship and he wasn't beside her.

Sometime later, Neo cracked her eyes open to the unfamiliar color and damp wood smell of the new ship. Startled, she gasped and sat up. She relaxed when she felt Law coming closer to her. She looked up to the door just as Law stepped back outside, bring the smell of fried fish with him. "I'm sorry, love. I meant to be out here when you woke up."

"It's okay. I just got startled a little bit," Neo replied. She rubbed the remaining sleep out of her eyes before grabbing his hat and standing up. "I think I was having a weird dream. Something about Bepo being half fish, like a mermaid, and was seriously conflicted about eating the fish he was having for lunch. He was a crying mess. The poor thing."

Law chuckled at the mental image that provided for him. "Well, the fish I'm cooking might have had an influence on your dream."

"You cooked fish?" Neo asked. She then looked up at the sun. The large yellow ball was hanging low in the sky just a few feet above the horizon. "Did I really sleep that long? I don't usually nap that long."

"This time things were a bit different. You didn't get much sleep last night," Law said. He held out his hand for her. She slid her hand in his and followed him inside. The smells of the grilled fish was stronger once inside. It made her mouth water and her stomach rumble.

"I guess you're right," Neo sighed. Law pulled out one of the chairs for her. She sat down and placed Law's hat on the table while he took the chair beside her on her left. She glanced over their meal, fried fish and rice balls. The main meal Law knew how to cook. He knew how to cook other stuff, but that was his specialty and preferred option when he did cook. "It was very sweet of you to cook for us. You could have just woken me up. I didn't mean to sleep that late and leave you all alone."

"Don't worry about it." Law leaned over and pecked her lips. "You needed to sleep. I didn't mind cooking at all. And I got some fishing done. I haven't done that in quite a while."

"Well, thank you very much, my husband. I love the rare times you cook," Neo said with a smile.

"You're very welcome." Law kissed her again before they picked up their forks and started eating.

Halfway through, Neo glanced around the small galley. It held a small cabinet for their small supply of food, a stove, a fridge, the table and four chairs. Her mind began to go over how small this place was. There was no way her crew would have been able to fit inside of this place. The galley of this ship wasn't even half the size of the Polar Tang's galley. Jean Bart wouldn't have been able to even get inside the door either. She didn't notice the tears running down her cheeks until the back of Law's hand brushed against her skin. She looked at him and placed her hand over his.

"It's okay. It'll be okay."

"I already miss them so much," Neo whispered. "It hurts. I have this strong, strange feeling inside of me. What is it? What's wrong with me?"

"You're just homesick," Law said, feeling what she was feeling. He should have known right away that she would be instantly home sick with how attached she was to the Polar Tang and crew. He tugged on her hand. "Come here."

Letting go of her fork, she stood up and moved onto Law's lap. He kissed her forehead when she laid her head on his shoulder. He pulled her plate closer to them and fed her and himself as she leaned into and breathed in his familiar scent to help calm her down. Once their dinner was completed, the two of them headed back outside for a while. Standing at the helm, Law looked around in a desperate attempt to find something to distract her. There was a tiny library inside of the ship, but the majority of the books were scientific ones. Even if she could understand all of the scientific terms inside of them, he knew she was too upset to read. She needed something else to do, something more distracting with physical and mental interaction.

Just then a pod of sixteen orca whales breached the ocean surface. Law smiled. Animals and sea creatures would be a great distraction for her. And they would always be around them unlike books and the crew. He looked down at her. "Why don't you go play with the whales?"

"Hm?" Neo blinked up at him.

"It'll take your mind off how lonely you feel without the crew," Law explained.

"I guess so." Neo nodded somberly. She looked out at a large, black and white whale that was spy hopping out of the water. "What are they doing?"

"I believe that what's called spy hopping. They're breaching the water so they can see what's going on. They're probably inspecting our ship or you," Law replied.

"Huh…they are curious," Neo said. The whale clicked and chirped before falling back into the water. "No way!"

"What is it?" Law questioned.

"They said some others who feel like I do passed by here a couple weeks ago!" Neo reported. Her eyes were shining from that information. A small smile had spread across her lips. "I wonder who they were. Do you think they're friendly? Maybe some Elementals who travel with my godfather since we're in the New World?"

"It's a possibility. Red Hair Shanks did say that Elementals occasionally travel with him," Law said, glad she was feeling better even if only lasted a short while. "You going to go play?"

"Yes." Neo nodded. "You think it's for the best. Plus, I want to ask them if they can tell me more about the Elementals that came through here. Do you think we'll see them?"

"It's always a possibility, especially if they sense you're nearby." Law carefully looked around their surroundings. No islands, or ships, were insight, but he knew that didn't mean a thing. They could be just out of their sight. Or, if any Elementals were nearby, they could be hiding even thought Neo could sense them. He narrowed his eyebrows and wondered if they were friendly or not.

"Relax, Law. There are no Elementals nearby," Neo said. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. "If I ever sense some near, I'll return immediately to the ship."

"You're such a good girl." Law smirked. Summoning and then lifting herself up with her wind crystals, she pecked his lips then flew out to the whales. He crossed his arms over the railing of the ship to watch her play with the whales for a while.

Neo flew down to the one whale that spy hopped out of the water. The whale rolled over onto its side and wiggled its flipper at her. She giggled. The whale clicked in surprise at her bell filled giggle. "Yeah, I have bells in my laughter. Does it bother you?"

The whale shook its head back and forth.

"That's good. Can you tell me more about the others you said felt like me? What type of Elemental they were? You can sense I hold all the elements within me and my crystals, right?"

More whales gathered around her as the one she was talking to told her about the others. It told her all four of them were of the wind and that they seemed friendly enough when they played with them. "Well, that's good. They might be friendly to me then as well. It too bad they already left."

Just then a baby whale, with three small white patches above his left eye, rose out of the water and bumped into her. Neo giggled and wrapped her arms around the baby. "You want to play? All right then. We have some time before the sun goes down. Let's play."

Neo dove into the water. The whales followed her. Clicking and singing happily as they all glided along in the salty water. Using her water crystals, Neo formed fresh water around her eyes so the salt of the ocean didn't sting her orbs. This also gave her a clearer picture of the underwater life around her. Different, colorful types of fish, and other sea creatures, swam by, some occasionally stopping to inspect the Elemental before hurrying back to their school or back into their holes they came out of. She stroked the fish, whales, a couple dolphins that came up, inspected the ocean plant life and reefs while underwater. She even located a clam that willingly gave her its shiny pearl that was nestled in its mouth. She thanked the creature and pocketed the little gem before turning her attention back to her whale friends.

Occasionally, Neo would grab onto one of the whale's dorsal fin and let the whale pull her along until she needed air. Instead of rising to the surface for her much needed air, Neo used her wind crystals to create an air bubble around her head. She filled her lungs before speaking. "There. Now I can breath underwater."

The baby whale came back beside her. He clicked a few times. "Oh, you're right. I better tell Law what I'm doing so he doesn't worry when I don't surface."

_'Law?'_

_'Yes?'_

_'I've created an air bubble around my head so I won't be surfacing much for air.'_

_'Okay then. That makes sense. You can spend more time underwater that way. But don't spend too much time down there. The sun's going to set soon.'_

_'I know. I won't be much longer. I think the whales are about ready to leave too. I'll be back soon.'_

Soon the time for them to depart from each other had come. She patted and stroked every single one of the whales before heading for the surface. The second she flew into the air, she used her wind and fire crystals to dry herself off then landed on the deck where Law was waiting for her with a smile. She went right to him. Wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his chest. "That was great. Thanks for suggesting it. It helped."

"I'm glad it did," Law replied, stroking her hair. "And I get the feeling you're going to sleep very well tonight."

"Probably." Neo giggled. "I did swim a lot. And I'm now hungry. I'm going to grow a couple apples. You want some?"

"That would be nice." Law nodded. He then guided her back over to the bench they shared earlier. The two sat down. Neo grew them four apples each despite both of them only eating two at the moment. They then settled into guiding the ship along and watching the stars until it was time to go to bed.

The next three days went about the same for Neo and Law. Law would spend the majority of his time making sure the ship was heading in the right direction of Punk Hazard while Neo would play in the ocean with whatever sea life she could call up to her. Every once in a while she could be able to call in some birds to play with as well. And, of course, Law would distract her a lot with kisses and other intimate activities to which both highly enjoyed.

Soon, but not fast enough for Neo, the time for them to arrive on Punk Hazard was drawing insanely close. All Neo had to do now was locate the volatile island. Standing beside Law at the helm of the ship, Neo closed her eyes. She relaxed her mind and body and began to search out for the element divided island. She glided her mind along the ocean currents, occasionally asking a sea creature about the island if she felt like she wasn't looking in the right place. Suddenly, the conflicting powers of the ice and fire island slammed into her and Law's mind like a giant wave crashing onto an unexpected beach. She cried out and severed her connection to the island.

Law caught her when she went stumbling backwards. Worry filled his voice as he called to her. "Neo?! What was  _that_?"

Neo didn't answer him right away. She kept her eyes clenched shut tightly until her solar crystal appeared beside her. She grabbed a hold of his shirt when she felt his anxiety rise from the appearance of her solar crystal. "I'm fine, Law. I just found Punk Hazard, that's all."

Law cursed under his breath. "I'm sorry, Neo. I didn't think you'd have a reaction to the island like this. I thought it would be more like on Sabaody."

"It's fine, Law." Neo peaked through her right eye. She smiled lightly when she saw his concerned face. "I didn't think much of this either. I too thought it would be like Sabaody's mangrove trees."

"What happened? What was that we felt?" Law asked as he helped her straighten back up on her feet as the solar crystal finished with its job and vanished. "It almost felt like we were in a battle of some kind."

"I'm not really sure. While the fire, ice and snow are a part of nature it just has a very different feeling to it. It might have something to do with it being produced by devil fruits." Neo rubbed her chin in thought. "I always get a weird feeling coming from a Zoan type devil fruit user. They're inter-species, different, but united from the powers of the fruit. Despite the devil fruits coming from nature there's still just something unnatural about them. Like humans were never meant to be animals and there's an oddly silent battle going on inside of them that the user doesn't even notice." Dropping her arms to her sides, she sighed. "Or I could just be imagining things. I don't know. I'm not smart like you. I have no idea why this affected me like it did. The island is natural, but also unnatural. I wish I could figure out how to explain it."

"You are smart, my love. Don't ever thing you're not." Law kissed her forehead. "And I understand what you mean. There might not be a real explanation as to why devil fruit users affect us in the way that they do. At least, there won't be an explanation without experimenting with them both."

"I just hope no one finds out about all of this and decides to turn  _me_  into a science experiment." Just as Neo spoke those words, an icy chill ran down both her and Law's spines. Their eyes, flooded with worry, locked onto each other. They were getting ready to land on an island with a brilliant, yet insane, scientist who wouldn't hesitate to do just that. "You…you don't think that…"

"If he does, it'll be the last thing he ever does," Law replied with light glinting into his eyes. "Besides, you can handle him just find. He's only a gasman and a scientist. He's not a fighter. You can easily blow him away with your winds."

Neo nodded, but felt a bit insecure. She tucked herself into Law's chest and arms. Feeling her insecurity, he wrapped his arms around her and held her comfortably tight to him.

"I've never thought about it before, and I don't want to alarm you now, but what do you think would happen if I, or another Elemental, ate a devil fruit?" Neo called on her wind crystals to support him and held on tighter to Law when she felt his knees buckle. She cupped his face and grew concerned at the pale, petrified look on his face. Brushing her thumb over his cheek, she asked, "Law? Law, what is it? You're scaring me."

"Hn." Law flinched at her words. He quickly pushed away his fears. He wrapped his arms back and her and stroked her hair. "I'm sorry, Neo. It's just…I honestly never thought about it before either. You're nature and the devil fruits hold powers of nature. They say you'll die if you eat two devil fruits. That's said because of the price of greed, but the devil fruits might not know you haven't eaten one."

"So you think I'll die if I eat a devil fruit?!" Neo's voice raised in alarm.

"Shh." Law stroked her hair more. He tilted her lips to him and kissed them. "I didn't mean to scare you. I don't think it would do anything to you. It shouldn't since you don't have devil fruit powers. But, still, I want you to avoid any suspicious looking fruit. And if you are unsure about fruit in general, don't eat any unless you create it. Do you understand me?"

Neo nodded. "But what if someone tries to trick me into eat one? Like they hid it in something?"

"I don't think anyone would do that since they could easily, accidently, eat the devil fruit themselves. Devil fruits are typically easy to spot with their odd shapes and swirl patterns. Just be extremely careful from now on, especially since we're going to be on an island with a crazy scientist." Law twirled a strain of her hair with narrowed eyebrows. His eyes locked onto her eyes as his mind wondering through this new information. He also wondered why they never thought of it before. With a sigh, he brought the strain of hair up to his lips and kissed it. "While I prefer you to stick with me every second while we're on this island, I know that's not possible. But I do want you to stick with me for the first couple of weeks. I want to make sure you get good and secure in this place and learn how everyone acts there before you go wondering off on your own. Do you understand me, Neo? Or am I going to have to order you to stay by my side?"

"No, my love. Ordering me to stay by your side isn't necessary. You know I'll do it until I'm comfortable enough to go off on my own. I might not ever go off on my own at Punk Hazard considering everything," Neo said, adding the last sentence thoughtfully.

Law chuckled before kissing her forehead. "You'll wonder off after a while. We both know you will. You're going to get bored while I'm busy with other things."

"Oh? So you're going to let me wonder on my own?" Neo smirked at him. "I thought I wasn't allow off the sub without an escort."

"Don't you dare get smart with me." Law smiled, tugging her closer to him. "You're not going off the sub without anyone. I'll still be with you. Besides, you won't wonder outside of my Room range. We both know that to be a fact. You'll stay close enough for me to easily warp to you in case of danger."

"So true." Neo pulled him down into an intense kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he slid his hand around her thighs then lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist to stabilize herself while intensifying their kiss.

"Hm, Neo?" Law hummed through their locked lips.

"Mhmm?" Neo hummed back without breaking their kiss.

"As much as I'd love to keep doing this, especially when it can lead us back to bed, we really need to get to Punk Hazard," Law mumbled into their kiss. With a sigh, Neo pulled back from the kiss, sucking on his bottom lip before releasing him. She pouted at him. He pecked her lips with a chuckle. "Come on. We can continue this later."

"Fine." With another sigh, Neo unwrapped herself from him. She summoned her wind crystals and filled their sails. Law grabbed the helm as she pointed northwest. "It's that way, my husband."

Law turned the sail in the direction they needed to go. With Neo's control over the wind they easily reached the island within minutes. The closer they got the more Law watched her and felt out her feeling carefully as she adjusted to the conflicting elements of the island as they glided along the icy side. He relaxed when she began to adjust to the way it felt. She chuckled. He glanced at her. "What's so funny?"

"Those icebergs are unnaturally placed," Neo said pointing at one of the tall, naturally sculpted ice forms before them. She wrapped her arms around herself when a cold breeze blew over them. "I suppose they never imagine someone like me would exist and could easily notice that. So, how are we going in? I can easily move them. Or are we flying or warping in? Think we'll need this ship later at some point?"

"Hm." Law glanced over the icebergs. "There should be at least a ship or two here, but it might be best if we went a head and took this one with us. We always have your abilities as back up if we need to fly or escape on the back of sea creatures."

"Right. I'll move the icebergs then." Neo nodded.

"Wait. Let's get our coats on first. And you need your boots too. It's getting far too cold out here. And I don't want you using up all your magic to keep warm," Law said, passing the control of the ship to her while he headed inside to get their gear. A minute later Law emerged with them. He handed one to her and they slipped them on. He chuckled while she snarled her nose at the collars and whimpered at having to wear shoes again. "Let's go now."

"Okay." Forcing her attention away from the neck covering collars and her confined feet, she started to move the icebergs just enough so their small ship could slip passed them. Another few minutes a large, snow-covered structure and the mountains came into their view. Law slid his hand into hers when he felt her starting to tremble. She clenched her hand around his and stepped closer to him. Soon the ship bumped against the island and there was absolutely no chance of turning back.

This was it. They had finally landed on Punk Hazard.

Neo winced at the opposing elements fury. "Geez."

"You're wincing? Are you all right?" Law asked, even though he was feeling it too. "It's the island again, isn't it? I know it's uncomfortable."

"Yes. It just feels like the battle between Akainu and Aokiji is still going on," Neo replied. She squeezed his hand when he started to grow concerned. "I'm fine. I just need to adjust a little more, that's all. I'll be use to this in just a few more minutes."

"All right then." Law nodded. He stepped away from her to grab his sword, which was propped up against the wall by the bench. He then walked back over to her. He ran his eyes over her and searched her feelings. She, of course, was nervous, but would be just fine as long as she was with him. "Let's go now."

Neo summoned her wind crystals and flew them off the ship. Once on the island, Law carefully searched her feelings again to make sure the island wasn't hurting her in any kind of way. "I'm fine, Law. You can feel that. Now, stop worrying so much and let's just get this over with."

With another nod, Law led the way to the large structure in front of them. The crunching of their boots on the snow was soon drowned out by the howling winds. She shivered and smacked Law's arm when she felt him internally gloated over how he was right about the coats. "You hush up! You don't have to gloat about it!"

"Sorry." Law grinned.

"Yeah. Sure you are." Neo poked him in the ribs before digging into the left pocket of her coat. She pulled out her black gloves and slipped them on. She glanced over the yellow jolly rogers and spots decorating the left upper arm and around the bottom of their coats. "Well, at the very least we match in these things. It's very cute that you had them customized like this."

Law growled as his cheeks turned pink. Cute definitely was not what he was going for when having them customized. Neo giggled at his reaction then calmed herself down once they reached the front door of the structure. They climbed the stairs and paused at the large doors before them. They shared another glance and kiss. He asked, "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Neo replied, trying her best to calm her nerves. Law nodded before hesitantly reaching for and pressing the buzzer that was mounted on the door. A couple minutes later, the heavy door creaked open, revealing a man sitting in a strange floating device. His dark eyes widened, his mouth fell open, his face turned white in recognition of the two pirates standing before him.

"Y-y-you're," the man stuttered. "Y-y-you're T-T-T-Trafalgar Law! Warlord of the Sea! And T-T-T-Trafalgar Neo! Heart of the Elements!"

"Correct," Law said with a smirk. "And we are here to speak with Caesar Clown. Where is he?"

"Uh…" The man blinked multiple times, the color slowly coming back to his face.

"Hey. What's going on over there?" another voice asked from inside the building. He came over, revealing himself to be in the same floating device as the first guy. He too had the same reaction as the man who opened the door. "Trafalgar Law?! Trafalgar Neo?! What the heck are you two doing here?!"

More men gathered in the same floating devices, with the same shocked expressions as the first two. Their panicked voices faded off from Neo's ears as she entered into a private conversation with Law.

' _Law, what's wrong with them? Why are they in those things?'_

' _It looks like they can't walk. There use to be people living on this island before the explosion happened and everything died on the island, remember? Or people thought every living thing died. But that clearly isn't the case. Caesar must have found them, saved them in his own twisted way, and is now using them as guards or something.'_

Tired of these strange men's reaction to their arrival, Law decided to try and move things along. He frowned at the men. "Well? Are you going to let us in and take us to Caesar? Or do we have to force our way inside?"

"Oh, well," one of them said. "Come on in. We'll have to inform the master of your arrival. It'll take a couple minutes. Just come in and wait here by the door."

The two Heart Pirates then stepped inside the building. Neo's heartbeat increased a little with each step. Her eyes quickly roamed over their surroundings of the greyish blue multi-floored, rounded room. More men in the floating device gathered around their level and on the level above them. Their shocked whispers spun around the air as her eyes darted around the room in a faster pace, her chest growing heavy. She then started mumbling. Her breathing becoming labored with each word she spoke. "There's so many. How many are there? This place is so huge, so sturdy. I can still get out of here, right? The door is right behind us. Is that the only way out of here? It's so enclosed. I don't like this. I don't like it here."

Law looked at her when he felt her starting to spiral out of control.  _'Neo, you're fine. Just breath.'_

"I'm fine. I'm fine. Just breath. I'm breathing," Neo mumbled. She took a deep breath. Before she could let it out, the loud click of the door closing and the sounds of locks clicking made her jump. Her heart rate shot up. She spun around to the closed door, the unfamiliar looking door, and panicked even more. "No! Don't shut that! Let me out of here!"

"Huh?" The man who opened the door, and closed it, blinked in confusion at Neo's outburst.

"Let me out of here!" Neo cried out as she lunged for the door. Law hooked his sword free arm around her waist. She subconsciously grabbed on to him, keeping her eyes locked on the door, her escape route. "No! Let me go!"

"Neo, calm down. You're safe. I'm right here," Law whispered in her ear. He made sure to wrap his feelings and arm around her tightly. "Deep breaths. Just take some slow deep breaths."

"I…I can't. I…I can't breathe," Neo gasped. "Law, help me. I need out of here."

"Neo, I order you to breathe. Take several long, deep breaths," Law said. Instantly, she took in several deep breaths. Her heartbeat slow down with each one. "That's my girl. You  _are_   _safe_  here. You  _are_   _not_  locked inside. You  _are not_  trapped. You can leave through that door at anytime you please. And, if necessary, I can warp you outside easily. You know that."

"I know that," Neo replied with a slow nod. A few more deep breaths, she finally pulled her eyes from the door and looked at Law. "I know that. I'm safe. I'm with you. They can't hurt me. I'm not hurt. I'm not trapped."

"That's right." Law nodded.

Neo nodded back then pressed her forehead to his chest.

"Is she all right?" a man asked.

"She's fine." Law hissed and glared at the man. The man flinched and backed away from the two Heart Pirates. Carefully, he scanned his eyes over the rest of the men in the room to see if they were going to dare speak to them again. All the men flinched when he looked at them then floated off. He rubbed her back. "It's all right, Neo. They're gone."

"I'm sorry. This place is just so huge and obviously build for strength," Neo said, lifting off his chest. "I've never been in a place like this before. I feel so trapped and helpless."

"You're not. Just keep telling yourself that. You're not trapped. You can leave this building at any time you want." Law tucked her hair behind her ear then brushed his thumb over her cheek. "At any point, if you want to go back outside, I'll warp you out of here. Okay?"

"Okay." Neo nodded.

Law searched her feelings. He felt her stabilizing again, but asked about it anyway. "Are you stable now?"

"Yes." Neo nodded. She narrowed her eyebrows in thought. "At least enough to continue with this."

…

"Master! Master!" one of the men cried as he floated into Caesar's laboratory. The scientist was hovering by his experiment table, watching a pink liquid bubble in a beaker.

"What is it?" Caesar, in his gas form, turned from his experiment to face his subordinate.

"Trafalgar Law and Trafalgar Neo have just arrived!" the man shouted. "They're requesting to see you!"

"What? What the heck does a Warlord of the Sea want with me?" Caesar asked suspiciously. "And…wait…isn't Neo that woman who using crystals to preform her attacks and call upon the elements?"

"Yes, Master. I do believe that's the one. The woman who married Trafalgar Law," the man replied.

"Ah, yes. She's also the one that's caused quite a stir among the Navy. Many have questioned her. I have as well. I have wondered what kind of woman, and devil fruit user, she really is," Caesar said as he shifted in place.

"Shall I show them in?" the man asked.

Caesar laughed. "Yes. By all means, show them in. I want to see them immediately. Bring them to my lab right now."

"Yes, Master! Right away!" The man nodded then quickly left the room.

Caesar laughed again. "Incredible. I finally get a chance to see this woman for myself. I'll finally be able to see if the newspapers are true."

Caesar flew over to a filing cabinet and opened it up. He pulled out several papers and scattered them over his experiment table. He glanced over the articles. High lightened on the pages were all the similarities reported on Neo. "Looks like a child, hesitates, won't kill, only aggressive when one of her crewmates has been hurt, unfamiliar devil fruit, has an inhuman feel about her…all right then. Let's see what kind of woman you really are, Trafalgar Neo."


	73. Caesar Clown

Caesar Clown

Law turned his body towards Neo and took her now ungloved hand in his. He rubbed soothing circles over her skin while they waited for someone to come get them or try to kick them out. He kept sending her comforting thoughts and wrapped his presence around her as much as he could as she continued to cautiously inspect her surroundings. Her eyes would immediately flicker towards the sounds of the clicks, hums, bangs, and other unfamiliar noises within this strange building whenever they happened. He sighed internally at himself for not preparing her better for this place.  _'I'm sorry, my love. I should have thought about this building effecting you and prepared you for it.'_

_'It's fine, Law. Really. I didn't think that I'd react like I did either. We both got use to me having more of a stable reaction to new places. I guess it's just the combination of everything that's happening right now that made me have a short relapse.'_

Law nodded. He ran his eyes over her carefully before squeezing her hand.  _'Just remember I'm right here. You're not trapped at all.'_

 _'I know.'_ Neo smiled and squeezed his hand. They smiled at each other with the thoughts of wanting to kiss. But before they could move towards each other, one of the men returned.

"Master has approved of your meeting with him," the man said. He turned back towards the way he came. "Follow me."

The two Heart Pirates followed quietly. Neo resumed taking in her surrounding carefully until her eyes landed on their connected hands.  _'You don't have to hold my hand. I know you're not much on showing affection in public.'_

 _'Nonsense. We're married. And everyone knows that now.'_  Law smirked at her.  _'I'll show you affection no matter who's around. You're mine to touch and kiss whenever I please. Besides, I know you really need my touch right now. I would never deny you that.'_

 _'You're so sweet.'_  Neo's cheeks and chest grew warm over his love for her.

Law smirked and moved a bit closer to her. A few minutes later, the small group of three came to another large door. It was already open.

Neo chewed her bottom lip nervously while the man gestured for them to go inside of it.

Law nodded at the man before leading Neo inside.

Neo's eyes immediately flew over the room. There were three, ugly in her opinion, pinkish colored couches, a table in the middle of them, a bookshelf -that made her heart flitter with joy until she realized it was probably filled with scientific books that she wouldn't understand- a long bar counter with a green haired woman writing at it and another room with its door shut tightly.  _'I didn't think there would be another woman on the island. She's a devil fruit user. She has power over snow, which would make her a logia. I shouldn't have much problem with her if we have to fight, depending on her fighting skills that is. But who is she? Do you think she's just a subordinate of Caesar Clown?'_

_'I don't know. That's all she probably could be. Just keep a close eye on her as well as the rest of the people here. I'm sure her truth will be revealed at some point.'_

Neo jumped and stepped closer to Law when a strange pinkish cloud floated over to them.

"What a surprise this is," the cloud said. The cloud then shifted and took the form of a very tall man with long, spikey black hair and horns.

Neo flinched when he looked at her. She dropped her eyes down to the floor and took a deep breath.

"I never would have imagined a warlord would come calling on me. Please, sit down. Tell me why you're here," he said.

"We want to stay on Punk Hazard," Law stated simply once he was seated on one of the couches with Neo sitting as close as she could to him.

Neo placed her bag on the couch beside her and forced herself not to dive into Law's arms and hide from all the newness surrounding them.

Law crossed his arms and stroked his fingertips over Neo's arm since she was so close. Her tense body relaxed at his touch.

"You want to stay on Punk Hazard?" Caesar raised an eyebrow.

"It was a real pain getting here since Log Poses don't work for this island because this was the Government's secret facility," Law replied.

Neo clenched her teeth in an attempted not to smile or giggle at his words. It was a whole lot easier for them to arrive on this island than it would have for anyone else. It most likely would have taken them several days or weeks to find this place if she couldn't sense it.  _'Sure it was a pain, my pirate boy liar.'_

' _Better that than telling him the truth about how we found this place.'_  Law smiled through their bond.

' _True.'_

"Why do you want to stay?" Caesar asked. He cocked his head to the side. His eyes were on Law when he asked that, but they drifted back over to Neo _._

Law cleared his throat with an annoyed growl at Caesar's attention on Neo. It was clear to him that Caesar was considering everything the newspapers have said about Neo. He wondered if this man was strong enough to tell that Neo was different. Considering they were in the New World it was highly possible. It was also possible that he couldn't sense it. As far as Law new, this Caesar guy wasn't much of a fighter. When the scientist looked back at him, he explained his reasoning. "Since this is Dr. Vegapunk's former laboratory, I assume there are traces, leading up to today, of the Government's activities. All I'm asking for is free roam within the laboratory and around the island. I can help you with something if you want. And we'll stay out of each other's business. But it means you can't tell anybody that I'm here. Not even  _Joker_."

Caesar hummed in thought over Law's words. "You know quite a lot. How is it possible you know about all those things? Huh? And since you know, it's obvious she knows as well." The tall man let his eyes wonder back over to Neo.

She frowned at his constant looks at her and sank into the couch.  _'I think he sense I'm not human. He keeps looking at me. He's probably planning out thousands of tests he can run on me to see if he can figure out what I am.'_

 _'Don't worry, love. I won't let him touch you. But it's possible that he senses you're not human. Caesar might not be a fighter, but he's probably strong enough to sense that you're different. He has a three hundred million bounty after all. I'll try to keep his attention on me.'_  Law told her through their bond. He then turned his attention back to Caesar. "Would you prefer to have an amateur in here who doesn't know anything about this place over us?"

"I suppose you are correct in that matter. We're birds of a feather here. At least you and I are. I'm more familiar with your pirate hobbies than I am of your pretty little wife here," Caesar said which earned him a harsh glare from the warlord. "Oh, protective of her, aren't you? I was just giving her a complement. She is rather lovely. You are a very lucky man you have such a powerful beauty on your arm. But moving on… Although, I can't really trust you, there doesn't seem to be any harm in what you ask." He smiled.

 _'So what type of experiments do you think he's thinking about?'_  Neo thought to Law.

 _'Nothing as horrible as I'd do to him if he touched you.'_  Law thought about multiple ways of torturing Caesar. Heat rose in his chest.

_'Please, calm down, Law. You're scaring me a bit.'_

_'I'm sorry, love. You know how much I hate it when another man takes an interested in you. No matter what their motives are.'_

_'I know. And you know I love your protective nature over me.'_

Caesar pulled his eyes from the two pirates and looked over at the other woman in the room. "What do you think, Monet?"

Law immediately looked over his shoulder when Caesar said the woman's name.

Neo turned her attention to the woman as well, but a bit slower than Law did. Instantly, she disliked this woman.

"He's Trafalgar Law from the North Blue. The Surgeon of Death. An Op Op fruit eater with a frozen bounty of 440 million beli bounty. And she is Trafalgar Neo, married to Law for a while now. She's a paramecia with a frozen forty million beli bounty. While appearing to not be as strong as Law and other pirates she has gained a lot of attention by her strange fighting style of being playful and her conductor crystals." Monet said while she continued to write on her paper. She paused and looked over at the two Heart Pirates. She lowered her glasses.

Neo felt a twitch in her chest when the green haired woman looked at Law.

"Trafalgar Law, you're a doctor, right? There are a whole bunch of former prisoners who were paralyzed by poison gas here. Can you treat them?" Monet said.

"I suppose so. I did offer to do something in exchange for letting us stay here," Law replied. He continued to rub his fingers on Neo's arm.  _'Relax, Neo. There's nothing for you to be jealous about.'_

 _'She had no right to look at you.'_  Neo pouted to him through their bond.  _'You're mine.'_

 _'Yes, love. I love it when you get so possessive of me. I'll have to reward you for that later.'_  Law sent a very sexual thought to her then.

Neo did her best not to blush at the thought, but she wasn't able to succeeded in that. Her cheeks grew warm and she hoped no one would bring attention to her flushed cheeks.

"I see. So in exchange for letting you stay here, you're going to give my people legs? That would be nice, of course. But since you're quiet a bit stronger than I am and I'm the boss of this island, if you two really want to stay here, I need a little bit of insurance from you," Caesar said in thought.

"We have no intentions of hurting you. What do you want  _me_  to do?" Law asked, making sure to emphasize it was him that was going to fulfill the request.

"How about this, Trafalgar Law?" Caesar said while leaning in close to Law.

Neo flinched when the strange man got too close to them. She started to summon her crystals, but Law poked her in the arm.

' _Easy, love. He's not going to hurt us.'_

"Since you can remove people's hearts with your powers, I'm going to entrust my dear secretary Monet's heart to you! Is that okay, Monet?" Caesar asked looking back over at the woman.

"Fine with me. I don't care," Monet replied.

' _Why would he want you to take that woman's heart?'_

Law didn't reply to Neo. He already assumed immediately where this was going. His turned his feelings and mind black.

' _Law? You're closed off to me. Why? What's going on? What aren't you telling me?'_

' _Neo…I'm so sorry.'_

' _For what?'_  Neo's body suddenly turned cold. She didn't know what was going on, but her instincts were screaming at her that something bad was about to happen.

"Now, in return, you let me keep your heart! And that's the deal! As long as we have each other by the throats, you can't do anything bad. And I'll feel safe," Caesar said with a victorious smile.

Neo's heart skipped a beat at the scientist's words.  _'Law! Don't you dare! Don't you even think about doing that!'_

Law's hat fell over his eyes at Neo's words. His heart ached so much at the fear that was spiraling through his love's mind, body, and soul. He hated himself for what he was about to say, but he knew he had to do it. It was clearly the only way that was going to get them permission to stay on Punk Hazard. Forcing the word out of his mouth, he said, "Deal."

Neo felt her heart ripped in half at Law's agreement to the insane scientist. She closed off herself off to him and sunk down into a dark aura. She bit her tongue hard in an attempt to keep herself from crying.

"Hm." Caesar hummed in thought while inspecting the two Heart Pirates carefully. "You know, despite her only having a bounty of forty million she's still fairly powerful herself. She does control the elements after all. I have no idea what kind of effect she'll have on me. I should take her heart as well."

With lightening fast reflects, Law pulled out his sword and pointed its sharp tip at Caesar's throat. Light glinting off both his sword and his eyes, Law glared at the man. "You will  _not_  touch her in any kind of way. If you, or any of your men, touch her in any kind of way, I  _will kill you_  all on the spot. You don't need her heart. She won't interfere with anything you're doing here in these facilities as long as you have my heart. She won't do anything to endanger my life."

Caesar frowned, clearly very disappointed in this turn of events. He turned his eyes to Neo who was still clouded in a dark aura. He brought his eyes back to Law and smiled. "I suppose you are correct. She clearly cares about you since she agreed to marry you. I will not take her heart as a requirement for staying here. And, as long as she behaves, I won't damage your precious heart. Let's proceed then, shall we?"

Law nodded tightly and stood up. With his hat over his eyes, he glanced at Neo. She was clenching her coat so hard her hands were turning white. He flinched when he noticed she was trembling. He could feel how furious she was with him even without their bond.  _I'm sorry, Neo. I'm so sorry about this._  He turned away from her when Caesar called Monet over.

"Let's get this over with. Monet?" Caesar said.

"Yes, Master," Monet replied. She stood up from her stool and walked over to the group.

Law then walked around the couch, regrettably leaving Neo still sitting there confused and angry. The green haired woman smiled at the pirate surgeon with a devious look in her eyes that he didn't like.

"Go ahead and take my heart. Do I need to lift up my shirt? I hope your pretty little wife won't mind you seeing my exposed bosom."

Both Neo and Law flinched.

Neo gritted her teeth as her crystals shimmered into existence beside her. A small rumble of thunder vibrated from her.

Law flinched again when Caesar and Monet looked around in confusion.

Caesar asked, "What was that?"

' _Neo, calm down. You know she doesn't have to take off her shirt.'_  Law kept his eyes locked onto Neo from underneath his hat until she calmed down and her crystals disappeared. He then walked towards Monet and only stood as close to her as necessary. He held up his hand and formed his Room to take her heart then his. "Room. Scalpel."

"There. The deal is complete," Caesar said once they had exchanged the two hearts. He left the immediate area and picked up a transponder snail. "Now, I'll have one of my subordinates show you to the room you two will be staying in while living on this island. While you're settling in a bit, I'll gather up my men in the infirmary so you can check them out."

"Fine," Law replied. He shoved Monet's heart into his pocket. He walked back over to Neo and just watched her shadowed covered face until Caesar's man came for them.

"Come with me," the man said hesitantly. He floated back out into the hall and waited for the two pirates to follow him.

Law parted his lips to speak to Neo. But before he could utter a single word, she lifted up off the couch, grabbed her bag, and turned away from him. He sighed then led the way out of the room. They followed the floating balloon man down the hallway. The tension was still thick and the man with them could easily feel it. He kept nervously glancing over his shoulder then pretended to be looking as something else. Soon the man had led them to thesection of the facility that held the bedrooms. He opened the door for them. "Here you go. This will be your room from now on. Someone will come get you when we're all gathered for your examination."

Law nodded to the man before he took off. The two Heart Pirates then stepped inside the room. He closed the door and turned to Neo. Her back was to him. Her shoulders were drooping low and her clenched hands were trembling at her sides. He started to reach for her, but stopped when she started talking.

"Why? Why, Law? Why did you do that? I know…I know when we were talking about coming here we were going to be walking right into the heart of danger. I knew we were going to have to do some very dangerous things while on this mission. And I understand that…but this? Your heart? How could you? How could you do that? How could you give them your heart like that?" She whipped around. The tears pouring down her cheek, the fear in her eyes and chest, ripped Law's absent heart in a million pieces. Her voice raised into terrified screams. "How could you do that, Law?! How could you even  _consider_  given them your heart?! You've literally put your  _life_  in  _the enemy's hands_! That  _sicko scientist_  can  _kill you_  any second! And I wouldn't be able to do anything to stop it! I'm scared, Law! I'm scared!"

Neo dropped her eyes from him. Her bag fell off her shoulder as more tears dripped from her eyes. Her voice softened up as she continued to speak to him. "I hate this. I hate where we are. I hate that the crew's not here. I hate that you gave them your heart. Most of all…I hate that I'm angry with you. I hate when I get angry with you. I hate it."

Law rushed forward. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her as close to him as he could while she grabbed onto the front of his coat like she always did when scared. He placed his right hand in her hair, stroking her as he spoke soothingly to her. "Shh…I know, I know. And I am so sorry. I should have foreseen this as something that could have happened. I'm sorry I didn't prepare you better for this. But it will be okay. Caesar won't do anything to me. My heart is just fine. Besides, I can easily get it back from him at any point in time."

"Can…can you really?" Neo pulled her tear stained and red eyes from his chest. She looked up at him pleadingly.

"I can." Law nodded. He then mentally shared his plan on how to do just that in case someone could hear them speaking.

"I guess that would work," Neo mumbled, nodding slightly. She relaxed against him.

"It will." Law reached up and brushed away her tears. "No more crying now. Everything will be just fine. I'm still here. And it doesn't matter that  _he_  has my heart since  _you_  are the only one who truly holds it."

Neo couldn't help but smile at his words as her heart fluttered wildly in her chest. Law then took her face in his hands and lowered his lips onto hers. He lightly moved their lips together before deepening the kiss with slow strokes of his tongue over ever corner of her mouth. Pressing their foreheads together, they panted softly while regaining their breath. She said, "You know you own me big time for all this stress you're putting me through."

"What can I promise to make it better?" Law asked with a chuckle.

"Fifty  _baths_ , not showers, _baths_  with me," Neo replied pointedly.

"Very well. I promise to take fifty baths, not showers, with you," he whispered. "You still love me?"

She chuckled. "You know I do."

"Good. And I still love you." Law pecked her lips once more before they finally glanced around their current dwellings. The room was pretty much the exact opposite of their room on the Polar Tang. There was a pink colored couch on their right, along with a door, the bed, and its two nightstands were on the left side of the room with another door a few feet from it.

"Hn. This is not going to work at all," Neo said with a frown. She summoned a couple wind crystals.

Law watched patiently, with his arm around her waist, as she moved the furniture around until it resembled their room more. She placed the bed on the right side of the room, moved the couch and table where Law's deck would be and placed the spare nightstand beside the couch. She then glanced between the two doors in the room before walking over to the door on their right.

She pulled open the door and frowned when she found it was a closet. She glanced over at the door on the opposite wall. "Then that means  _that_  one is the bathroom."

Neo walked over to the other door. She opened it and looked around the small bathroom. It held a small, square shaped sink with a one-door shelf, toilet, and a fairly small shower that would barely fit the two of them at the same time. She glanced back and forth between the closet and the bathroom several times.

Law watched her curiously until he read what was on her mind. "Uh, love, I don't think you're going to be able to switch them with your crystals."

"I can try," Neo grumbled. "They don't even have a bathtub in here. I won't get my baths with you until we get back on the sub. Who designed this place anyway? How could they not put in a bathtub?"

"I highly doubt the people who lived here before had enough time to soak for hours in the tub," Law said as he walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist while he nibbled on her neck as she glared at the bathtubless room. "They're not all like you."

"Hey! I don't take that long! Besides, I wouldn't take as long as I do if you didn't constantly want sex!" Neo protested. "You wear me out! I need to recover!"

Law chuckled. "We don't have sex that often. And it's not like you say  _no_  when we do."

"Oh, hush!" Neo hissed while her cheeks burned red. "By the way, what are you going to do with  _that woman's_  heart? You're not going to put it in your chest are you?! I don't like the idea of having to look at you with a gaping whole in your chest, but it's a lot better than having  _that woman's_   _heart_  inside of you."

"You're jealous." Law snickered.

"I am not!" Neo chided. "Why would I be jealous?!"

"You are too. You're jealous because I hold something that belongs to another woman." Law nipped at her neck while slowly dragging his hands over her body, making her tense and squirm. He moved his hands to her chest and gently massaged her breasts through her thick coat. Before wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her back to his chest. "Don't worry, my love. I'll just keep her heart in my pocket. It won't go anywhere near my chest."

"Good." Neo turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, smashing their lips together in a heated kiss. Just as Law started to pull down the zipper on her coat, a loud knock at the door interrupted them. They broke their kiss and pressed their foreheads together, which pushed Law's hat up, with a sigh. "Why does it seem we're always needed when things start getting hot between us?"

"That's just how it goes, I guess," Law replied, brushing his nose against hers. He then gave her a mischievous grin. "But don't worry, my love. This cool off is just temporary. I'll heat you back up later."

"Sounds great as always," Neo mumbled against his lips. They lingered on answering the door with another round of heated kisses before caving to the constant knocking on the door. "Impatient, aren't they?"

Law chuckled while lacing their fingers together and fixing his hat. He then led her to the door and opened it

One of the balloon men was there waiting with a slightly annoyed expression on his face. He said, "You are here. I thought you might have…never mind. The master wishes to see you in the infirmary. Also, here are a couple maps of the facilities. The master wanted you to have them so you wouldn't get lost or accidently stumble into a dangerous area. On the back of one of the maps is the schedule for mealtimes. The kitchen is always open if anyone ever wants to make something for themselves."

Law nodded and took the maps from the man. He handed one to Neo. "Keep this with you until you've memorized this place. I don't want you to get lost at any point."

"Right." Neo nodded. She took the map from him, folded it up, and stuffed it into her pocket.  _'Like I'd get lost when I can sense where you are.'_

' _I still want you to memorize the map. It could come in handle later on.'_

' _Understood. I'll slave over this thing later.'_

Law's lip curled into a smirk at her sardonic tone. He reclaimed her hand and the two followed after Caesar's man.  _'One other thing…you don't have to wear your coat all the time, but I would like it if you carried it with you. You never know when you might need to go outside. And, while you can easily keep warm with your crystals, we still have to keep appearances up on what all you can really do with your crystals.'_

' _Don't worry, Law. I remember. And I'll be careful and keep my coat with me at all times.'_ As they walked, Neo resumed her cautious inspection of the building they were in. She proceeded to try to memorize the different sounds this place was making. She was getting the feeling she was going to have a hard time adjusting to the strange sounds of this place. Passing by another hallway, she caught a glimpse of something that seemed highly out of place considering the history of this island. There was a small child at the end of the hall. He ran into her view, grabbed a striped ball, then quickly disappeared away from her sight. "Huh?"

"What is it, Neo?" Law asked.

"I just…saw a child," Neo replied. She kept her eyes back at the hallway entrance as they continued walking past it. She pulled her eyes away from it and looked at a Law. "I assumed there wasn't any kids on this island. Do you think that child belongs to someone here?"

"I suppose it's possible," Law replied. He narrowed his eyes slightly and thought about that. He knew the majority of the people on the island were former prisoners. The only other two were Caesar Clown and that woman, Monet. The more he thought about it, the more he thought that scenario was highly unlikely.

' _Then why do you suppose a child is here?'_  Neo switched to communicating through their bond when the man looked back at them from over his shoulder. She didn't think he heard what they were talking about, but felt she should switch this conversation to a quiet one.

' _I don't have a clue. But we'll probably find out sooner or later. We're going to be here for quite a while. Whatever's going on, don't get in the way of it.'_

' _I won't. Remember, I'm sticking with you. And depending on how things go, I might never leave your side.'_

' _You will. I know you well enough. You'll run off outside to play in the snow and make snowmen.'_  Law smirked at her through their bond. She hummed thoughtfully in how he was right. There was so much snow here. She couldn't pass up playing in it, at least a couple times while being on this island.

"Here we are," the man said. He opened the door to the infirmary and led the two pirates inside.

"Ah, there you are," Caesar said with a smile Neo thought was creepy. She forced herself to look away from the clownish man when he looked at her. She ran her eyes over all the other people in the room. Monet was calming standing off to the side, quietly observing everything, including Law. Neo tried not to let jealousy rise back into her chest and pulled her eyes away from the woman to the others in the room. There were so many men lying in the hospital beds. One was a very large man with brown hair and a brown beard that looked rather familiar to her.

' _That's Brownbeard. He was a former pirate that disappeared one day.'_ Law thought to her.

' _I thought he looked familiar. I saw his picture in the paper one day. So all of these men are former prisoners and can't walk because of the poisonous gas that use to be here?'_

' _That's correct.'_

' _And you can heal them?'_

' _Possibly. I need to examine them first, but I know I can heal them in one way or another.'_

' _One way or another?'_  Neo blinked at him in confusion.

Law forced himself not to think about one particular option to solving this problem. He knew she wasn't going to really like the solution.

"Let's get this underway, shall we?" Caesar asked so Law didn't have to answer her.

Law nodded and stepped away from Neo knowing she wouldn't want to get too close to these strangers just yet. She waited patiently for him by the door as he examined the former prisoners.

"Well?" Caesar asked.

"I can fix them by giving them legs from other animals," Law reported. He twitched when he felt Neo's confusion then fear. He expected her to voice her concerns over this, but she remained quiet instead.

"I see. Well, as you can guess, we don't have many animals on this island. But I can have them shipped in within a couple of days," Caesar said.

"M-Master!" Brown Beard cried. "Is this true? We can…we will be able to walk again?"

"Yes, my faithful followers! Rejoice!" Caesar threw his hands up into the air. "This man, this Trafalgar Law will be giving you new legs to walk on! Just be patient for a few more days! Then you shall be able to walk again!"

Neo raised an eyebrow at the scientist's back. Something about his words didn't seem to ring sincere for her. He came off as fake. She let her eyebrow lower back down. She didn't know this man at all. So who was she to make a claim that he wasn't being sincere? Law's voice brought her attention back to him. "Just get whatever animals you wish. It doesn't really matter just as long as they are large enough to fit these guys body types properly."

"Yes, of course." Caesar smiled. "I'll get on that right now. Thank you for your assessment of this situation. I think that will be all for today. I'm sure you and your lovely little wife would like some more time to settle into your new home. So go ahead and do that for the rest of the day. We can chat more later on what all I expect you two to do here."

Neo twitched at the scientist calling this place their  _home_. She lowered her eyes to the floor and tried to forget he had said that. She kept her eyes down until she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Her eyes shot up. She carefully looked around the room, wondering what would have caused her to feel so alarmed.

' _Neo? Are you okay?'_

' _Yeah. I just got a really weird feeling. I'm not sure what it was, but it made me very uncomfortable.'_

' _I know. I felt it too.'_

' _What was it?'_

' _It felt like someone was leering at you.'_

Neo flinch when she felt Law getting angry.  _'What's leering again?'_

' _It's a look or gaze in an unpleasant, malicious, or lascivious, a sexual way.'_  Law carefully ran his eyes over the men in the room. He was careful to keep his expression in his Doctor Mode, but inside he was ready to rip apart whoever thought about his love in such a way.

' _Just hurry up here so we can leave this room.'_  Neo rubbed her right hand on her arm and shifted on her feet.

' _Yes, love.'_

Neo lowered her eyes back down to the floor and waited. She didn't move until she felt Law standing close to her again. Without looking up at him, she turned and they headed for the door.

Law waited patiently for her to speak her mind about what all had happened in the infirmary room. Halfway back to their temporary room, she did. With out of place venom in her voice, she hissed, "This place is  _not_  our  _home._  Our  _home_  is on the  _Polar Tang_ , with  _the crew_."

"He didn't mean anything by that. He doesn't know your past or how attached you are to the crew and the Polar Tang," Law said. He switched his sword from his right should to his left. He then put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side, kissing her temple. "I'll have a talk with him about this later. He won't call this place your home again."

"Thanks, Law." Neo smiled. "You always take such good care of me. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve it."

"You do deserve it. And you know I'm going to do whatever I can to make your stay here as stress free and comfortable as possible," Law replied with another kiss to her temple.

"You are incredible." Neo wrapped her arms around his waist. "But do you really have to use animal legs on those people? I can understand eating meat for food and survival, but this just doesn't feel right. And it's going to feel even weirder having to feel the combination of humans with animals. It'll probably be worst than it is with zoan users. I don't like it."

"I know you don't. And I'm sorry. But this has to be done." Law gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Look at it this way, you'll be able to easily sense them. Not a single one will be able to sneak up on you."

"I suppose your correct," Neo said thoughtfully. "Anyway, about that leering thing?"

"Don't worry, love. I'll make sure all the men on this island know you're off limits to touch. And  _if_  one does, I guarantee they will die," Law hissed protectively.

"Okay." Neo nodded. She poked him in the ribs. "Calm down now."

"Right. Come on. Let's go back to our…" Law trailed off when Neo gave him a warning glance. "…very  _temporary_  room."

"You are such a good boy." Neo pushed up on her toes and pecked his lips. Once back in their temporary room Neo removed her thick coat and sat down with Law on the couch. She tucked herself into his side as he wrapped his arm around her waist with one arm while pulling out the map of the facilities from his pocket with his other hand. They then settled into going over their surroundings until Law got bored with that activity and started enticing Neo into more intimate activities, that ended up with both of them half undressed, until it was time for them to head out for dinner. The two then pulled their clothes back on and headed for the dinning hall. After standing in line for a short while, they made their way over to an empty table. Law sat at the head of the table and she sat down on his right just like they would be seated back on the sub. They were also sitting near the exit so Neo had a quick escape if she felt the need to use it. They sat quietly among the excited chatter of the former prisoners.

Neo frowned as she spooned some of her grits and plopped it back down in the bowl. She glanced around the large room where all the men were hovering around in there little balloon machines. They were happily chewing down their food and talking nonstop since they arrived. She wasn't sure if they were happy for dinner or just happy they were going to be able to walk again within just a few days. She figured it was the latter. No way anyone could actually think this cold slop was good.  _'Law, I'm grateful we have food here, since I know what it's like to go hungry, but this food is fairly terrible. I know I'm not the greatest cook ever, but don't they know what spices are for?'_

' _You are a wonderful cook. Since these guys are former prisoners and pirates it's not like they've had a lot of time to spend in the kitchen.'_

' _Surely they've spend enough time in the kitchen to learn how to use salt and pepper. Those are the basic spices. How can one not know how to use them?'_ Neo sighed. Propping her left elbow on the table, she placed her chin in her hand, spooning out and dumping back in another glob of grits.  _'I get the feeling I'm going to be spending a lot of time in this kitchen if we're to get some decent food while were here.'_ She giggled through their bond when alarms when off in Law's head. She snickered at him.  _'Now who's the jealous one?'_

' _I'm not jealous.'_  Law grumbled.  _'You're suppose to stick with me.'_

' _You said only for a while.'_  Neo pointed out making Law grumble even more.  _'You just don't want me around strange men.'_

' _You got that right.'_  Law shoved a spoon of his cold grits into his mouth.

' _I'm not worried. I know soon enough you'll be begging me to cook for you. I make a mean grilled fish and onigiri.'_  Neo smiled when Law's cheeks turned pink. Both knew it wouldn't be very long before Law started craving his favorite foods. And both knew he would want only her to make it for him. He only wanted her to cook for him and the crew, no one else. But he also knew he couldn't deprive her of one of the joys she really loves doing. Cooking occasionally would help her pass the time and not feel so lonely without the crew.

' _Fine. If you want to cook sometimes, then I won't stop you. But you will not be cooking every single meal here. You'll only help occasionally. If you do anymore than that I will personally drag you out of this place, divide you up and attach you to my body so you have no choice in following me around everywhere.'_  Law told her with his eyes closed as he chewed grumpily on his food.

' _You're such a good boy.'_  Neo giggled. She tucked her left hand back under the table and placed it on his leg. She ran her hand up his leg as far as she could until she got him to twitch for her. The pink reappeared on his cheeks.

' _Neo.'_  Law warned. He swallowed hard, divided on wanting her to continue, but knowing they couldn't.  _'Not here.'_

' _Yes, love. I know.'_  Neo retracted her hand.  _'But it's fun when I get you to squirm for me.'_

Law's pink cheeks tinted a couple shades darker as his hat fell over his eyes. A smile pulled across her lips when his mind fell into a spinning mess of sexual intent. They sat quietly for a while, as he continued to share his intimate thoughts before he finally spoke up again.  _'You have seriously come a long way from that scared, shy little girl who use to cling to me like a monkey.'_

' _I'm still that shy, scared little girl. She'll always be a part of me. She's just grown up a lot because of your wonderful care and attention. She can take care of herself now, but knows where her limits are and when she needs to ask for help. Plus, she can always cling to you like a monkey if you ever really miss it.'_  Neo shot a smile at him. He returned it while switching his spoon into his left hand. He tucked his hand under the table and placed his hand on her knee. She placed her hand over his. He turned his hand over, stroking his thumb over her skin while they continued to eat their less than desirable meal before returning to their temporary room for the night.

Neo sighed as she lay there in the bed. She never noticed until that moment how much she had gotten so use to the hum of the sub engines around her while she slept. Now it wasn't there. She had fallen asleep as easy as always, but suddenly woke up. She wasn't sure what time it was, but knew she hadn't slept all that long. She sat up and looked around their semi-dark room. Enough light from the hall was peaking through the cracks of the door. It lit up their room just enough for her to make out the shapes of everything in the room. She shifted uneasily at the still unfamiliar surroundings before looking at Law sleeping peacefully beside her. She hated to wake him up, but she knew she wasn't going to get back to sleep on her own. Before she could proceed with waking him up, he did it on his own. He rubbed his hand on her arm. "Love, you know you can wake me up when you're having trouble sleeping."

"I know. I was going to," Neo replied, adjusting the plain dark blue shirt of his she was wearing over a pair of shorts. Her mind wondered over the bare minimum essentials they had brought with them. They only packed a few change of clothes, which they could leave behind if necessary, toothbrushes and toothpaste, Neo's back and wing cream and several boxes of condoms, which Neo thought was far too many, but Law said he wanted to be prepared in protecting her from getting pregnant, and of course she brought Penguin's ribbon with her. "I was just…"

"Come here," Law called. He shifted his position from his side to his back and held out his arm for her.

She leaned into his hold, draping her left arm over his stomach while crossing her leg over his legs.

He kissed her hair and started rubbing her back. "You'll get use to this place soon enough."

"I don't want to get use to this place," Neo whispered quietly. "I just want to get this over with and get back to the crew."

"I know, love." Law kissed her hair again. "I know."

Neo sighed and snuggled into his chest while forcing herself to relax and fall asleep to the rhythmic rubs of Law's hand over her back.

…

"I'm still not sure about this," Neo said as they walked down the massive halls to the infirmary. The animals Caesar had shipped in arrived this morning. They were heading to the infirmary for Law to make the switch of body parts.

"Would you prefer to stay out in the hall?" Law asked.

"And leave you alone in a room with Monet?" Neo narrowed her eyebrows and frowned. "Absolutely not. I still can't believe she wants to turn herself into a harpy. What the heck's up with that?"

"I don't know, love," Law replied calmly. "And I won't be alone with anyone. All the others are in there too."

"I'm going in," Neo stated stiffly. "No matter how much I'm going to hate seeing what you're going to do to all those poor animals."

"All right. At any point in time, if you are really uncomfortable with it then I want you to come out here in the hall." Law paused at the door and gave her a stern look. "Don't force yourself to stay in there."

"I won't," Neo relented.

Law nodded, satisfied with her honesty, and then opened the door for them.

Neo remained near the door while he walked farther into the room. Her eyes roamed over all the animals in the room. Horses, an alligator, a giraffe, leopard, and several others stood around nervously or tried to escape their restraints and cages. She tried her best to block out the terrified cries of some of the animals as they continued to struggle in desperate attempts to escape. She tried her best to pretend she couldn't understand them or their fear. She tried her best not to think about everything that had happened on Kiko Island with those animals. She tried her best to convince herself that this had to happen; this had to be done for them to stay on this island. But she just couldn't ignore the guilt of standing by and doing nothing spinning in her mind and chest.

Law pulled out his sword and held up his hand. He forced himself not to think about how this was affecting Neo as he proceeded with his assigned task. "Room."

Neo closed her eyes and turned her head to the right when Law's blue film washed over the room. She couldn't bring herself to actually watch what he was about to do. She had no idea how much time had passed before Law walked back over to her. She didn't even notice she had somehow blocked out all of the noise in the room. She jumped when he placed his hand on her shoulder. His touch brought her back to her senses, back to all the happy cries that vibrated throughout the room from the men. It was done. All of the poisoned prisoners now had animal legs and Monet was a harpy. She forced down a gag at the tangled mess of human bodies merged with animal bodies.

"I can't believe it!" a man cried out. Tears were pouring down his face.

"This is incredible!" another shouted.

"Thank you, sir! Thank you so much, Trafalgar Law!" Brownbeard said as he walked over to them with his new alligator legs and with his hands outstretched. Tears were pouring down like waterfalls as he respectively thanked the surgeon. "Thank you! Thank you! You are a savior!"

"I'm not a savior at all. I'm only a doctor with the ability to do this," Law said.

"Ho ho! It is! This is a miracle! I never thought we would ever be able to walk again!" Brownbeard smiled while stomping his alligator feet. "We are eternally grateful to you and your wife here! We are so lucky you two came to this island! Thank you so much!"

"Yes! Thank you so much!" the rest of the men cheered.

Neo flinched when all the men started to come closer. Her head and stomach spun with the overwhelming feeling of the multiple species now combined. She stepped behind Law and grabbed onto the back of his coat and took several deep, slow breaths to try and halt the spinning before she emptied her stomach all over the floor.

"Huh? Is she all right?" a man asked when he noticed Neo's quick retreat.

"She's fine. She's just shy," Law said glancing over his shoulder at her while sending her comforting thoughts. He brought his gaze back to the men before him and glared at them. "She'll come around and get more use to you all in time. But you all are  _forbidden_  from touching her. If any of you do, I  _will kill you_."

"I see. You are very protective of her. It makes sense since you two are married. Am I correct? I recall reading a newspaper about that. Or am I mistaken?" Brownbeard asked.

"You are correct. We are married," Law replied with a nod.

"You have nothing to fear," Brownbeard said with a smile. "We will do nothing to disgrace her. We will keep our distance until she is use to us. Understood, men?"

"Yes!" they shouted.

"Good." Law nodded. With that he turned around to Neo. Putting his arm around her waist he rushed her out of the room. He then warped her back to their current room and right into the bathroom. The second she realized where they were, she broke from his side and bolted for the porcelain throne where she emptied everything she had in her stomach. Propping his sword up against the wall, he walked over to her. Kneeling down so he could hold her hair for her as she continued to retch.

A few minutes later, she finally stopped. She took several shaky breaths before her voice finally came back to her. Her bangs fell over her eyes as tears dripped from the corner of her eyes. "It hurt. It hurt so much. They were crying. They were scared. And I couldn't do anything to stop it."

"I'm sorry, Neo. I'm so sorry." Law pulled her into his arms. Burning his nose in her hair, breathing in her sweet, intoxicating scent while he soothed her. "I shouldn't have let you stay. I should have ordered you to leave that room. It's over now."

Neo just nodded. Nothing either of them could say would make this better now. Only time would help her adjust to this situation and get over the guilt of ignoring the cries of help from those scared animals.

…

Neo rocked back on her heels as Law continued to listen to a couple men thanking him again once again for giving them legs and explaining some of the island weather to them. She thought it was unnecessary since she could easily feel the weather changes, but knew Law would continue listening to them. After five minutes of listening to them men she caught movement down the hall. A flash of white crossed a partially closed door. With her curiosity getting the better of her, and with Law so close, she inched her way down the hall until she reached the door. Giggles and a few muffled words came from the room. They were different from the men's voices. So she slipped up to the door and peaked inside of the room.

"Huh?" Neo tilted her head in complete confusion at the sight before her. She stepped into the room. There were kids, a lot of them, of all different sizes in a colorfully painted room with blue walls and rainbows that was labeled as the Biscuits Room. The kids were all dressed in simple white colored clothes.

"Huh?" one of the kids repeated her when she was noticed. The kid was a tall girl with wavy black hair and purple eyes. "Who are you?"

"Neo," Neo replied without thinking about it. She took an uncertain step backwards when all the kids started to introduce themselves.

"I'm Mocha." The black haired girl smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Neo. These are my friends."

"I'm Doran."

"I'm Sind."

"I'm Ally."

"I'm Jero."

"My name is Uzu."

"You're new here, aren't you?" Mocha asked when all of them had finished introducing themselves. "We've been here a while and haven't seen you before. Did you just arrive on a ship? Are there other kids with you?"

"Uh," Neo muttered. She wasn't sure what she should say here. Her mind was completely blank. She didn't even register the kids thought she was a kid as well.

"Would you like to play with us?" Sind asked while holding up a ball. "We don't have that many toys, but we would be happy to share with you."

"How is it you're running around so freely? All of us kids are suppose to remain in the Biscuits Room," Doran asked.

"I, uh," Neo muttered again. "Well, I'm not really a…"

"Neo, come," Law called from down the hall.

Neo glanced over her shoulder at him before looked back at the kids. She apologized while walking out of the room. "I'm sorry. I have to go."

"Oh," Sind said with obvious sadness in his voice.

"Well, you can come back later and play if you want!" Mocha called out to her.

Neo didn't reply back. She just continued to run down the hall until she was back at Law's side. She grabbed onto him and giggled. "Law!"

Law chuckled at her childlike display as he led her down the hall.

Neo looked back at the corridor she came from then looked up at him. "There are more than just that one kid I saw the other day. Why? Who are they?"

"I don't know," Law replied. "But it doesn't matter. We won't have anything to do with kids while we're here."

"I suppose you're right," Neo replied with a smile. "What would we possible have to do with a bunch of kids?"


	74. Life on Punk Hazard Part One

Life on Punk Hazard

Part One

Pitching Law's sleeve, Neo ran her eyes over the large pipes above them. "What exactly where they doing in this place? It's so huge. There're so many rooms too."

"Do you really want to know?" Law asked.

"No, not really," Neo said. "I'm just curious. It was probably something really bad."

"There's a chance that it was," Law said. "At least caused by Caesar. I'm not sure what all Vegapunk does. He's really secretive. Not many even know what the man looks like."

"So where are we going again?" Neo asked.

"To look around outside," Law said.

"Does that mean we get to play in the snow?" Neo smiled.

"No," Law said.

"You're so mean." Neo poked him in the ribs. "We're playing in the snow. I refuse to live on this island and not play in the snow with you."

"Well see then," Law said. "First things first."

"I know, I know," Neo said. "We learn the layout of the island and everything."

"I heard some of Caesar's men talking about dragons," Law said.

"Dragons?" Neo asked. "When?"  
"When you were busy sulking over the crew during breakfast," Law said.

Neo sighed. "I'd cry if I had any tears left. I miss them so much. Do you think they're on Zou yet?"

"It's hard to tell since that place moves nonstop," Law said.

"I hope they are. And I hope they didn't run into any trouble on the way there," Neo said.

"They haven't. If they did you would have had a nightmare about it," Law said. "They're safe."

"Why couldn't we contact them with a transponder snail?" Neo whined.

"They don't reach that far," Law said.

"Then the crew should highjack the elephant and walk him this way," Neo said.

"That would defeat the purpose of having the crew go there in the first place," Law said.

"So? They don't have to stay beside the island. Just close enough that I can fly back and forth between the islands," Neo said.

"I think that would be very noticeable," Law said. "This place is big but not that big."

"I wouldn't care if they did notice," Neo said just as the large door came into view.

"Oh ho."

Neo jumped at the voice and stepped closer to Law. "I was distracted. I didn't even sense them coming."

Law glanced at her before looking back at Brownbeard and a few of his men.

"And where are you two off to this morning?" Brownbeard asked.

"Just going to look around the island," Law said.

"I see. Well, beware of the dragons," Brownbeard said. "There are few on the island. Though they were created by Vegapunk. The master keeps the small one sedated so you shouldn't have any trouble with them. The larger one on the fire side is really mean. I'd steer clear of him if I were you if you go over to that side. But you being a warlord I'm sure you won't have any problems with it."

Neo ran her eyes over the animal half of their bodies. Her mind spun with a lot of questions, to which she didn't really want to know the answer to. She forced her eyes off them when her mind started to wonder about the animal heads. They never did find out what happened to them but it was fairly obvious they were disposed of. Maybe even eaten. Her stomach turned.

"We have to get going," Law said feeling Neo's stomach getting upset because of where her mind was wandering.

"Of course." Brownbeard nodded. "Have a nice day."

Neo and Law stepped around them. Reaching the door Law warped them outside. The warmth was immediately replaced with the raging cold winds. And there on the ground was a small green dragon in a harness attached to a small sled.

"So that's what a dragon looks like?" Neo asked eyeing it's rounded nose and drowsy eyes. "It looks more tame than what I pictured from my books."

"This one anyway," Law said. "Dragons can be any shape, size, and color. It's possible that Vegapunk created this one to be small and green."

Neo ran her eyes over the dragon's scales. "Do you think it's possible a dragon could have, say, yellow spots and white stripes?"

"You're being silly," Law said.

"But it could be possible, right?" Neo looked at him. "That one crazy guy was trying to change those animals fur and feathers for the Celestial Dragons."

"It might be possible," Law said. "In theory anyway. But you wouldn't want anyone to find out."

"Not if it hurts the animals." Neo looked back at the dragon. "But this thing wasn't born. It was  _created_  by Vegapunk. Do you think it was in pain when Vegapunk made it? Or maybe it didn't even notice?"

"I wouldn't know," Law said.

"I can feel the fire inside of it," Neo said. "It feels kind of odd. Do you think that's normal?"  
"It might be since Vegapunk made this thing instead of it being born from parents," Law said.

"Seems really sad," Neo said. "I wonder if it knows that it's an experiment."

"Why don't you ask it?" Law asked.

"I'm afraid to," Neo said. "Besides its mind is foggy. I'm not sure it would understand me."

"Then don't worry about it." Law walked away from her.

Neo gave the dragon one last look before rushing to catch up with Law. Summoning her wind crystals she lifted them into the air. She flew them over the snowy terrain first. They scanned their eyes over the mountains and the pieces of building sticking out of the snow that was left from the explosion that happened here. It was identical to the maps they had acquired of the island. And it looked like a colorless graveyard.

"How are you feeling?" Law asked. "Are the opposing elements here bothering you?"  
"Not really," Neo said. "Though the struggle is still there the island appears to be calm in its individual sections. It's hard to see that this island was anything else than what it is now. What was the point of Aokiji and Akainu fighting like they did?"

"Who knows?" Law shrugged. "It's a shame they didn't wipe each other out."

"Maybe. But then it would be possible for someone even stronger to take their places," Neo said.

"Let's go over to the fire side," Law said.

"I hope it's more interesting over there than it is here," Neo said. "I love snow but it's rather boring to look at." She flew them to the other side of the island. She looked down to the pool of seawater separating the two sides. Sharks and other sea creatures were swimming around down there. But she knew it would be too cold for her to play with them for any real amount of time. The heat intensified the closer they got to the fire. They removed their coats before reaching it when sweat trailed down their backs. The buildings on this side were easier to spot but it was just as dull as the snowy side. The red hot stones were obvious too hot to touch, even for her. "We're going to die of boredom here."

"No you won't," Law said.

"But there's nothing to do here," Neo said. "And there's no point in trying to make friends with these people."

"You'll do it anyway when you grow bored enough," Law said.

"This whole things is stupid," Neo said.

"Maybe I can get Caesar to ship in some books for you," Law said.

"That would help," Neo said. She glanced over her shoulder when she sensed movement. "Huh?"

"What is it?" Law asked.

"I think that big dragon is-" Before she could finish the large dragon swooped down on them. She shot them to their right before it could bite down on them. "That was way too close."

"See what you get for complaining?" Law smirked.

Neo stuck her tongue out at him while flying back towards the snowy side of the island. Have way across the pool of water they put their coats back on. Once close enough to the building they came out of she sat them down on the ground. As Law walked along she paused to scoop up a handful of snow and shaped it into a ball before tossing it at Law, nailing him on his shoulder.

Law turned to her and frowned.

"That's what you get for not paying attention," Neo said.

"Room. Shambles." Law spread out his Room and warped a pile of snow on her.

"Hey!" Neo popped out of the snow. "That's cheating!"

"So is hitting your target from behind." Law smirked.

"But it wouldn't have been any fun if you knew it was coming. You would have just warped it way." Neo frowned.

Law warped. Leaning in so their noses touched he said, "I know."

"Oh!" Neo puffed out her cheeks at him.

"You're cute when you pout," Law said.

"I'm always cute," Neo said. "So play with me for a while."

"Okay," Law said. "But only for a while I don't want you out here when the sun goes down. It'll get too cold."

"Then that's a perfect excuse to have you warm me up," Neo said. Bending down she scooped up some more snow, inciting a snow battle between her and Law.

…

"Aah!" Caesar screamed as he pushed his back against his chair. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration before sitting back up straight and glaring at the screen before him. He was sitting alone in the control room. And he's been in this place for over two hours just watching Neo and Law move around the facility. He's actually been watching them, mostly Neo, closely for several weeks. "I don't believe this! They've been here for over a month! And she has yet to leave his side! What's up with that?! I thought she was his  _wife_ , not his  _puppy_! Why does she follow him around all of the time?! With how protective he is over her there's no possible way I will be able to get close enough to her with him around!"

Caesar paused in his rant when he noticed Law and Neo on the move again. His eyes widened when they paused at an intersection of halls. For a moment it look to him like they were finally split up from each other. But they didn't. They shared a few words and a sickeningly sweet kiss then headed on down one of the halls. The increasingly impatient scientist dropped his forehead on the control panel with an audible thud. Buttons clicked then shrilled sharply at being pressed at the same time before he pushed off the controls. His eyes glared sharply at the two. He carefully watched them as they headed for the front entrance. Clearly they were heading outside to explore the island some more or do whatever it was they did when they left. He never was sure what all they did when they left the building. He's gotten some video footage from a few transponder snails of her and Law in certain places on Punk Hazard, but nothing really worth his time. A couple things he did know for sure is: One, whatever they did it often got Law's heart rate up. He really didn't want to think about that one. Two, Neo would play fight with the dragons on the island. And, three, once Neo and Law were outside, the blue haired girl would always fly them to their destinations so it made it rather difficult for Caesar to follow them without being noticed. And since he didn't really know the extent of Neo's powers yet, he really didn't feel comfortable with sending Monet to follow them.

He grumbled, "I wish those dragons would just bite her head off. At least that way I could gather up some of her blood from the ground. I've examined the videos of her fighting those things, but it hasn't done me a lick of good! I can't tell if she's really letting loose on those dragons or if she's holding back!"

Caesar rapidly scratched his head in frustration again. He kicked the control panel multiple times. "What do I have to do to get my hands on that woman?! I want to know what makes her tick! I want to know what those crystals are made of! I want to know  _why_  she has to have those crystals! I can't recall a single devil fruit user who uses conductors like that! Why does she  _need_  those crystals?! Why does she feel so inhuman?! And why can't I locate anything on her other than what's been reported in newspapers in the past couple of years?! No way she just appeared out of the blue!"

Caesar slammed his fist on a button and the video screens blinked off. He sunk down in his chair and pouted. "That  _woman_. This is  _torture_. It's like an annoying itch that I can't reach. I guess I'll just have to be patient for a little bit longer. There's no way she can possible follow him around for every second they're here. She is somewhat shy. Maybe she just needs time to adjust to this place. That must be it. Maybe it's not been long enough yet."

He started to calm down a bit with that little information. But the calmness didn't last long when he remembered they have been on Punk Hazard for over a month now. Caesar screamed. He tugged on his hair while kicking his feet wildly in the air. "I can't take this! How much longer does she need before she leaves that blasted warlord's side?! Don't they  _ever_  get tired of being around each other all the time?!"

…

Law shook his head and chuckled in amusement as he watched his love. He had his and Neo's coats draped over his crossed arms since it was far too hot to wear them on this burning side of the island. Neo was hovering him in the air while she did a bizarre mixture of fighting and playing with the large dragon. As he watched her, he thought back to the first time they came across the smaller version of these creatures and it's larger companion when they spent their first few weeks here. Over the weeks they spent here, Neo began to play fight with the larger dragon so she could get some exercise and some fighting experience while they explored the island. They did this about everyday to keep her from getting too bored.

Neo flew multiple times around the large dragon before landing on his nose. The dragon growled in annoyance. She giggled. The dragon flapped his right wing, rolling itself over in the air in an attempt to throw her off. But the dragon apparently didn't understand that she could fly. She just followed along with the dragon until it righted itself back up. She then ran down its back and used its tail as a diving board.

"Are you training or playing with that thing?" Law asked with another chuckle.

"Mmm," Neo hummed while flying back over to him. She pecked his lips. "Both."

"Well, if you're done  _playing_  we should head back now," Law said.

"I suppose I've annoyed this guy enough for today," Neo said just before the dragon roared and charged at them. She easily lifted both herself and Law out of the way. The dragon landed on a broke piece of rubble before glaring at her. She laughed. Her bells filled the air, confusing the dragon. The dragon then glared at her again. "I wish I knew what he was saying. But with that particular look on his face I'm probably better off not knowing. Do you think artificial dragons have cuss words in their language?"

"They very well could have," Law said as Neo flew them back towards the freezing side of the island. She flew them slowly between the elements so they could adjust to the drastic temperature change and not end up sick. Once their bodies had cooled off enough, they pulled their coats back on and she picked up their speed. "Hm?"

"Who is that, Law?" Neo asked when they both noticed a strange, small boat docked at the island.

"Looks like someone found this island," Law replied. He gripped his sword. "Well, it'll be the last thing they do if they're here to start trouble."

"Settle down, pirate boy." Neo shot Law a smirk. "Let's first see who it is. They could just be lost."

Law tilted his head at her with a skeptical look on his face. She shrugged in response and lowered them down to the island. Her eyebrows raised upon her forehead when she realized the ship belonged to a small family of three. A man, in his older thirties with black hair, looked around the island as the woman and child, both also with black hair, climbed off the boat. The child was young, around five years old, and clinging to his mother's robe. They all were wearing tribal robes so it gave Neo the impression they were probably a very long way from home.

The woman and child jumped when the two pirates landed in front of them. The little child's eyes widened in fascination at the display Neo had preformed before him. He exclaimed, "Did you see that?! They were  _flying_! Father, I wish to fly as well! How was she able to do that?"

The man stepped between them and held out his arm in a protective manner. "Silence, child. It is not normal for humans to fly. She must be one of those devil fruit users. A real witch indeed."

Law growled and pulled out his sword. The family flinched and took a step back. The mother wrapped her arms around their child, cried, and mumbled something in a different language that sounded like a prayer. The man did his best to hold his ground as he said, "Do not attempt to fight me, stranger. I do not wish for trouble. We are seeking an island called Romps."

"This is not Romps," Law replied. He raised his sword.

' _Law, you don't have to be so intimidating.'_  Neo smiled.  _'They're frightened enough. Let me handle this. A softer touch is clearly needed this time.'_

' _A softer touch? He needs his head hacked off for calling you a witch.'_  Law frowned and glared at the stranger.

' _Well, to those of other cultures people with devil fruits, or magic in my case, are often referred to as witches or other such beings, right?'_

' _Yes.'_

' _And they're obviously just lost. I can easily take care of this without anyone losing their head.'_

' _Fine. This one's yours.'_  Law sheathed his sword and rested it on his shoulder.

Neo nodded then walked forward.

"Stay back, wench!" the man warned, earning another sharp glare from Law.

"It's okay. We're not going to hurt you at all. You're just on the wrong island. I'm going to help you get away from this place. It's best if you never mention to anyone that you saw us," Neo said. She summoned her wind crystals above the small family so they couldn't see them. Carefully, she pulled the air out of their lungs until they passed out. Once they were out, she released her winds so she didn't kill them. She then gathered them all up, including Law and their small ship, and flew them back out to sea. She lowered the vessel into the water then flew the three inside of the ship so they would be protected from the elements. She laid them on the floor then noticed she had brought them into the kitchen. "Huh?"

"What is it?" Law asked when Neo walked away from him. She opened several cabinets, which were practically empty. "Are they all empty?"

"Just about. This one has a can of soup inside of it." Neo closed the cabinet door. She stood up and looked at the small family again. Her expression softened. "I wonder how long they have been out of food."

"What difference does it make? It's their problem if they set out to sea without the proper preparations," Law replied in his typical, 'I don't care. It's not our problem', manor.

"Law," Neo drawled out his name. She crossed her arms and strummed her fingers on her elbow.

"Fine. But make it quick." Law crossed his arms over his chest, angling his sword vertical to his body, while leaning against the wall.

Neo nodded with a bright smile. She summoned a hundred of her earth crystals and filled their cabinets and shelves with a large variety of fruits and vegetables. Once that task was finished, she started to head outside to get them some fish, but stopped when she recalled that some people didn't eat meat for a variety of reason, so she decided against it since she didn't want fish to die if they were going to go to waste.

"You finished?" Law asked.

"Yes, my impatient lover," Neo said as she walked over to him. He unfolded his arms just before she placed her hands on his hips. She pushed upon her toes and pecked his lips. "Thanks for waiting and letting me do this."

Law sighed then smiled. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her deeply. "It's sweet of you to care, but we can't do this ever single time."

"I know." Neo nodded. Both knew she'd do it each and every time and Law would let her with minimum complaint. "Let's go. I'm going to have some sea creatures help guide them into the right direction of the nearest island."

Once back out on the deck, Neo lifted them up into the air. She located a small pod of whales nearby. After asking them to take the ship to another island, she took herself and Law back to Punk Hazard.

…

Penguin sighed. His hand stirred the fish stew he was making but his mind was with Neo. It had been three days since their captain and sister had left the Polar Tang. And it had been a very quite and lonely three days. All of them were feeling it. The sub just wasn't the same without Neo and the captain around, especially Neo.

"Uh, Penguin," Shachi said. "I think it's done. Or are you trying to put the fish back together by constantly stirring it?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry," Penguin said barely registering the other three pirates in the room.

"They're going to be all right," Topaz said.

"I know," Penguin said. "The captain will do anything he can to keep her confortable. I'm still worried. She's so dependent on the sub and us. You know she's cried a lot since they left."

"That's true," Shachi said. "Still, in the end this will be a good life experience for her."

"Or a very traumatic one," Penguin mumbled.

"I guess we're going to have to adjust to you being a gloomy gus until they return," Shachi said.

"Deal with it," Penguin said. "Stew's ready."

"At least I was here to remind him to add in the spices," Basil said.

"Thank you for that," Shachi said.

"Hey!" Penguin protested. "If you don't like what I make then you can just not eat!"

"You were a fine cook before Neo left!" Shachi said.

"Neo!" Penguin dropped his head on the counter, shrouded in depression.

"Way to go, Shachi," Basil said.

"I'm sorry," Shachi said. "I'm just as tense as anyone else."

"We'll be a lot better when we get to Zou," Topaz said. "Being confined in the sub is too much for you all. Your whole world has been upside down since you've been with her for so long. Just hold on a little longer."

"I hope it won't take long for us to reach Zou," Bepo said as he walked into the room.

"Do you have any idea how long it will take us to get there?" Shachi asked.

"Not a clue," Bepo said. "Zunisha is always moving."

"It's amazing that we can even find this place to begin with," Topaz said.

"It's instinctual," Bepo said. "I just know which way to go."

Penguin sighed. Pouring himself some stew he sat down at the table and played with it more than he ate it. After that he spent most of his time in the training room trying to distract himself with exercises from missing Neo so much. But it didn't really work. His mind kept going to her and how she was doing without them. The whole crew worried. Then after nine painfully slow days, Bepo announced that Zou was coming up.

The pirates rushed out onto the deck. A large fog bank was in front of them.

"How can the island be coming up if there's nothing but fog out here?" Basil asked.

"No, I can sense it," Topaz said. "The elephant's presence is so overwhelming. I can barely feel the plant and animal life on top of it."

"A fog always surrounds Zunisha," Bepo said. "Just watch. You'll see it soon."

The pirates kept their eyes locked onto the fog as they moved through it. Before long the giant mass of the elephant's leg appeared.

"That's so huge!" Shachi said gaping up at the animal before them. "How can something this  _huge_  be so hard to find?!"

"Great. How in the world are we supposed to get up there?" Tero asked running his eyes over the elephant's skin. "Climb it?"

"I never thought of that," Bepo said. "I'm sorry."

"Why didn't you mention this before?!" Shachi and Penguin demanded. "We could have thought of a way to get up there on our way here!"

"I'm sorry." Bepo hung his head.

"Looks like someone's going to have to climb up there and tell them we're here," Tero said. "Maybe they have a pulley system they use to bring up the sub. Surely others have set sail from here like Bepo did. They'd need a way down. I highly doubt they slid down the elephant's trunk."

"That won't be necessary," Topaz said.

"Why not? You do want to get up there, don't you?" Tero said.

"Yes, but there are Elementals up there," Topaz said. Summoning a fire crystal she shot a fireball into the sky. "I can call them down like this."

Three more fireballs went up before a couple wind Elementals flew down to them. They were two females wielding wind.

"Hello," Topaz said. "My name is Topaz. I'm in the service of her majesty Princess Neo."

"A royal has been born?" one of the elementals asked.

"Indeed." Topaz nodded before quickly explaining their situation.

"Well, welcome to Zou. My name is Amara," the long haired girl said.

"And I am Nina," Nina said. Her hair was short and spiked.

"We really need to speak with Nekomamushi," Tero said. "Could you take us to him?"

"We'll have to wait until after sunset to speak to him," Bepo said.

"Why's that?" Shachi asked.

"The two rulers of this island have been fighting for many years. Nekomamushi watches over the night while Inuarashi watches over the day," Bepo said.

"Sounds complicated," Shachi said.

"Can we just go up?" Penguin asked.

"Sure thing." Amara nodded before she and Nina summoned their wind crystals and lifted them to the top of Zunisha.

"Is that a whale shaped tree?" Archer asked looking down over the forest.

"It sure is," Nina said.

The Elementals placed the sub down in the thick forest near a group of buildings on short stilts.

"This is Nekomamushi's territory," Amara said. "We have a few hours until the sun goes down. And since you're new here it's best if you stayed on the sub until you can speak to Nekomamushi."

"We can wait," Jean Bart said. "We wouldn't want to cause trouble."

"We've been waiting to get here for days. A couple more hours won't be much," Conner said.

"So what's the princess like?" Nina asked. "Is she pretty? Is she nice? What's her favorite food? Animals? Color? Does she like flowers? How can she not? We're Elementals after all. We all love nature."

Amara shook her head. "Ignore her. She can be rather talkative and curious."

"It's just fine," Topaz said. "I have to inform you all of the princess anyway. It'll be best before she gets here."

"Eek! We're going to meet the princess?!" Nina squealed. "That's so amazing! I've heard so much about them! I thought I'd never get to meet one!"

"She's very…excitable," Conner said.

"She's insane," Archer said.

"Ignore her." Amara rubbed her temples. "She's always been like that. Being quiet and sitting still is practically impossible for her. The only time it really happens is when she's asleep. But she's always talking in her sleep too. So…"

As they waited for night to fall more Elementals can to see who the new comers were as well as some minks. They spend the majority of the time telling them about Neo until night fell. Then Amara and Nina lead the pirates to the large cat.

"Garchu!" the minks said as the pirates passed by them.

"Garchu!" a cat mink rubbed up against Conner.

"Hey! What the heck?! Get off of me!" Conner said.

"What's with all the snuggles?" Archer asked as a goat mink nudged against him.

"It's a greeting that minks do," Bepo said.

"Garchu! You're so big!" a child doe said as she and some other kids ran circles around Jean Bart.

Jean Bart sighed but remained patient with them.

"Garchu!"

"Garchu!"

"And here we are," Amara said. She led them into the open building. Sitting there on several pillows was a large yellow cat mink smoking a pipe.

"That's him?" Shachi asked.

"That's him. Nekomamushi, we have some people here would needs to speak with you," Amara said.

"Eh?" Nekomamushi looked at Bepo before rushing forward and rubbed his cheek against the bear's. "Garchu! Bepo! You've grown so much!"

"Garchu! It's good to see you well, Nekomamushi," Bepo said. "Would it be all right if I spoke to you?"

"Of course." The giant cat sat back down on his pillows.

The pirates, mostly Bepo, once again told them what happened and why they were there.

"I see," Nekomamushi said breathing out smoke.

"So is it all right for us to stay here?" Bepo asked. "I promise we won't be any trouble."

"Of course you can stay here," Nekomamushi said. "You are a mink. This place will always be your home. And I will protect you and your crew."

"Thank you very much, Nekomamushi." Bepo bowed his head.

"Amara, will you and Nina get them settled into their new homes? And put their ship in a storage shed," Nekomamushi said.

"Of course." Amara nodded before leading the pirates back outside. The pirates gathered up some clothes before the Elementals moved their sub into a shed like they were ordered to. Next they followed their new friends back to the small village. "Here we are."

The pirates looked up at the large woodened building.

"This place will have enough rooms for you," Nina said. "Feel free to use whichever ones you want to."

"Thanks," Topaz said.

"We'll get a meal prepared for you all. Come on, Nina," Amara said grabbed her friend by her ear and pulling her away.

"Wait! I have lots more questions about the princess!" Nina said.

"You can ask them later," Amara said. "They've had a long journey and need to rest."

"Neo would love this place," Penguin said looking around at the forest they were in.

"Come on." Shachi placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and steered him up the stairs then inside. The pirates spread out in the hall. Some doubled up in the rooms while others chose to get a room for themselves. "This is nice."

Penguin plopped down on his bed with a sigh. Looking around he found the room was more spacious than their room on the sub. And they didn't have bunk beds. They had their only individual beds and closets, plus a divider wall made of bamboo that could be moved around. "I guess. It's kind of like a tree house. Something else Neo would love."

"Are you going to be okay?" Shachi asked. "It's understandable that you're depressed. I'm just…"

"I'll be fine," Penguin said. "Be here instead of on the sub will help. Too much of Neo is there."

"Yeah." Shachi nodded. "The sub's just not the same without her. She brought so much life and love to the crew that was never there before."

"At least we made it here without any problems," Penguin said. "She'll love that."

"And we'll keep a close eye on the newspapers," Shachi said. "If anything really big happens with them and Punk Hazard it will be reported."

"Yeah." Penguin nodded.

"Now, cheer up!" Shachi smiled. "We have an island on the back of an elephant to explore! We can prepare a tour for Neo when she and the captain return! And you can pick her out some mink outfits!"

"Mink outfits?" Penguin asked.

"Serious?!" Shachi gasped. "You didn't notice how revealing some of the clothes the minks were wearing?! Dang! You really are depressed! All well. You'll notice soon enough. And I'm sure you'll pick out some outfit for Neo to tease the captain with."

Penguin hummed in thought. Shachi did have a point. That would distract him. "All right. Let's go back outside and see what we can do here."

"That's my boy!" Shachi slapped Penguin on the shoulder before the two headed back outside to continue meeting the minks and exploring Bepo's homeland.

…

"This is so boring," Neo whined. Slumping down on the couch she laid her head on Law's lap. "What are you reading?"

"Nothing of interest to you," Law said.

"Figures," Neo said. A few moments of silence passed between them. "I think I might go to the kitchen."

"Hm?" Law looked down at her with a cocked eyebrow. "You going to start cooking here?"

"I'm that bored," Neo said. "Besides I'm tried of the bland food."

"Well, if you really feel secure enough to go then go," Law said going back to his book. "I'll come to you if you need me."

"I know," Neo said. "I'm just not completely sure that's what I want to do. I don't feel threatened by the men here. Well, all but for Caesar and Monet. I still don't trust them. But I believe the others are truly grateful that you gave them legs, no matter how sickening is still is to think about."

Law hummed and flipped to the next page of his book.

"Fine. I'm going," Neo said. "At least for a while."

"Call if you need me," Law said.

"I will." Neo forced herself up, kissed him, grabbed her coat off the back of the couch, and headed for the door. Out in the hall she checked her pocket for the map of the building. It was still there. She had it memorized by now but wanted to keep it just incase she got lost. The halls were mostly empty but for two men in yellow gas suits heading out for their patrol. They were down another hallway so they didn't see her as she made her way through the large building. Her eyes then drifted up to the pipes running alone the ceiling. She still wasn't sure what most of them were but she knew some of them were for the heating system. After ten minutes of wandering the long hall she finally reached the mess hall. The two men, with goat legs, were already inside of the kitchen. They moved about the room, not realizing she was there. Neo stood back and watched them for a few minutes before stepping in the doorway that led to the kitchen. That's when they noticed she was there.

"Oh, good afternoon, Lady Law," one of them said. "Is there something we can do for you?"

"No," Neo said. "I was just…I was thinking about helping you two cook. I'm kind of bored."

"I see," he said. "You're welcome to help up if you want. I'm Roca."

"And I'm Kennan," the other one said. "We're really grateful to you and your husband. Feel free to do what you like."

"Great," Neo said. Instead of stepping into the kitchen she just stared at the men before her. Her mind ran over the possibilities of whether this man was a pirate or a subordinate of Vegapunk that got left behind.

"It's okay if you don't want to cook," Roca said.

"Yeah, we noticed you're rather shy," Kennan said. "Would you like to chop up some potatoes? We're making a stew for lunch."

Neo nodded. With timid steps she worked her way up to the island counter where potatoes were already washed and waiting. The two men continued their work. When they didn't come close to her she picked up the knife and started cutting through the potatoes. Once they were done she pushed them across the counter and watched the two men. She cringed when Roca put very little spices into the large pots of stew. "Um, you're going to need a lot more spices than that."

"Huh?" Roca looked at her.

Twitching, she asked, "How…how much knowledge of cooking do you two have?"

"Not much," Kennan said.

"I have a little but not much," Roca said. "Admittedly, we're not the best cooks. The men have complained about the food. We do what we can."

"Why? Do you have much knowledge on cooking?" Kennan asked.

"Well, a little bit. I am the head cook on our crew, but I'm not actually a  _chef_. I'm really still learning. There needs to be more spices," Neo said.

"I see. Well, you're free to add what you want," Roca said waving at the pots. "You seem to know what you're talking about."

Neo shifted on her feet before heading around to the stove. Glancing over the spices she picked a few up and started shaking them into the stew while stirring it. She then stepped over to the meat and looked over it. "It should do though next time tenderize it some more."

Picking up the meat she dumped it into the pots and stirred it a bit. An hour later the meal was finally done and the men started filing into the mess hall. When Law walked in Neo walked over to him with their plates and drinks in her winds.

"You seem to be feeling better," Law said before kissing her.

"A little bit," Neo said sitting down with him. "It helped being in here. And the two guys I was around weren't so bad."

Law took a bit of the stew. "Well, you've obvious improved the state of the food."

"You always say that." Neo smiled.

"Then pay attention to the people around us," Law said.

Neo looked at the people around them.

"Something's different about this."

"It tastes a lot better."

"It does."

"There's better flavor to it. And the bread is nice and fluffy."

"You can thank Lady Law for that," Kennan said.

"She helped us with the meal," Roca said.

Neo flushed and ducked her head when everyone turned their eyes to her.

"You're a wonderful cook!"

"Yeah! Feel free to cook for us any time!"

_'Why did they have to open their mouths?'_  Neo ripped off a piece of being and dunked it into her stew.

_'You should have told them not to put you on the spot.'_

_'I never thought about it.'_

_'At least they're going back to their meal now.'_

Neo sighed and sat back up. "I'll never get use to being the center of attention."

"Only with people you don't know," Law said. "You're fine with the crew."

Neo nodded. Finally finished eating she tried to help clean up the dishes but Roca and Kennan shooed her off. So she left the mess hall with her arm in Law's. "So what now?"

"We go back to the room," Law said.

"So boring," Neo said.

"I might be able to do something about that," Law said.

"Oh," Neo cooed. "Now what did you have in mind?"  
"Like you don't know." Law smirked.

"And how long have you been wanting this?" Neo asked.

"Not long after you left," Law said. "It annoyed me that you were alone with two other men outside of the crew. So you're making it up to me."

"Then why didn't you call me back?" Neo asked. "And you hid it from me?"  
"Because you needed to do this," Law said. "That's why I didn't call you back or let you know."

"Again I have to say you are the most patient man on the planet," Neo said.

"And now my patients is wearing thin," Law said. "I  _want_  you. Now."

Neo shivered when Law's sexual desires and arousal washed over her body. Picking them up in her winds she flew them the rest of the way to the room. Law warped them inside and simultaneously warped their clothes off. "You are impatient."

Law chuckled. Pulling her close to him, he placed his lips on her neck and sucked on her tender spot.

Neo grasped. Grasping onto his arms she flew them over to the bed. With him busy ravaging her neck she fumbled in the nightstand drawer for protection. Pulling a small packet out she tried to push Law off her. "Law…Law, you need to put the condom on."

Law licked her neck before sitting up. "You put it on."

Neo smiled. Sitting up she slid the protection over him before wrapping her arms around his neck. Kissing him she lowered back to the bed, pulling his down with her. His knee bushed her leg out of the way. She gripped the sheets with a moan upon feeling him slid inside of her slowly. "Uh, you're going to tease me. Aren't you?"

"Yes," Law said before starting on his slow strokes.

Neo gave into him. Rolling her head back she allowed him to have complete control before placing her hand on his shoulder and rolling him onto his back so she could give him the attention she knew he was craving. Now it was his turn to moan in pleasure as she worked herself over his body until they both reached their climax. They cleaned up before she laid down on his stomach. She hummed. "That was so worth it."

"Mhmm." Law raked his fingers through her air. Both falling asleep to the sound of the other's breathing.


	75. Life on Punk Hazard Part Two

Life on Punk Hazard

Part Two

Neo carefully peaked around the corner and down the hallway that led to the Biscuits Room. The door was about halfway open, but it didn't appear that anyone was inside at the moment. She looked over her shoulder, back down the hall she had just came from and wondered if she should forget about this room and the kids. A few days ago she finally started wondering away from Law a bit, keeping herself constantly connected to his location as she cautiously looked around the building on her own. And just two days ago she started going to the kitchen to help with the food even more the before. Over two months of cold, tasteless food was enough for her. She was currently heading to the kitchen to help with dinner when suddenly she took an unexpected turn and found herself here where the kids resided.

She had no idea what compelled her to come back to this room. But she did. This room, the kids, had been on her mind quiet a lot since the first time she came into this room. Law did occasionally discourage her from returning to this room again, but never flat out ordered her to stay away. So she knew he really didn't care if she did or didn't return to this place just as long as she kept out of the way and didn't interfere with whatever was going on.

She stepped into the hall and soon found herself in the colorful room. As she thought, no one was inside at the moment so she took the time to look around the room. Blocks, balls, dolls, puzzles, books, and other kids toys were scattered around the main room she stepped into. She picked up a book and looked at it. A fluffy sheep was on the cover, chewing grass. She was about to open it and see what it was about when a rumble of feet on the floor and happy chatter pulled her attention to one of the other doorways in the room. Just then all of the missing kids came running into the room. They continued to chat happily until one of them noticed her there. "Oh. Hey! It's you! You're that girl from the other day!"

"We were wondering where you went," another one said. "Do you stay in another part of the building?"

"What was your name again?" a third one asked.

"Neo," Neo replied.

"Neo? That's a funny name!" One of the boys laughed.

"Doran! That's rude!" The tall wavy, black haired girl, Mocha, poked Doran on the arm.

"I'm sorry," Doran apologized.

"It's okay," Neo replied. She tilted her head, unsure of what to do now. She's never really had much interaction with children. The only one she could recall really doing anything with and talking to was that little fire Elemental she helped back on Luminous.

"Are there other kids with you?" one asked.

"No. And I'm not a kid." Neo pointed at herself. "I'm twenty two years old."

"What?!" All the kids gasped. "But you look so young!"

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "I get that a lot."

"Oh. We're sorry," the black haired girl said.

"It's okay. You all didn't know. And last time was the first time we met." Neo ran her eyes over all of the kids. "Why exactly are you here?"

"We're sick. The master here is treating us with these yummy candies," Mocha replied. Neo started chewing on her bottom lip at the giant girl's words. Something about that didn't seem right. "What about you? Do you work for the master? Who are you exactly?"

"No, I don't work for Caesar, not really. I'm here because…well it's kind of complicated to explain," Neo replied. She strummed her fingers on her thigh in thought. "I'm a pirate. Me and my husband are because…"

"A pirate?!" the kids shrieked and stepped away in fear.

"You don't have to be scared. I won't hurt you all," Neo said. Guilt hit her fairly hard for unintentionally scaring the kids even though it was unintentional. They cautiously watched her with tears streaming down their cheeks. She summoned her wind crystals and lifted them into the air. She rocked them until they stopped crying.

"Huh? We're flying!" the kids exclaimed happily. Some held out their arms and flapped them like wings while others just hung there as Neo glided them around the room.

"How are you able to do this?" a kid asked.

"With my ma-powers. I have control over the elements," Neo replied as she sat them back down on the floor.

"Over all of them?" another kid asked. Neo nodded. "Could you show us?"

"Well, I was heading for the kitchen to help cook dinner," Neo started. She paused when the kids became sad and teary eyes. "I suppose I could show you really quickly, but then I really need to go."

"Yeah!" the kids cheered. Neo summoned one of each of her element crystals. She gave them a quick demonstration of how they worked then banished them. The kids clapped and cheered in amazement. "That was amazing."

"Thanks. It was nothing." Neo rubbed the back of her neck while her cheeks tinted pink. She started for the door. "I really have to go now."

"You said you were going to go cook, right?" Doran asked.

"Yes." Neo nodded.

"Do you make chocolate chip cookies?" Doran asked hopefully.

"Yes. I can make those." Neo nodded again.

"Could you please make us some sometime then?" Doran asked. He got down on the floor so he would be more eyelevel with her. All of the other kids cheered and pleaded for her to make them as they gathered closer to her. Neo twitched at their closeness, but reminded herself that they were just kids and wasn't going to hurt her and that the door was just behind her. "I haven't had those in forever! I really miss them!"

"Oh, well, I suppose I could," Neo said, causing the kids to cheer again. "But I'm not sure if I have all the fixings for it here. The ingredients might have to be shipped in. I'll have to look first."

"Then please look! We can wait a few more days for them!" Doran pleaded.

"All right then. I really have to go now." Neo waved to the kids as she rushed out of the room. She rushed down the halls of the building before bolting into the kitchen. The two other cooks greeted her with smiles. "Sorry. I know I'm late. I got distracted by the kids."

"Good evening, Lady Law. You were with the kids?" Roca asked.

"Yeah. They wanted to see how my devil fruit powers worked." Neo nodded. She took off her coat and placed it on one of the apron hooks before grabbing an apron. She tied the apron around her waist then pulled Penguin's ribbon from her pocket and tied her hair back. "They made a request for chocolate chips cookies. I haven't made them in quite a while too. Do we have the ingredients to make them?"

"I'm afraid not. But we're going to put in an order for more food tomorrow. We can add it to the list," Kennan said.

"Great! They said they could wait a couple days!" Neo smiled. The small group of three then settled into their tasks of making dinner. In the middle of their cooking, a cold shiver ran down her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She paused the knife half way through a tomato and whipped around. She carefully glanced around the dinning hall. A few of Caesar's men had come in at some point, but were chatting happily at a table. Nothing seemed out of the place and the feeling passed. She then turned back to her vegetables and started cutting them up again.

A few days later, the supply ship had finally arrived. When it did Neo literally flew to the kitchen. She was so excited about making the cookies that she used her crystals to help her. This sped up the process and she got dozens of cookies done within an hour. She left some in the kitchen for everyone else while take some to the kids. Both the kids and the adults were happy to have the sweet treat, as it was rare here to have. She got a lot of praise for the cookies before she managed to pry herself from the kids growing admiration for her.

With her coat hung over her left shoulder, Neo hummed to herself as she walked down the hall. She had a plastic bag of the cookies she was going to stash in the room for her and Law to nibble on. She smiled when she saw one of Caesar's men, one who had goat legs and horns, coming in her direction. He nodded politely at her when he met her gaze. Suddenly, the man crossed to the other side of the hallway. Neo narrowed her eyebrows slightly when he did this. It struck her as very odd. Something didn't feel right. Her hairs stood up. Before she could think more on it, the man slammed into her, knocking her into the wall and a cold stone clamped down on her right wrist.

Neo's anxiety shot up and her body temperature dropped when she realized this man was touching her. She started to summon her crystals but instantly stopped when she noticed the cold stone on her wrist was sea prism stone. She could easily feel the sea within the stone.  _'Law! Help!'_

"Finally. You're  _mine_ ," the man said in a tone that sent Neo's skin crawling. The sexual hungry look in his eyes sent cold shivers up and down her spine. She jumped and tried to shift away from him when he placed his hand on her knee. He pressed his left arm against her shoulders, pinning her to the wall. Her heart hammered against her chest. If she could bite him, she would have. Her magic stirred, responding to her stress. Mentally, she begged for them not to erupt. "Now, now. We both know there's no point in trying to get away. That's sea prism stone after all."

Neo shivered when the man leered at her. She then realized it was  _him_  that kept given her the feeling of being watched.

"You are such a marvelous beauty. You really are something  _special_. I can feel it. You're different from other women. It's nice. I would love to get to know you better. Let's do that, shall we?" the man said while running his eyes over her body hungrily. She flinched when his hand started traveling up her leg. Her stomach churned when his hand landed on a very forbidden place that only Law was allowed to touch. She clenched her eyes shut, tears leaking out, seconds before a familiar blue film filled the area. Suddenly, she felt Law's very angry presence right beside her and the man went flying back from her. Then both Law and the man were gone in a blink. She placed her hand on her tear-streaked face and took in several shaky breaths until he returned to her side seconds later. He placed his hand on her head, forcing his anger down when she flinched at his touch, and stroked her hair. "Neo, I have the key."

Neo raised her tear filled eyes to him. He bit back a growl at her shattered expression as she grabbed the key from his fingers. With a very shaky hand, she unlocked the cuff then, using her winds, threw them as far down the hall as she possible could. She then lunged into him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she cried uncontrollably. "L-Law…"

"Shh." Setting his sword down, Law resumed stroking her hair while wrapping his right arm around her. He held her for a moment like that before gathering up their scattered items. "I'm taking you back to the room now."

She nodded wordlessly against him. When he stood up, she wrapped her legs around his waist and clung as tightly to him as she possibly could. He then warped them back to their current dwellings. Not even turning on the light, he placed the cookies on the table, set his sword and her coat aside then patted her leg as a signal he was going to sit down. She unwound her legs for him. He sat down, removed her boots from her feet, and held her close to him until her tears subsided. "L-Law…he…he touch me…he tried to…"

"I know." Law forced himself to restrain his anger at the now dead man. He tightened his hold on her even more. "He won't ever touch you again. You're safe now. I'm right here. I've got you."

Law paused for a while. He let his words soak in as he continued to hold her and wrap his presence around her. When she was calm enough to really listen to him, he said, "Neo, if anything like that ever happens again,  _use your crystals_."

"What?" Neo lifted her tear stained eyes to him. He brushed his fingers over her soft skin. "But what about…"

"Don't worry about your secrets. Keeping  _you_  safe is far more important," Law said. His eyes glinted with danger. "Besides, they won't live long enough to tell anyone about them. So use your crystals. I don't ever want this to happen again. Do you understand me?"

"Yes." Neo nodded. "I started to but stopped. I knew I should have used them. I'm sorry. It's my fault he-"

" _No!_ " Law said sternly. She turned her eyes up to him. He relaxed with a deep breath. "No, my love. Nothing here, nothing that happened was your fault. You were taken by surprise by someone with evil intent. You did fine. And I was nearby to help you. It's okay. You know what to do from now on. I'll take care of the rest."

Neo nodded a couple times before resting her head back on Law's shoulder. He kissed her forehead and held her on his lap for a long while before either of them spoke up again. "Law, there's something…I need you to do for me."

"Anything, my love," Law whispered softly.

She thought about his words for a while before lifting off his shoulder. She reached for the zipper of his coat. Slowly, she started to unzip it. She stood up so she could completely undo it then straddled over his lap so she was facing him. Skillfully ignoring the gaping square hold in his chest that she had somewhat gotten use to, her heart swelled with warmth when she spotted his wedding band hanging on the silver chain around his neck. Law was rarely ever without it. If he wasn't wearing the ring on his finger, it was on the chain around his neck. She loved him for doing that for her. She picked the ring up, kissed it, and then placed her lips on his in a slow kiss.

Knowing where this was going, Law pushed off his boots with his toes.

Neo then broke their kiss for air. She pressed their foreheads together, panting softly. "I want you…I need you to erase what he tried to do. Only  _you_  can touch me like that. My body is only for you. Do this for me. I  _need_  you now. Okay? You can do that, right?"

"Yes, I can do that," Law whispered just before capturing her lips with soft movements of their lips parting for each other before he glided his tongue over hers. He trailed his hands up over her sides and her back, kneading his fingers and palms in all the right places. She tensed under his touches then relaxed her body the longer he did it. When she was good and relaxed, he lifted off her shirt and chucked it across the room, not caring where it landed. She moaned softly into their kiss as his hands began to work their typical magic over her covered breasts before he pull that article of clothing off and gave it the same treatment as her shirt. Without breaking their kiss, he stood up with her. She wrapped her legs back around his waist as he carried her over to the bed. He slowly laid her down, their kiss never faltering as things heated up between them.

Law trailed his kissed away from her lips. Placing soft pecks across her cheek to her neck until he made his way to her breasts when he took her in his mouth, working her into a panting, moaning mess, begging for him to be inside of her. Once they were both good, relaxed and aroused, he removed the remaining clothes she was wearing. Tugging her jeans and panties over her hips, he placed kisses on both her thighs before dropping her clothes on the floor. Standing up, he rid himself of his own pants and boxers, removed his chain and ring so it wouldn't get broken then fished a condom out of the nightstand drawer. Now protected, he climbed back on the bed. Placing long, heated kisses on her lips as he slid himself tantalizingly slow inside of her until he was completely inside of her warmth.

For a long while, neither of them moved. They just lay there in the most intimate position ever just feeling their physical connection to each other, feeling each other's warmth, and feeling the intense love they held for each other. Law pressed her foreheads together. Both their eyes were closed and panting softly as they continued to just feel each other. She then glided the gentle touch of her fingertips over his back, making him shiver several times. She smiled. Only she would ever be able to make him do that. She kissed across his shoulder, making her way to his neck where she sucked softly on his caramel colored skin for several minutes, knowingly leaving behind a love bite.

Nuzzling her nose against his ear, she whispered softly to him in that same seductive tone she used the first time they did this and many times since then. It sent shivers down Law's spine whenever she tapped into that tone. He loved it. It became a very special part of their lovemaking. It was a very special tone she had reserved only for him. No one else knew about it, not even Penguin. And no one else would ever know about it. "Now, my love. Take me."

Intoxicated by her smell and tone, he slowly pulled out then pushed back in, hitting her spot. Her eyes fell closed as a soft moan of pleasure passed over her lips, vibrating tingles of pleasure washing over her body. He did this motion several times. Caressing her in the most sensual way possible. She liked it best when he was gentle, paying such close attention to what really made her feel good. He gave her everything she wanted, everything she needed, everything she asked of him. Slowly rocking his hips back and forth until she goad him into going faster and harder until she turned the tables on him and flipped their positions. She held him down with her vines as she took control. Placing kisses all over his body, teasing him, giving him what he wanted. They spent hours pleasuring each other, moaning and whispering each other's names, kissing until their lips were dry, their voices raspy and all their energy had been spent. Once the protection removed and quickly discarded, he returned to her, holding her protectively close, apologizing for being to rough on her until she silenced him with a kiss then snuggling into each other to sleep and recover from their much needed, intense lovemaking.

Hours later, Law woke up. His body slightly heavier than usual, but it was a weight that he often carried and was use to. He didn't mind it at all. He rubbed the remaining sleep out of his eyes before putting his left hand behind his head to watch her sleep. She was laying on him as usual. Her head rested on his chest as she slumbered. They often ended up in this position after lovemaking. And neither knew how or why. He could only surmise it was because she wanted to be as close to him as possible. Bringing his right hand to her, he brushed her blue locks away that had fallen in her face. He trailed his fingertips in her hair before brushing them down her bare back. That's when he noticed her skin was slightly cool to the touch. He reached for their blanket, which was lying over her hips, and pulled it up over her shoulders then wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his own warm body.

He continued to lie like that for a while longer before his stiff body demanded he change his position. And Neo was rarely one for laying on her stomach for very long. So he knew she was pretty uncomfortable as well despite still being in a deep sleep. With his left hand supporting her head and his right arm on her back, he carefully rolled over onto his left side. She objected to the treatment of being moved with a soft whimper and snuggled back into his chest. Law couldn't help but chuckle at the display. He really loved her desire to be near him even when sleeping.

He glanced up at the small clock ticking above the door. It was almost nine o'clock. They had slept through breakfast. Law shrugged that off and snuggled back into Neo, breathing in her sweet scent from her hair. They had access to the kitchen anytime they pleased. They'd get something later. Right now he was more than content with watch his love sleep until she decided to wake up on her own. About half an hour later, she did. He opened his closed eyes to watch her stir from her slumber. Sleepily, she stared at his bare chest for a minute before looking up at him. In a raspy voice, she said, "Hey."

"Good morning, my love," Law replied with a soft smile. He tucked her hair behind her ear. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling better." She smiled. "Last night was amazing."

Law's smile vanished at her hoarse voice. He brushed the back of his hand over her cheek. "I was far too rough on you. You're hoarse. I'm sorry."

"Law, don't do that." Neo cupped his cheek and brushed her thumb over his skin. "You didn't hurt me. It was…a bit more rough than usual, but it was  _exactly_ what I needed. You were incredible like always. I love you so much for always giving me what I need. Don't worry about me being hoarse. It'll fade soon enough. Besides, your voice is a bit scratchy too."

Law's eyebrows rose on his forehead, his eyes widening in slight shock. He didn't even notice his own voice. Things got a bit rougher last night than he thought. Neo giggled at his shocked expression. He smiled, grateful that  _that man_  didn't do anything that would permanently damage his love. If it had, he would have repetitively pulled  _that man_  out of the grave and murdered him multiple times. He wanted to sadistically torture  _that man_  yesterday, but knew he had to quickly return to Neo. She was far more important than  _that man_  was.

"Law, are you okay?" Neo's voice broke into his thoughts. He locked his eyes onto her concerned ones. "I know you're upset about…what happened."

"Yes, love. I'm upset, but I'm all right." Law kissed her forehead before pressing his against hers with a content sigh. "You're safe now. You're not hurt. I'm glad you're feeling better. I-"

Before Law could finish, a couple loud bangs happened on the door. A low, muffled voice called out for them. "Law? Lady Law? The master wishes to see you. He has a task for you."

A couple more pounds on the door happened before the voice called out again. "Are you there? Law? Lady Law?"

Law started to get up, but Neo summoned her earth crystals. She wrapped her vines around him, pulling him back to her. He opened his mouth to ask what she was doing, but stopped when she shot him a harsh, but playful, glare and silently warned him to not make a sound by pressing her finger to his lips.

"They might be out on the island somewhere," another muffled voice said. "They occasionally skip breakfast to go out exploring."

"I guess they're already gone then."

"They'll be back soon I'm sure."

The two lovers remained still and quiet until long after the two men were gone. Pushing up on his elbow, Law once again tried to get up, but she wouldn't release him. "Neo, let go."

"No," Neo replied flatly. She hid her face into his chest and wrapped her arms tightly around his torso.

"Neo?" Law raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"No!" Neo repeated.

Law paused to take her in as she continued to hide her face in his chest. He tried to read her, but found he couldn't. She wasn't closed off to him, she just had her thoughts and feelings darkened. With a soft sigh, he stroked her hair. "What is it, my love?"

She turned her head slightly so he could hear her easier. "It's just…I just really want to be with you right now. Can't we stay right here for a little while longer?"

She tilted her chin. Her eyes became rounded, puppy like as she stared at him. "Please? Just for a little bit longer? Just the two of us? No Caesar Clown. No Monet. No former prisoners. No dragons. Just us."

"Very well. We can pretend to be outside of the room for a while longer." Law smiled.

"You're the best, my love." Neo pushed up on her elbow and pecked his lips before settling back down into his warm, familiar chest that vibrated with a deep chuckle.

Law settled back down in the bed. He wrapped his arms back around her, holding her as close as he could. They stayed like that for two hours. They just laid in bed, wrapped up in each other's skin, breathing in each other's scent, occasionally stealing kisses, teasingly touching each other until Law insisted they had to get up. Groaning as Law pulled her from the bed, she said, "I don't wanna get up."

"You have to, love. I've given you two hours. It's lunchtime. If we don't show up soon, they're really going to wonder where we are," Law said as he pulled her towards the bathroom.

"So what? They're suppose to stay out of our business anyway," Neo grumbled. "It's not like we have anything important to do here."

"We might not have anything important to do, but that doesn't give us the right to stay in bed all the time," Law said. Once in the bathroom, he pulled her over to the shower. Reaching in, he turned it on.

"I think it does." Neo jerked him away from the shower, his still naked body bumping into her still naked body. She curled her fingers around him. With a gentle tug, she got his entire body to involuntarily shiver. "We have important things we can do right here."

"Mmm." Law's eyelids closed. A soft moan escaped his lips as he dropped his forehead to hers. In his warning tone, he said, " _Neo._ "

"Hm?" She hummed innocently.

"Not now. Not after last night," Law said, opening his eyes to give her a stern look.

"Oh." She released him. "Sometimes you are far too protective of me."

"It's for your own good." Law pecked her lips then guided her into the shower with him.

A while later, the two Heart Pirates were showered, dressed and heading towards the dinning hall for lunch, which was about half over. During their walk to their destination, they came upon Monet going the other way.

The green haired woman greeted them with a smile, but it was settled onto Law. She greeted them with a chilly, "Good afternoon. There isn't a problem is there? You've been missing all morning."

Neo glared at the woman for purposefully talking more to Law than both of them.

' _Calm down, Neo. She's just being…'_

' _A pain? She only tries to flirt with you to get me angry. What's her deal?'_

' _Ignore her, love. She doesn't matter.'_

"Everything's fine," Law quickly said. He put his arm around Neo's waist and moved them along without another word to the green haired woman.

' _Seriously. What is her problem? She's always trying to provoke me. She doesn't come off like other women who's clearly attracted to you…so is she literally doing this just to set me off?'_

' _Possibly. Some women like to play games with others. Just ignore her, love.'_

' _I'll try.'_

' _That's my girl.'_  Law pecked Neo's temple then guided her into the dinning hall where they finally had to start their day.

…

A couple weeks later, Neo found herself wondering down the quiet halls of the facility. She had no clue where anyone really was, but for Law of course. Nor did she know why she was heading for the Biscuits Room. She was actually heading to meet up with Law when she noticed she was going in the opposite direction of him. She blinked a couple times as she stared up at the large letters over the door of the room. Her eyes pulled from the words when a soft cry reached her ears. The door was cracked open an inch. She stepped up to it and pushed it open a few more inches. She looked around the room until her eyes landed upon a blonde haired, pigtailed girl crying by the toy box.

Neo knew this girl, sort of. The girl was new to this place. Her name was Lin. Another  _sick_  child brought in for treatment. Neo's lips dipped into a frown. She had no clue what sickness these kids had, but she suspected they weren't sick at all. She had used her solar crystal on one of them a few weeks ago. The day after she used her crystal, she casually asked the kid if they were still sick after returning from their exam. The child had said 'yes'. It made Neo's heart sink, but she also knew that her solar crystal wasn't all-powerful. It couldn't always heal everything. The kids could really be sick and she just couldn't heal it.

More sobs from the girl got Neo to push the door open and walk over to her. She kneeled down and placed her hand on the girl's head. The girl jumped at the unexpected pressure. Neo smiled sweetly at her. "Hey, Lin. Are you okay?"

"N-no! I want my mommy and daddy!" Lin, her greenish blue eyes filled with tears, cried.

"I know you do. I'm sorry you can't see them. I'm sure you will soon thought," Neo said while stroking her hand over the girl's head. "You really should be in bed right now. Did you have a bad dream or something?"

"Yeah." Lin nodded. "I was running to my mommy and daddy but they kept getting farther and farther way from me. I couldn't catch up with them."

"Oh, I'm sorry. That would be scary," Neo said while Lin continued to cry. She chewed her bottom lip and wondered what exactly she could possible do to help this child. She's never really dealt with kids before now. While she came to visit the kids often, this was the first time she's visited this late. It was almost nine o'clock at night. Usually the kids were in bed and Neo was back in the room with Law or wondering the facilities before heading back to the room. She's never dealt with a child crying like this before. Then she remembered that she could relate to this girl in one way. And that would probably help in this situation. "You know what?"

"Wh-what?" Lin sniffled.

"I have bad dream too," Neo replied. Lin looked up at her. "I do. And when I can't get back to sleep, Law rubs my back for me. He holds me until I fall asleep again. Sometimes, he holds me all through the night so I know I'm protected and safe."

"R-really? Does that help?" Lin asked, rubbing her right hand in her eye.

"It does. Would you like me to rub your back?" Neo asked. When Lin nodded, she shifted her position and sat beside the girl. She forced herself not to flinch when the child leaned against her side. Lin was just a child and wasn't going to hurt her. Once the two were comfortable, Neo started rubbing her hand on Lin's back.

"W-would you tell me a bedtime story?" Lin suddenly asked a few minutes later.

"Huh?" Neo blinked, not expecting such a question.

"Yeah. We would like a story!" Doran said.

Neo looked up from Lin to find almost all of the children had woken up. They gathered around her in anticipation for a bedtime story. Some sat on the floor while others laid down on their stomachs with their chins resting in their palms.

"Oh, um, I don't really know any bedtime stories," Neo replied honestly. Her heart sank at the disappointed looks on their faces. She blew her bangs from her forehead. "Well, I have read a lot of books. Perhaps I can make one up?"

"Yeah!" The children's faces lit up. They scooted a little close to Neo and waited for her to begin.

"Okay…well, um…" Neo chewed on her bottom lip. She had no clue what she should say. Some of the stories she's read were just a bit over the heads of children. So what could she tell them that they would like? She knew kids often like fairytales. And a lot of her books were fairytales. Her eyes lit up. She could tell them  _her story_ , but word it differently so it would be suited for kids and without revealing anything. "I know! Once upon a time, there was this Ele-uh-fairy. She was born with a very special gift of wielding…"

Neo paused for a split second. She couldn't say solar crystal on the chance of having to use it openly one day, so she switched it. "A very special stone. This stone was able to push back the magic of the darkness stone. But she didn't know anything about this stone because she didn't know she had it. And she didn't know she had it because she didn't grow up in the world she was born in. She grew up in the human world where no one knew about the existence of magic."

…

Law wondered down the hall towards Neo. He was wondering why she was in the Biscuits Room at this time of night. She was supposed to come to him fifteen minutes ago. He was close enough to her that he decided to go  _see_  what she was doing instead of calling for her over their bond. He got to the room and stepped inside. His head tilted to his right when he saw her and the kids. She was telling them a story that sounded very similar to her own. He wanted to interrupt her, but didn't have the heart when he saw and felt how much she was enjoying this moment. The kids were hanging on her every word. So he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall to wait for her to finish up her story. She was up to the point where they got married so he knew it wouldn't be long before this was over.

While standing there, Law's mind couldn't help but wander into a place that he had forbidden himself to think about. It was a place where he saw Neo as a mother. He quickly blocked his thoughts from her so he didn't give her a false impression. But he figured she wouldn't really notice him doing that since she was really into telling her story to the wide-eyed kids.

He knew she would make a great mother. She had demonstrated strong material instincts before with the crew and with that little fire Elemental back on Luminous. He wanted to force those thoughts about how she fussed over the crew, called them  _their babies_  and how gentle she was to the little fire girl, but he couldn't. Right here and now, seeing her with these kids, seeing her how good she was with them, he couldn't deny the small spark of wanting to have a child with her. But he knew that wasn't possible. It was far too dangerous for them, for  _pirates_ , to have a child. The kid would be constantly blamed for the choices that  _they_  had made. The kid would have a very high chance of ending up like Fire Fist Ace. He couldn't do that to Neo or a child. He knew it would hurt her too much to see their child being treated like a monster, like a freak. Plus, pregnancies came with their own risks. And there was no way he was going to put his love, his life, into a situation like that. A child, in their case, was forbidden.

"The end." Neo's voice ending the story pulled Law from his thoughts. She ran her eyes over the kids, some of which had fallen asleep others were about to. Her eyes landed on Lin. The little girl had fallen asleep against her. She brushed the child's bangs away from her face before looking back at the other children. "All right. Everyone back into bed now."

"Yes, ma'am," a child said sleepily while heading for their bedrooms.

"Thank you for the story, Mrs. Neo," Mocha said with a yawn.

"You're welcome, Mocha. You're all welcome," Neo said with a soft smile. "Off to bed now."

"Good night," Mocha and a few others said while disappearing into the bedroom.

With her wind crystals, Neo lifted up those who had fallen asleep. She carried them into their room and tucked them into bed. Law had followed. He leaned against the doorframe as he watched Neo tuck Lin into bed.

Lin rolled onto her side and opened her sleepy eyes. "May I have a drink of water?"

"Of course you can," Neo replied. She summoned a water crystal. Lin sat up and took a drink of the cool water before lying back down.

Law's heart skipped a beat as he watched Neo being so gentle and caring with the child. He growled at himself and let his hat fall over his eyes. A child was  _out_ of the question.

Neo stroked her fingers over Lin's cheek. "Good night, Lin. Sleep well."

"Good night, Mrs. Neo," Lin whispered while drifting off to sleep.

"Good night, Lin." Neo stood up from the bed and walked over to Law. She noticed his hat down, but didn't mention it as they left the room together. They walked down the halls with an odd silence between them and Law's hat still over his eyes. She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. "You want to talk about why you hid your thoughts and feelings from me be back in the Biscuits Room?"

Law flinched. He should have known better than to think he could hide that from his love. They were, after all, one person. And they have been for quite a while now. "You know why."

"I know. We can't have kids. We've already agreed on that." Neo slipped her arm around his. "But why would you think about having kids when we decided not to? It's not like you."

"Yeah." Law nodded. "I guess I was just having a moment of weakness. You were so gentle and caring with those kids. It was…sweet."

"I think you care about them too," Neo said with a smile. "I  _know_  you care. You just want to pretend you don't."

"Neo," Law said in his warning tone.

She sighed. "I know, I know. You think I'm getting too attached to the kids. But don't worry, my love. I'm not. I know we're going to have to leave them behind someday." Neo's heart sank when she said those words. She really didn't want to leave them behind. She wanted to return them, or hoped the kids could one day be returned to their families. But she had no clue what kind of sickness they had. "Law, what's wrong with them?"

"I don't know. And I don't care," Law said bluntly. "And neither should you. It's not our problem nor our business."

"I know." Neo nodded. "I'm sorry."

"No," Law said. He paused and turned to her. "I'm sorry. I know you're spending a lot of time with the kids because you miss playing with the crew."

Neo nodded. She dropped her eyes to the floor. "I do miss them. And you're right. While I do care about the kids, I am playing with them as substitutions for the crew. But you don't have to worry. I won't let myself get very attached to them. After all, we're not going to be here forever."

Law carefully observed her expression. He wasn't sure what it was, but something felt different about her. He had no idea how long he stared at her, trying to figure out why she seemed so different. He flinched when she flicked his nose. "What?"

"Are you okay? You were staring at me for, like, five minutes," Neo said. She tilted her head in confusion. "You were also distant from me. You didn't block your feelings or thoughts or anything, but you were very, very far away."

"It was nothing. I guess I just got lost in thought," Law said. He leaned over and pecked her lips. "Let's go. Pretty much everyone should be asleep or in their rooms right now. It's the perfect chance to switch around some sea prism stone chains with some normal ones."

"Right." Neo nodded. "And I can always sense if someone's coming."

Law nodded. They then turned and wondered down the halls of the large facility. While switching out the chains, Law did his best to not think about everything that had just happened with the kids and Neo. But, for some reason, he just couldn't let it go. It lingered in the back of his mind. He was worried. He was worried she was getting far too attached to the kids here. He was worried that, when the time came, she wasn't going to want to leave without them. He already took her away from the crew, her self proclaimed  _babies_. How could he possible do that again to her? The crew was grown men and women. These  _babies_  here on Punk Hazard were  _real babies_. It was a similar situation, but also a very different one. And he was worried about feeling she was different somehow. He had no idea where that came from or why he would possibly feel that way. And it worried him even more.

…

"I'm starving! I want chocolate!" Neo whined. Falling over the back of the couch, she landed with her face in the cushion. "Law! Where did you go?!"

_'Why are you asking me that when you can sense were I am?'_

"I don't know," Neo said turning her face from the cushion. "I felt like it. I miss you. I want you here. Why are you in the kitchen?"  
 _'Gathering up a few things. Meet me at the front entrance.'_

"I don't want to." Neo pouted. "And you can't make me."

_'You're acting rather childish today.'_

"So?"

_'I have a surprise for you.'_

Neo sat up. A child like curiosity flooded her. "What kind of surprise? What is it? Tell me!"

_'You have to come and see.'_

"Oh!" Neo sat, pouting for a minute before snatching her coat up from the bed and heading for the door. "Fine! But it better be worth it!"

_'It will be. I promise.'_

Neo huffed and left the room, grumbling to herself as she walked towards the front entrance. "Stupid long hallways. Who designed this stupid place? It's stupid. Stupid design. Stupid shape. Stupid, stupid, stupid…"

_'You don't yet?'_

"I guess," Neo said feeling odd about her current behavior. "I needed to vent I guess."

_'We all have those moments.'_

A few minutes later Neo arrived just before Law warped himself to her side. Her eyes went to the blanket draped over his shoulder before dropping to the picnic basket in his hand. She blinked. "What's that for?"

"A picnic." Law smirked.

"I know that! And that's not what I meant!" Neo said.

"We're on a snowy island," Law said. "And you've always wanted romance in the snow."

Neo blinked a few more time before realizing he was trying to make up for the lost time in the snow before. With a squeal she threw her arms around his waist. "Law! You're the best! And just in time too! The weather's actually being nice right now!"

"Then let's not waste any more time staying inside." Law warped them outside.

Neo lifted them into the air and flew them a mile away from the research building. Looking at the ground she found the perfect spot where they could use some ruins to block them from anyone who might pass by and see a section of the sea. She removed some snow then bounced on her feet for Law to spread out the blanket. They sat down, her stomach rumbling in hunger. "So what do we have to eat?"

"A nice fruit and vegetable salad, onigiri, fish, a couple pieces of cake, and hot chocolate," Law said.

"Sound so yummy!" Neo summoned a few fire crystals to warm their area up and food.

Law poured her a cup of hot chocolate. "Here you go."

"You are the best!" Neo brought the steaming liquid to her face, letting its steam wash over her skin before taking a drink. "So good! I didn't notice how much I really wanted chocolate until right now!" She sighed, suddenly depressed.

"Missing the crew again," Law said pouring his own cup of hot chocolate.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. She plucked a spinach leaf out of the salad and ate it. More cravings for food ran through her stomach.

"How can you be that hungry?" Law said. "You ate practically two plates of food for breakfast."

"I don't know. But those pancakes were so good." Neo licked her lips. "I want more."

"It's not like you to eat so much sweets," Law said. "You feeling okay?"

"Yes, I'm feeling fine," Neo said plucking a strawberry out of the basket. "I guess I'm just bored and depressed eating."

"That's probably why your food intake has increased," Law said.

"Either way I don't care," Neo said before sinking her teeth into the strawberry. The juice washed over her tastes buds, earning a hum of delight. "So good. It would be even better with you."

"Is that so?" Law asked. He took a bite of fish, chewed, and swallowed.

"Yes." Neo nodded.

"Then maybe you should do something about it," Law said.

"Believe me I will. I'm only giving us a chance to eat." Neo grabbed another strawberry.

"I thought you wanted to eat those with me," Law said.

Neo stuck her tongue out. "There's plenty left." She picked up a piece of fish and at it with her strawberry. And odd combination of fish and fruit rolled over her tongue, creating an interesting flavor. She giggled when Law gave her a questionable look. "What? It's good."

"You're being childish again," Law noted when she shoved a piece of broccoli in her mouth.

Neo smiled. Finally, after she was satisfied with lunch, she shifted closer to Law. Picking up a strawberry, she bit the end off and rubbed the juice over his lips. She then leaned forward and kissed him. "I knew it. It tastes even better with you."

"I concur." Law took a bite of the strawberry then pushed it inside Neo's mouth with his tongue. Seconds later he pulled back from her, watching her chew up his gift before kissing her.

Getting up on her knees, Neo placed her hands on Law's shoulders and pushed him down to the ground, never breaking their kiss. She tensed when Law ran his hands over her body. Her tongue ran over his mouth, tasting every single inch before pulling back for air. She kissed him again, and again, and again getting him fully aroused, especially when she drew her knee up between his legs. He flipped their positions. "So we're having sex out here?"

"Yes." Law unzipped her coat.

"But it's freezing," Neo said.

"Liar." Law smirked at her fire crystals.

"But what if someone comes by?" Neo asked.

"Like who? You hid us rather well." Law unzipped her jeans then worked on his own coat and jeans.

"What about those two giant people Caesar told us about? I forgot about them." Neo scanned her eyes over the surrounds that she could see from her position. "They will see us."

"I guess you'll just have to keep a close eye out for them." Law slipped on a condom, pulled down her clothes, and then slid into her.

Neo bite her lip. Rolling her head back she bucked into him. Then heavy footsteps shook the ground. "Of course! Stupid mountain giant people! Law, we have to stop!"

"No. We don't." Law moved faster. "You started this and we're going to finish it."

Neo bit back a scream of his name when he hit her g-spot multiple times. The giant footsteps came closer. With her heart racing, she summoned a couple wind crystals and pulled some snow over them, making sure to keep the snow high enough from her flames. He hit her g-spot again, forcing his name out of her mouth.

"What was that?"

Neo swallowed. They had heard her.

"What? I didn't hear anything."

"I guess I was hearing things."

"Maybe one of the crew is shouting. Let's get going."

The footsteps moved away from them.

"Law! You did that on purpose!" Neo groaned in frustration and pleasure.

"Then learn how to be quieter when we're around people," Law said.

"How can I, un, when you're purposefully making me scream?!" Neo closed her eyes, feeling her body reaching its climax far too soon.

Law slowed down, letting her climax ebb before she could experience it. He nibbled her ear and licked her neck. "You taste amazing."

"I'd taste even better with strawberries." Neo reached into the basket and pulled one out. She bit the end off and rubbed the juice over her face.

Law leaned down and gladly licked the juice off her skin. "If we were in the room I'd rub the juice all over your body."

"That could be arranged," Neo said.

Law hummed. "Maybe next time. I'm quite enjoying this now."


	76. Life On Punk Hazard Part Three

Life on Punk Hazard

Part Three

"LAW!" Caesar shrieked.

Law stopped walking. He turned back to the mad scientist, annoyed at being bothered. "What do you want?"

"Do you know what that woman of yours has been doing?!" Caesar demanded as he stomped up to the warlord. He got right in Law's face when the pirate didn't reply. "She's costing me a ton of money! She's ordering countless amounts of food practically every single day! I'm not a bank! And this place isn't a restaurant!"

"So? We have to eat, don't we?" Law asked in his normal tone, but inside he was beaming. Anything they could do to annoy this crazy scientist really made his day. And since Neo started working occasionally in the kitchen, she had increased the quality of the food and that, in turn, increased the amount of food they all were eating. Then, of course, there were the children. Neo had been making a lot of treats for them, but she was making a lot of healthy ones more than sugary ones. She didn't want to make the kids sick and didn't want them to gain a lot of weight either.

"That's not the point! She's spoiling not only my  _men_  but also the  _children_!" Caesar hissed. "Do your job as her  _husband_! Rein her in! She's completely out of control!"

"She's not spoiling the children," Law replied. "If she was, she'd be constantly giving them sweets. And she's not. She's being extra careful and mindful of their diets. Besides, my love can do as she pleases. This isn't hurting the kids. In fact, they seem to be a lot happier now."

Caesar opened his mouth to object, but he really didn't have anything to say. The kids were indeed a lot happier since Neo started playing with them and making them treats.

"Well, since you have nothing else to say," Law said. He turned and walked away from the scientist.

"That pirate," Caesar grumbled. He turned in the opposite direction of Law and started back down the hall. "While he might be correct in saying  _she's_  not spoiling the kids, it's clear that  _he_  is  _spoiling her_. Those two. They make me sick. Nothing about them makes any sense. He's well know for his cruel nature when dealing with enemies, but she's completely opposite of him. How in the world did they become such a close, sickeningly sweet couple?"

He continued to float down the hall when a thought struck him. He glanced back over his shoulder in the direction he just came from. "Law is heading away from Neo right now. He usually goes outside this time of day. And Neo is usually playing with the kids around this time before going back to Law or their room. This might be my chance to finally take the woman."

Caesar flinched when the memory of Law telling him what one of his subordinates tried to do. He grumbled, "That jerk. He didn't have to  _kill_  him. A simple warning would have been enough. But then…he did warn me to not let anyone touch her. And it would be rather stupid to try something with her after that little incident."

Caesar hummed in thought while rubbing his chin. "But on the other hand…I  _do_  have Law's heart. If he does anything to hurt me, I can easily crush it. Plus, I have the option of drugging the woman. If I do drug the woman and take her to another part of the labs I can easily tell Law that she's just out for a walk. Or maybe it would be best to do some bloodless experiments. I can't afford to lose another man. Getting Law angry will not be a good thing whether I have his heart or not."

Caesar smiled and rubbed his hands together in excited anticipation. "This will actually be easier than I thought. Law will be gone for at least an hour. That's plenty of time to drug her and do a few experiments on her. And  _if_  I get some of her blood, I can do countless experiments. I could accidently cause gas to pour into the hall. She'll be leaving the Biscuits Room soon."

Caesar shifted into his gas form and flew off down the hall towards his private lab so he could get the gas he was going to be using.

…

"Weeeeee!" The kids cried out happily as Neo glided them through the air with her winds. Neo was sitting cross-legged on the floor with Lin's head resting on her left thigh. While she half watched the kids flying around, she was using her earth crystals to string together flower crowns for the girls and vine crowns for the boys. She chose small white daisies for the girls' crowns and thornless vines for the boys. Some of the boys had asked her to put thorns on them, but she refused. She didn't want any of them to get hurt.

"You're amazing, Neo!" Lin exclaimed as she watched in awe at the other kids flying around the room. "How can you fly the kids while making crowns at the same time?"

"I use to not be able to do thing simultaneously," Neo replied twisting a couple more vines together.

"Simul-what?" Lin asked.

"Simultaneously means at the same time," Neo explained.  _Funny. Usually I'm the one being told what something means. It's nice to be able to help kids understand something. I wonder if Penguin felt this joy when he taught me how to…_ her thoughts trailed off at the thought of her best friend and brother. She didn't notice she had started crying until Lin's small hand placed itself on her cheek.

"Are you sad, Neo?" Lin asked. "You're crying."

The other kids stopped their joyful cries and looked towards Neo and Lin with worried expressions. Neo quickly brushed her tears away. Smiling, she said, "I'm fine. I was just missing my brother, that's all."

"I have two brothers!" a child exclaimed. "How many do you have?"

"Well, biologically, I'm an only child. But my parents adopted a boy when I wasn't even born yet. And I also see my crew as my family. So I have twenty brothers and two sisters."

"Wow!" the kids cried. "That's a lot of brothers and sisters."

"It is." Neo nodded. She finished twisting the vine crown she was working on and flew it onto Doran's head.

"Wow! Thank you, Neo!" Doran smiled.

"You're welcome." Neo returned the smile. The brightness of her smile faded when she felt Monet coming towards the room. Sure enough, a few seconds later the green haired, bird woman stepped into the room.

"You're very good with the children, Lady Law," Monet said.

Neo sighed internally at the woman calling her Lady Law. She didn't mind Caesar's men calling her that, but it did bug her when Monet said it. She wasn't even really sure why the men started calling her that. It just happened one day after Law had given them their animal legs. She preferred it that way for some reason. It felt like she could put some distance between the men and herself when they called her that instead of using her name.

"Miss Monet!" the children cried.

"Yes. Hello, children." Monet crossed her wings and smiled. "I see you all are having fun with our _temporary guest_."

Neo flinched at the bird woman's words.

Monet smiled when she saw Neo's bangs fall over her eyes. She turned to the kids. "It's time for your testing now, children."

"Okay!" the children cried. "We'll see you later, Neo!"

"Yeah." Neo waved to them while putting on the best smile she possibly could. She looked down when Lin didn't move from her side. "Is something wrong, Lin?"

"No. It's just." Lin paused. She tilted her head and blinked a couple times at Neo. "You just looked upset for a moment."

"I'm not. Don't worry about me," Neo replied. She patted Lin's hair, avoiding hitting the flower crown. "You run along now. I'll see you all later. Okay?"

"Okay." Lin nodded. She then hugged Neo and ran off to join the other kids.

"You really are good with the kids, Lady Law," Monet repeated. "So when are you and Law going to have a little bundle of joy of your own?"

"We're not," Neo replied flatly. She stood up and narrowed her eyebrows at the woman. "We're pirates. Having a child would only put the kid in danger of being mistreated. You should know that."

"Yes. That does make sense," Monet replied. Her green eyes dropped down to Neo's stomach. A strange smile curled upon the green haired woman's lips. "However, it is a shame. I can imagine you as a mother quite easily with how you are with the children here. I'm sure Law would love to see you carrying his child as well. But then, I don't know him like you do. He might not like kids at all."

Neo twitched. Something felt hidden behind the bird woman's smile, something dangerous, something secretive. It was like Monet had a secret that was about her, but Neo didn't even know what it was herself. In a compulsive move that came out of nowhere, her hands shot up to her stomach. She took a step back from the woman at the same time five of each of her element crystals appeared in front of her. The crystals pulsed with their elements. Her eyes shot to her crystals, eyebrows kneaded in confusion.

"Oh my. I didn't mean to upset you," Monet said. Her smile faded as her eyebrows rose upon her forehead. "There's no need to for you to go on the offensive."

"I did-" Neo started, but cut herself off.  _I didn't summon my crystals. They came out on their own. But why? Why would they come out on their own? I know they've done that before to protect me. Does that mean I'm in danger here? Is Monet more of a threat than I think she is? I don't really feel threatened by her. Angry, yes, but not threatened._

"Well, I'll give you my apologies. I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sure if you and Law could have children then you would have. If you say it's because of your chosen lifestyle then it can't be helped. I'm sure if there was something wrong with you, internally, he would know about it. He is a doctor after all," Monet said.

Anger flared up in Neo's chest at the woman's words.

Monet smiled in satisfaction and left the room.

"That woman!" Neo growled as she left the Biscuits Room.

_'Neo? Why are you so angry?'_

_'It's Monet! She said something really stupid. She accused me of having something wrong inside of me since we're not having kids! Why would she even say something like that?! It doesn't make sense!'_  Neo stomped hard as she walked down the halls.

_'Calm down, love. She was just trying to provoke you.'_

' _And she succeed! I don't know why it bothers me so much. I know we agreed, together, it was best not to have a child. It's just, when she said that…I don't know why, but it just got me really upset. Maybe I'm just tired.'_  Neo paused her stomping. She ran her right hand through her hair before pinching the bridge of her nose.  _'I shouldn't have gotten upset. Nothing like that has upset me before. I only, mostly, get angry when you or the crew is threatened. What's wrong with me?'_

' _Nothings wrong with you, love. This is really just the first time you've dealt with a woman outside of the Elementals. Monet is different from them. Plus, you're still adjusting to this place. You're upset because of that. And you do feel a bit exhausted. Did you sleep last night? You never woke me up.'_

' _I did sleep. Maybe I just didn't rest properly.'_  Neo sighed to herself. She dropped her hand from her face and tapped her fingers on her coat-covered thigh.

' _Why don't you go lay down for a while and see if you can take a nap?'_

' _I suppose that wouldn't hurt. Though I'd prefer it if you were there with me.'_  Neo smiled. Her heart fluttered at the thought of curling up with Law to take a nap together.

' _I know you'll love that. And I'll join you soon. Okay?'_

' _Okay. I guess I'll just have to make do with your shirt until you come back to the room.'_  Neo's bottom lip pouched out in a pout. She smiled when she hear Law chuckle at her pouting.

' _Go on back to the room. I'll be there in a little while and I'll join you in your nap.'_

' _Okey dokey!'_  Neo cheered happily. Once their conversation broke off, she continued on her way to the room. Her smile kept growing at the prospect of Law returning to the room soon to sleep with her. She was so happy that she skipped down the hall when suddenly the hallway swung in front of her. She stumbled, bracing herself against the wall. The hallway started to spin."What happened?"

' _Neo, what happened?'_

"I don't know," Neo said. "I just got dizzy all of a sudden."

_'Do I need to come to you?'_

"No." Neo closed her eyes and drew in a breath. "I think I'm fine."

…

Caesar watched his screen carefully. He noted his gas made Neo dizzy and scribbled that down in his notebook. "Very interesting. The gas so far seems to affect her the same as anyone else. I wonder how she's feeling. I should go ask her a few questions."

Leaving his notebook behind so he didn't arouse suspicions, he rushed from the room to get to Neo before the gas wore off.

…

Neo drew in another breath. Opening her eyes she found the room still swaying and spinning. "I think I'm going to be sick."

_'I'm coming back.'_

"That might be a good idea. This isn't normal," Neo said.

"Neo! There you are!" Caesar said. "I'm sorry to inform you but there was a bit of an accident!"

"What you talking about, Caesar?" Neo panted. Law's alarm rose in her.  _'He said there was an accident.'_

_'Keep talking to stay awake. I don't want to give him the chance to experiment on you.'_

_'I'll do what I can.'_

"A small explosion happened in one of the labs," Caesar said. "Some knock out gas got sucked into the ventilation system. How are you feeling? Any other symptoms?"

"An accidently explosion of knock out gas?" Neo said so Law could hear her. "I see."

_'Accident? I find that hard to believe.'_

"The affect should wear off soon," Caesar said. "But do tell me what all you're experiencing. If the affects are too much for you I can give you something for it."

"No, that's okay," Neo said. "I'm just dizzy. As I said, I'm going to go back to the room and lie down."

"I couldn't let you do that," Caesar said. "You're a guest here. And this was my fault. I should have been more careful with my experiment. Allow me to help you."

"No," Neo said. "Really. I'm fine. I don't need any help." She pushed off the wall. Taking a few steps until her head spun, causing her to gag. She dropped to the floor. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"You feel sick, you say?" Caesar asked.

Neo looked up at him. Through her distorted vision she thought she saw him smile.  _'Law, I don't think this was an accident.'_

_'I've already figured that. If it were Caesar would have sent out a warning. I'm back in the building.'_

"Is there any other symptoms? How is your vision? I know you're dizzy, but is there anything else? Are you seeing clearly? Or are you seeing things?" Caesar said.

"Just leave me alone," Neo said summoning her crystals.  _At least I'm still connected to my magic. Maybe the dose was low enough I didn't get disconnected from it._

"Ah, I see you can still use your powers," Caesar said. "That's good. It should mean you've only inhaled a small dose of the gas. I tried to clear it out as much as I could. You shouldn't be breathing in anymore."

"Lucky me," Neo said.

"Let me help you to my lab," Caesar said. "I should monitor your vitals to make sure there's nothing else going on."

"No," Neo said. "I'm fine."

"It's no trouble," Caesar said reaching for her. "Besides this was my fault."

Neo looked up at him. Her heart raced at the blurry sight of Caesar's hand coming for her. Suddenly, Law's presence was right beside her.

"Don't touch her." Law held his sword to Caesar's neck.

"Law." Caesar frowned. "So good of you to come. There was a little accident. Neo breathed in some gas. I was going to take her to my lab and help her."

"Don't bother," Law said. "I'll take care of her from here."

"Yes." Caesar forced a smile. "Of course. It was a small dose of knockout gas so it should be gone soon."

Law put up his sword then picked Neo up, she laid her head on his shoulder, and warped into the room. His anger still burning like a raging wildfire. He laid Neo down on the bed and pulled out his sword again. For the first time ever, he was grateful that she had forced him to get over his fear of using his powers on her. He held up his hand. "Room."

Slicing his sword over her, he divided her up and drained the gas Caesar used on her. Once finished, he sheathed his sword, sat down beside her, and waited to see what would happen. It shouldn't be long before he got his answer, but without knowing exactly what Caesar used on her, he wasn't sure what kind of side affect this was going to have on her. It was proven, though he didn't know it at the time, when he tried to put her back to sleep the first time she woke up on his sub that human medicines can act differently on her. She can fight them. But this one she couldn't since Caesar was easily able to give it to her. Pressing his fingers to her wrist he checked her pulse. It was a little high. "Neo?"

"I'm all right." Neo eyes cracked open and sighed. She groaned and pressed her fingertips to her forehead. A huge wave of relief washed over Law. The removal of the gas was a success. Her mind was starting to clear more. Leaning over her, he gently pulled back her eyelids to check her eyes. "Just relax, love. The dizziness we feel should pass shortly. I don't feel as sick as I did either."

"That's good." Law nodded. A frown tugged at the corner of his lips. "If I could have killed him, I would have. But there was no actual proof that he did this on purpose."

"So, I'll live then, Doctor Heartthrob?" Neo smirked.

"Since you're humor is still in tact, I'd say you're going to survive," Law replied. He took her hand and helped her sit up.

"And here I thought I'd be completely bored while living here on Punk Hazard," Neo then said. She chuckled. "Never crossed my mind I'd have to deal with an attempted rape and becoming a guinea pig for an insane scientist."

Law chuckled lightly. He was glad she was having a good-natured attitude about all of this. He was worried it would damage her a bit, but she's been fine. He's carefully monitored her, through their bond, since the attempted rape and never wondered very far from her. And it was a good thing to. If he had wondered farther from her today then Caesar would have…anger build up in his chest again.

"Law." Neo cupped his cheek, pulling his eyes to hers. "I'm okay. We knew this was bound to happen at some point. But we can handle it. You were close enough. And Caesar didn't do anything, other than gas me, which you took care of. He wouldn't have learned anything from this thing anyway. It's over. Don't dwell on this anymore."

"Right." Law nodded. He placed his hand over hers and kissed her.

…

Hovering herself in the air, Neo hummed cheerfully as she rounded out Snowman Bepo's ears with her gloved hands. She flew back from the group of her snowmen crew to inspect them. Rotating her head this way and that, and even turning upside down, she looking them over and over. This was her fifteenth group of snowmen she's made of the crew. And this one had to be her favorite of them all. She shaped all of them wearing bikinis. She busted up laughing when real images of the crew wearing bikinis popped into her head. She wrapped her arms around her now aching sides and continued to laugh, grateful no one was around to hear her bells, until she sensed Law coming closer to her.

She snickered when the idea to ambush him with snowballs popped in her head. Quickly, she hid the thought from him so he wouldn't be able to tell what she was doing. Using her winds, she scooped up some snow and rounded it into several balls. She then moved the snowballs and her crystals up in their air where Law wouldn't notice them then went back to smoothing out her snowmen crew. Soon the crunching of Law's footsteps was right behind her. She tossed him a smile from over her shoulder. "Hey, Law."

Law glanced over the snowmen crew wearing bikinis. His eyes were slightly widened with amusement. A smirked pulled at the corner of his lips. "I'm never going to be able to get this image out of my head. But I've got to admit, they don't look half bad."

"So can I order them to wear bikinis when we get back?" Neo asked innocently.

"Uh, no," Law replied. He gestured to the snowmen. "This is funny. Actually  _seeing_  the crew in bikinis, minus the two women, would be mentally scarring. Even for me."

"Hm? I think it would be funny to see them in bikinis," Neo said thoughtfully.

"Anyway, let's go back inside. You've been out here all day." Law ran his eyes over her. Her nose and her ears were red from the cold weather. "You're clearly cold. Come on."

"Aw, Law. I don't want to go back inside yet," Neo said with a bit of a whine in her tone. She rotated herself in the air and hung upside down once again. Crossing her arms, she pouted. "I want to make more snowmen crewmates."

"Another day, Neo," Law replied. He tapped his sword on his shoulder. "You've been out here long enough for today. Let's go now."

Law turned and took two steps before a couple snowballs hit his back. He turned and raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

Still hovering upside down, she blinked innocently at him and shrugged. "What?"

"Neo," Law warned. Pulling down two more snowballs, she pelted him with them. He held up his hand. "Room."

"Eek!" Neo took off into the sky, but wasn't quick enough.

"Shambles." Law twisted his hand and Neo popped in front of him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close to his body. "Do you seriously want to get me annoyed?"

"I could never annoy you. You love me far too much," Neo cooed. She wrapped her arms around his torso. Resting her head on his shoulder, she fluttered her eyelashes innocently at him before pelting his back with ten snowballs.

"You're going to pay for that," Law said, loosening his hold on her.

"Sure I am," Neo replied with a bright smile. She brought her wind crystals and remaining snowballs back down to her. She fired them at Law.

Law chuckled and easily averted them back to her. "Tact!"

And she easily gathered them back up in her winds. She hummed while hovering both herself and the snowballs in the air. "I don't think either of us will win a snowball fight this way."

"Then let's change that." Law jammed his sword into the snow. Bending down, he scooped up a handful of snow and sculpted it into a ball. "No  _powers_. This is going to be a normal snowball fight between us."

"Hm." Neo hummed. She lowered herself to the ground, dropping the majority of snowballs on the ground while taking two in her hands. "A regular snowball fight then with no  _powers_  for either of us? I'm not sure that's even a fair fight. You're still superior to be when it comes to physical strength and stami-"

Before she could finish, Law hit her on the chest with a snowball. She wrinkled her nose at him. He smirked, tossing another made snowball up and down in his hand. "What? You started this, my love. And, now, you are going to finish what you started."

" _Fine._  But I expect hot chocolate and snuggles after this is over," Neo said. Law agreed to that with his loyal promise as always. She tossed a snowball at him. He easily caught it and tossed it, and the one he made, back at her. She dodged one of them, but the second one hit her shoulder. "Oh! You're going to get it now!"

Law chuckled as she rounded out a snowball and threw it at him. For a little over two hours, Neo and Law threw snowballs at each other. They pelted each other on their legs, arms, chests, and a couple accidently in the face before their tired bodies screamed at them that they had enough. So they headed back inside for some promised hot chocolate and snuggles.

Walking to the kitchen, Neo rubbed her hands on her arms. "Geez! It's so cold out there! I think the temperature just plummeted."

"Well, I did tell you to come inside," Law replied. He shot her a smirk. "You're the one who was being disobedient."

Neo huffed at him in a very childlike way that made Law cock his head curiously. "You didn't  _order_  me back inside. So I wasn't being  _disobedient_. Besides, it's not like you said no to our snowball fight."

"I suppose you're correct," Law replied as they rounded into the kitchen. He just watched as she gathered up their supplies. She grabbed two mugs and the hot chocolate mix before heading back out of the kitchen with him. Walking back down the hall to the room, they passed a couple of Caesar's men. Law carefully watched them and took a step closer to Neo.

The men shivered. Neo glanced at them then peaked at Law. Caesar's men had been a bit more distant since Law killed that one guy weeks ago, but they remained friendly. However, they didn't seem to know what Caesar had tried to do to her. All she knew for sure was Caesar had warned his men to not try anything funny with her while she and Law were here. Law suggested that perhaps Caesar just didn't want his men to know since they looked up to the scientist.

"Good evening, Law, Lady Law," the men greeted.

"Evening," Neo replied as Law just bobbed his head lightly. The men went back to chatting with each other while the Heart Pirates continued on to the room. Once inside, Neo sat the supplies down on the table and shed her coat. Tossing it on the back of the couch while kicking out of her boots, she complained about them and the weather. "I'm really starting to hate coats as much as I hate shoes. I think I like warmer weather better than colder. Cold is nice for some things like snowball fights, but I miss my short sleeves, shorts, my Amazon outfits...my  _bikini_."

Law's cheeks tinted pink in remembrance of that bikini  _incident_. He growled, making Neo smile, while taking off his coat for the night. He slipped a shirt on then sat down on the couch. Neo then said, "I should have brought it with me."

Law's pink cheeks burned red. Wide eyed, he shot his eyes to her. "Absolutely not! For starters, there are far too many  _other men_  around here."

"Oh, I would just wear it in the room," Neo said while calling out her wings and poured the chocolate into their mugs. She flapped and flickered them several times as she made their hot chocolate. Summoning her water crystals, she heated the water up to the right temperature then filled their mugs with the water. She spun the water until it was all good and mixed with the chocolate. "Just like I do with my wings."

"And it's far too cold here for that, even with your crystals since you're limited here," Law said. He gave her a pointed look. "I won't have you getting sick. You're already spending far too much time outside as it is."

"Oh, you worry too much," Neo said, banishing her wings. She picked up their mugs and joined him on the couch. She pulled her feet upon the couch and tucked herself into his side while he took his mug in one hand and wrapped his arm around her. Tears gathered in her eyes. "I just miss the crew. Making snowmen of them helps some, especially since I can't be around the kids all the time."

"I know it does." Law kissed her temple. "Don't cry. We won't be here for much longer."

She frowned at him. "You said that months ago."

"I guess I did," Law said with a light chuckle. "But I promise we won't be here forever. It won't be long before we take the next step in our plans."

Neo sighed and took a sip of her steaming hot chocolate. She summoned a couple fire crystals and lit them up for a makeshift fireplace. With a shared smile, they snuggled into each other and just enjoyed the moment. Several minutes of snuggles, kisses and sipping hot chocolate later, Law asked, "Are you warmed up now?"

"Some," Neo replied, her eyes shining.

"Well, I suppose I'll just have to do something about that to get you warmed back up," Law said. He took their mugs and placed them down on the table. Neo expected him to lean back up and kiss her, but that's not what he did. Holding up his hand, he formed his Room. "Room. Shambles."

Neo blinked when she found herself in bed, under the covers, and without her clothes. Law stood up and walked over to the bed. He climbed onto it and hovered over her. She glared, playfully, up at him and summoned her earth crystals off to the sides so he couldn't see them. "What the…Law! That's cheating!"

Law scoffed. "Says the one who's using her earth crystals to undo my pants and wrapping them around my-Hn. Geez, Neo. You are sure being extremely playful today."

Neo giggled at the pleasure she caused in him as she continued to slowly wrap and unwrap her vine around him. "If  _you_  didn't want me to do such things, then  _you_  shouldn't have taught me such things."

Law leaned down with a smirk and nipped at her neck. " _If_  I didn't  _want_  you to do such things, then I  _wouldn't_  have taught you such things."

"Then you won't mind me doing this," Neo said as she used her vines to undress him. He fumbled for a condom while she lifted him and the cover up with her winds. He slid the condom on then slid into her, purposefully hitting her sweet spot, making her groan this time in pleasure. "Oh, geez, sweet revenge."

"You started it, my playful lover. I'm just returning the favor in kind," Law mumbled through several kisses.

"You know," Neo said through their kisses. "We really should go get something to eat after this."

"Oh?" Law asked while placing kissed all over her face and neck.

"It's odd we're both having a serious craving for your favorite right no-hn." Neo rolled her head back with a groan when he hit both her soft spots above and below her waist. She knocked his hat off his head and dug her hands into his hair before tugging on a lock, singling him to kiss her again. He brought his lips back to hers and plunged his tongue in and out of her mouth for a minute before answering her.

"True. But I'm craving  _you_  more," Law said with his lips still touching hers. "So stop talking. And that's an  _order_."

"Fine." Neo wrapped her arms around his neck and shoved her tongue into his dark cavern.

A while later, the two finally crawled out of bed, got dressed and slipped out into the hallway. A wave of silence met them once out of their room. Neo said, "I guess everyone's already in bed."

"Well, it is after ten," Law pointed out. He took her hand and led her down the hall. They remained quiet until they reached the kitchen. That's when Neo giggled all of a sudden. "What's so funny?"

"I'm not sure, but I feel like we're two teenagers sneaking out of their houses to meet up with each other to preform naughty things," Neo said as she pulled out Penguin's ribbon and tied her hair back.

"I suppose it does feel like that." Law's eyebrows raised on his hatless head. He then smirked at her. "But we already did the  _naughty_  thing."

"Oh, hush!" Neo's cheeks dusted with pink while she shoved his shoulder. She then walked over to the fridge and opened the freezer part of it.

"It's going to take a while to thaw that," Law said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Not with my  _powers_ ," Neo said. "Don't tell me you forgot about them."

"No. Just seeing if you were paying attention," Law said. He nibbled at her neck. Neo rolled her eyes. While she worked on their meal, he worked on her neck, effectively distracting her to the point of almost burning their fish. He chuckled when she tried to swat him away. "Think of this as training. Kissing while cooking."

"That won't work considering how much I love your kisses. You completely short out my brain when you-" Neo growled when he pressed his lips roughly against hers, not letting her finish her sentence. After a minute of intense kissing, she was able to slip from his hold. She took off into the air, turning upside down as she stuck her tongue out at him before flipping back up right. "Let me finish this. Then we can eat and kiss until your little missing heart is content."

"Fine." Law crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. "I'll behave for a while."

"Good boy," Neo said, lowering herself back down to the stove. While he didn't touch her, he did start sending her very suggestive thoughts that made her blush. Trying to ignore them, she finally got their meal finished and sat it out on a table.

Law sat down and pulled her into his lap. He kissed her cheek. "Thank you for making this."

"Thank  _you_  for finally letting me," Neo said with a smirk. Law chuckled before they settled into eat. Before he could pick up his fork, she grabbed it and speared a piece of fish. "Open up."

"Well, isn't this my lucky night," Law said taking the fish in his mouth. He chewed it, swallowed, and then continued talking as Neo took a bite herself. "Wonderful lovemaking then my wonderful wife not only cooks my favorite meal, in the middle of the night, but also feeds me."

"You deserve it," Neo said before pecking his lips. She then proceeded to feed both of them while occasionally stealing kisses from him before they headed back to the room to go to bed.

While being pampered by his love, Law's eyes couldn't help but wonder over to her hair. It was still pulled back in Penguin's ribbon. It struck him as odd she was still wearing it. He then recalled she had been wearing the ribbon more often in the past month or so. He tried to shove it aside with the thought she only was wearing it because she was missing the crew. Penguin was one of her best friends after all. He knew wearing the ribbon brought her some comfort. But there was still a small tingle in the back of his mind that wouldn't leave him be on how odd it was for her to wear her hair back for hours whether she missed the crew or not.

…

Neo whimpered in her sleep. She curled more into herself as her once peaceful dream slipped into a nightmare.

" _What's going on?" Neo asked as she watched strange, black shadow like figures battling each other. She looked around, but couldn't figure out where she was. Other dark images looked to her like they were trees and buildings, but she wasn't sure. The only thing she was sure of was the battle since she could hear the sounds of it. The shadows were shouting, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Weapons were bashing together, but she couldn't see what kind they were._

" _Master!" Bepo's voice cried out._

" _Huh?" Neo shot her eyes to the crew when they came running into the middle of the fight. She rushed towards them, calling out to them. "Bepo? Shachi? Penguin? Topaz? Everyone! You're here! But what's going on?"_

" _Huh?" She gasped when they passed by her and through her. She turned to watch them dive right into the battle of strange shadows. "No! What's going on?! Why are you fighting?! Who's fighting?! Where are we?!"_

_Neo looked up when she felt and heard something flying through the air. A strange explosion happened followed by a strange cloud that washed out over the battling figures, on Bepo. Bepo gasped and grabbed his throat before crashing to the ground. She cried out and ran over to him. "No! Bepo!"_

_Dropping to her knees, she tried to touch him, but her hand went right through his body. She tried several more times to grab him, but her hand just kept passing through him. "What the?"_

_A couple shadow figures then appeared hovering over her. She looked up and gasped as they raised their hands over their heads. Though she couldn't see them, she knew they were holding weapons. Weapons that were going to kill her crew, her family. Tears streamed down her face as she summoned to her crystals. She fired all her attacks at the shadows, but they just past right through them. "No! Stop it! Leave them alone!"_

"No! Stop!" Neo shrieked as she bolted up in bed. She grabbed her head and continued shouting. "Stop! Don't kill them! Stop it!"

Law bolt up, quickly turning on the lamp that they acquired shortly after arriving here, and grabbed her shoulders. He quickly noticed she wasn't fully awake yet. "Neo? Neo, wake up. It's just a bad dream. Come on now. Neo, I order you to wake up!"

Neo snapped completely awake then. Panting hard with sweat rolling down her forehead and the back of her neck, she looked around the room before her eyes landed on Law. "Law…they're in trouble. The crew is in trouble."

"The crew's just fine," Law said after searching her thoughts on what the nightmare was about. "It was just a nightmare."

"No!" Neo insisted, tears streaking her face. "It wasn't! It was  _real!_  They  _are_  in trouble! We have to go to them! Law,  _please_ , we have to go back to the crew!  _Now!_ "

Law drew in a breath and slowly let it out. He tucked her hair behind her ears then pulled her into his chest. Stroking her hair, he said, "Shh. It's okay, love. They're okay. It's just a bad dream."

"Law," Neo's voice squeaked. She pulled back from him just enough to look into his eyes. "No…it wasn't. It was  _real_. It was just like when I dreamed about the darkness crystal and the wave. That nightmare came true. It was also like when I started dreaming about my godfather."

Law's heart skipped a beat. It was true. Some of Neo's dreams and nightmares had come true before. And if this nightmare felt to her just like those did, then the crew either  _was_  in trouble or they were going to be soon. He tightened his hold on her, stroking her hair tenderly with one hand while rubbing his other hand over her back. "It'll be okay, my love. Try not to let this nightmare get to you. Remember, they're strong. And they are on Zou. The minks will protect them. I promise they are just fine. They're not going to get hurt. They'll be waiting for you just like they planned. Okay? They're  _fine._ "

"I hope so," Neo whispered. She tucked her eyes into Law's throat, breathing in his scent while he wrapped himself around her physically, mentally, and through their bond. "I really hope so."

…

Law sighed when his shared upset stomach with Neo's suddenly felt better. Without asking, he knew what had happened. She had retched up everything she had in her stomach.  _'Neo, are you all right?'_

 _'No.'_  Law sighed again when her reply came to him, telling him she was very upset.  _'I want you with me.'_

 _'I know. I'm coming.'_  Law picked up his pace, but didn't break into a run or warp to her. He just rushed to her since he was almost there anyway. Once to the room, he quickly pushed the door open and entered. His heart sank when he saw her curled up on the couch. She had pulled herself into a tight ball and was weaving Penguin's ribbon through her fingers with tears running down her cheeks. He rushed over to her. Propping his sword up on the couch before lifting her up and sitting down with her in his lap, she laid her head on his shoulder. "You're really missing the crew, aren't you?"

"Uh huh. I'm worried about them. That nightmare just won't leave my mind," Neo said with a sniffle. She turned her teary eyes up to him, breaking his heart. Her spearmint covered breath washing over his nose as she spoke. "Law, I want to go  _home_."

"I know you do," Law replied.

"Then take me home! We're not  _doing_ anything here! So let's just  _leave_!" Neo snapped. She lifted off his shoulder and glared at him. Law's eyebrows raised in surprised. It wasn't like her to snap at him like that. When she realized what she had done, her own eyebrows knitted in confusion then in an apology. She rubbed her hand over her forehead. "Oh, geez. I'm so sorry, Law. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I'm just…I don't know. I'm just not feeling like myself right now. I'm upset. I'm homesick. I'm missing the crew like crazy. I'm so, so sorry."

"It's fine." Law said.

"No, it's not fine. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that," Neo insisted.

"Neo, love, it really is fine. We've been here for months. It's natural that you're upset and just want to go home. Being away from what you're familiar with for so long was bound to take it's told on you at some point. You're not use to it after all," Law explained. He pressed his lips to her forehead, finding her rather warm. "You're very warm. You really haven't been feeling good all day too."

"I'm getting sick? Is that why I'm so snappy?" Neo asked, laying her head back down on his shoulder with a tired sigh.

"It probably is. Constantly playing outside in the snow, crossing between the boarders of the ice and fire sides of this island didn't help things either. You were bound to get sick at some point," Law said with a kiss to her forehead.

"I'm a bit sleepy," Neo said. She then covered a yawn and snuggled closer into him.

"Then you should sleep," Law said as she started to drift off.

"Will you…stay with me?" Neo asked, just before falling asleep.

"Of course I will," Law whispered softly to her sleeping form. He tightened his hold on her, pressing his cheek to her forehead and relaxed as she slept.

…

Neo smiled happily as she flew around the room, in nothing but her underwear and bra. The room wasn't big enough to really put on some speed during the times she let her wings out to exercise them, but it kept them from hurting. She flipped her feet over her head, hanging upside down as she stared down at Law. He had been sitting on the couch for over two hours now reading a book he acquired from somewhere within the labs. Since they didn't have anything to do, and it was a very boring day, the two decided to stay in the room unless they were needed.

She floated closer to him and dropped down in front of him, while remaining upside down. She blinked rapidly when he didn't notice her. She bit her bottom lip to stifle a giggle. She rose back up in the air and moved behind him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Law, put that book down and play with me."

She huffed in annoyance when he did nothing but grunt at her in response. Pouching out her lips until she got a different idea to gain his attention. Banishing her wings, since they would get in the way for this, she summoned her wind crystals. She then flew herself under his arms and nestled herself in his lap before taking his ear in her teeth. She nibbled, sucked, and licked his left ear until she finally gained his attention. He asked, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to entertain myself," Neo replied. "I'm bored."

"You could fly around the room," Law suggested.

"I just did that," Neo replied.

"Then read a book," Law said.

"I've already read the books you had shipped in thirty times," Neo said with a pout. She looked at the book he was holding. It was a scientific book. The labs were filled with them. She wrinkled her nose at the book that he was holding. The only other books that were on the island were books for the kids. And she's already read those multiple times for herself and for the kids. "I don't understand the majority of the words in those books science books. And you don't have time to explain them all to me. So put it down and play with me."

Law just grunted at her again. She frowned at his lack of attention towards hers. Then a thought crossed her mind. If he wasn't going to listen to her words, maybe he'd listen to her actions. Smiling, she summoned an earth crystal and formed a thin vine from it. She then unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. It was easy since he, for once, didn't have his coat on at the moment. He raised an eyebrow at her when she wound and unwound the vine around him repetitively trying to arouse him.

"Play. With. Me," Neo said pointedly. She summoned another vine and pulled the book from his hands then tossed it across the room without care.

"Well, that is tempting considering you're trying your hardest to arouse me," Law said as his eyes dropped down to her half naked body. His eyebrow rose on his forehead at her black lingerie. His heart rate sped up a bit at her partially exposed bosom. "And considering you're only wearing your underwear." He paused then added, "Why  _are_  you only wearing your underwear?"

"I dunno." Neo looked down at herself then back up at Law. She cocked her head to the side. "I feel like it? So are you going to play with me or not?"

"Fine," Law said quickly before snatching her and laying her down on the couch. He smirked down at her as he hovered over her. "But, remember,  _you_  asked for it."

"Then give it to me.  _Now!_ " Neo demanded playfully.

"As you wish, my half naked lover," Law murmured in her ear, making her shutter. He went right to the soft spot on her neck, instantly gaining a moan from her. He sucked on that spot until he knew a beautiful love bite would show up there in a few minutes before kissing his way down to her covered breasts. He lapped his tongue between her confined bosoms before snaking his hand behind her back and skillfully unclasping her bra one handed. He earned several moans of his name when he took her in his mouth and started playing with her a bit more than she expected. "Remember you asked for this."

"Shut up," Neo managed to say through her moans. His hands trailed down her curves until his fingers curled around the straps of her underwear. Just as he started to slide the thin fabric over her beautiful hips, a loud, panicked knock came on the door.

"Law! Lady Law!" one of Caesar's men cried.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Neo hissed quietly. "We've been in here all day and  _now_  they need us?! Can we just pretend we're not here?!"

"I don't think that's going to work with how  _loud_  you were moaning," Law said with a smirk as he pulled her underwear back up over her hips.

"You caused it!" Neo said as her cheeks flushed.

"You asked for it!" Law shot back.

Neo opened her mouth to object, but couldn't. He was right. She put them in this position. She crossed her arms over her bare chest and pouted.

He chuckled at her expression before pushing off the couch. He walked closer to the door, but didn't open it. "What is it?"

"We have trouble!" the man said. "Some crazy samurai guy is slicing all of our men up into pieces! We can't handle him!"

"I'll be right there," Law replied.

"Hurry!" the man said before running off.

"Samurai?" Neo asked while pulled her clothes on.

"Warriors who typically carry around long swords and some wear their hair in topknots," Law explained while pulling on his coat.

Neo thought about his words as they rushed out of their room. Once outside, she tilted her head at the scene before them. There was a tall, black haired man in a kimono with a long sword, slicing up Caesar's men.

"Where is my son?!" the samurai cried as he pulled back his sword to slice again. Neo summoned her wind crystals and pulled Caesar's men out of the samurai's reach. The man blinked in confusion when his pray was no longer there. "Hm?"

"Thank you! Thank you so much, Lady Law!" the men cried, literally, as they thanked her.

"Hurry up and get back inside," Neo said. "We'll handle this."

"Right!" The men nodded and scurried back inside the labs.

"I know not who you are, wench," the samurai said. He pointed his sword at Neo and Law. "But I do not fight  _women_. Out of my way! I am here to get my son back!"

"His son?" Neo blinked. "Why would…is he talking about one of the kids here? Is one of them his son?"

"Doesn't matter. He's seen far too much. Room," Law said. He swiped his sword multiple times at the samurai, dividing him up into three pieces. "Shambles."

"What?! What manor of sorcery is this?!" the samurai demanded.

"Sorcery?" Neo whispered. "Does he know I have magic?"

 _'I doubt it. Some cultures see devil fruit users as sorcery users.'_  Law said, switching to their bond.  _'Come on. Let's take care of this guy.'_

 _'What are we going to do with him? You're clearly not going to kill him.'_  Neo's eyebrows rose when Law shared his plan to her.  _'I suppose that will work. Seems a bit extreme though.'_

Neo summoned her winds again and lifted them all into the air. The samurai cried, "The wench has sorcery as well! This is hardly a fair fight!"

Law growled.  _'I'm going to change mind on not killing him if he doesn't stop calling you a wench.'_

Neo giggled. While flying, she dropped the man's torso in the snow before heading over to the burning side of the island and dropping his bottom half there. She then took herself, Law, and the samurai's head to the cells. She flinched when she noticed the man was carefully inspecting her. They landed outside of the cells and walked inside.

"What are you, wench?" the samurai asked. "I have never felt such a strange sensation of not being human from anyone I have ever met."

"Room!" Law held out his hand and formed his Room once more. He then pulled out his sword and sliced the samurai's head into multiple pieces.

"What have you done to me?!" the samurai demanded.

"Consider that a warning to  _never_  call her a wench again," Law hissed. He sheathed his sword, slipped his arm around Neo's waist, and guided her out of the cell.

"Well, that was interesting," Neo said as they walked away from the cells once Law closed the door.

"It's getting annoying. How many people are going to show up here?" Law grumbled. "This island is supposed to be hard to find. People seem to have no trouble finding it."

"There haven't been that many people. It's just been that one small family that was lost and now this samurai guy," Neo said. She wrapped her arms around his. "At least now we can go back to the room and finish what we started. The day's task is done. We are free from them. No one else is going to show up here."

"It clearly can happen again since some people have already been here," Law said. "Plus, other members of the government and Navy know of this place. One of them could show up at any point."

"I suppose you're right," Neo replied thoughtfully. "But that wouldn't really matter. You can easily scare off any one of those bums. You're far stronger and smarter than all of them."

"Glad to know you have such confidence in me," Law said with a chuckle.

"Well, I do. You are strong," Neo insisted. "And you're even stronger with me by your side. If I were to ever let loose completely, you know no one would be able to stop us."

"True." Law pecked her hair.

Neo smiled at him. "So you can relax now, my love. Who could possibly show up here that would actually cause us problems?"


	77. Disruption

Disruption

Law chuckled as Neo nipped, licked, and nibbled at his neck and ear while he carried her on his back. In a playful little fit, she had grabbed onto his back a few minutes ago and refused to let him go as they trekked down the halls. So he had no choice but to lock his arms around her knees, making sure to angle his sword so he wouldn't hurt her, while she locked her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

She hummed in delight before speaking to him. She ran her tongue over the back of his neck before saying, "You, my love, taste incredibly good. I've never noticed before that you taste kind of sweet. Have you always had this sweet taste to you? I don't think so. Did you rub sugar on your body when I wasn't looking?"

"No, Neo," Law said with another light chuckle. "I haven't rubbed sugar on my body at all. I have no reason for doing such a silly thing."

"Hm." Neo hummed again. She nuzzled her nose behind his ear before taking his earlobe and earrings in her mouth. She sucked gently on him, making him shiver against her. She released his earlobe then licked the shell of his ear before whispering seductively to him. "I can think of one reason for doing such a  _silly thing_. Let's go back to the room and I can show you what I mean. Strike that. I can show you now through our bond."

Law's cheeks flushed, his heart raced with excitement when she passed the suggestive image from her mind to his. She smiled when she felt his body twitch with the desire to do as she suggested. Before he could answer her, or take a single step towards the room, one of Caesar's men dashed through the halls in front of them. He was shouting frantically for the scientist. "Master! Master!"

"What do you suppose  _that's_  about?" Neo asked.

"I don't know. We better check it out," Law said, following after the man.

"What?! No!" Neo whined. She tightened her hold, in a possessive way, on his body. "But we were going to head back to the room! What about our thoughts?! Our plans?!"

Law couldn't help but chuckle again. He glanced at her. "What if it is something important? Do you really want to get interrupted again like we did earlier with that samurai?"

Neo opened her mouth to protest, but quickly closed it in annoyed thought. She pouted. "Fine. You're right. That was not a good moment. They completely ruined our moment there. I finally got you to play with me. I do  _not_  want that happening again. Do you understand me?!"

"Yes, my princess," Law said, turning his eyes back forward. "I understand you perfectly."

"Then let's get this over with," Neo said with a sigh. She rested her chin on his shoulder. With her still pouting, Law tickled her under her left knee. She squealed and almost lost her hold on him. "Law!"

Law just chuckled, for the third time, in response. While walking in the direction the man had run, they started to hear him talking with Caesar.

"Did you at least catch the ones who escaped?" Caesar asked.

"No, Master, we haven't. I'm here because I have news about G-5," the man replied through his huffing.

…

 _'Huh? G-5? Why would they be here?'_  Neo questioned through their bond as Law moved them closer to the door.

 _'I don't have a clue.'_  Law kneaded his eyebrows with a frown.

Suddenly feeling possessive of Law, Neo wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and pressed her cheek to his.

Law glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He sensed her change and brushed his thumb against her knee, calming her down.

…

"What?! Why them?!" Caesar hissed. "Why didn't you use the poison gas on them?!"

"We did! The poison gas didn't work, Master! They're wearing gas masks! Currently, they're breaking through all of the ice floes with a cannon and slowly forcing their way closer to the front of the labs! They'll reach the front of the laboratory in a few minutes!" the man said.

"But why? Why would they want to come to this island so badly after all this time? Do they know something about what's going on here? Who's in charge of them?" Caesar demanded.

"That would be Vice Admiral Smoker, Master," the man replied.

"Smoker?! Of all the other vice admirals and soldiers it could have been, it just had to be that major pain in the neck!" Caesar growled. He looked back at his subordinate. "What a rotten turn of events! Get all the ships moored at the front concealed, immediately!"

"Yes, sir! But, who's going to deal with them once they get here? No one's allowed to be here after all," the man asked.

"I know that! Just don't let them see you! No matter the cost," Caesar replied. "No matter what happens, you all cannot be seen by a single soldier!"

"Right! Does that mean you'll be dealing with them, Master?" the man asked, tilting his masked head in confusion.

"Don't be ridiculous! Of course I'm not going out there! I can't just show myself to them like that!" Caesar shrieked. "That would be extremely stupid! My plans and efforts would all be ruined!"

"But there's no one else who can stop them!" the man said. "What are we suppose to do?"

"Would you like for us to take care of them?" Law suddenly asked.

Neo looked at him, but remained quiet. She knew they were the only ones who could. She didn't need to hear Caesar's reply. Still she cranked her neck so she could peer inside of the room. Both Caesar and the suited man were looking over at the door, at them. Caesar was in his gas form as he often was. She flinched at the memory of the gasman's accidental release of gas on her. If Law hadn't shown up who knows what would have happened to her? She pulled her view from the room and tucked her eyes into Law's shoulder. Tightening her hold on him she wished they could go home.

Sensing her mild distress, Law stroked his thumb over her knee, calming her down.

"Yes, that would do just fine. Get rid of them, Law!" Caesar said. "Run them off! Kill them! I don't care! Just get rid of them! And do it fast!"

"Right." Law nodded before walking away from the room.

Neo waited until they were far enough out of hearing range before speaking. She sighed. A small hint of dread passed through her and directly into Law. He asked, "What is it, love?"

"Nothing." Neo rested her chin on his shoulder again. She shifted her arms so she could finger Law's ring like she often did when nervous. "Just when I think I'm use to you fighting all the time…I don't know. I just always hate it when you have to fight. I worry, a lot. Even with my improved abilities, I still worry. And I'm worried right now. Vice Admiral Smoker. He's a smoke man. I've never dealt with smoke other than from campfires. But this smoke can move under his own power. I'm not sure I'm going to be much help to you here."

"You're going to be fine," Law replied. "You don't have to fight him if you don't want too. I'll be more than enough him to handle."

"I know you will." Neo pecked his cheek. The buzzing of the front door doorbell began slipping through the air as they made their way closer to the front of the lab. "But I'd rather be out in the battle with you. I like knowing I'm there and have your back. Beside, he'll have his soldiers with him. They're not just going to stand back the entire fight."

"I like knowing you have my back too. You'll do just fine so don't worry about it. I'll handle White Chase on my own if I have to. You can just keep an eye on the rest of the soldiers," Law said. The two paused when the doorbell buzzing stopped. Without hearing it, they both could picture the soldiers screaming and banging on the door for them to come out of the laboratory and face them. Reluctantly and with a soft sigh, Neo released her hold on him and slid off his back. He turned to her. Taking her chin in his fingers, he tilted her eyes to his and kissed her. "Relax. This is just another simple battle."

Neo quirked an eyebrow and her lips at him. "Don't say things like that in situations like this. You'll jinx everything. If he's a vice admiral then he's one for a very good reason and that usually means strength. Be careful this time. Please? For me?"

"You know I will," Law murmured against her lips before kissing her again. He then turned back to the door and opened it. A shiver ran down her spine when the cold air from outside rushed into the warm building. She wasn't sure if it was actually from the cold air or the impending battle, but, which ever it was, she stood ready to do her part in it.

"It opened?" Neo heard a voice say once the door was cracked open enough.

"They're giving up now? Finally! We're in the Navy after all! They should know better than to defy us!" Another voice floated in on the breeze as Law opened the door more.

The two Heart Pirates then walked out of the shadows of the building to reveal themselves. Neo forced a smile down when the Navy soldiers before them gasped and stared in shock at their unexpected presence on the island. She remained right beside him as Law leaned against the door with his ever-present smirk. Her heart hammered inside of her chest. She drew in a couple deep breaths to calm herself down.

Law was as calm as ever. She didn't even need to look at him or even use their bond to know he was smirking with that devil-may-care smile of his he often used when he was about to defy someone. She ran her eyes over the soldiers, locking her eyes onto their leader, as Law addressed them. "Is there a reason you all are here at our vacation home?" He crossed his arms over his chest. He looked right at Vice Admiral Smoker. "What do you want, White Chase?"

"No way! It can't be!" a soldier cried out.

Neo let her gaze slip from the vice admiral and the woman who, if she remembered correctly, was Smoker's right hand soldier. She looked over the shocked soldiers gaping at them.

"Isn't that guy…?!" another soldier added without finishing his question.

"Trafalgar Law!" a soldier cried.

"He use to be a rookie with a 440 million beli bounty and now, he's one of the seven. He's just like 'Hawk-Eye' Mihawk, the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, and Don Quixote Doflamingo, the only pirates that are backed by the World Government. He is one the Seven Warlords," Tashigi said. The lady soldier looked at Law then at Neo. "And she is Trafalgar Neo. Former subordinate and now wife to Trafalgar Law, wielder of the supposed Element Element devil fruit, but there had never been any confirmation on the actual existence of her devil fruit. Some even thing that she's…"

Neo met the woman's gaze with her head held high. She could tell that the black haired woman wanted to say more about her, but she didn't. The navy captain just closed her mouth and stared at her. Neo had no doubt that the woman could sense she was indeed different, just like the newspapers had reported on. And she knew for sure the vice admiral could sense her inhuman nature.

"Trafalgar Law!" Smoker says through his mouthful of cigars. Behind him, more startled cries fell out of the mouths of the G-5 soldiers as they shuffled away from the two Heart Pirates. His dark eyes pulled from Law and looked right at Neo. "And Trafalgar Neo!"

"Let's go back, Smoker!" one of the G-5 soldiers cried out.

"I don't want anything to do with  _him_!" another one said. "Do you have any idea what that guy did?! In order to become a member of the Seven Warlords, he delivered the hearts of  _one hundred_  pirates to the Navy headquarters!"

"He's crazy!"

"What a creep!"

"But the woman is very cute!"

"Shh! She's his  _wife_! Haven't you heard the rumors?! He'll kill anyone, without hesitation, if someone messing with her or says something inappropriate to her! Don't risk it!"

"Is she really his wife? She's so young!"

"So what? She's very sexy!"

Law's lips curved down into a frown at the soldiers' words and at Neo when all the talk made her uncomfortable. She inched closer to him. His grey eyes shot invisible daggers into every single vital area of the soldiers drooling over his love. His mind spun with painful acts he could inflict upon them for the sinful thoughts he just knew some of them were having about her.

Neo bit back a smile and a giggle at Law's thoughts.  _'You're so cute when you're jealous. But don't let them get to you. Put your focus back on Smoker.'_

' _Fine. But, if I get the chance, they're dead.'_

' _Of course they are.'_  Neo bit her tongue to keep herself from smiling. She knew Law would avoid killing in front of her if it were possible.  _'Besides, I can stop their talking easily. Just watch.'_

Neo summoned her wind and water crystals at the feet of the G-5 soldiers. She began to create ice around their feet. They looked down when their feet suddenly got very cold. Their shrieking cries pierced thought the air. She then summoned her fire crystals and flared them up multiple times near their bodies, like she was going to burn them, until they became pathetic crying messes trying to escape.

"Ah! She's gonna kill us! Vice Admiral Smoker! Help us!"

Neo continued biting back her laughter and withdrew the ice, fire, and her crystals.

"Consider that your only warning," Law then said. "I do not tolerate  _other men_  hitting on my  _wife_. She doesn't like either."

Smoker 'tsked' at his men's stupidity. "She's not going to kill you. She has a zero percent kill rate so far. All she's doing is living up to her reputation of being playful. And don't let her looks fool you, you clods. She's not a child as some have suggested. She's twenty-two years old. And don't let her low bounty of forty-four million fool you either. She's a lot strong than she lets on. If you morons would ever pick up a newspaper or read Navy reports then you'd know all of this."

Law's eyebrow twitched as Neo forced herself not to let her face show any signs of shock at Smoker's quick deduction. She passed a thought along to Law.  _'Well, he's a lot smarter than a lot of other soldiers of the Navy. I'll give him that.'_

' _Yeah. But it's not like we didn't expect this. He's not going to be so easily fooled. Be extremely careful when you fight around him. Try limiting your crystal usage as much as possible. Keep it to a minimum. We don't need to give him anymore suspicions on you and your magic.'_

' _Right. I'll try. I still haven't figured out how I'm going to fight his smoke attacks. This is going to be trial and error.'_

' _Just relax. You don't have to fight him if you don't think you can.'_

' _I'll be good once I can engage in battle with him for a minute to test his abilities against mine.'_

"Why are you two here? No one, not even pirates or government allies, is supposed to be here on this island, Law!" Smokey growled. "You both should know that."

"Then that means that you people are not allowed either, White Chase," Law smirks. "Why don't you leave?"

"Trafalgar! I know you're a warlord and therefore work for the Government, but we are going to have to ask you to step aside! Move out of our way!" Tashigi ordered. "We know somebody else is here on the island! We are not leaving until we check things out here!"

"What are you talking about?" Law cocked his head. "How could you possibly know that there's others here when you just arrived? You all didn't even know we were here."

"We have this," Tashigi said as she dug her hand into her pocket. She pulled out a small, black transponder snail and popped the lid open. The snail lifted up and opened its eyes. Some static from the snail vibrated through the air before it was replaced with a distantly familiar voice to Neo and a very familiar voice to Law.

" _Hello? My name is Monkey D. Luffy! I'm gonna become the King of the Pirates!"_

_Zzzt Bzzzt_

" _You picked up too fast! You said too much!"_

" _Help me!"_

_Bazzt Zzzzt_

" _What happened?!"_

" _It's cold…Zzzzt…Is this the Boss?"_

" _No. I'm not the boss."_

_Zzzzt_

' _Law? Monkey D. Luffy…that's Straw Hat Luffy, right? The one you help heal back on Amazon Lily?'_

' _Yeah.'_

' _Why would he be here? Why would the Navy think he was here? Is he here?'_  Neo took a step closer to Law. She placed her fingertips on his hand that gripped his sword.

' _I don't know. It could just be a trick of theirs. But if they have a recording of him, then he has to be close by enough for them to have picked it up.'_  Law kneaded his eyebrows. He uncurled his index finger from his sword and brushed his skin against hers.

' _On the island?! Do you think it's possible that he, and his entire crew, are here?!'_

' _I don't know.'_ Law turned his focus back onto the vice admiral. The white haired man was watching him and Neo closely for any signs that might reveal the truth here.

They all remained quiet as the transponder snail babbled on with the rest of the recorded message.

" _My colleagues are getting cut one after another! The samurai is going to kill us!"_

" _Where are you?"_

" _Somebody please help me! I'm on Punk Hazard!"_

Law narrows his eyebrows when the voice on the snail screamed out the island's name.

Neo grasped on to Law's finger until her fingers ached. Her head pounded with the realization that, if the Navy found the kids, the kids could finally go home. They could go back to their families. They could be with their parents again.

' _Neo! Focus!'_

Neo flinched at Law's sharp voice inside her head.  _'Right. I'm sorry. I know that they can't…I wasn't going to…I didn't mean to…I'm sorry, Law.'_

' _No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I just need you to focus right now. Stop thinking about the kids so much. They're not our problem.'_

' _Right.'_  Neo took another deep breath. She forced herself not to think about the kids despite the lingering dull ache of a slight wish that the Navy did force themselves into the building and find the children.

"Agh!"  _Click!_  The snail shut off and went into sleep mode.

"The name of this island, Punk Hazard, and the fact that the guy said that it was cold here…there is very little to no doubt that this man had sent the signal from this very island." Tashigi said. She closed the lid and stuffed the black snail back in her pocket and looked at the two pirates. "You can't deny this evidence."

"You know Straw Hat Luffy pretty well, don't you, Law?" Smoker then asked. "When the incident involving the Celestial Dragons, the Roswalds family specifically, that happened on Sabaody two years ago, Kid, Straw Hat and you all fought together then! And during the War of the Best…when Akainu was after Straw Hat, you helped him get away! Isn't that correct? I would accuse the woman for being there too, but there is no record of her being seen. But that doesn't mean anything. The battle at Sabaody, the Navy was too focus on you three rookies to take notice to any other new pirates in your crew. And, at the war, she could have easily hid inside your ship on your orders."

"All that has nothing to do with what's going on here and now. So what is it you really want? I know you Navy people are good at forging those emergency signals," Law said. He regained the smirk on his lips. "It's one of the oldest tricks in the books that you all pull. Isn't that correct?"

"I'm afraid it wasn't a trap that we set up," Smoker replied.

"Is that so? Well, I don't know anything about this so there's nothing more to talk about here," Law said. "This conversation is  _over_."

"Huh?" Neo blinked when something familiar floated into her senses. She started to turn around, but stopped herself. Instead, she dropped her eyes to the ground and focused on the feeling.

' _What is it, Neo?'_

' _I'm not sure. I sense something. It's an animal. There's an animal inside the lab. And it feels familiar somehow.'_  Neo forced herself to look back at the soldiers. She didn't want to give them any indication of there being someone, or something, else inside the laboratory or that something wasn't right.

"Cut that crap out! Let us inside the laboratory! Now!" Smoker demanded. A hard look settled on his tense features.

"It's  _our_  vacation home now. So I must refuse. There's nothing wrong with us laying claim on an island that you people abandoned. No one else is using it either. We  _are_  the only ones here! If Straw Hat comes, then I'll chop his head off for you all and bring it to you myself. If that's all you have to say and all you really want, then go home already. We have nothing more to discuss," Law said.

The two Heart Pirate blinked and looked over their shoulders when distant screams and voices echoed off the walls from inside the lab. The voices came closer and were coupled with feet stomping downstairs with the kids screaming.

' _Law.'_ Neo flinched, her mind divided on what was unraveling before her eyes. _'It's the kids. The kids have left the Biscuits Room.'_

"Those frozen people were so scary!" a child cried out.

"I have had it with this place!" another one said.

"Hey look up there! There's a door! We can finally get out of here!" a female voice, that was too mature to be a child, yelled out. "Finally!"

"Yeah!" the kids cheered.

"Uh." Neo blinked in confusion when her eyes locked on the animal she had sensed leading the kids towards the open door. She knew the creature was familiar. She knew that. But she just couldn't place where she had seen and felt it before.

Smoker and Tashigi look past Law and into the laboratory as the herd of running kids came closer to the entrance. The rest of the soldiers were taking notice of the ruckus that was coming from inside and getting closer.

"Look! There is somebody else in there!" a G-5 soldier cried out. "We were right!"

Suddenly, before anyone could do or say thing else, the other door to the laboratory was kicked opened by the large, semi-familiar animal that Neo couldn't take her eyes off of. The animal cheered, "Hachaa! I made it outside! We're finally outside!"

"We're outside? It's freezing out here!" The orange haired female that Neo quickly but barely recognized from her wanted poster ran out immediately after the animal. It was the Cat Burglar Nami from the Straw Hat crew. The woman's hair was longer now but it was definitely Nami.

"We made it!" a kid shouted.

"I got out of the building! I can go home!" another kid cheered.

"I can see my dad and mom again!" a third one cried happily.

"It's cold!" a fourth one complained.

"Li-" Neo started when she saw the little blonde pigtailed girl.

' _Neo! Don't say her name!'_  Law hissed before she could finish the blonde girl's name. Neo flinched and recoiled.  _'I'm sorry I snapped at you again. But you can't let the Navy know we know the kids.'_

' _R-right. I'm sorry.'_  Neo sighed internally.

Law instantly felt bad for snapping at her again and making her deny she knew of the existence of the kids, but it was necessary. They both lifted their attention back inside the laboratory when they heard someone suddenly start singing.

"Get out of the way, kids!" a voice said. The children turned around to the voice that spoke to them. The boys all gasped with excitement as sparkles filled their eyes at the object rolling down the hall. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, Franky! Hey, hey, hey, hey, Tank! I'll run you over if you stand in my way! But I'll roll around the pretty little flowers! The Franky Tank isn't such a bad guy after all!"

"Yeah!" the boys scream in delight upon seeing the impressive Franky Tank rolling towards them.

"All right! Here we go now, everybody!" the Franky Tank shouted.

"One, two, three…Super!" The majority of the group that came running towards the front entrance suddenly started counting then struck a pose with their arms stretched up in the air, slightly curving their bodies to the left.

The Navy soldiers, along with Law and Neo, stared in disbelief at the odd display that just happened before them. Neo tilted her head in curiosity at the scene before her. She had no clue what to make of it. Her crew could be silly at times, but this was completely on a different level.  _'Law? What in the world is going on here?'_

Law didn't reply. Neo didn't know if he was too shocked to reply or if he didn't have a clue what to stay. He just continued to stare in disbelief.

"The Straw Hat pirates?! And children?!" Tashigi asked with a gasp.

"I don't even know where to begin with any of this. A large raccoon, a woman wearing a bikini in the middle of the winter half of this island, giant kids, a robot, and a severed head…Am I dreaming?!" a G-5 soldier asked. "I have to be dreaming. This is just too weird to be actually happening."

"Tank treads!" the Franky Tank chattered on as he spun around for the kids to see his body.

"Cool!"

"Awesome!"

"A tank!"

"The best tank every! Bad roads won't be any trouble for me!" Franky said, still happily showing off his tank form like he was completely oblivious to the rest of the world around him.

"Nami! I'm so glad that you're okay! I was so worried about you! I heard you screaming!" Suddenly, a blonde haired man with hearts in his eyes appeared. He had his black coat off and was waving it around like mad. "I like the way you shiver in the cold, but I don't want you to get sick so take my jacket! It might not be much, but it will help keep you warm."

"Thank you, Sanji," Nami said as she released the large animal she was clinging to. She took his coat and slipped it on. Neo and Law watched the Straw Hat crew silently. The orange haired woman then noticed the two pirates standing there. "Ack! You look very familiar! We've seen you before!"

"Yeah, he was there at Sabaody!" the large animal said. "Are you the one who locked up these children?! You evil scum! If you hurt-Huh?!"

Neo's eyebrows rose when a strange look of recognition formed on the large animal's face. Its eyes became shiny, bright and enthusiastic as it addressed her. "It's you! You're that blue haired girl from Sabaody!"

"Huh?" Neo blinked.

"I remember you! You're Neo!" the animal said, making Neo's eyebrows rise even higher on her forehead. The creature then pointed at itself. "Neo, it's me! Chopper! The little reindeer? We meet a couple years ago on Sabaody? In the auction house before we had to fight the navy and escape?"

"Uh, Chopper?" Neo asked. Her eyes ran up and down the creature's large body, her brain connecting the similarities between him and the smaller reindeer. That's why she sensed him. She had sense him before. Despite his body being larger it was the reindeer. "You're really him? That cute little reindeer? You look…different."

"Ah, you called me cute again! You're so sweet! And yeah!" Chopper nodded. "I know I look different! That's because I-"

" _Chopper!_  Don't make nice with the  _enemy_! They took the kids! They're brutes! They're evil! Who knows what they did to the kids?! You can't have them back! Do you hear me?!" Nami shouted while glaring at the two other pirates. "You can't have the kids back! We don't let you have them!"

"But we-" Neo started to protest, but quickly caught herself. She pulled back from them, letting her eyes drop from theirs.

Chopper blinked at her actions but didn't say anything.

"Oh, this is just great! You're…I was wondering who we were going to run into here on this island! And look who it is! Smoker! And his cutie of a companion!" Sanji's voice starting off as a growl then turning sweet when he spoke of the female soldier. He turned back to the kids. "Forget this! We can't escape from here, kids! Let's look for another exit! Get back inside! There's got to be a back exit somewhere! Move!"

The kids turned and ran back inside. Lin paused momentarily to look at Neo. The little girl held an apologetic look in her eyes before pulling her gaze from Neo and following after the other kids.

Neo's heart sank as she forced herself not to follow after the kids or call for them to come back.

Law sighed internally when he felt Neo's heartbreak. But there was nothing either of them could do about the kids for the moment. They had no choice, but to let the Straw Hats run off with the kids as their voices became smaller the farther they ran into the laboratory.

…

Rushing the kids back inside and down the halls, Sanji said, "Hurry up, kids! Go to the back! There should be a backdoor!"

"What brought the Navy to such a place?!" Nami asks while running back into the building.

Chopper stared down at the floor. In his mind, the concern was on Neo, not on the Navy or even on Law. He wasn't sure why he was so concerned about her, but he was. His mind kept picturing that shy, timid girl he met back on Sabaody. She didn't seem like that anymore.  _Maybe that's just it. Maybe she just seems different because she is. After all, she has a bounty now. She's part of the Heart Pirates and she married that man, Trafalgar Law. I wish I could have spoken with her more. I'd like to talk to her about some stuff. But I'm glad she's doing well. Maybe I can see her again sometime. Maybe then we can talk about stuff._

"I don't know! Just run!" Franky said, pulling Chopper from his thoughts.

The reindeer washed his gaze over the kids as they continued to dash down the hall.

"Oh? I thought the Navy were good people!"

"You're right! They are! So go with them!"

"No! I don't want to! They look like scary gangsters!"

…

Smoker's eyes twitch. He shot his glare right to Law. He hissed, "I shouldn't be surprised that you have lied to us! You two clearly aren't the only ones here!"

"I did not lie. I'm just as surprised at the appearance of them as you are," Law replied.

Neo glanced back and forth between the group running away from them and the group of soldiers before them before settling her eyes on the soldiers.

"Everybody, after the Straw Hats before they get away!" Tashigi ordered. She bent her knees and reached for her sword. "We have to stop them!"

"All right, let's go! Follow the captain!" a soldier shouted.

"Dang it! I was so shocked that I forgot to even do anything!" Aanother soldier said while they all readied their weapons and darted forward.

"No, wait!" Smoker shouted. "Don't!"

"Room!" Law called out. He moved his hand in front of him forming his Room around the Navy, their ship and part of the ocean. This move startled the Navy soldiers.

"Ouch!" some soldier cried as they stumbled back and landed on the ground with a hard thud.

"Are you all right?" another one asked.

Neo glanced at Law when he growled.

"This is just great! This is exactly the kind of complication we didn't need!" Law grumbled. "Takt!"

' _Should I go after them?'_  Neo asked.

' _No. I want you to remain by my side. We can deal with the Straw Hats and the kids later.'_

' _Right.'_  Neo replied firmly, but both knew she didn't like the idea of letting the kids run off with the Straw Hats. She fixed her eyes on the oncoming battle as the Navy ship started to rise out of the water.

"What's making that noise?" a soldier questioned when creaking and splashes filled the air. They turned around and looked back towards the sea and their ship, gasping at what they were seeing.

"No way!" Tashigi gasped at their ship that was now floating in the air.

Smoker looked over his shoulder to see what was going on. His eyes widen at the spectacular and unexpected display of the ship, rocks, ice and some water rising out of the ocean.

"The warship is in the air!"

"Along with the bottom part of the ocean!"

"What's going on here?!"

"I can't let you all leave the island now. I'm sorry that I said no one else was here." Law said with an angry glare.

"I knew he was dangerous!" a soldier cried out. "What do we do, Smokey?!"

"Step back," Smoker said. He reached behind him and pulled out his jitte. "You guys are no match for him! He'll chop your hands and feet off without breaking a sweat! I'll handle him from this point on!"

The soldiers threw their fists up in the air and cheered for their commanding officer. "Yeah! Go! Smokey!"

When Law started to walk away from the entrance, Neo followed him. She stopped a few feet before Law did to make sure he had enough room without having to worry about hitting her. She placed crossed her arms over her chest while she watched Law pulled out his sword.

"Kick his butt!"

"Show him the true power of G-5!"

Strumming her right hand fingers on the thick arm of her coat, Neo could feel the smile that donned on Law's face. He was clearly going to enjoy this fight that was about to happen. But then, when didn't he enjoy a fight? With an intake of air, she held her ground as she watched her husband play around with cargo from the ship, rocks and broken boards, flying them around in the air.

"I told you, Smoker! This is why I said I didn't want anything to do with him! What should we do?!" a soldier asked.

Neo passed her eyes between the vice admiral, who was now releasing smoke from his body, and his captain, who was clenching her teeth and glaring at them. She summoned two of each of her crystals and stood ready to fight. "Element Crystals."

The Navy soldiers stumbled back a few steps when Neo summoned her crystals. They eyed her cautiously, unsure if she was going to go on the offensive or if she was just showing her power to them as a reminder that she was there.

Law, smiling, lifted his hat covered gaze to the Navy soldiers. He was very satisfied that Neo could instill such uncertainty in them.

Neo asked, "What about that samurai? Is it fine to just let him go too? The Straw Hats had him as well."

"I saw that." He glanced back at the laboratory. "And no. We can't let him or the Straw Hats escape."

Neo's eyebrows raised slightly on her forehead. Without their bond, she already knew what he was going to do to make sure they didn't leave the island. She said, "I suppose that's for the best. At least they won't wonder to far then."

Law raised his hand again. The familiar circle of smoke formed under his extended appendage. With a small flick of his hand, the circle flew away from him. "Room!" He then lifted his sword and jutted it towards the running away group four times. Then he said, "Shambles!"

Neo remained standing and facing towards the Navy. She wanted to look back at the Straw Hat crew. She wanted to know who was going to get switch with whom, but she knew it was fruitless. She wouldn't have been able to tell from a distance. So she kept her attention forward. The Straw Hats would have to come back to them for Law to switch them back into their correct bodies anyway. She would see them again. A small smile tugged at her lips.  _I'll be able to see Chopper again after all._

Satisfied that the Straw Hats would no longer be able to run very far with their switched bodies, Law turned back towards the Navy. He flicked his finger into the air, causing all of the debris to rise, circle around then he brought everything to a short halt before proceeding to move things around again.

The Navy ducked to avoid the flying objects. Smoker scoffed. "You jerk! What purpose do you have for doing all of this? Give us back our ship."

"All right," Law said calmly.

"Really?!" the soldiers gasped.

Neo bit her bottom lip and choked back a laugh when Law's intentions filtered into her mind. Law said, "But I'm afraid I can't give it back to you as it is now. What do you think, Neo? What should I do to their precious ship?"

Neo hummed in mock thought. She tapped her finger on her cheek. "Oh, I don't know. This island has been kind of dull and boring lately. I think it could use some sprucing up. How about you make me a lawn sculpture? I think that would suit this place just nicely, don't you?"

"Huh?" The soldiers tilted their heads.

"What are you talking about?" a soldier asked.

"If that is what you wish," Law said with a devilish smirk. He sliced his sword through the air, dividing up the ship. With effortless moves of his finger, he started moving the divided ship parts around, causing some debris to fall.

"It's falling towards us!" a soldier shouted. "We're going to get squashed!"

"Run! Everyone, run!" the soldiers cried out and scattered in desperate attempt to get away from the falling debris.

Neo watched the commotion for a few seconds. Her eyes widened slightly when one a large piece of rock started to fall on top of one of the soldiers. Without thinking, she used her winds to stop it. "Wind Lift!"

"Huh?!" The soldier looked up to the hovering rock above him. He blinked in confusion as he looked over at Neo. She smirked at the soldier then started flying the rock around like she was trying to hit the soldiers. "What the heck?! What was that for?! You saved me only to attack me?!"

"Maybe." Neo shrugged. She frowned when Smoker suddenly smashed her rock ammunition into pieces.

"Don't be stupid," Smoker told his men. "She's just playing with you."

"That's her style after all," Tashigi added. "Remember, she's never aggressive until someone attempts to hurt her crew. You're rather a strange one, aren't you, Trafalgar Neo? What's the point of being a pirate if you don't act like one?"

"Isn't that stereotyping? Just because I'm a pirate I should be aggressive and kill unnecessarily?" Neo tilted her head. And unavoidable flash of pain shot through her eyes at the memory of Mertensia before she could stop it. She flinched and closed her eyes when both Tashigi and Smoker noticed the look.  _'Sorry, Law. I didn't mean to reveal anything.'_

' _It's fine, love. You can't control things like that that are connected to your past. I'll distract them now so you can recover from it.'_ Law then swiped his sword multiple times in the air, dividing everything up even more. Some of the debris hit the island. It almost landed on the soldiers, but they dove out of the way in time. His distraction was successful. Smoker and Tashigi's attention was pulled from Neo.

"Let's retreat for now, Vice Admiral! His powers are way too creepy!" a soldier begged. "And  _he's_  the only one fighting right now! Things will really get wild if  _she_ gets serious and joins in the fight! We can't fight them both!"

"Sorry, but I won't be letting anyone of you leave this island," Law said. He waved his fingers again; bring pieces of debris and the ship together. "Besides, you haven't seen the beautiful sculpture I'm creating for my love yet. You're really going to love it."

Tashigi gasped and glanced back over her shoulder.

A soldier cried out, "Our ship! It's being fused to the rocks and icebergs of the island! How is that possible?!"

"He made some sort of strange artwork with the ship!" another soldier shouted.

"Well, of course he did," Neo said with a smile. "That is what I asked for after all."

The soldiers glared at her.

"Dang it! We can't get back to the base without the ship! What do we do now?!"

"The Warlords word for the Government, Trafalgar! You're breaking your contract by attacking us!"

"We're going to report this to headquarters! You'll be in trouble!"

"They'll strip you of your title!"

Law lifted his eyes and smiled confidently at them. "You don't worry about that." He twirled the hilt of his sword in his hand effortlessly.

Neo rolled her eyes. She thought to him,  _'Show off.'_

' _You love it.'_  Law waved his left hand along his upside down blade. "Scan!" He past his sword in front of his body, moving it from right to left.

The soldiers scrambled. "What's this?! What's he doing to us?! Stop it!"

Neo tilted her head again when yellow sparks appeared on all the soldiers' chests.  _'Sometimes I still don't understand how your powers actually work.'_

Law curled his fingers in then jerked his hand like he was pulling a rope. Every single one of their transponder snails then dropped onto the porch of the laboratory.

A soldier spotted them and asked, "Huh? Transponder Snails?"

"Oh? Mine's gone!"

"No way! So is mine!"

"Those are ours!"

"He took all of our transponder snails!"

"I won't let you tell the headquarters or the Government about anything that you've seen on this island," Law said, his eyes glint with determination and light.

Smoker took a few steps closer to Law and Neo. He raised his weapon in preparation for the oncoming fight. "You stupid pirates. Don't push your luck!"

"Smoker!" the soldiers cheer at their leader finally stepping up to take care of this situation.

Neo shifted on her feet when Smoker tapped into his powers and started flying in the air towards Law. She kneaded her eyebrows in focus on how she could help with this fight. She knew the majority of her crystals weren't going to work on him since he was a Logia user. For the moment, all she could think about that might possible help is her wind crystals. But this type of smoke could move. It was attached to a body, a mind that could think and adapt to situations.

"You ate the Op Op devil fruit, didn't you, Law? That devil fruit turned you into a modification man!" Smoker said just before he sliced his jitte at Law.

Neo's heart skipped a beat as she watched Law dodge the attack then swiped his sword at Smoker.

Smoker easily dodged the hit, but the slice was already on its way to do damage to others. The vice admiral rose into the air and looked back at his men from the corner of his eye. "Stay away from his sword!"

The sword slice hit the soldiers and they cried out when their bodies split into multiple pieces. "I got cut, but I'm alive? How?! How is that possible?!"

Neo had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing at the pathetic display the soldiers were putting on.  _'Being in the Navy you'd think these guys would be up to date on the Seven Warlords' powers. They just seem so dumb. It's making me want to really play with them.'_

Law chuckled at her increasing desire to mess with these soldiers.

Smoker landed back on the ground with an annoyed grunt. He looked over at his men with narrowed eyebrows. "You guys are in my way! Get out of the circle right now! Just let me handle these two!"

"The circle?" a soldier asks. They glanced around at the transparent film Law had put up.

"This blue circle we are in is his operating room! In here, you are just like a patient lying helplessly on an operating table!" Smoker informed them. "He has total control over it and can manipulate anything as he pleases! He reigns supreme here! He's the Surgeon of Death for a reason!"

Law smiled proudly, making Neo giggle.  _'Don't get too smug now, Law. I don't want you to get a big head.'_

' _That'll never happen. I have you here to keep me grounded.'_

Neo looked back over to the soldiers when she heard the woman soldier growling. The black haired swordswoman charged at them. The angry, teary eyes of the woman made Neo feel a bit guilty. She unintentionally connected to how the woman felt about the other soldiers. This swordswoman felt similar to the way Neo felt towards her crew.

"Trafalgar! If you really want to do it this way then fine!" Tashigi cried out. "Face me!"

"Don't be stupid, Tashigi!" Smoker screamed at her. "You're haki is not strong enough to handle him!"

Tashigi jumped into the air with her sword raised over her head.

Law prepared his sword to retaliate, but stopped when Neo moved quicker than he did. "Wind Ringlet!"

"Huh?!" Everyone, but Neo and Law, cried out when the female Heart Pirate trapped Tashigi with several wind ringlets.

Neo wrapped one around the woman's wrists, her waist, hips, knees, and ankles.

"What the heck?!" Tashigi demanded. She struggled against the winds, but wasn't even able to move an inch. "What are you doing?! Release me!"

Law cast a glance at Neo. He could easily tell what Neo wanted to do in this moment. So he waited patiently for Neo to complete her inspection of the suspended woman.

Neo wrapped her winds around herself. "Wind Lift."

Tashigi glared at Neo when she flew close enough to her. She snapped, "What?!"

"Hey! You leave our captain alone!" a soldier shouted.

"Don't you dare lay one finger on her, Trafalgar Neo!" another soldier added. "You'll regret it if you do!"

Neo ignored them as she continued to look into Tashigi's eyes. With her voice low, she said, "I've never met a soldier who cared so much about her fellow soldiers. You're almost like me. You're actually very similar to me. It's…interesting."

"Huh?" Tashigi blinked in confusion. She then narrowed her eyebrows. "I'm nothing like  _you_! You're a  _pirate_!"

Tapping into her haki, Tashigi broke free of Neo's hold. She swung her sword in anger at Neo.

Neo remained calm as she watched the swordswoman slice her sword towards her body. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips when she sensed Law preparing to slice this swordswoman in half. She waited until the last moment before slipping into the wind stream, completely avoiding Tashigi's attack.

The sword seemingly slashed through Neo's body causing the soldiers to cheer, unknowing to the fact that their captain had actually missed. Tashigi dropped to her feet, panting hard. She lifted her gaze to Law and glared at him while the soldiers behind her continued to cheer her on. "Yeah! The captain got her!"

"You morons!" Smoker said, resting his jitte on his shoulder. "The pirate woman is far too fast to get hit by an attack like that! She moved just before the sword touched her!"

"Huh?!" The soldiers looked and saw Neo standing near Law, unharmed. "What?!"

Their eyes then flittered to Tashigi when the top half of the woman's body suddenly dropped to the ground with a thud. The soldiers shrieked again. "What?! What the heck happened?! The captain was just fine a second ago!"

"The captain got cut in half! When did that happen?!"

"When did that pirate even move?! Did you see him move?!" a soldier asked.

"No, I didn't! I was too busy watching the captain!"

"I didn't see anything either! And I was watching the warlord! When did he cut the captain?!"

"He cut her when his woman disappeared," Smoker said.

"Disappeared?" a soldier asked. "But she didn't move! We all were watching her!"

"You all aren't strong enough to see her movements," Smoker said. He locked his eyes right onto Neo. Neo flinched at his intense look as he scanned his eyes up and down as if looking at her would reveal her secrets to him. "While she didn't literally  _disappear_ , she did move fast enough to blend in with her surroundings. And since she controls the elements, I assume that's what she did. She just used her wind crystals to move very, very fast. So fast that you can't see her unless you have haki or very good eyesight."

"What?!" the soldiers cried. "That's insane! Who is this crazy woman?! How can a devil fruit do all that?"

"What do we do?! They both are really powerful! There's no possible way we can defeat them! They're like an ultimate power couple!"


	78. Enter: Straw Hat Luffy

Enter:

Straw Hat Luffy

Neo released a puff of air through her nose. She dug into her pockets for her gloves and slipped them over her cold hands.  _'Ultimate power couple, huh? I wonder what they'd think if I turned into the elements right in front of them.'_ She paused, her left glove hanging half on her hand, and blinked in thought of her words. Her heart skipped a couple beats as a cold rush of fear washed over her body. She had never thought about that being a possible way of killing. She shot her eyes over to Law.  _'Do you think I could induce a heart attack by doing that?! Could I really kill in that way?!'_

_'Easy, my love. Unless they have a preexisting heart condition, you can't literally scare someone into a heart attack by revealing your magic in that way.'_

_'Oh.'_  Neo's heart gradually slowed down. She continued to pull on her glove.  _'Okay. I suppose you are correct.'_

_'Of course I am. I am a doctor after all.'_

_'All right, doctor, turn your attention back to the battle. I'm stable again.'_

Law chuckled before they both returned their full attention back to the battle at hand. Tashigi's broken sword had stopped spinning and was now sticking out of the snow. Law couldn't help but grinned at what he had just done. Feeling his satisfaction, Neo thought to him,  _'You know, Law. Whether a person has a preexisting heart condition or not…'_

Neo's voice trailed off in his head as she glanced over at the soldiers. The soldiers were standing stock still in shock at the power that Law had over them and at how he had just sliced their beloved captain in two.  _'…I think you could and would easily induce at heart attack in people if you could wield my magic. You already instill so much fear in people with just your devil fruit powers.'_

Law smiled. Both knew for sure he would do just that, and do it on purpose.  _'I guess we'll just have to keep a look out for other magic that can pass you're gifts over to me then. I'd love to see what I could do with your magic.'_

Neo knew he was only half serious about that so she didn't address him about it. She did, however, address another part of what he did say. She hummed.  _'I wonder if that is possible. They did warn us back on Luminous that other magical creatures exist. And a lot of books talk about magical talismans and spells. If they can take away my magic then it's possible for my magic to be given to you.'_

' _Debating theories during a battle? You are very distracted today, aren't you?'_

' _Sorry. I can't help it for some reason.'_  Neo shrugged with a smile. She returned her eyes to the soldiers' cries.

"C-captain got cut in half!" a soldier screamed.

"Hey! You're still alive, aren't you?!"

"Captain!"

Neo dropped her eyes to the fallen woman on the snow. The swordswoman lift her eyes to Neo at the same time. Neo couldn't help but feel a tinge of sympathy for the woman. She forced the feeling out of her head before the look could show in her eyes, and be revealed to the female soldier. It didn't matter that she felt a connection to this woman. They were still enemies.

Tashigi dropped her eyes from Neo. "How could this be? How dishonorable! I got sliced in half, but I'm still breathing! I'm still alive! I should have died!"

Neo's eyebrow twitched. She asked, "Why? Why do you want to die so quickly? You're alive. You should be happy about that. You can live another day and-"

"Shut up,  _pirate_!" Tashigi hissed and glared at Neo. Ignoring the female pirate,she tightened her hold on the hilt of her sword and turned the top half of her body back towards Law. "Why didn't you just kill me, Trafalgar?! Why did you do  _this_  to me?!"

Law looked at the irate woman. He lifted and placed the back of his blade on his shoulder while he spoke to her. He said, "You talk as if you're a master swordsman or something. Well, let me tell you something, Navy soldier girl. The weak do not have the right to choose how they die. You chose this for yourself when you decided to swing your weapon at Neo. I  _do not_  forgive anyone who tries to attack her. And it doesn't matter if that person is  _weaker or stronger_  than her. Besides, I've done you a favor in cutting you in half. Usually, I just kill whoever attacks Neo right out and with no second chances at life. You should feel grateful that I spared your life."

Tashigi gripped a handful of snow in her sword free hand. Anger clearly burned inside of her chest, she swiped the shortened blade of her sword at him. "You jerk! Are you trying to humiliate me?! You killed others outright, but left me alive?"

"Do you seriously believe you can reach me with that sword?" Law asked as the woman's blade cut through the air, several inches away from his body.

Tashigi fell to the ground after her failed attempt at hitting him. She glared up at him with fire and contempt in her eyes.

Neo tilted her head in confusion at the woman's words and actions. She couldn't grasp why this Navy soldier wanted to die so quickly. It didn't make any sense to her.

"If you like being divided in half like this, I can chop you up some more," Law said. He raised his sword in preparation to slice her up again.

"Curse you, pirates! You stop insulting our captain right now!" a soldier shouted.

"Captain, don't worry! We'll riddle that fool with bullets!" The Navy lifted up their guns to their faces. They aimed their barrels right at Law and pulled the triggers.

Neo's entire body twitched as the gunshots ran out into the air around them. She clenched her hands into tight fists and summoned more of her crystals. No one, except for Law, noticing what she was doing as her crystals began to pulse. He smirked at the impending danger getting ready to hammer down onto the unsuspecting Navy soldiers after he had warped their bullets away from him and back to the soldiers.

"Bullets?!"

"Where the heck did those come from?! What happened to the bullets that  _we_  fire?! He doesn't even have a gun!"

"Those  _are_  your bullets. I  _switched_  them with the snow around you," Law said. He smirked at them when he felt Neo getting ready to close in on them. "And that was the stupidest thing you could have done. Haven't you been paying attention? Neo really doesn't like it when people do things like that to me."

"Huh?" The Navy soldiers blink a couple times before drawing their eyes over to the female pirate.

Neo's bangs had fallen over her eyes. Her pulsing crystals were now engulfed with their elements. With lightening fast reflexes, she snapped out vines and grabbed the soldiers' guns, pulling them from their hands. She slammed the guns to the ground then brought her sharp glare up to the soldiers.

The soldiers flinched at her and stumbled backwards.

…

"What the heck?" Smoker asks himself. He carefully examined Neo before dropping his eyes down to the ground beneath his feet. He felt a slight vibration in the ground. He looked back up and took in the elements around them. The wind had become sharper. The air was colder and seemed to be dropping with each second that past. He glanced back at the ocean. The water was lapping up onto the shore like it was trying to climb upon the island.  _What's going on with her? Something's not right here. I've read the reports about her feeling inhuman. Though I never was sure what to make of those reports. But seeing her for myself, there is definitely something inhuman about her. I felt it when I first saw her walk out that door. But now? It's like nature just woke up and engulfed her. Somehow making her stronger. She seems even more inhuman now than she was before. What the heck did she just do? What is she doing? Is nature reacting to her because of her powers or whatever? Who is this woman really? No way she's a devil fruit user. I can see that now. But what is she?_

…

"Wind Lift!" Neo wrapped her winds around the soldiers. They panicked and screamed wildly as she, swinging her arms and hands around for dramatic effect, guided up a wave of snow from the ground and from the flakes falling down over them. She moved her hands in the way as if she were creating snowballs. The winds and snow obeyed her commands and followed her movements. "Wind and Water Crystals! Snowman Snowmaker!"

"What the heck?!" a soldier shrieked as Neo rolled them up onto giant snowballs. She made sure to keep their heads out of the snow so they could breath and not suffocate from the compacted snow.

"What?! What did you do to us?!"

"Let us go!"

"Someone help!"

Law smirked as he calmly stood back and watched her make her snowman.  _'Snowman Snowmaker? That's not in your arsenal of attacks the crew came up for you. You just made that one up on the spot.'_

' _Yeah, I did. But they don't know that. For all they know this is part of my arsenal. Or they could think it's a new move. Either way, they'll know better next time than to shoot at you.'_  Neo sent a smirk to Law. Once the three balls were complete, she placed them on top of each other. She moved to pick up a couple of guns to use as tiny arms for her creation. While raising the guns to the snowman with her winds, she tilted her head as she inspected the thing she just created. "I have to say, this is by far the ugliest snowman I have ever created. But it is the largest."

"Let us go!" a soldier screamed.

"It's your own fault for trying to hurt him," Neo said. She swiped her hand through the air, washing a small wave of snow over the soldier's face. "Don't ever try and shoot-" Neo plunged herself down just seconds before Smoker could slam the tip of his jitte into her back. She shot herself back up and spun a roundhouse kick at his head, but her attack passed through nothing but smoke. Her eyebrows twitched as she sensed Smoker trying to sneak attack her again by sending his smoking arm behind her. Using the wind, she back flipped away from the attack. Moving her crystals, she cried out her attack and pushed Smoker's smoke arm downwards. "Wind Gust!"

She then whipped out her water crystals and pulled four torrents out of the ocean in an attempt to disable his devil fruit powers. "Water Crystals! Four Torrents!"

Smoker gritted his teeth when Neo blew his arm apart. His eyes widened when her four torrents came rushing after him. He dissolved into smoke just before the four torrents collided on the spot her once was. He reassembled himself on the ground then huffed at her before speaking. "You might not be as physically strong as I am, but I can see you are clearly going to be a serious pain to fight with all those element abilities of yours. Lifting up seawater to try and disable my devil fruit abilities? I'm going to have to be careful with you."

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" Neo grinned. "I have a very good teacher who taught me well."

Smoker scoffed. "That doesn't matter. You are still an amateur in battles. That has been made very clear. You hesitate too much. And, with your refusal to kill anyone, that gives your opponent a huge advantage over you. It really is the most stupid thing you can do while in battle."

"A Navy soldier giving a  _pirate_  battle tips?" Neo asked with a light smile. She slipped into the wind stream then reappeared behind him. "You don't seem like the type to do that, Vice Admiral Smoker. Or has my childlike charm and looks taken you by surprise to the point you have to give me advice as if you were a father figure to me? Wind Ringlets!" She trapped Smoker in her ringlets then brought a wave of water out of the ocean. "Ocean Wave!"

"Ah! Look out, Smokey!" a soldier cried out. "She's gonna smash the Vice Admiral with that wave!"

"Hn." Smoker dissolved into smoke and slipped out of her ringlets with ease. When she bought the wave down on where he was supposed to be, he used the opportunity to attack. He slipped around to her right, using the majority of his smoke to distract her while slipping his jitte behind her again. He threw several punches at her. "Don't flatter yourself,  _child_. You are still a pirate. Your looks will never fool me. I was making a simple observation of you and your fighting style. I'm sure your  _captain_  or another crewmember has pointed out this flaw before."

"You might be right about that," Neo said while thinking back to what all Tero has told her and done for her. She dodged the punches from Smoker then blew a gust of wind at the smoke man. A smile started to form on her lips but it quickly vanished when, at the same time, she realized this battle was far too easy and she sensed a small amount of the ocean flying towards her in an odd manor. She turned around to see what it was. She caught a quick glimpse of something, surrounded by smoke, coming at her. She tried to dodge it but it managed to slam into the lower left side of her cheek since she didn't move fast enough to avoid it completely. She coughed up a little blood, faltered in her wind control, but caught herself, just as the rest of Smoker's smoke gathered together in front of her. She growled and summoned her fire crystals. She flinched at the same time Smoker's eyebrow twitched. Quickly, she banished her crystals and started to fall out of the air.

"Well, isn't that interesting little development," Smoker said while still pressing the tip of his jitte to her cheek just before grabbing her neck in his hand before she fell too far.

…

Law internally flinched and his heart skipped a beat when he felt a rush of pain flowing out from the lower left side of his cheek. Since he was still close to the divided Navy captain, he forced himself not to show signs of the pain. He looked up at Neo when dread washed over her and passed to him. Before he could ask her about it or she could tell him about it, Smoker had his hand on her neck and was driving her towards the ground.  _'Neo, what's going on?! Fight back!'_

…

 _'Sorry, Law. I seriously just messed up big time.'_  Neo thought to him just before her back slammed into the ground. The air was forced out of her lungs from the impact. She peaked through her left eye to see Smoker's jitte falling right towards her head as she tried to refill her lungs. Her eyes popped up in shock just before he disappeared from her view. She blinked and found herself looking up at the sky instead of the Navy Vice Admiral. She turned her head a bit and saw Law. Fury was radiating from his body as he held the pose he usually worn when he just warped something.  _'Law.'_

_'Neo, relax for a moment and catch your breath.'_

_'I'm sorry, Law. I goofed up. There's sea prism stone in that weapon of his. There's only a small amount in it, just at the tip of the jitte. It blended in with the ocean wave I pulled up onto the island. I didn't notice the sea prism stone until it was too late. I think he noticed that my energy didn't drain from me like it should have. Couple that with his ability to sense my inhuman nature, I'm pretty sure he knows now that his assumptions are correct.'_  Neo pushed upon her right arm. She placed her left hand on her cheek, wishing she could use her solar crystal and that she was more use to getting hit. She could already feel the bruise starting to form on her cheek.

 _'Don't worry about that for right now. He still only has assumptions. He can't actually prove anything.'_  Law turned back towards the Navy captain. He raised his sword over his shoulder in preparation to strike again.

…

"What in the world? Is that woman invincible or something?" a soldier asked. "Or does she just have a very strong body and is use to getting smashed like that?"

"Huh?" Another soldier looked at Law. He watched as the warlord raised his sword. "Look out! Everyone, get down! Now! He's going to cut everything up again!"

"Oh geez! Not again! Isn't there any kind of defense against his attacks?!" another soldier screamed as some began to dive for cover. "Or does he easily slice through everything with that attack?!"

A couple soldiers remained stand and watched the continuing battle. "That creep! He's going to cut the captain again!"

"Captain, run! Get away from him! Hurry! Get out of there!"

…

Tashigi gritted her teeth and held up her broken sword in a fruitless attempt to stop being cut again. The faded and distant voices of her soldiers crying in her ears became softer as her eyes lock onto Law's sword swinging down at her once more. "Captain! Move! Get out of there!"

The brunt clash of weapons hitting then rang through the air. The sound was quickly followed by happy cheers from the G-5 soldiers. "All right! The Vice Admiral saved her just in time! The captain is fine!"

Smoker huffed while pushing his jitte against Law's sword. Behind him, Tashigi released a sigh of relief that she wasn't in any more pieces than she already was. Smoker glanced at his soldiers, and then at Neo before bringing his eyes back to Law. He shifted his feet back to normal and set his boots back on the ground. "The Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law! Heart of the Elements, Trafalgar Neo! You two are just pirates! Stop messing with the Navy! Let us do our job!" He shifted his arms back into smoke to once again go on the attack. He threaded his smoking arms behind the warlord.

Law notices the Vice Admiral's moves easily enough, but didn't move fast enough to deflect the attack. He turned around to get the Vice Admiral's thick hand clamped around his neck. He felt his body fly backwards until his back hit the ground.

...

Neo, now in an upright sitting position, was still adjusting to the blows she took from the Vice Admiral. Her back and stomach were still throbbing, but the pain was slowly subsiding. Her eyes were locked onto Law and Smoker. She flinched when Smoker grabbed Law by his neck and slammed him into the ground. Another, but smaller, dose of pain shot through her back. She ignored it when Smoker swung the tip of his jitte towards Law's head.  _'Law! Watch out for the sea prism stone!'_

Neo pushed herself to her feet just as Law switched himself with a piece of board from the ship. The board shattered. A small amount of anger began to build back up in her. She charged at the Navy soldier. "Smoker!"

Neo wrapped her fist in her winds and swung her hand at the soldier, locking into a quick round of punches and kicks. She launched herself into the air when Smoker tried to hit her again with his jitte, but also because Law was on the attack again. She kept her eyes on the battle as she flew upwards.

"You have sea prism stone on the tip of your jitte, don't you?" Law asked while raising his sword towards Smoker. He swung it just as Smoker raised his jitte to block the attack.

A clank vibrated through the air as the two fighting weapons clash with each other. The clash sent Law's sword swinging backwards, slicing the sculpture he created in half.

Neo glanced over at the crumbling sculpture. She sighed, slightly disappointed. "Rats. I was hoping to order a camera then next time Caesar sent out an order for supplies. I want to take a picture of it and show the crew." Her eyebrows rose when she saw the Navy soldiers running around on the ground. Their small voice just barely reaching her ears as they continued to panic.

A soldier cries, "Oh no! Look out! The recoil made the sword cut the artwork!"

"The ship's going to fall on us! We're all gonna die!"

"Let's just run! Do as the Vice Admiral said! We have to get out of the circle! He doesn't want us to be here anyway!"

A couple quickly ran over to their fallen captain. One picked her up and threw her top half over his shoulder while another soldier grabbed her bottom half. They then ran like crazy to the edge of the circle.

"Vice Admiral Smoker!" Tashigi protested despite having no ability to do anything to stop herself from being carried away from the battle. "No! Go back! We have to help him!"

Neo couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration for the female captain's determination to fight again despite her physical condition as she continued to protest against her soldiers.

"Captain, let's just get away from here right now! You can't fight right now!"

"But…"

"We're no seriously match for him or the woman!"

"Run! Get out of the circle! Pieces of the ship are falling like leaves off a tree!" a soldier says just as Law started moving some of the falling pieces to his will again.

"What about Smokey?!"

"Don't worry about the Vice Admiral! He can take care of himself!"

Neo sighed again when the debris was almost on top of the soldiers. With an easy redirection of her winds, she pushed the falling debris away from the soldiers so they didn't get hit. "Those soldiers. Honestly! How stupid can they possibly be? All they had to do was get out of the circle and they would have been safe this entire time. I guess smarts isn't very high on the Navy's list when recruiting soldiers."

With a shake of her head, she turned her eyes back to Law and Smoker. She observed the battle and Law's feelings carefully and prepared herself to jump in when she had the chance or when Law wanted her too.

"I don't care if you are a warlord or not! Just get out of my way! I'm going inside that building!" Smoker demanded. Tapping into his powers, he fired several rapid punches at the warlord. "White Blow!"

"Wind Gust!" Neo guided her winds towards Smoker and blew his attack away.

"You really are a pain, woman!" Smoker hissed.

Neo smirked at him before wrapping her winds around herself and Law. "Wind Lift!"

Keeping her eyes on Smoker, Neo guided Law up towards some of the floating debris he had floating above them. Both Neo and Law threw pieces of debris at the Navy Vice Admiral. Smoker easily weaved through their attacks. Neo summoned her earth crystals and tried snapping and wrapping her vines around the Navy man.

Smoker blocked the snapping vines until Neo wrapped him up in some. He shifted into his smoke form and flew at her faster than she was expecting him to. He kicked his foot at her, catching her off guard and on her left shoulder. Pushing his entire weight into it, he kicked her away from the battle and down to the ground. She hit the ground hard, causing both her and Law to gasp and almost pass out from the impact.

Smoker tried to follow Neo, his jitte out and ready to slam into her body again, but with even greater force then before since this would be a direct hit.

Neo gritted her teeth, trying to get her body to move on her command.

' _Neo!'_

' _Right!'_  Neo flew Law in front of her on his unspoken command.

Smoker narrowed his eyebrows just before his weapon clashed once again with Law's sword. "Well, are you two just the cutes little tag team ever?"

Law just cracked a smirk in response. Their weapons clashed again for a few more hits before they separated from the stalemate battle. Smoker landed on the ground as Neo lifted Law back up into the air. Smoker tapped into his powers before firing several streams of smoke up to the hovering warlord.

Law spun around in Neo's hold, slicing up the large part of ship that was hovering above him. With a point of his finger, the pieces obeyed his command and flew at the Navy soldier.

Smoker dodged the pieces easily until Neo flew some of her own debris ammunition. The biggest pieces she flung at him he easily smashed into shards, but the smaller ones she was able to hit him with, cutting his exposed skin. This distraction allowed Law to land safely on the ground. She flew herself over to Smoker again. She threw several wind engulfed punches and kicks at him.

Smoker easily blocked her attempted hits with his regular human body. But, each time he tried to use his smoke abilities on her, her winds would just blow his smoke away and he had no choice but to fight her without it. He glanced over at Law from the corner of his eyes before bring his full attention back onto Neo. "I know you're just fighting me as a distract for Law to set up on another attack. I don't have time to play with you, woman."

Neo smirked. "He doesn't need me to distract you at all. He's far to powerful for you to handle for very long."

"Then why are you even bothering to fight with me?" Smoker growled at her. He punched several more times at her to which she easily dodged. "Why not just let him fight? You've revealed your secrets to me by fighting me."

"I've revealed nothing to you," Neo replied despite knowing that wasn't true. She threw a punch at his head. Her eyes widened and her heartbeat sped up when he went to grab for her. She quickly recoiled from him.

"You've revealed plenty," Smoker said. "I already know you're not a devil fruit user. I saw that you didn't react like you should have when my jitte touched your skin. And just now, when I tried to grab you, your eyes widened. I saw the fear flickering in your eyes. You're afraid of me touching you."

Neo gritted her teeth in a desperate attempt to keep her eyes from revealing anything else to him. She prepared herself to go on the attack again but stopped when Law halted her.

' _Neo! Pull back for now! I want you in your sniper position!'_

 _'Right!'_  Neo threw a couple more punches and kicks at the Navy Vice Admiral before pulling back from him.

When Smoker tried to follow her, Law flung another piece of debris at him. It brought the soldier's attention off Neo and back onto him. Smoker flew towards Law. The smoke man fired several smoke punches at Law while the warlord ran around on the ground, easily avoiding them. Smoker dipped his altitude so he was flying right beside Law.

The two clashed their weapons again before jumping apart.

"Law, why are you two here on Punk Hazard? I never understood why you joined the warlords in the first place!" Smoker circled around Law, trapping the warlord. "What are you up to here?! What kind of interest can you two possible have in such an island?!"

"Wind Lift!" Neo cried out. She lifted Law out of Smoker's smoke.

Law pointed his finger towards the white haired man when he followed him into the air. Several large pieces of rocks flew at the soldier. With the soldier distracted by Law, Neo summoned all of her crystals. With their respective elements, she fired several attacks at the soldier man.

Smoker busted through one of the rocks Law flung at him. He halted in his flying when her fire almost singed him and his clothes. He 'tsked' at her. "She really is a pain."

Law, feeling a sense of pride, smirked and got distracted. This gave Smoker an opening to attack. He slammed into the warlord, knocking him down to the ground.

Neo wrapped her winds around Law, safely landing him on the ground. Before either could retaliate, Smoker shot another round of smoke punches at Law, forcing the warlord to do several backflips to avoid being hit.

Smoker disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

Neo blew a gust of wind at him, but he easily dodged it and jutted his jitte at Law. The two men then locked into a fierce battle with their weapons.

Neo raised her crystals to fire at Smoker, but with their rapid movements being far too fast for her to follow, she had no choice but to hold off on attacking at the moment. She couldn't risk hitting Law. She had no clue how long the two men swiped and sliced at each other as she continued to watch them. Suddenly, they jumped apart from each other. All three breathing hard as they stared at each other, waiting to see who was going to make the next move. Neo knitted her eyebrows at how tired Law was. This battle had been going on for several minutes and they were all obviously tired from it. It needed to end soon.  _'Law, do you need my solar crystal? I can hide it behind you.'_

 _'No. Don't risk that here. Smoker has already seen far too much of you. Better wait until we're back into the lab to use it. Besides, this battle is over.'_  Law smirked at her through their bond.  _'I'm taking his heart.'_

Neo's eyebrows rose upon her forehead. She banished her crystals. Law had this battle wrapped up with that single idea. She didn't need to fight with Smoker anymore. But she still kept her eyes locked onto the Navy man and carefully monitored Law's feelings just in case she needed to be the Heart Pirate sniper or jump back into the battle directly.

Smoker then began to take steps around Law. He said, "I make it a general rule to never trust you warlords!"

Law smiled while letting his hat brim fall over his eyes. "That's probably a very good idea."

Smoker then charged forward again at the warlord.

Law, carefully watching, curled his finger to raise a rock formation out of the ground. He frowned when he saw Smoker saw the rock coming up and dodge it before it could hit him. He raised another rock formation only to get the same results of Smoker easily dodging it.

Smoker barreled through all of the rock formation jumping up out of the ground. He flew towards Law as fast as he could. He continued to dodge the rocks until one inevitably slammed into his stomach, causing him to grunt and drop his jitte. He sucked air back into his lungs before speaking to Law. He said, "Law? What is this place to you? No matter how selfish you pirates can be there's no real reason for you claiming this island for that woman of yours no matter how much you might claim to love her. There's nothing here for you. Even with her abilities over nature, there's no way she can change this island's climates. But with how you've hidden the truth about her not being a devil fruit user that might actually be possible. Despite that, who's really behind all of this? What are you two really up to on this island?"

…

Neo took a deep breath and slowly released it when she saw a rock smash into Smoker's stomach. All Law had to do now was take the man's heart and it was completely over. She relaxed for a brief second before she sensed Smoker's smoke on the move again. Focusing on Law and Smoker's location, she noticed some smoke that was blending into the snowy ground was moving towards Law's back. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

…

Law's lips tugged down at their corners at the white haired man's words. Hiding Neo's secrets was becoming increasingly harder with each new and stronger opponent they faced. He started to wonder how much longer they were going to be able to keep her secrets before they were busted wide open for the entire world to see when Neo's voice cut sharply into his mind.  _'Behind you!'_

Law whipped around the block the on coming attack, but Neo had already lifted a piece of rock in the way.

Smoker flew up from the rock and grabbed his jitte. He jutted his weapon out at Law. The warlord easily blocked the attack then dove into another round of clashing weapons. While battling, Law asked, "Why don't you answer that first, White Chase?! What are you all up to?!"

Law and Smoker push against each other's weapons until Law, with a heavy grunt, pushes the smoke man back away from him.

Smoker slid back a few feet before catching himself. He charged forward again.

Law, with a simple lift of his finger, raises one last rock from the ground. With a loud crack from Smoker's jitte hitting it, the rock cracked and crumbled while a large part of it flew off. Law ducked from the jitte, knowing Neo would blow away the rock to keep it from hitting him. While she did as he knew she would, he jammed his sword into the ground and held his hand in preparation for preforming Scalpel. "You should know that there are some things that you won't be able to see unless you change your vantage point, Smoker! Scalpel!"

He then threw out his hand and pierced the rock and Smoker's chest, popping out the white haired man's heart. Law felt a twinge of guilt when Neo's fear of him being hurt, from jamming his hand through a rock, rocketed through his mind and body. He relaxed when he felt her realize the hit didn't actually hurt them.

Turning his attention back to Smoker, Law warped the man's heart to his hand, then paused to take in the man's expression of disbelief and slight touch of fear, before reclaims his sword. He said, "I don't have to tell you anything."

Law then turned from the Navy man and walked away from him.

Neo exhaled a breath she didn't even noticed she was holding. She rushed towards him as he walked in her direction. She lurched to a stop when her eyes, against her will, landed on the beating heart in her lover's hand. Her stomach churned while a tint of green flashed over her face. An unavoidable gag passed her lips. Her right hand shot up to her mouth while her left shot to her stomach. She gagged again and turned away from the heart. She hunched over as if she was really going to vomit. For a moment, she thought she was going to. She placed her hands on her slightly bent knees and took in several deep breaths while feeling Law's concern for her.

"Neo? Are you okay?" Law asked while shoving Smoker's heart into his pocket. He then placed his hand on her and rubbed her back. "You've never had a reaction this bad to a heart before."

"Yeah. I'm okay," Neo said once her gagging and deep breaths finally subsided. She straightened up on her legs and turned to him. With her eyebrows narrowed, her eyes sharp, she planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. "It's your fault! You could have given me a little warning about jamming  _our hand_  through that rock! What were you thinking? Do you realize how bad you scared me?!"

Law blinked at her snappy tone. "I'm sorry. You know I can't always tell you when I'm going to do something like that."

Neo took another deep breath to calm herself down. She closed her eyes and massaged her fingertips over her forehead. "I know. It's just that…I don't know. I'm sorry. I just wasn't expecting it. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

Law nodded slowly. He then said, "Let's go back inside now. You're just tired from that battle. I think it was a bit more than we both expected."

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "You're probably right."

Law nodded again before the two started towards the front door. He looked at her when he felt her perk up with curiosity. He asked, "What is it?"

Neo turned her head to her right. She replied, "It's Brownbeard. He's coming this way. And he's in a very big hurry."

Just then the two heard a distantly familiar voice calling out to them. "Hey! Hey!"

The two Heart Pirates paused when they saw Brownbeard running towards them with passengers on his back. Sitting over his shoulder was Straw Hat Luffy. The young man was grinning wildly while waving at them. He shouted, "It's you! Do you remember me?! Thank you for your help that one time!"

"Law, isn't that…" Neo trailed off.

Law finished the words for her. "Straw Hat."

"Uh." Neo flinched when her eyes lifted up from the pirate's face and lock onto the straw hat on his head. She swallowed hard. The story of her godfather giving Straw Hat that hat and the times she started to glow from looking at the hat pounded her head.

"Hey!" Luffy shouted again. He jumped off Brownbeard's shoulder when the man stopped and ran over to them.

Neo swallowed again and stepped closer to Law until her arm was pressed against his. Her eyebrows turned up in worry.  _'Law, that's my godfather's hat! What if I start glowing again?'_

_'The times you started glowing you were concentrating on the hat. Just try not to concentrate on it so much. That should keep you from glowing. But, for safety's sake, just get behind me. I'll be your shield if you do start to glow. Try not to though. I can't shield you from everyone out here. The Navy could also see you glowing.'_

_'Right.'_  Neo rushed herself around Law and to his left side so he was in between her and the Straw Hat pirates.

"This is incredible! I really didn't expect to see you here at all!" Luffy said once he was finally close enough to them. He placed his hands on his hips and smiled. "Thanks a lot for helping me out back then! Oh! Hey! Where are the talking bear and the others that were with you on Sabaody? Why is it just you two? Or are the others inside this building?"

Neo took a quick glance at Law when she felt something stirring with in him.  _'Are you surprised he survived, Law?'_

 _'No, not really. He was already pretty strong back then. I'm more surprised to see him and his crew here on Punk Hazard.'_  Law frowned then addressed Straw Hat directly. "You don't have to thank me for that. I was only acting on a spur of the moment kind of thing. We are both pirates here. Don't ever forget that, Straw Hat."

"Yeah, I know. We're all enemies when it comes to the search and fight for finding the One Piece treasure, but I owe so many people for helping me out two years ago. I wouldn't have survived that at all with out you. I just saw Jimbei and now you. I can't believe how lucky I am to see you both! Thanks so much!" Luffy looks at Neo. His smile became brighter upon seeing her. "Oh, hey! Why are you hiding behind Tra there?! You are that girl who was at the Sabaody Auction House, right?"

"Uh, yeah. I was," Neo replied softly with a nod at him. Without realizing it, her eyes drift back up to his hat. She swallowed again. Her heart started pounding. She started to smell a familiar mixture of booze and Shanks' scent. Or she thought she smelled it. She wasn't really sure if she was or if she was imagining it. Suddenly, she felt her body moving. When she blinked it brought her attention away from the straw hat and back to her own body and to Law. She had started glowing. Law had caught it quick enough and started pushing her out of the Straw Hats sights with his sword. She ducked behind Law and forced herself to stop glowing.

"Hm?" Luffy blinked in confusion at her sudden disappearance. "Why did you hide for? Oh, I get it. You're shy, huh?"

"She is. So leave her alone," Law said.

"Ah, well, there's no need to be shy. We're not strangers after all," Luffy said with his ever present grin. Neo peaked out from Law's arm. The Straw Hat pirate locked his eyes on her. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy. You probably already know that since we've met before. But I don't think I know your name."

"It's Neo," Neo replied without thinking. She took a step out to let the young man get a better look at her.

Law raised an eyebrow at her in curiosity and concern on whether or not she was going to start glowing again. So far, she didn't. He did feel her struggling to keep her eyes on Straw Hat's face and not her godfather's hat.

"Hey! There's a Navy solider on the ground!" Usopp suddenly yelled, pulling Luffy's eyes away from the two Heart Pirates. "Isn't that…could it possibly be…"

"Hey, help me out here, Trafalgar! They've taken me prisoner!" Brownbeard then shouted. He then smiled and waved gleefully at Neo. "Oh! Good day, Lady Law! How are you doing today?"

"Uh, I'm fine. I would ask the same of you, but…" Neo trailed off as she looked at the Straw Hats who were staring back at her with curiosity. She shifted on her feet.

"Yeah. I'm in a bit of a pickle right now." Brownbeard nodded.

Neo nodded back at him then turned her attention to the Navy soldiers when they came running and shouting up to their unconscious leader.

"Smoker! No!" Tashigi shouted, her body now back to normal. She gasped when she saw him lying on the ground.

Neo almost felt sorry for them both. Almost.

"Smokey!" the soldiers yelled.

"The Navy?! Oh? Wait a second, isn't she…" Luffy asked, his attention on the swordswoman.

"Oh no, Luffy! The Navy's here!" Usopp shouted out.

"I thought so! It's Smokey and his clan! It's been a while!" Luffy shouted with much more enthusiasm than Neo thought was appropriate. She raised an eyebrow at the young man.

_'Is he seriously being friendly with the Navy?'_

_'You're one to talk considering how soft you are with them and how Jory is also in the Navy.'_  Law shot her a smirk.

She smiled and stuck her tongue out at him.  _'It's not the same. Straw Hat willingly and openly fights the Navy without hesitation. I hesitate. Plus, Jory is one of my people and a friend. I wonder how he's doing. I hope he's okay and that no one has noticed he's not human. He's surrounded by a lot of powerful people.'_

' _I'm sure he's fine. Besides, he said before that if anything happens he could always return to Luminous.'_

' _I wonder if he really would. Or if he would risk his life to come warn us if something happened.'_

' _If something happened? Like what?'_  Law raised an eyebrow at her.

' _I don't know. But you know people are starting to take more notice of my inhuman nature. Smoker already knows the truth about me not being human just from this little battle. And you know anything can happen. If it does, Jory will leave the Navy, even if it's by desertion. Maybe I should have ordered him to go straight back to Luminous if anyone ever did find out the truth about us.'_

' _Relax, Neo. Jory is smart enough to make the right decisions if it happens to come to that.'_

Neo and Law were forced out of their private conversation when the Navy captain's voice shrieked out at them. She screamed, "How dare you! How dare you! How dare you!"

Tashigi, through her tears and screams, grabbed her sword and charged blindly at Neo and Law.

Neo took a few steps back as Law turned to face her. He said, "Calm down, woman. You really shouldn't get over emotional in situations like this. You're running in blindly. You should know better than that. It could cost you your life. Room." Law jutted out his sword twice, once at Tashigi and once at Smoker. "Shambles."

Tashigi collapsed to the ground while Law continued to address her. He said, "You just never learn, Navy girl. Don't get so serious."

"Captain!" Soldiers voice rang out while they ran over to their fallen captain.

Neo narrowed her eyebrows and wondered if they were going to be stupid and try to fight them as well. But before she could think much on it, the Straw Hat sniper shouted out at his captain. "Luffy! Come one! Let's get out of here! Now! It's dangerous for us to stay with the Navy around!"

"Right!" Luffy nodded to his subordinate then turned back to Law and Neo. "Hey, Tra, there's something I wanted to ask you about."

"Head around to the backside of the laboratory," Law said before Straw Hat could actually ask his question. "You'll find what you're looking for there. I'm sure we'll see each other again. We both have something we want to take back after all."

Law then walked back over to Neo. He locked eyes with her for a second before they simultaneously headed for the laboratory. He let her go inside first then closed the door behind them, ignoring the threats coming from the Navy that lingered behind them. Once inside, they walk down the hall in silence for a while. She was searching for Chopper's location. When she found him outside, she said, "Well, this just took a seriously unexpected turn. Didn't it?" When Law didn't reply to her, she continued, "I can sense Chopper. He's outside, just outside the back of the lab. If the kids are with him, then they're outside too. They're probably freezing."

Law sighed heavily. With his eyebrows narrowed, he turned to her. "Neo, you have got to stop worrying about those kids so much. They are  _not_  our responsibility."

"I know that, Law," Neo said. They stopped walking. She looked up at him. "But they're just children. If the Navy is here then it's best for them to take the kids. I just want them to be safely returned to their-"

"Neo! Enough!" Law snapped. Neo flinched and recoiled from him. "I don't want to hear another word about those kids! For the last time,  _they_   _are not our responsibility_! You need to distance yourself from them! I don't want to have to order you stay away from them, but I will if you keep on insisting on helping them escape from this place!"

Neo held Law's harsh gaze for a second before dropping her eyes from his. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. Tears stung her eyes. She closed them and willed herself not to cry.

Law turned from her and started back down the hall towards Caesar's lab. His heart took several painful beats. His head was trying to spin with guilt at snapping at her and threating to order her away from the children. But he was right. Wasn't he? He sighed internally when he felt her close herself off to him.  _I'm sorry, Neo. But you have to stop worrying about them so much. It's for your own good. Please, understand that._

Law slowed his walking a bit until he felt Neo finally heading towards him. She kept her mind and her body distant from him during their walk. The thick, painful silence between them seemed to grow thicker with each step they took. When they had reached their destination, Law paused and pulled out the two hearts he had acquired since arriving on this island.

Neo glanced over at him. Still closed off to each other, she had no choice but to use her voice to speak to him. Cautiously, she asked, "So…what are you going to do with those?"

 _'I'm going to give Caesar Monet's heart.'_  Law thought to her, opening himself back up to her so they could talk privately. He knew she needed to be aware of what he was planning.

_'What? Why?'_

_'White Chase might be useful later on. He'll need his heart back.'_  And that was all he said in the moment. Law then pocketed Smoker's heart and turned to the door. Without another word or thought to Neo, he opened the door for them. He allowed Neo to go inside first before stepping into the room himself.

"What the heck have you done, Law?!" Caesar's very upset voice echo through the air when they entered.

"I'm the one who should be complaining here," Law replied.

Neo ignored both of them. She just when directly to one of the couches in the room and sat down without a word or a glance at anyone. She felt Monet's eyes on her when she sat down, but she just ignored the woman. She really didn't feel like dealing with the fake harpy's bizarre attitude towards her. She crossed her arms and legs, doing her best to keep her face neutral so she didn't give anything away to the bird woman.

Law and Caesar's arguing was fading in her ears as her mind became jumbled with the current mess she found herself in. Part of her knew that Law was right. She didn't need to get attached to these kids. They didn't know who these kids really were, where they were from, or who their parents even were.

But another part of her knew that Law was wrong. She had the right to become attached to these children. And she did. It just happened without her really noticing it. Her family, after all, wasn't here with them. They were on Zou, weeks away. She needed the distraction to help keep her sanity in tack and her homesickness a bay. She knew playing with the kids was a much-needed distraction. The only other way she would have been able to survive this would have been to cling to Law ever second of ever day while they were here. But she knew that wasn't possible. It just wasn't humanly, or Elementally, possible for them to do that even with their bond.

Their bond. Neo flinched at those two words spun in her head. In this moment, their bond felt broken to her. It was rare for them to fight. She hated every second when they did fight. But maybe their bond was an issue this time. They had been trapped on this island for months without any real breaks from each other, without the crew to separate them and distract them with other tasks.

Neo swallowed hard. Her mouth had become dry, her head was spinning with a painful thought that just passed through her mind. Forcing back the tears that pressed against her eyes, she forced herself to look over at Law who was still arguing with Caesar. The painful thought repetitively hammering into her brain.  _Even with our bond, is it possible Law and me are spending too much time together?_


	79. Alliance

Alliance

"NHC10. I detected it in their bodies. Although it was just a trace amount, it's a drug!" Chopper's voice rang out and bounced off the cave walls. The rest of the Straw Hats stood in shock. None of them knew what they should say.

Nami-Franky opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it when she noticed Chopper was also upset about something else. Carefully, she ask, "What is it, Chopper? Is there something else wrong?"

"I thought that…she was…I didn't think she would…" Chopper-Sanji tried to speak, but couldn't get the words to come out of his mouth correctly. He clenched his fists, his arms shaking. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Neo…"

"That girl who was with Tra?" Luffy tilted his head. "What about her?"

"She and Law…How could they?" Chopper-Sanji's eyes started watering. "How could she? She seemed so sweet, so innocent. Was I wrong about her?"

"Neo didn't have anything to do with the candies," a small voice said.

"Huh?" The Straw Hats looked around until their eyes landed on a little blonde haired, pigtailed girl.

"What do you mean?" Chopper-Sanji asked. "What was your name again? Lin?"

"That's right. I'm Lin. Neo and her husband came to this place long after a lot of us kids did. She helped me adjust to this place. And-"

"Husband?" Luffy asked, cutting Lin off. "She and Tra are married?"

"That's correct," Robin replied. "They got married not all that long ago."

"Hm? I didn't know that." Luffy cocked his head to the side in thought. He then smiled. "I'm glad. They seem happy with each other."

"Huh? You know them well?" Lin asked.

"Not really. Never mind him, Lin." Chopper-Sanji squatted down. He crossed his arms over his knees. "Please, continue."

"Well, she never was around when we had our testing and our candy, but Neo's our friend. She always came before or after that to play with us. She was a bit shy at first, but she got to where she would always come play with us in the Biscuits Room," the girl explained. "She baked us all kinds of treats. She even made us flower and vine crowns while flying us around the room."

"Huh?!" Luffy cocked his head again. "How can she fly you? And how could she possible make flower and vine crowns when there are no plants on this island?"

"You moron!" Nami-Franky shouted. She whacked Luffy across his head. "If you'd actually picked up a newspaper once in a while you'd know these things!"

"Trafalgar Neo is a pirate with a forty million beli bounty," Robin explained. "She supposedly wields a devil fruit called the Element Element fruit. She summons these crystals and is able to control the elements with them. Since she can control the elements it should be obvious that she can use her wind crystal to fly herself and others. And with her earth crystals, she can apparently create vines with them. Also, she's been labeled as a Paramecia not a Logia."

"Supposedly?" Luffy asked.

"There have been many reports on her suggesting that she's not human. And there's been no record of an Element Element devil fruit ever existing that can wield all four of the elements. All the devil fruits who hold an element only have one single element, not all four," Robin replied.

"That's incredible!" Luffy shouted with sparkles in his eyes. "I wanna see her crystals! Do you think she'll fly me around?!"

"I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you, Luffy," Usopp said. "You saw for yourself how shy she is. And there have also been reports on her lack of aggressive nature until someone tries to hurt her crew. It might just be me, not that I'm scared or anything, but she be just as unpredictable as her captain or husband or whatever."

"I think she sounds cool! I really want to see her again!" Luffy said with his typical carefree attitude.

"Please don't be upset with her," Lin then said. "She's a good person. She wants us to go home to our moms and dads too."

"That's good," Chopper-Sanji said with a relieved sigh. "I was so worried there for a second."

"Is Neo your friend too?" Lin asked.

"Yes," Chopper said but then paused in thought. "Well, not really. I mean we've only met once. And that was two years ago. We did have a connection when we met. And I do hope we can be friends. I really like her."

"I like her too." Lin smiled. "She's the best!"

"Yeah." Chopper-Sanji nodded. He placed his hand on Lin's head. "I'm sure she is."

…

Neo lifted her gaze off the floor. She took a quick glance at Law who was now sitting beside her. He had mimicked her sitting position, arms and legs crossed, when he sat down. Both were sitting stiff with a thick cloud of tension surrounding them. Neither of them had spoken a word to the other since they entered this room. And both were blocking their feelings and thoughts from the other. Her heart sank. She really did hate it when they fought.

Pulling her eyes away from him, she looked over at Caesar who was laughing as he held up Smoker's heart and danced around the room with it. "The Navy G-5 Vice Admiral Smoker's heart! I can't believe it! What a nice gift, Law! You're so kind in giving this to me!"

Neo shifted on the couch. Her stomach gurgled when her eyes once again landed on the heart in the mad scientist's hands. She forced herself to look away from it. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Her stomach settled back down and she relaxed.

From underneath the brim of his hat, Law watched her closely when he felt her stomach get upset again. He didn't move his gaze from her until she had settled back down. He pulled his eyes from her when he felt Monet's eyes on them. He glared and frowned at the green haired woman.

Monet lowered her glasses and looked right at Law. Half smiling, she said, "Is something wrong? You two don't seem as close as you usually are."

"Everything's fine," Law said casually. He uncrossed his arm and put it on the back of the couch, somewhat around Neo's shoulders since she was sitting close enough. He dangled his hand over her shoulder, but didn't touch her like he normally would. He looked back over at Caesar. "What now?"

"The fight is over now. And since they lost their warship, thanks to you, I'm sure they'll come to try and steal our ship so they can make a report of what's happened here. But there's no need to worry about that. It's already been taken care of." Caesar stuffed Smoker's heart in his pocket and sat down on the couch to Neo and Law's left.

"And what about Straw Hat's group?" Law asked. "Do you want us to go after them? That samurai is still with them. We can easily track them down."

"No need to worry about them either. We'll get rid of them soon enough and take back the children. I mean, I know for a fact that those brats will have an urge to come back here even if we do absolutely nothing. But since Monet has been telling me to be very careful with the Straw Hat pirates, I when ahead and sent out  _those two_  just to make sure everything gets taken care of properly. So you and your pretty little wife have nothing to worry about."

Law flinched at Caesar's words. He narrowed his eyebrows and glared at the gasman.

Monet lowered her glasses again and took in Law. Law gave her a quick glare then settled back down. Taking a quick glance at Neo, they, for a split second, made eye contact before looking away from each other.

Not noticing the tension between the only romantic couple in the room, Caesar continued talking. He said, "They never ever miss their target once they have them in their sights! They are the Snow Mountain Killers! The Yeti Cool Brothers!"

The small group then looked up when the transponder snail in the room started ringing. Caesar picked it up after a few rings. "Yes?"

"Pirate Hunter Zoro, Cat Burglar Nami, and Soul King. Have been eliminated. The Cool Brothers left their bodies at the bottom of the cliff in district F-16. We're going down to retrieve them," a man said.

"Very well then," Caesar said. He then hug up the snail and looked at Monet. "Did you hear that? Three of them are dead already, Monet! There's nothing to worry about at all."

"Yeah, I heard it. That's such a disappointment. I thought they'd last a lot longer than that. The Straw Hats are, after all, a part of the Worst Generation, just like is Law. The Government is keeping its eye on them as well as Blackbeard. And there was a newspaper article that had the title, 'They're Back in Force' so I thought they were stronger. What do you think, Law? You know them rather well, don't you? Two years ago, at Sabaody and Marineford, you got involved with the Straw Hat twice." Monet looked over at Law then slid her gaze to Neo. "I assume, Neo, that you were there as well. Although there's been no clear record of when you actually joined the Heart Pirates."

Neo looked at Monet, but kept her face neutral. She pulled her eyes away from the woman when Caesar spoke up.

"What?" Caesar asked. He then pulled a gun and pointed it right at Law. "You didn't summon them here, did you?"

Heart pounding, Neo summoned her crystals in a flash. Each wielding their element, she pointed them right at Caesar. She glared at the scientist with the force of a hurricane in her eyes. Trying not to lose control, she forced herself not to actually become that hurricane. She gritted her teeth. Hissing, she said, "Don't you dare even  _think_  about pulling that trigger, Caesar."

Law tapped his fingertips on her shoulder. Knowing she wouldn't put her crystals away until Caesar put down the gun, he keep his fingers touching her shoulder and waited until she calmed down a bit before turning his full attention to Caesar. "I told you before that we had no clue that they were held captive in the lab until we ran into them at the entrance. If we had known, we would have warned you that locking them up in a simple room or cell wouldn't be enough to hold them. We weren't able to drive the Navy away from here because of your carelessness. You know that it's bad news for us, too, if anybody ever finds out about this place. Do you really think we would risk it like that?"

"Well, I suppose you would have been a bit more clever about it if you wanted to summon your friends here. After all, you did become a warlord intentionally by kissing up to the Government with all those pirate hearts. And you two came to this island not long after that. No, I don't think that you or your wife would do something to mess that all up. I'm sorry I doubted you," Caesar said. He lowered his gun down. With a crooked smile, he looked at Neo and said, "You can put those crystals away too. I won't pull the trigger."

Neo narrowed her eyebrows, but banished her crystals. She took a breath then leaned back into the couch and into Law's arm, which he didn't move despite them being in the middle of a fight.

Law then said, "Earlier, you said that the kids would have an urge to come back here even if we don't do anything to retrieve them. What exactly did you mean by that?"

Neo flinched. She took a glance at him from the corner of her eyes.  _Why would he ask about the kids after…?_

"That? It's because I am giving them this drug candy every single day. When you eat it, it releases this sweet and fizzy gas that fills up your mouth!" Caesar held up a piece of candy that he was talking about. He laughed. "It causes instant addiction! If they go back to their homes, they won't be able to have it."

 _'Addiction?'_  Neo thought to Law. A cloud of dread settled over her.  _'Isn't an addiction where a person becomes attached to something to the point of craving it really badly? Or something like that?'_

Law didn't answer her right away. He knew she wasn't going to like his confirmation.  _'Pretty much. Once addicted, they can't stop. They must have it no matter what. Sometimes people become violent until they get whatever they're addicted to.'_

 _'Did…did you know about this? Even though you didn't spend time with the kids…you figured it out.'_  Neo's bangs fell over her eyes. She clenched her hands until they ached with pain when Law didn't answer her.  _'Why? Why didn't you tell me?'_

 _'I'm sorry, Neo. You were already getting too attached to them. I tried to redirect you attention off of them, but…'_  Law stopped. The fight they had jumped back into their minds.  _'It doesn't matter now. Let's get out of here.'_

Neo didn't response. She just stood up at the same time as Law did. Law frowned at Caesar. He said, "You're a sick man, Caesar. You style reminds me too much of someone else."

Law grabbed his sword and headed for the door with Neo following.

"What about the Navy?" Monet asked. "They're still out front."

"Just call if you need us," Law replied. "I'll cut off whoever's head you wish for. Let's go, Neo."

…

Once out in the hall, and far enough away from Caesar and Monet, Law glanced over at Neo. She was walking right beside him but her eyes were down on the floor. Her eyebrows were kneaded in heavy concentration and confusion. He didn't need their bond to tell that she was confused and upset about this. He could also tell that she was trying to keep herself distant from the kids, trying not to let herself feel for them and want to go after them, trying her best to obey him. But he knew it was impossible for her. She was such a gentle soul. He didn't find it one bit surprising that she had bonded so well with the kids. And he also knew that this would have happened even if the crew had come with her. It was just in her nature to be caring and kind to people. Despite how she was treated herself, she would always be like that.

A few minutes later, Neo lifted her gaze from the floor when she notice Law was leading her to the back door of the laboratory. "Where…where are we going?"

' _To find the Straw Hats.'_

"What?!" Neo shouted. She quickly clamped her mouth shut and looked around. No one was anywhere near then that she could see.  _'What do you mean we're going to find the Straw Hats?! What for?!'_

' _To form and alliance with them.'_

Neo balked. She tripped over her boots and stumbled forward. She was able to catch herself despite Law shooting out his arm to help her if needed. With more confusion in her eyes, she looked at him.  _'Form an alliance? But why? What for?'_

' _To take down Kaido. They could be useful.'_

' _I guess so, but…I don't think I understand.'_

' _A single crew isn't going to be strong enough to take down any one of the emperors. And Kaido, is supposedly the strongest creature in the world.'_

' _Yeah.'_  Neo nodded.  _'You've told me that before. But I…'_

' _We need more forces if we're going to be able to pull this off. We're quite lucky that the Straw Hats landed here.'_

' _Lucky?'_  Neo raised an eyebrow.

' _Besides, I thought you'd be glad to get to spend some time with that animal of the crew.'_

' _Chopper?'_  Neo blinked curiously.  _Is Law teaming up with them just so I can play with Chopper? No, he wouldn't do that. Well…for me he would if I asked. But still…this seems a bit out of character for him._

Neo paused in her thoughts and walking as Law opened the back door for them. He stepped aside and allowed her to go out before he did. He closed the door then joined her side once again. Just as they walked away from the back door, a couple of Caesar's men noticed them.

"Huh?"

"Oh, Law! Lady Law! What are you two doing out there?! It's not safe! The Navy's still here!" one of the men informed them.

Neo looked at them then looked at Law when he held up his hand.

"Room!" Law pulled out his sword and sliced the two men up. Neo felt a bit guilty and sorry for them, but quickly pushed it aside. "So what? We're free to go wherever we want."

A few seconds later, Law glanced at her. He asked, "Do you sense the animal?"

"Uh." Neo nodded. "Yeah. Well, his body anyway since you switched them. He's near the cliffs. Those Yeti Cool Brothers are probably over there too."

Law nodded. "Then fly us there."

"Right." Neo nodded again and summoned her wind crystals. Pulling on her gloves, she lifted them into the air and headed into the direction of the Straw Hats. When she had landed them back down on the snow, one of the Yeti Cool Brothers was climbing up on the cliff with one of the Straw Hats in his hand.

The person, creature, or whatever it was noticed they were there. He said, "Oh, it's you. You two free loaders that have been living on the island for months. Trafalgar Law and Neo, right? Well, since you're here, you can help us. The Straw Hats are here. Straw Hat Luffy is chasing me up the mountain and-"

"Room." Law said calmly. Neo took a couple steps back from him as he pulled out his sword and sliced it at the large man.

"What?!" the Yeti Cool Brother cried out as his body split into two pieces at the same time he dropped the cyborg he was holding.

Neo guided her winds around the falling Straw Hat pirate. She sat the pirate down on the snow and turned her eyes back to Law and the Yeti Cool Brother just in time to see the large man pulling out a large knife.

Raising the knife up, he cried, "You jerk! What the heck do you think you're doing?!"

When Law leaped into the air, Neo guided her winds around him for safety despite knowing he would be just fine. He pressed his thumbs to the man's chest. He said, "Counter Shock."

A snap vibrated through the large man's body and through the air before everything went silent. Law dropped to the ground and reclaimed his sword. Neo walked back over to him then looked at the cyborg. She wondered which Straw Hat this actually was. She knew the body belonged to Cyborg Franky, but didn't know which of the other Straw Hats got put in his body when Law switched them.

"Thank you." the Straw Hat pirate said then screamed. "No! Hey you, give me back my body!"

Neo tilted her head.  _No way that's Chopper. He'd be happy to see me._

"Nami!" Luffy shouted as he ran up the snowy embankment.

"Nami, huh?" Neo whispered to herself while she looked over at him. Her eyes locked onto his hat. Afraid of glowing, she forced herself to put her eyes back onto the cyborg body.  _So Nami, the Cat Burglar, ended up in Cyborg Franky's body._

"Luffy!" Nami-Franky shouted.

"Oh, Tra! Neo! Did you two save Nami for me? Thanks a lot!" Luffy paused and looked in Neo and Law's direction.

"I've been thinking," Law said while he turned and walked up the small cliff they were standing on. Neo, afraid she might start glowing, followed him. She could need to duck behind him if she couldn't keep her eyes off the straw hat. "And we've came here to talk to you about something, Straw Hat. I think you arrived on this island by accident. But, despite that, there is a very important key lying somewhere on this island that can wreak havoc in the New World. As I'm sure you know, there are only two ways for pirates to survive in the New World. And that's either by working under one of the Four Emperors, or going against them. And you don't strike me as the kind of person who will willingly want to work under someone else. Am I correct?"

Neo chewed on her bottom lip, fiddled with her gloves, and did her best to keep herself from looking at her godfather's hat. It was more difficult than she thought it would be. She started to smell booze and his scent again. And, once again, she wondered if she really smelled it or if it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

"Yup! That's right! I want to stay as a captain! I like it!" Luffy replied.

"Then, form an alliance with us," Law said.

"What?!" Nami-Franky shouted.

"An alliance?" Luffy asked curiously.

Neo lifted her eyes to the young man when he spoke. She couldn't stop herself. She stared at his hat for a few seconds before forcing herself to bend over. She scooped a handful of snow up and started shaping it into a ball. She could feel someone's eyes on her, but she didn't let herself look up to see which of the Straw Hats it was. She just pressed her hands into the snow and formed it into a ball.

"If you and I join forces, we might actually be able to do it. I have a plan to bring down one of the Four Emperors!" Law answered with a smile.

"You can't be serious! An alliance? Do you really believe that if we work together, we can take down an  _emperor_? That's totally absurd! I don't know what he really wants but don't listen to this jerk's fast talk, Luffy!" Nami-Franky said.

"I'm not saying we can walk right up to the emperor and win straight away. All I'm saying is we have a good chance if we advance the plan step by step," Law said. He glanced at Neo from the corner of his eye when she bend down then he looked at Luffy. When he noticed the two other pirates' eyes weren't on him, he looked to see they were looking at Neo. Neo had bent down to the snow and was working on making a small snowman. He knew instantly why she was doing this. So he did his part in helping her by keeping the Straw Hats attention on him. "What do you say, Straw Hat?"

"When you say, 'One of the Four'…which one of the Four Emperors are you talking about?" Luffy asked, pulling his attention from Neo.

"Hey! Luffy! Stop that! Stop becoming interested in this! It's crazy! We can't trust this guy this guy at all!" Nami-Franky shouted hysterically.

"The Emperor that we will be going after is Kaido, The King of the Beasts," Law replied simply.

"Okay, as long as Shanks isn't the first," Luffy says.

Neo crushed the snowball that was in her hands when he mentioned Shanks' name. She shot to her feet. Unable to keep the panic out of her voice as she spoke, she said, "You're going to go after Red Hair Shanks?!"

"Huh?" Nami-Franky easily noticed Neo's panicked tone. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Of course I am." Luffy nods, oblivious to the panic he set off in the blue haired woman. "It's how I'll end up being King of the Pirates. My plan is to crush all four of the emperors."

"But you can't just-" Neo started, but Law cut her off.

"You're planning to take down all  _Four_  Emperors?! Our interests might seem to be aligned here, but you're clearly taking this as a joke. They are the Four Emperors of the Sea, massively powerful figures who engaged in constant territorial clashes with the great Whitebeard himself. And Kaido, King of the Beasts, is often called the most powerful creature in the world," Law said.

"Huh?! What do you mean by that? Are you saying that he's not even human?!" Nami-Franky gasped. "That he's some kind of freak or something?"

Neo flinched at the pirate's words even though they weren't directed at her. She forced herself to not think about the words 'not even human' and 'freak', but they lingered heavily in the air. She wished her winds could blow them away.

"Our alliance will only last until we bring down Kaido. The chance of success is about, I'd say thirty percent," Law said, ignoring the rants of the orange haired woman.

"You can't be serious! That's way too low! This plan isn't worth joining, Luffy! Not at all!" Nami-Franky said, looking at her captain.

"I see," Luffy said. He then grinned. "I'm in!"

"What?! Wait a minute!" Nami-Franky hissed. "You can't just do this, Luffy!"

"What? Of course I can. I'm the captain after all. Now, let's get back to our shelter so we can tell the others what we're doing," Luffy said just before he whipped around and took running off back down the mountain. "Let's go!"

"Luffy!" Nami-Franky screamed. She jumped to her feet and chased after him.

"Let's go," Law said, not looking at Neo. She started to follow him down the small cliff they were on, but suddenly launched herself into the air without a word. Law was about to demand her to come back, but he paused when he realized what she was going. Keeping an eye on her thought their half opened bond, he waited patiently for her to return. A few seconds later, she lifted him up into the air with her. He took a quick glance at her. She holding the Straw Hat reindeer's beat up and unconscious body in her arms like she was holding a baby. He quickly closed himself off to her when the sight of her holding the creature like that suddenly made his heart skip a few beats. When he got the feeling to pass, he opened himself back up half way.

Neo then flew them in the direction that Luffy had run off in. When she spotted the two pirates, she engulfed them in her winds and lifted them up into the air. Luffy screamed out in delight. "Yeah! I'm flying!"

"Luffy! Will you grow up!?" Nami-Franky demanded. "You've gotten us into so much trouble again!"

"This is so much fun!" Luffy cried.

Neo raised an eyebrow at the excited young man. She wasn't sure if he had heard his subordinate or if he was choosing to ignore her.

_'Neo?'_

_'Yeah?'_

_'Why were you so concerned earlier when Straw Hat mentioned taking down the Four Emperors? You know that's practically what every single pirate crew wants to do.'_

_'Yeah, I know. I guess I never really let myself think about it. We've never heard another pirate crew talk about taking on the Emperors before. I was a bit unprepared for it. But I know it's going to happen. I just…don't want to think about losing him after I just found him. You know?'_

Law just nodded in response. He did know. She was bonded to him, too, after all. And he did so much to try and protect her and Kailen when they were younger. She would always be attached to the Red Haired Emperor. He just didn't know what he, or she, was going to do if the man ever did die in battle. It was going to be hard for her to deal with and adjust to when she did lose him. His heart took a sharp beat in his chest. His mind spun with wonder on how it would affect her since they are bonded. Shaking his head, he forced the thought out of his mind. There was no point in dwelling on a question he knew he wouldn't get an answer to until it actually happened. Another thing he knew was he needed to encourage her to spend more time with her godfather in their dream world. And he was going to do that once they had completed their mission and were in safer conditions.

"There!" Luffy shouted. "We're hiding in there!"

Neo nodded at the direction that Luffy gave her. She guided their small group into the mouth of the ruins and sat them down on the ground. She walked in calmly with Law while the Straw Hats ran in. Laughing, Luffy suddenly shouted, "We're forming an alliance with the Heart Pirates!"

"Not very tactful, is he?" Neo asked, still with Chopper's body in her arms. She tilted her head and took in the new pirate crew. Law didn't say a word.

"What?! We're gonna form an alliance with the Heart Pirates?!" Usopp and the blonde haired man screamed.

Neo's eyebrows rose when she noticed a little reindeer face attached to the forehead of the blonde haired man.  _That must be Chopper. And, if I remember correctly, that blonde man is Blackleg Sanji. He's the cook of the Straw Hats. I really should give him his body, but…_  Neo released a breath. She wasn't sure if she should step forward just yet. So she just stood back and watched as the Straw Hat sniper grabbed onto Luffy's coat and shook him violently. She tilted her head and took in some small similarities to this crew and her own as she waited.

"You were just supposed to go out and reclaim Nami!" Usopp shouted. "How can you possible come back with something so outlandish from such a simple task?! Listen to me! If we ally ourselves with this creepy guy who gives me some serious chills, I will never be able to sleep in peace at night again!"

"See, Luffy? We're all against it!" Nami-Franky insisted. "We can't do this! It's far too risky! And we wanna travel at our own pace just like we always do."

"She's right, Luffy! Besides, it's too early to even think about the Four Emperors! We can't fight them yet!" Chopper-Sanji screamed.

Neo shifted on her feet, trying to figure out what she should do. She was just about to wish she had more practice in social situations when Law's hand appeared on her back. He nudged her forward with him. He said, "Hey, treat this raccoon."

"Forget about some stupid raccoon!" Chopper-Sanji shouted. "Huh? Oh, hi, Neo! Sorry I didn't say hi sooner! Luffy really threw us…Hey?! That's me! That's my body!"

"Uh, yeah," Neo replied. She looked down at his batter body.

"Z-zuber…"

"My body! My body!" Chopper-Sanji cried as he took his body out of Neo's hands and rapidly wrapped his damaged body in bandages. "What happened?!"

"Luffy, I'll go along with your decision since you're the captain, but alliances between pirates are often marked by betrayal. This might not be a good idea for someone as trusting as you are," Robin said calmly.

Neo pulled her eyes from Chopper-Sanji bandaging up his real body. She looked at the black haired woman before looking over at Law and Luffy. Luffy looked at Law and asked, "Huh? You're going to betray me?"

"No," Law replied simply. Luffy smiled brightly at Law's answer.

Neo tilted her head at the young pirate captain. She started to notice some similarities between him and her godfather. Both always seemed happy, carefree, and easy going. Without realizing it, she let her eyes drift up to the straw hat. A faint glow began to illuminate around her.

"Hm?" Robin blinked and looked at Neo.

_'Neo! Your glow!'_

_'Shoot! I'm so sorry!'_  Neo quickly pulled her eyes away from the straw hat. Her heart was racing, and so was Law's.  _'Do you think they saw it?'_

Law carefully scanned the crew. The Straw Hats were still screaming about this whole mess. He didn't think anyone noticed, but he wasn't quite sure. His eyes drifted over to the dark haired, Nico Robin. She was looking at Neo with a small smile on her lips then she turned her attention back to Luffy. He narrowed his eyebrows. If anyone noticed, it would have been her. But the woman remained silent, unreadable.  _'Possibly Nico Robin.'_

_'I'm so, so sorry, Law. I didn't mean to look for so long at the hat.'_

_'It's all right. You're just naturally drawn to it because of your bond and magic. Just try a little harder from now on to not look at it until you got your glow under control.'_

_'Right.'_

"Oh! Come on! At least have a little doubt!" Usopp shouted with tears in his eyes.

"Come on, you guys. A pirate alliance sounds like fun, doesn't it? Look, I think that Tra is a good man. And Neo's clearly as innocent as a little baby. Plus, Chopper already and really likes Neo. Right, Chopper?" Luffy asked. He looked at his ship's doctor. "You'd like to spend some time with Neo, wouldn't you?"

"Of course I do! And I would!" Chopper-Sanji shouted. He then looked at Neo, who met his eyes. He blushed and smiled. "I really do and would."

"I like you too," Neo replied softly and with a soft smile. She squatted down. Wrapping her arms around her legs as she rested her chin on her knees. "And I'd love to get to know you better."

"And even if Tra isn't a good man it won't matter! I've got you all and your two years of training with me after all!" Luffy said with confidence.

"What?!" When they all screamed, Neo lifted her eyes to them. They were so different from her crew, so much more energetic and loud, yet also familiar since her crew can get loud from time to time. She shifted a bit. It made her homesick, but also gave her some comfort since they were a bit similar to her crew. "Luffy you're…"

"D-don't mention it! Luffy, you're making me blush!"

"Yeah, I know we're super dependable but…we just do what we do!"

"You're not flattering me, you fool!"

"A-alright, Luffy! You can count on us! If Zoro and the others wimp out, I'll convince them to go along with this! No problem!"

"That's great! I'm counting on you guys!" Luffy laughed.

When Neo felt Law's disbelief in how laidback this crew was, she looked over at him. She wanted to ask him to put the cute reindeer back in his correct body, but couldn't get the words out. She dropped her eyes away from him when he caught her gaze. She looked down to Chopper's body then took a quick glance back over to Law before once again averting her eyes.

Law knew what she wanted. So he gave it to her. "Room. Shambles."

Neo smiled when he switched them back. She took a moment to glance around at the happy pirates.

"I got it back! My wonderful body!" Franky shouted as he struck a pose. "I knew I liked myself the best when I'm me! Super!"

"I'm so happy for you, Franky. Don't ever take Chopper's body again.  _Ever_ ," Robin said, making sure to put a strong emphasis on 'ever'.

Neo dropped her eyes back down to Chopper when he started talking. "I'm back to myself, too, but…What happened to me?! Why can't I move?! Why is my body so damaged?!"

"I'm sorry. It's his fault." Franky and Luffy said at the same time while they pointed at each other accusingly.

"What?! You went out of control in Chopper's body! I had to stop you!" Luffy yelled.

"But you didn't have to use the same technique you used to beat the kraken!" Franky quipped.

"I blame both of you!" Chopper snapped, gnashing his teeth like fangs.

"I'm sorry," Both Luffy and Franky said, hanging their heads.

"You should be happy just being back in your own body, Chopper. Why do I have to be in someone else's body again? First, it was Franky and now, Sanji?" Nami-Sanji said while biting her finger. "I hate this! I want my body back!"

"Ha! Ha! Nami's on Sanji's body!" Luffy laughed as he fell onto the ground clutching his stomach.

"This is hilarious!" Usopp added while falling onto the ground with Luffy.

"So what exactly happened to you?" Neo asked carefully. The laughter and taunts of the Straw Hat crew making fun of Nami being in Sanji's body faded from her ears as she started up a conversation with Chopper. "Why can't you move?"

"Oh, that's because of my Rumble Ball," Chopper replied.

"Rumble Ball?" Neo asked with a blink.

"It's an invention of mine. It gives Zoan type devil fruit users additional transformations for three minutes by distorting the wavelengths of transformation," Chopper explained.

"I'm not sure I understand. But…" Neo paused and ran her eyes over his body. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine in a few minutes," Chopper replied. "You don't have to worry. I'm use to this."

"I see," Neo replied just above a whisper. She chewed on her bottom lip in thought. She wanted to use her solar crystal on him, but knew Law would be furious if she did. She understood. That was one crystal she really didn't need to reveal to anyone if she could help it. She also knew Law was watching her closely. Without a doubt, he knew what she was thinking despite blocking herself from him. The risk was too much. She couldn't, and didn't, do it. She sighed.

"Hm?" When Chopper hummed she flinched.

"What is it, Chopper?" Neo asked. She narrowed her eyes slightly when she saw his blue nose twitching.

"I'm not sure, but I just noticed you smell different," Chopper replied. His eyes ran over her body.

Law turned his eyes to the pair and raised an eyebrow at the reindeer's words.

"Really? I haven't done anything different," Neo said. She tilted her head in thought. "Well, I have lived on this island for the past few months. Could that be it? The last time we saw each other I was on the sub. Different places can make you smell different."

"I suppose you could be right. You still smell like nature, after all," Chopper replied, causing both Neo and Law to flinch. Both quickly calmed themselves a bit as they remember animals, and minks like Bepo, could indeed smell that Neo was different and that she smelled like nature. However, there was still a chance that Chopper would ask about why she smelt like nature. It caused them both to stiffen up. But it didn't happen. He didn't asked about it.

"Can't you do something about this?! I want to be back in my  _own_  body!" Nami-Sanji shrieked just in time to help prevent farther questions from the reindeer.

"I can't put you back into you body unless we have your body here," Law replied before walking over to Luffy. He looked at the chained up kids. "So these are the kids, huh?"

Neo kneaded her eyebrows at Law's back. Once again, she wondered why he was asking about them when he told her to let them go.  _What's he doing? He's not going to help them._

"Yeah, my crew wants to help them get home," Luffy said.

"Why? They're nothing but a pain. Just leave them here. I heard they've been drugged," Law said, causing Neo to sigh.

"We know that! I tested them myself just a little while ago!" Chopper shouted. Neo dropped her eyes back down to him. She smiled and tickled him underneath his chin. He laughed and blushed. Then in a calmer voice, said, "I just wanna take them home but it'll take a while for them to recover and get weaned off the drugs. There's also the issue of how big they are."

"This is insane. I can't believe somebody's actually doing such a horrendous experiment," Usopp said. "And to  _children_."

"Turning people into giants is a project that has been underway for hundreds of years by the World Government," Law said.

"The government? For what purpose?" Robin asked.

"Military might, most likely. If they can produce an infinite amount of giant soldiers, they'll become invincible. People would hesitate to attack someone with an army full of giants. Caesar wants to achieve the goal first so he can say he out smarted the Government and Vegapunk and rub it in their noses, but I don't think it's that easy. It probably won't work," Law said then he turned and looked at the Straw Hats. "Do you really wanna help them? You don't even know who they are or where they are from."

"Yes, we still do want to help them. While it's true we don't know who they are, they still asked us to help them with tears in their eyes. It's pretty clear that the master tricked them and brought them here but they already know that there is something very wrong with this place," Nami-Sanji said as she walked over to the kids. She kneed down and placed hand one of the kids. "Until I know that they are safe, I won't leave this island."

"Are you willing to stay here alone then?" Law asked.

"If Nami and Chopper want to stay, then I'm staying too," Luffy says. "And Sanji really wants to stick the samurai's body together once they find all the pieces. Besides, you have to help us if you wanna team up with us!"

"Huh? Why?" Neo asked while Law just stared at Luffy in disbelief. "What for?"

Usopp sighed. He then said, "I see. You two have no idea, do you? You both think that an alliance is a cooperative relationship just for some common goal, don't you?"

"Of course!" Law replied for them.

"Yeah, well that idea is about to get shredded into pieces. Luffy's idea of an alliance is a little different from yours," Usopp said, placing his hand on his captain's shoulder.

"It's like being friends, right?" Luffy asked with long eyelashes suddenly appearing on his eyelids.

"You're out of your mind if you thought you were going to be able to keep control over Luffy," Usopp said.

"Yeah! What he said!" Luffy agreed while picking his nose.

"And once he gets an idea in his head, he won't back down. There's absolutely no stopping him. It's a real pain. His selfishness is as formidable as the Four Emperors. You're not going to be able to stop him," Usopp said.

"Good luck, pal!" Luffy said while flicking booger off his finger.

Neo about gagged when the booger landed on Chopper's cheek. The reindeer wasn't very thrilled with it either. He looked at it and screamed, "Ack!"

"But these demands your friends are making have absolutely nothing to do with us or the alliance at all," Law protested.

Neo looked over at Law while Chopper yelled at Luffy. "Hey! Don't flick your boogers on me! I can't move!"

"Oh, sorry about that." Luffy laughed. "Sorry. Sorry."

Law looked at Neo at the same time she looked at him. It was completely obvious to him what she wanted. He's known for a while now after all. With a deep breath, he completely opened himself back up to her.  _'All right, Neo, talk to me. Why? Why do you want to help these kids so much?'_

 _'I don't know.'_  Neo thought to him.

Law raised an eyebrow at her. He knew better than that. She knew better than that. He could tell she did know. She was just keeping it a secret from him, locked away inside of her. Looking deep into her thoughts, he noticed she was indeed hiding something from him and was also…scared. He flinched. How could he have not noticed she was scared about something before? He let his defensed down with a sigh.  _'Love, what is it? Just tell me what's on your mind. You know you don't have to be afraid of telling me anything.'_

 _'I know. It's just…'_  Neo paused for a few beats before forcing herself to just get what she had been hiding from him off her chest. She lowered her eyes to the ground and rubbed her right hand on her stomach.  _'I know we agreed that we were never going to have kids…and I'm fine with that since I don't know anything about being a parent. And I have no idea where to even begin to imagine what these kids and their parents are going through. But I couldn't help but wonder…What if we did have a child? What would we want to happen in this situation? If our child was in the place of one of these kids and no one was helping them escape from this place for months to years. Then one day someone did want to help them, whether they were pirates or not…I believe that I would want them to help our child. I'd want them to return our child back to us safely. Wouldn't you want that too, Law?'_

Law dropped his eyes to the ground then closed them. He took in a slow, deep breath while thinking about her words and what Corazon had done for him. Neo let him have a moment with his thoughts before speaking to him again.  _'Law, I'm sorry we fought over the kids. But I won't apologize for how I feel about them. And I won't apologize for wanting to help them. I can't.'_

Another paused passed between them. Law then answered her back.  _'I know, love. After all, that's how I raised you.'_

Neo lifted her eyes back to Law. His hat was casting shadows over his eyes, but a small smiled was on his lips. She smiled softly. Their fight was over.

Law redirected his attention to Luffy. He said, "All right, Straw Hat. We'll help you with the children."

"Really?! That's great!" Luffy said with a huge smile.

"I'm so glad!" Chopper said with tears in the corner of his eyes. "Thank you!"

Neo just smiled and nodded at him. She was so happy as well.

"We don't have much time so let's get this over with. Your crewmates can take care of the samurai. I'll look into the drug that the kids were taking. Who's your ship's doctor? He's got to come with me and help me research it behind Caesar's back," Law said.

"That would be me," Chopper replied.

"You're a doctor?" Neo blinked thoughtfully. "Did I know that?"

"Well, since you're going with him to study the drugs," Usopp said while he picked up Chopper. Neo stood up and walked over to Law. She watched curiously while the Straw Hat sniper pulled out some rope. Her eyes widened as a bright smile pulled over her lips when he tied the reindeer to Law's hat. "There. That should do it. You're all set to go."

"I'm sorry about this. But I can't walk right now. You're going to have to carry me," Chopper said. "Let's go."

Neo bit her bottom lip then clamped her hands over her mouth in a desperate attempt to keep from laughing at Law's horrified expression. While she was containing her laughter, to the best of her ability, the Straw Hats didn't even bother to try.

"Don't drop him, Tra!" Luffy laughed while holding his stomach.

"S-sorry! I know I shouldn't laugh! But…" Nami-Sanji hunched over and tried to keep her snickers in, but failed.

"Super cute!" Franky cheered.

"Good luck, Chopper," Usopp said.

"You can count on me!" Chopper nodded.

 _'I'm going to kill them.'_  Law hissed to Neo.

 _'Easy, my love, they're just having a little fun. You don't have to kill any of them. We can fix this.'_  Neo walked over to Law. She placed her hand on his arm, instantly calming him down before he could enact his threat. Once he was calm, she untied Chopper from his head. Smiling at the reindeer, she said, "That's not going to work."

"I suppose not," Chopper replied.

Without a word, Law plucked Chopper from Neo's hold. He laid the reindeer back on the ground and started to tie him to his sword.

Chopper was quiet for a while. His eyes darted from Law to Neo then back to Law. He then asked, "Are you angry with what my crew did?"

Law didn't reply. He just took a glance at Chopper and stood up to face the rest of the Straw Hats. He started talking again. He said, "As you can tell from the assassins earlier, Caesar wants to get rid of you guys and White Chase's G-5 and take back those children. Until he gets what he wants, he won't stop attacking. He is a former Government scientist, who became a criminal four years ago. If the fact somebody is here on this restricted island leaks out, he will lose this perfect hiding place. That's why he'll try to kill you all at any cost. A 300 million beli bounty. A Logia type Gas-Gas eater who owns weapons of mass destruction. That's who Caesar Clown is."

Neo leaned down close to Chopper as Law continued talking about the scientist. Law and the Straw Hats' voices faded away from her as she trying not to squeal at how cute he looked hanging from Law's sword. She asked, "Are you okay? Are you in pain hanging there like that? I can get him to carry you another way if you are. He'll do it if I ask him to."

"No, this is fine," Chopper replied. "But I do have a question."

"What is it?"

"Is he upset with what Usopp did?" Chopper whispered to her.

"No. He's not upset. He's just not use to having such cute animals hanging off of him. I'm really the only cute thing, besides Bepo, he's use to being around. He might be a bit intimidating at times, but he's really the sweet, softy type. He just tries to hide that part of himself because he's a pirate and stubborn. You'll see that once you get to know him a little better," Neo replied.

"I don't know about that. He gives me the impression that he only shows his soft side when you're around," Chopper said.

"Maybe that impression will change once you've spent some time with him." Neo shrugged then tapped Chopper's nose. Her cheeks tinted pink. She had to force herself not to giggle and reveal her bells. "Oh! I just love your little blue nose! You're just so cute!"

"You're so sweet! And you're as cute as can be too! I love your blue hair! It might be a different shade than my nose, but we kind of match!" Chopper said enthusiastically. "We're both wearing blue!"

"Yeah. We are." Neo nodded.

"If you can't use haki then it's best that you stay away from him. He's not your typical lab coat scientist," Law said, bringing Neo and Chopper's attention back to the issue at hand.

Neo's mind focused on Law's words, 'He's not your typical lab coat scientist'. She tapped her fingertips against her thigh in thought.

"So those of us who can use haki are me, Zoro, Sanji and you," Luffy said. He then looked at Neo. "Can you use haki?"

"No. I can't." Neo shook her head. "I just have my crystals."

"The four of us will be enough. We're going to go back to the lab for now," Law said.

"So what we're doing here is kidnapping the master guy, right?" Luffy asked.

"Yes, that's it." Law nodded.

Neo hummed to herself. She ran her eyes over the Straw Hats, careful to not let her eyes linger on the straw hat for to long.  _Caesar is a Logia gas devil fruit user. I'm sure the Straw Hats don't know what all his powers can do. Law and I don't even know what all he can do. While some of the Straw Hats are capable of using haki, only one of them is here right now. Will that be enough to capture Caesar? How exactly will they be able to handle his gas powers? I can use my winds to blow them away, but…Law…_

Neo lifted her eyes to Law. The group was finishing up their plans and asking last minute questions about what this whole kidnapping this was about. The Straw Hats first guess was money.

"No. We're not going to do it for money. Just to raise havoc," Law replied.

"Havoc?" Franky asks. "What do you mean?"

"There's no point in tell you right now what my plan is until we've successfully pulled it off. Just focus on Caesar Clown for now. It's not going to be easy," Law said and Neo bit her bottom lip.

She looked over at the Straw Hats.  _But can I do it? I still don't know them all that well. Chopper is really the only one, for the moment, I feel calm enough to be around. I might be fine with Straw Hat Luffy. After all, if Godfather trusts him then…_

"I'll tell you all the details of my plan after that. However, once we've kidnap Caesar successfully, things are going to start moving very fast whether you want it to or not. There will be no turning back after that. This is the last chance you have to reconsider doing this."

"No need. We're with you," Luffy said with a firm nod.

"Then, I will go along with what you guys want to do. You'll need to convince the rest of your crew and make sure they're okay with all of this," Law said.

"Yeah, I got it!" Luffy nodded again.

"Let's go then," Law said. He turned and headed towards the opening of the ruins.

"Wait!" Neo cried out.

"What is it, Neo?" Law asked.

Neo locked eyes with Law. Firmly, she said, "I'm going with Straw Hat."


	80. Neo & Straw Hats

Neo & Straw Hats

"What?" Law asked, very flatly. He narrowed his sharp eyes at her and frowned.  _'What are you thinking? You don't know the Straw Hats well enough to be comfortable with going with them.'_

"Yeah!" Luffy shouted. "She can come with us! Her powers could come in handy!"

"Stay out of this, Straw Hat!" Law snapped at the young man before turning his attention back to Neo.  _'Neo?'_

Neo took a relaxing breath and met his gaze strongly. Her hands and arms were trembling as she spoke to him through their bond. She turned her body so they couldn't see her lips not moving.  _'I know that. I know you can feel how scared I am, but I have to go with them. Caesar can control gas, right? We don't know what all he can do. We don't even know what all the Straw Hats can do since they've been out of sight for the past two years. But we do know that I can create and manipulate wind. I will be more helpful to them than to you and Chopper in this case. Wouldn't I? I don't know anything about drugs, medicine and science stuff. All I would be doing is standing there just watching you. And you're better at hiding your emotions and intentions better than I am. I could unintentionally give our plan away.'_

 _'I know that. And you might be right. But what about you? Your comfort level keeps dropping while you're just_ _thinking_ _about going with them.'_  Law's eyes turned soft as he examined her posture. She had crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to keep the Straw Hats from noticing them shaking. Her heart rate and breathing had increased to the point it was making them both a little dizzy.  _'See? You're on the verge of passing out just from the_ _thought_ _of going with them. I don't want you to put yourself in danger of not being able to fight since you're like this because you think you'll be more helpful to them than me.'_

_'Law, I'll be fine. I can still keep a bit of distance between them and me until I adjust to them a little more. Plus, I'll have a few minutes to adjust to them while we're heading back to the lab. But you know that I'm right. You want this kidnapping to go off without a hitch, right? I might not be able to do anything, or much, against a Logia, but I can, at the very least, blow Caesar's gas away. I'll keep my sniper position too. I won't get very close to him.'_

Law closed his eyes. He didn't want her to go with anyone she wasn't comfortable with. But she did make a good point. They  _didn't_  know what all Caesar could do with his devil fruit powers. Neo could very well be the key needed to take the scientist without much trouble.

 _'Besides...'_  Neo glanced over at the Straw Hats. Usopp was discussing something with Nami-Sanji while Robin, Franky, and Luffy were just standing there watching her and Law's silent conversation with mild interest. Her eyes rested right on Luffy. His eyes were bright and carefree. His lips curled into a light smile. He cocked his head to the right and smiled brighter when he noticed her looking at him. She quickly pulled her eyes away from him and swallowed nervously.  _'My godfather trusts Straw Hat. You heard his stories when we went to meet him that first time. And I know you trust him as well.'_

 _'Excuse me?'_ Law raised than eyebrow at her.

Neo narrowed her eyebrows playfully at him.  _'Don't try and deny it. You_ _do_ _have_ _some_ _degree of trust in Straw Hat. If you didn't, you never would have brought this alliance thing to him. Plus, and most importantly, you never would have let him and his crew anywhere near me if you didn't trust him.'_

Law clenched his teeth and balled up his hands into tight fists. He shot his eyes over to the Straw Hat crew. Most of them seemed oblivious to his and Neo's bond conversation, but Robin had an unreadable smiled on her lips. He flinched at her stare as she just smiled so casually at him then averted her eyes. A frown tugged at the corner of his lips. That woman seemed so observant for someone who didn't have Observation Haki. But he knew there was no way she could possible know about their bond and how they were communicating with it. He forced himself to put it out of his mind and turned to Luffy. "All right, Straw Hat. Neo can go with you. But I  _do not_  want her directly fighting against Caesar. She is to maintain her sniper position during the fight. And if she gets even  _one single_  scratch on her-"

"You're a sniper?" Usopp asked. Neo nodded. "Oh, that's right. I think I remember reading a newspaper article that mentioned that before."

"Don't worry about it, Tra!" Luffy shouted with a carefree wave of his hand. "She'll be fine! With her power over wind, I'm sure she can easily fly herself out of trouble! Hey! Yeah! She can fly us there! That'll be fun! Let's go!"

Luffy then shot out his arm towards Neo. Before she or Law could protest, the young pirate had his arm wrapped around Neo's waist. "Let's go, Neo!"

"No! Don't touch me! Let go!" Neo's body temperature dropped at the unfamiliar touch. Her heart rate shot up and memories from the past flashed through her mind. Her hands shot out to Law, but Luffy moved to fast. The rubber man had her pinned to his chest and was running for the exit before she could even get her arms stretched out all the way.

She grabbed onto his rubbery arm and tried to free herself, too hysterical to even notice Law's Room filling up the space around him or even hear his voice when he called out his moves. "Room! Shambles!"

Neo continued to struggle against Luffy until Law's familiar touch grabbed onto her arm. His familiar touch washed around her as he jerked her from Luffy's hold. He pressed her into his chest while tightly wrapping his arm around her. She clenched a hold of the front of his coat while burying her teary eyes into his chest.

"Hey!" Luffy whined, adjusting his disheveled hat. He shot up to his feet from his new spot on the ground. "What was that for?! You said she could come with us!"

"I said  _'She can go with you'_! I didn't give you permission to  _touch_  her!" Law hissed. His eyes glaring sharp daggers at the clueless pirate before him.

"Why would we need permission to touch her?" Luffy asked with several blinks of his eyes.

' _L-Law…'_  Neo whimpered and tucked her trembling body even closer into his chest.  _'I'm…I'm okay. He…just startled me. Pl-please calm down. I need you to calm down.'_

' _All right. I'm calming down for you.'_  Law placed his hand on her head. He then glared at each one of the Straw Hats. They all, but Luffy who held his typical clueless as always look, were examining Neo and Law carefully and with confusion. "Look, Neo just can't handle being touched by people she doesn't know. From this point on all of you, but for the exception of the raccoon, are  _forbidden_  to touch her."

"You don't like being touched?" Chopper asked as he pulled himself upon Law's shoulder. He then snapped, "Hey! I'm  _not_  a  _raccoon_!"

Neo peaked up at Chopper. He smiled sweetly at her while reaching out and brushing away her tears. She nodded. "Yeah. I, um, have issues with being touched. My past isn't…I was…"

"Hey, it's okay," Chopper said, soothingly stroking her cheek. "My entire crew has its fair share of hardships. If you don't want them to touch you, then they won't."

Chopper then turned a sharp glare at Luffy and growled. "Do you hear that, Luffy?! Don't touch Neo!"

"Huh?" Luffy tilted his head to the side. "Why not?!"

"Were you listening at all?!" Usopp shouted while smacking Luffy over the head with his hand. "Law just said Neo can't handle being touched by people she doesn't know!"

"What?!" Luffy shouted. "That doesn't make any sense! We do  _know_  each other! We've met before after all!"

"Those were only for a few seconds, Luffy. And that was two years ago back on Sabaody," Nami-Sanji said. "Don't you remember how frightened she was of everyone back then?"

"Hm?" Luffy crossed his arm and tried to think. It only lasted a second. "Nope. I don't remember her being scared at all."

"You're an idiot!" Nami-Sanji shouted.

"Come on! She's actually met me twice! Once on Sabaody and once on Amazon Lily! We're friends now!" Luffy said with a huge grin.

Neo glanced over her shoulder at the young man. Whispering, she said, "Huh? Friends?"

"We're not your friends, Straw Hat!" Law snapped. "We're only in an alliance!"

"Same thing," Luffy said with a shrug. "Come on. Let's get going. We don't have all day, right?"

Neo turned her eyes back to Law.  _'Law?'_

' _Are you sure about this?'_

Neo swallowed, but answered firmly.  _'Yes.'_

Law flinched. He growled at her through their bond, making her mentally giggle, before sighing in defeat. He clenched her hair in his hand, possessively.  _'Neo, if you need me at any point in time…'_

 _'I know, Law.'_  Neo nodded.  _'I know.'_

"All right. Just keep your distance from her, Straw Hats," Law said with another harsh glare at the pirates.

"Yes!" Luffy cheered, causing Law to growl.

Robin took a few steps closer to Neo and Law. Neo carefully examined her while she spoke to them. "She'll be safe with us. And we won't do anything to make her uncomfortable."

"Fine," Law said with a reluctant tone and nodded. He looked at Neo again. "Walk with me."

"Okay." Neo nodded.

Law slipped his left, sword free, hand into Neo's. Threading their fingers together, he guided her towards the exit. They paused once they were outside. He checked on the locations of the Straw Hats, they were still inside the cave checking out the children and talking with each other, before leaning over and pressing his lips to Neo's. Resting his forehead on hers, he said, "Be careful, my love. I don't want you to get hurt."

"You be careful," Neo replied, brushing her nose against his. She tightened her hand in his and grabbed a hold of his coat with her other hand.  _'Remember, Caesar still has your heart.'_

' _I know. I'll be fine.'_

"Ah, you two are so cute together," Chopper suddenly said. He was still hovering over Law's shoulder and was staring at them. He had his elbows on Law's shoulders and his chin in his hooves with a light pink blush dusting over his furry cheeks.

The forgotten passenger made Law grumble in annoyance while he straightened his body up and adjusted his hat back down over his head. A soft growl was playing on his lips that made Neo smiled. Forcing back her giggle, she reached up and tickled Chopper's chin. She said, "You be careful too, Chopper. I don't want to see you hurt again."

"I'll be very careful!" Chopper giggled. "We'll see each other again soon. Okay?"

"Yeah." Neo nodded.  _'Keep an eye on him for me, Law. And be nice to him.'_

' _Sometimes you worry too much. But for you, since you like him so much, I will.'_ With a quick smile from Law, the two set off to start their part of the plan.

Neo watched them go until she couldn't see them anymore. She then turned her attention back to the Straw Hats inside the ruins. She swallowed and took a slow deep breath. This was it. She was now alone with a group of people she didn't know.

"I can't believe he was using them as his test subjects and drugged them. I'm just so furious with him," Nami-Sanji hissed. "I'm so upset I feel like I'm going to be ill."

"Uh," Neo said cautiously, and softly, as she walked back over to them. She flinched when they all looked at her. She timidly looked at them all before settling her gaze on what didn't make her nervous, the children. Her eyes went right to Lin. The little girl was sleeping peacefully along with all the other kids. Her heart clenched a bit at the thought of Caesar poisoning her and the other children. "Are…are we going now? We really should go."

"Yeah! You're right! We really should get going! We have to kidnap this master guy after all!" Luffy said. He turned and headed towards the entrance of the ruins. He paused then looked back at Neo, who was clearly fidgeting nervously with her fingers. With a friendly smile, he said, "Don't worry. Everything is going to be just fine. I figured out a way to get us there in no time at all."

"I…I thought I was going to fly us there," Neo said softly.

"Save your energy. This will be a lot faster," Luffy said while looking around.

"What is it?" Robin asked as she walked up to her captain. She gave Neo a calm smile. "Remember, Neo doesn't like to be touched by strangers."

Neo looked at the black haired woman. Her smile, Neo noticed, was warm and way calmer than Luffy's was. It caused her to stop fidgeting. She stopped picking at her gloved fingers and let her hands hang by her sides. A small smile pulled across her lips.

"I've already told you all, we're not strangers!" Luffy said insistently. "Besides, I won't be touching her. She'll be standing on me."

"Huh?" Neo tilted her head in confusion.

"You'll see. It's a very good idea," Luffy replied. "Let's go now! Gum Gum Balloon!"

"Huh?!" Neo's eyes popped open when Luffy's body expanded like a balloon being filled with air.

…

"Are you all right, Neo?" Robin asked. She turned her caring eyes to the young woman flying beside them in the air. "You look a bit shaken up."

"You know, you could just ride with us and saved your energy," Franky added.

"I-I'm fine. I'm just a bit, uh, shocked I guess. I…I knew Straw Hat had the ability to stretch. I just didn't know to what extent that was," Neo replied to Robin then to Franky. "I don't use much energy flying like this. I'm okay. Really."

Neo looked over Luffy's expanded body. He was flying through the air like a cannon ball with Robin and Franky standing comfortably on top of him.  _I know he can stretch, but I had no idea he could do something like this. It's crazy._  She then said, "Oh, yeah. T-there's something I think you should know about me before we enter into this fight, Straw Hat."

"Hm?" Luffy hummed since his mouth was too busy keeping all the air inside of him. He cranked his neck the best he could to see her. Neo noticed him struggling to see her so she flew closer into his view.

"I  _won't_  kill anyone. No matter who they are or what they do," Neo said. She clenched her fists and dropped her eyes to the passing ground below them. She started fidgeting with her fingers again. "I won't do it. I…I can't."

"Hm! Mmmhmmm! Mmmmhhmmmnnn!" Luffy muttered through his closed lips. "Nmmm hmmm nnnmmm!"

"Uh." Neo blinked. She brought her eyes back to him unsure of what he said or what she should say now.

"Allow me to translate for our captain," Franky said. "If I know him as well as I think I do, he said, 'No worries! We've got your back! We're friends now! And call me Luffy!'. Isn't that right, Captain?"

"Mhmm!" Luffy nodded enthusiastically.

"It's all right, Neo. You don't have to worry about that," Robin said calmly. She gave Neo a gently smile when she looked at her. "We're not planning on killing anyone anyway. But, if it does come to that, we'll handle it. So you don't have to worry about it. Okay?"

"Uh, o-okay," Neo replied with a little nod. Robin nodded back then turned her attention forward again. Neo watched the black haired woman carefully from the corner of her eyes. Once again the older woman caused Neo to stop fidgeting with her hands and caused a small smile to pull over her lips. She noticed that was the second time Robin was able to put her at ease. It helped her feel more secure in being with these strangers. So she turned her attention back to Law. She felt his presence out and found he and Chopper had currently reached the back door of the laboratory.  _Good. At least they have made it. And it looks like we're about to land as well. I wonder how Straw Hat's going to…_

Before Neo could finish her thought, she heard Robin cry out, "Cien Fleurs! Wings!"

Neo looked up just in time to see the black haired woman jump from Luffy's back and create some form of wings on her back. Before she could think much about it, she saw Luffy's body still hurling forward. She turned to see Luffy and Franky crashing into the wreckage of the ship Law had destroyed several minutes earlier. Her eyes widened. She shouted, "Is he crazy?! What in the world is he thinking?!"

"Relax, Neo. Our captain does things like that all the time," Robin said as she gracefully floated herself down to the ground.

"What?" Neo asked. She hovered in the air while the disrupted snow from the crash floated away in the winds, revealing Luffy and Franky to be just fine. "They're okay. That was…so stupid."

"Oh, yeah! That was a very nice short cut, Luffy!" Franky laughed like the crash was nothing, like it was something that they did every single day.

"They're insane," Neo commented to herself. She maintained her position in the air, completely and totally unsure of what she had just volunteered herself into doing. She ran her eyes over the soldiers and Caesar's men below. They had stopped their fighting and were starting at the Straw Hats, looking as just as perplexed as she felt.

"Hey! Caesar! Where are you?! Come on out here and show yourself! We're here to kick your butt and kidnap you!" Luffy shouted. His arms were stretched out above his head and he worn a huge childlike grin.

"He  _is_  insane!" Neo said to herself. "Why would he just shout our plan out like that?! Law is going to be furious!"

"Luffy, that was suppose to be a secret," Robin said.

"Well, it's not a secret now," Luffy said with a shrug.

"Once we caught the guy they would have known anyway," Franky added.

Neo swallowed and looked in the direction of Law and Chopper. She noticed Law had stopped walking and was, undoubtedly, looking in their direction. She could feeling his anger, confusion and frustration.

…

"Hm?" Law turned his attention towards the front of the laboratory when he heard a loud crash.

"Yeah!" Chopper cheered when his crewmates appeared in their view clearly ready for a fight. "Go Luffy!"

"What the heck is that idiot thinking?! He's supposed to capture Caesar! Not fight every single person on the island!" Law hissed. "If Neo ends up getting hurt because of his stupidity I'm going to murder him in a hundred different ways!"

"Neo will be fine. Luffy may seem like a bonehead, if fact he is, but he won't let anything happen to her," Chopper said. "He considers her his friend. And he'll do anything to protect his friends."

Law just growled. He had no choice but to let it go despite wanting to warp over to Straw Hat and sink his sword in the young man's chest. There was nothing he could do about it now. He searched out Neo's feelings. She was okay, but he still had to ask.  _'Neo?'_

' _I'm fine, Law. A bit startled at how reckless the Straw Hats are being, but fine. You go on inside the lab. You know I'll come to you if I need to.'_

' _All right. We're going inside now.'_

"Are we going to help them?" Chopper asked when Law didn't move.

"No. We continue with our plan," Law said. He turned back to the door and headed over for it. "Let's just get this over with."

…

"What? Did I hear him right? Did he seriously just say that he's going to kick the master's butt then kidnap him?" one of Caesar's men asked as they all stared in disbelief at the pirate crew before them.

"Huh?" One of the men looked up in the air when he caught a glimpse of Neo above them. "Hey, Lady Law! What are you doing out here?! Why aren't you with Law?! It's not really safe here right now! Go back inside the lab!"

Neo swallowed then tilted her head to her right. She wasn't sure what she should say so she said nothing.

"Never mind her! I'm sure she's just fine! Straw Hat's the problem here! He's out of his mind! We have to take him and his crew down!" another one shouted. They all then charged forward with their weapons raised, ready for a fight with the Straw Hats.

Neo continued to hold her position in the air. Law wanted her to maintain her sniper position so that's what she did. But she didn't attack. She really didn't want to fight these men. While they weren't exactly her friends, she still cared about them. Plus, a small question appeared in the back of her mind. Did these men know about the drugs Caesar was giving the children?

Her thoughts were broken when she heard Franky cry out. She turned her eyes to him and watched as he put himself in-between the charging men and Luffy. He shouted, "Strong Right!"

"Huh?" Neo blinked in disbelief when Franky's fist detached from his wrist. It flew out at Caesar's men. It hit the ground, sending both men and snow flying up into the air. She came back to her senses when Franky gave the gawking G-5 soldiers and Caesar's men a thumbs up. "Well, he is  _Cyborg_  Franky. But still…that was-Come on! Snap out of it! You have to focus! There's no time to be impressed with their skill level!"

With a clearing shake of her head, Neo dropped down to the ground and stood with the Straw Hats. One of Caesar's men looked at her. "Huh? Hey, Lady Law, you should really head back inside the lab! Law will be furious if he knew you were out here amongst this battle!"

"He already knows I'm here," Neo replied.

"Huh? They called you Lady Law. These guys friends of yours?" Luffy asked while pointing at the half human, half animal creatures before them.

"Uh, oh, um, Lady Law is just what they call me. As for being friends…" Neo muttered just loud enough for Luffy to hear her. She took in a shaky breath and forced all the memories of this island out of her head. These men were not her friends. Her loyalty was to Law and her crew. She looked right at Caesar's men. She said, "I'm sorry. These men are not my friends."

"What? Are you…" One of the men looked at her then at the Straw Hats. "You…you're going to betray the master?"

"I'm not  _betraying_  anyone. We were  _never_  loyal to Caesar in the first place," Neo replied confidently.

"You're going to pay for this!" one man shouted. They all raised their weapons at her. "How dare you betray us?!"

Even thought she knew she was right, the man's words still stung her. Neo took a deep breath. She started to call out her crystals. "Element Cry-"

"If you want her, then you'll have to go through us first," Luffy said while stepping in front of Neo.

"Huh?" Neo blinked in confusion of the protective aura Luffy was giving off towards her. She then noticed that Franky and Robin had moved in closer to her, but still kept a comfortable distance.

"Smoker, what should we do?" Tashigi-Smoker asked while running her eyes over the small group of pirates before them. "It looks like Trafalgar Neo and Law have teamed up with the Straw Hat crew."

"Just great. Fighting her the first time was a serious pain in the tail. Despite that, we still have to capture the Straw Hats," Smoker-Tashigi replied. "And since Trafalgar Neo is here, we're capturing her as well. We might be able to since Law isn't here. They can't tag team me again. That should knock that warlord down a peg or two."

"Capture the Straw Hats and Trafalgar Neo!" a G-5 soldier shouted. He and his fellow crewmates charged forward with war cries. They lifted up their weapons to fire at the pirate group.

"I guess me turning you all into the ugliest snowman in the world last time we fought wasn't enough for you. Very well, Element Cryst-" Neo started to summon her crystals again, but stopped when Robin went on the move quicker than she did.

"Cien Fleurs!" Robin cried out. Neo watched as she crossed her arms over her chest. Flower pedals fluttered into the air around them. Then arms grew out of the shoulders of the G-5 soldiers. "Clutch!"

The soldiers blinked in surprise just before Robin bent their bodies back until they passed out.

"That was…" Neo blinked. "I guess I don't know enough about your abilities to really help here."

"Don't worry about it," Robin said. "The first time you saw us fight you weren't exactly watching what we were doing. You were rather scared of everyone and everything at that point in time."

"Uh, yeah." Neo nodded.

"Well, you've gotten a lot better at dealing with people and places," Robin continued with her ever present friendly and calm smile. "Just use this time to study our fighting styles. Once you watch us for a few minutes you'll see what we typically do and you'll be able to adjust to that. Then you'll know what you should do."

"That's what Law would tell me to do," Neo said. She nodded at Robin. "Thanks, Nico Robin."

"Please, just Robin," Robin replied.

"Okay. Robin." Neo nodded with a smile then turned her attention back to the battle at hand. She carefully studied the new crew as they fought while keeping an eye open to use her sniper skills when needed.

One of Caesar's men leaped up into the air at Franky. The cyborg smiled and held up his left arm. "Weapons Left!" He shot a small cannon ball out of his arm, blowing Caesar's man away. "Yeah!"

Neo stood in slight shock as she watched Robin and Franky. Robin was repetitively smacking a G-5 soldier with one of her extended arms. She pulled her eyes over to Luffy. He looked around then asked, "We made it here, but where's the master?"

"It doesn't look like he's out here," Robin said, looking around.

"Then where is he?" Luffy asked. "Where would he be?"

"My guess is he would be inside the lab here. That door's the front entrance," Franky said, pointing at the door. He then looked at Neo. "Isn't that right?"

"Yes." Neo nodded. "That's the front entrance to the lab. But I'm not sure where Caesar will be. Sometimes he's in his common room with Monet, while other times he's locked up in his personal lab doing experiments. He really could be anywhere inside."

"We should get inside then," Robin suggested. "This battle out here is rather pointless."

"Right. Let's get-" Luffy started but was cut off.

"You're not going anywhere!" Tashigi-Smoker shouted as she charged at Luffy. She swung her sword at him, but he easily dodged it. "Straw Hat Luffy!"

"Oh! Hey, Smokey!" Luffy smiled before dodging another sword swinging attack from Tashigi-Smoker.

"Straw Hat Luffy! What are you doing here on this island?!" Tashigi-Smoker demanded.

"Smokey! I'm glad you are okay!" Luffy said, ignoring the question. "I was worried because you were laying unconscious on the ground before! Tra must have really put you through a tough battle!"

"Don't mess around with me, Straw Hat!" Tashigi-Smoker snapped. She held her sword out in front of her and concentrated real hard.

"What's wrong? You have a stomachache or something? Is it constipation?" Luffy asked.

…

"Uh, should we help him or something?" Neo asked while watching Luffy easily dodge the attacks from the marine. A couple of Caesar's men and G-5 soldiers charged at the small group of three pirates. "Element Crystals! Wind Ringlets!"

Neo wrapped her winds around those charging at them then used her earth crystals to form a rock prison. Rocks, in the shape of prison bars, rose up out of the ground, blocking several men inside of them. "Rock Prison!"

"Naw! Luffy's got this!" Franky replied. He punched a G-5 soldier out. "Hey, your powers sure are handy!"

"Th-thanks," Neo replied. She shifted nervously on her feet. Robin gave her another smile and she calmed down.

…

Tashigi-Smoker continued to concentrate on her arms. Suddenly, her arms and sword shot out with a stream of smoke. "Hey! It actually worked! I did it!"

Luffy easily dodged the attack with a small jerk of his body to the side. He grabbed the smoke arm and swung Tashigi-Smoker's body around in the air then slammed her into the ground. He asked, "What happened to you, Smokey? You've gotten a lot weaker!"

"What? No! I'm not…" Tashigi-Smoker said.

"On top of that, you sound very strange today. What happened?" Luffy asked while holding her down.

"Come on, Tashigi!" Smoker-Tashigi said while running over to the fight. "I don't want to see myself get defeated like that!"

Smoker-Tashigi jutted his jitte towards Luffy. Luffy jumped away from the two and did several backflips before landing on his feet, effortlessly. His eyes locked onto the weapon. He said, "Huh? Oh, that weapon is…"

"So you're back out at sea, huh? Straw Hat!" Smoker-Tashigi said. "But I won't let you do whatever you want."

…

"I take it you all know these particular Navy soldiers?" Neo asked while using her winds to blow some soldiers away from them.

"Only Smoker and Tashigi," Robin replied. "We met them a while ago back in a Kingdom called Alabasta."

"I didn't meet them, however," Franky said. He had one of Caesar's men in his left hand while tossing another one of Caesar's men into a pile of snow. "I joined the Straw Hats sometime after that little adventure."

"I see," Neo replied. Her eyes then drifted back over to Luffy. She gasped, unintentionally, when she saw Smoker-Tashigi attacking him with his sea prism stone tipped jitte. "No! Get away from him! That's sea prism stone!"

Neo wrapped her winds around herself and took off into the air.

"Hm?" Franky blinked in confusion. "What was that about? Did she say sea prism stone?"

"She did." Robin nodded with a smile. "Looks like she's finally adjusting to our fighting style. She's going to help Luffy."

…

Smoker-Tashigi charged again at Luffy. He jutted out his jitte multiple times. With each thrust he became fast and closer to hitting Luffy. Both Luffy and Smoker-Tashigi were unaware of Neo flying right at them. She called out, "Wind Lift!"

Smoker-Tashigi jutted out his jitte once more. The tip heading right towards Luffy's exposed cheek. "Gotcha!"

Neo wrapped her winds around Luffy and pulled him towards her. In the process, she panicked a bit and pulled him a bit too fast towards her. She gasped and froze Luffy in midair and upside down before his body collided with hers. She sighed. "That was close."

"Hey! What did you do that for?" Luffy protested. He pressed his hand to his hat so it didn't fall off. "I was fighting her. That girl with the glasses! I can't believe she became this strong. It's surprising. But what was her name?"

"I'm sorry, Straw Hat," Neo said as she rotated Luffy into the correct upright position. "But that jitte is tipped with sea prism stone."

"Huh?! It is?!" Luffy shot his eyes to Neo. "But that weapon…that woman never fought with that weapon before! It belongs to Smokey!"

"I am Smoker, Straw Hat!" Smoker-Tashigi hissed.

"What?!" Luffy screamed. His eyes shot back to Smoker-Tashigi.

"Luffy, it must be Law's work," Robin said.

"What? Oh! You must mean that whole switching thing," Luffy said.

"It's 'Shambles', Straw Hat," Neo corrected. "It's the same technique he used to switch your friends."

"Oh, okay. Whatever. You can put me down now. But that does explain why that one's so weak now," Luffy said looking at Smoker's real body. Neo lowered him back to the ground while he pulled his eyes over to Tashigi's real body. Once his feet touched the snow, he pointed at Smoker-Tashigi. "Then that would mean that… _you're_  Smokey?!"

Luffy fell back onto the snow. Clutching his stomach, he laughed.

"What's so funny?!" Smoker-Tashigi demanded. He charged again at Luffy. Luffy back flipped away from the attack with a huge smile. "Fight me, Straw Hat!"

Neo raised her crystals to gather Luffy back up in her winds. She stopped when she noticed he started to glow red and released steam from his body. "What's he doing?"

"Second Gear!" Luffy called out.

Neo's eyes widened when Luffy seemed to disappear before her. "What the…? What's he doing? Is he just moving really fast?"

"Are you finally getting serious, Straw Hat?!" Smoker-Tashigi asked while running at Luffy again.

…

"Strong Right!" Franky threw out his right fist and hit more of Caesar's men. "This is going to take too long if we keep fighting like this. Let's just break down the door and get into the lab at once! Here we go! Franky…"

…

Neo, unaware of what Franky was going to do, tried to follow Luffy's movements.  _He's just so fast. But it's effective. It looks like the Navy Vice Admiral is having a hard time keeping up with Straw Hat now too._

Smoker-Tashigi darted his eyes everywhere in an attempt to try and follow Luffy's movements. "He's too fast!"

"Hey!" Luffy suddenly appeared in front of the Navy soldier. He grabbed onto Smoker-Tashigi's shoulders. "We're going to finish this some other time!"

"What?!" Both Neo and Smoker-Tashigi shouted.

"There's no point in us fighting when you're not at your best!" Luffy replied. "When we fight, I want you to be at the top of your game so we can really go all out and see who's the better fighter!"

"Don't get cocky with me!" Smoker-Tashigi snapped. He roundhouse kicked at Luffy, but the younger man easily dodged the attack.

"See you later, Smokey! We have to go now! Come on, Neo! Franky's opening the door for us!" Luffy cried out with laughter.

"Opening the door?" Neo asked. She flew after Luffy as she raised her eyes to the cyborg.

"…Radical Beam!" Franky shouted.

Neo's eyes gasped in shock when a beam shot out of Franky's hands and hit the front door of the lab. A loud explosion quickly followed the beam. Out of reflex, she covered her eyes with her arms to block the backdraft.

"What the heck?! He just blew the door completely away!"

"How is that possible?! How strong can they possibly be?!"

"Was it a laser beam?"

"Hey! Luffy, Robin, I got the door open! Charge!" Franky said cheerfully.

"You sure did, Franky!" Luffy said. He placed his hands on his hips and examined the now missing door to the laboratory. "That's great! Good job!"

"That was unnecessary," Neo said. She floated herself down to the ground, unable to take her eyes off the gapping whole where the door use to be. "I could have easily opened it for us."

"Huh?" Luffy asked, turning his eyes to her. "Don't worry about it. This was it was way more fun!"

Neo opened her mouth to object or at least say something, but no words were able to form on her lips. Her tongue appeared to be in just as much disbelief as the rest of her body.

"Let's go then!" Luffy said. The small group of pirates took a couple steps towards the laboratory.

Robin and Neo stopped when a soldier called out about something flying towards them. They turned back and looked up towards the sky.

"Smokey! Something strange is flying towards us!" a G-5 soldier shouted.

"There!" Tashigi-Smoker pointed up to the sky.

"What is it?" Smoker-Tashigi looked up. He squinted his eyes. "What the heck is that thing?"

Robin called for her friends when a strange pink blob landed on the sails of the ship that the Navy soldiers were trying to escape with. She said, "Franky! Luffy! Wait!"

"Huh?! What the heck is that thing?!" Luffy asked when he spotted the strange blob dripping down the sails of the ship.

"Is it some kind of living  _thing_  or creature?" Franky asked.

"I have no idea. Neo, what is that?" Robin questioned. She turned her eyes to Neo.

"I don't know. I've never seen it before," Neo said with a shake of her head.

"You've never seen it? Are you sure?" Luffy asked.

"I'm sure. But there is something strange about it," Neo said. She narrowed her eyebrows and squinted her eyes for a closer look at the thing.

"What do you mean?" Franky asked. He looked over at her. "What's strange about it?"

"I can fe-" Neo bit her lip.  _Shoot! I almost revealed that I can sense things that I shouldn't with devil fruit powers. But what is that thing? It kind of feels like Caesar's gas powers. But how is that possible?_

"Tell me what that thing is!" Smoker-Tashigi demanded. He grabbed the front of one of Caesar's men's protective suits. He pulled the man up to his face and growled. "Tell me!"

"I-I don't know! I've never seen it before!" the man replied.

"You! You've lived here for a long while, right?!" Smoker-Tashigi demanded as he looked at Neo. "What is that thing?!"

"I don't…I don't know. I don't…" Neo gasped when a fire flared up on the ship. She felt a strange disturbance in the blob. Her heart pounding in her chest. "No! Get them off the ship! Get your men off that ship! Get them away from that thing! Right now!"

Half of a second after Neo got her last two words out of her mouth, the creature exploded. The majority of the people just stared in disbelief at the explosion as the fire snapped and crackled. Smoke filled up the air and their noses.

One of Caesar's men shouted out, "Good riddance! It blew up the Navy soldiers for us! They're gone! Less of them to fight now! And blob is gone as well!"

Just then another blob landed on the ground. Everyone gasped as they looked at it.

"There's another one!" someone shouted.

"It fell from the sky again!" Luffy said. He looked up at the sky to see more blobs falling down to the island.

"That's just like the one from before," someone said.

"How many are there?" another person asked.

"Neo?" Robin asked, turning her attention back to the blue haired young woman.

"I…I don't know." Neo shook her head. She took in several shaky, nervous breaths. "I don't know anything about this."

"It's all right, Neo. Just take a deep breath," Robin said soothingly. "We can handle this."

Neo took in a deep slow breath. Her eyes then shot up to the top of a piece of the ship wreckage. "Uh, S-Straw Hats?"

"Hm? What is it?" Luffy asked as he and his subordinates looked at her.

"He's here," Neo whispered. They all followed her gaze up just as a strange laughter rang out into the air.

"Very good boy, Smiley! Sorry that I had to keep you locked up for three whole years," Caesar said.

"Ah! Master!"

"Why are you outside?! It's dangerous out here!" Caesar's men shouted.

…

"Hm?" Law's eyebrow twitched when he felt Neo's nerves shoot up.  _'Neo? What's wrong?'_

_'I'm not sure. There's these strange blob creatures out here. And Caesar just arrived too.'_

_'Blob creatures?'_

_'Yeah. They kind of feel like Caesar's gas powers. They just fell out of the sky. They apparently blow up when fire touches them. One did when the soldiers tried to burn it. I haven't been using my fire crystals, yet. But its still nerve wracking knowing that. I can't use them now.'_

_'Do you need me to come to you? Or do you want to come to me?'_

_'I…No, I'll stay here like we planned.'_

_'All right then. Just breath.'_

_'I am. Robin actually said the same thing just a second ago. She's surprisingly easy to be around.'_

_'I'm glad you're finding comfort among strangers, but keep on your guard with these blobs around. We're about to enter the Caesar's lab.'_

_'I'm keeping my guard up. You just focus on your task of finding out about the drug. I'll be fine. I'm calming down.'_

_'Good girl.'_

"Is everything all right?" Chopper asked from his spot in the bag that Law had shoved him inside. "You went oddly quiet just now."

"Ne-I'm fine," Law replied stiffly. He actually wanted to tell the reindeer about what was going on about side, but quickly caught himself from doing so. It would reveal too much. "I'm fine. This is the room where Caesar and the woman should be. Get back into the bag."

"Right!" Chopper tucked himself back inside and pulled the top closed. He waited quietly as he felt Law moving again. Then he heard the voice of an unfamiliar woman.

"You're not going to find the master here if you're looking for him," Monet said.

"Where'd he go?" Law asked.

"Not really sure. But knowing how sick his hobbies are he's probably gone outside so he can watch the battle," Monet said. She continued to scribble on her paper.

"Well, we've been completely around the island. We've seen everything that we wanted to. We're going to be leaving soon," Law said.

"Really? Well, it will be lonely here without you two," Monet said. "But if you must leave, then you must leave."

"Before that, there's something I could use your help on. I need the use of your powers," Law said. "Mind coming with me for a while?"

"Huh?" Monet pulled her glasses off her face and looked over at Law. Her eyes widened when she noticed Neo wasn't with him. "Where's Neo? She's usually with you. Did you two have another fight?"

"Are you coming or not?" Law asked with a deep frown.

"Well, as long as your pretty little wife won't mind us going off together without her," Monet said with fake smile. Law turned and headed back to the door without a word. "You're so cold at times. Fine. I was a bit bored anyway. Where are we going?"

"You'll see," Law mumbled to himself.

…

"So I was right!" Smoker-Tashigi suddenly yelled. "You're behind all of this! And you're Caesar Clown!"

"So it's  _you!_ " Luffy screamed. "You're the master!"

"Indeed I am! And I know you're the Straw Hat pirates, Naval G-5 and…" Caesar paused and looked at Neo. "Neo? Why am I not surprised to see you out here? I am a bit surprised to see you without Law. You two always seemed so joined at the hip."

Neo narrowed her eyebrows.

"Anyway, I see you all have finally met my little pet. Well, you've met part of him. He's not whole just yet. Give him a little bit longer. He doesn't care much for water, you see. So in order for him to come to this side of the island, he had to launch himself over the lake. And this can only be done piece by piece," Caesar explained. "And once all the pieces are over on this side of the island you will know the terror of what happened here four years ago!"

Neo gathered up her crystals. She prepared to launch an attack at the scientist when Luffy suddenly appeared in front of the man and grabbed him. She gasped, "What? So fast!"

"S-Straw Hat caught the master!" one of Caesar's men shouted.

"All right, Luffy! He just grabbed himself a handful of Logia!" Franky cheered. "That's because of his haki, right? That is what haki can do! I can't believe Luffy can do that now! It's incredible!"

"Stop him! Save the master!"

"Straw Hat! You're not going to get away with this!" Caesar's men shouted. They raised their guns and arrows up towards Luffy and Caesar.

"I won't let you guys do that!" Franky shouted as he charged forward. He punched the ground, knocking the men off their feet.

"Clutch!" Robin called out. She grabbed several men and squeezed them.

Neo glanced over the Straw Hat pirates. They were clearly handling themselves easily enough so she ran her eyes over the battle around her. Some of Caesar's men and some Navy soldiers were charging at her. She moved her wind crystals in front of her. Slightly panting, she said, "Wind Gust!"

"Ah!" the men cried out as Neo easily blew them away from her.

"Luffy's so strong now! I bet he care easily beat that guy!" Franky said.

Neo looked at him then up at Luffy and Caesar. She took a step towards the two Straw Hats and stumbled. Using her winds to catch herself, she pulled herself back up to her feet. Huffing, she placed her hands on her knees to catch her breath.  _What's going on? Why am I so tired? I haven't used my magic that much._

"We don't know that yet," Robin said.

Neo lifted her eyes to the dark haired woman.

"What?" Franky asked.

"Armament Haki allows the users to strike Logia eaters who you can't normally touch. Unlike the sea or the sea prism stone, it doesn't drain their powers. So Caesar can easily strike back," Robin explained. "We don't really know the extent of the Gas Gas fruit's powers."

"I guess that's true," Franky said to Robin. He then turned to Neo. "Hey, Neo, do you know anything about…hey are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," Neo replied. She panted a few more times before pushing herself up straight.

"Are you sure?" Franky asked. He ran his eyes over her obviously tried body. "You don't look so good. Maybe you should sit the rest of this fight out."

"I'm fine. Just a bit tired," Neo replied. She walked closer to them. "And I don't know anything about Caesar's powers. He's never really used them while we've been on the island. We're just going to have to be careful."

Neo looked up to see Caesar shifting back into his human form.

The gasman glared at Luffy. "Don't get carried away, Straw Hat!"

"Armament Hardening!" Luffy called out. "Gum Gum Bell!"

Caesar puffed himself up then shifted to the left to avoid Luffy's attack. "Gas Robe!"

Caesar snapped his fingers. A piece of his gas body spiraled out towards Luffy's head. Luffy moved his head out of the way, but the gas flew down and wrapped around one of the Navy soldiers. Caesar growled at his missed target. "Darn it! Gas Robe!"

"What is this? What's going on?!" Luffy asked as the smoke spiraled up around his extended neck. "I can't shake it off!"

"Straw Hat! Get away from him! Now!" Neo cried out.

"Huh?" Luffy asked just as the gas grew around him.

"Luffy, hold your breath! The guy who got hit before with that stuff is suffocating!" Franky shouted.

"Crap! It's poison gas!" Smoker-Tashigi cursed.

"Fool! It's no use doing that!" Caesar told Luffy while the rubber man tried to escape the gas. "Once you get wrapped up in the Gas Robe, it's impossible to get away from it! No matter what you try! You can't escape from me now! How much longer do you think you can hold your breath?! Just breath deeply! It'll be over soon!"

"No! It won't! Wind Gust! Wind Lift!" Neo shot a stream of air up to Luffy. Her winds started to blow the gas away from the rubber man. She then wrapped a gust of wind around herself. Knowing it was time for her to step up and put her magic to good use, she lifted herself into the air about fifteen yards before her crystals started flickering out of sight. She gasped in shock at her crystal failure just before she dropped back down to the ground. She landed on her feet, but with the shock of her crystals failing her, she fell forward into the snow with a thud. Pushing up onto her hands, she looked at her crystals just as they disappeared from her view. "What the…?"


	81. Vergo Part One

Vergo

Part One

 _'Neo? Neo, what's going on?'_ Law panted as he stumbled down the hall. His heart raced when suddenly he couldn't feel Neo or hear her thoughts. He placed his hand over his aching chest and clenched his coat then dropped to his knees. His sword fell from his hand and clanked against the floor.  _'Neo?! What's going on out there? Answer me!'_

"Is something wrong, Law? You look like you're in pain," Monet said as she glanced at Law when he fell forward and blood dripped from his mouth.

"What's going on?! Who's there?! Come out!" Law demanded through his labored breaths. He pushed himself up on his arm when he heard footsteps coming closer to him.  _'Neo? Darn it! If that idiot Straw Hat got you hurt I'm going to kill him!'_

"It just me."

Law flinched when a familiar voice answered him from the shadows in the hall. His eyes shot open. He gasped for air as he spoke. "You?! What are  _you_ … doing here?!"

"It's been so many years. Hasn't it, Law? You've grown up a lot since then," the man said as he stepped out of the shadows. He looked down at Law. "You're a warlord now, aren't you? That's quite a promotion from an ordinary pirate. And not only that…you're also married now. I have to say that  _that_  is probably the biggest surprise of them all. With how harsh you were as a child, I never imagined that you would actually take a wife. What is she like? What kind of woman was able to tame such a wild, unpredictable boy such as yourself? Is she around here now? I'd really like to meet her in person."

Law growled.

"From the pictures I've seen of her in the newspapers, she's quite the looker. Such a delicate looking flower," the man said. "You really should have invited us to the wedding. The young master has the perfect gift for you two. He is very upset with you, Law."

"I'm sure he is," Law replied through huffs. "What are  _you_  doing here?! When did you get here?! Vergo!"

Vergo smiled. He then said, "I'm here to extend an invitation. The young master is very excited about seeing you again. He's also very excited about meeting his new  _sister-in-law._  He wants you two to come back to Dressrosa with us. He would like to go ahead and give you his wedding present."

Law frowned. "Why are you really here?"

"What? You don't believe me? Very well then. What do you think I'm really here for? Did you really think that  _he_  had no idea that you two were here on this island? You should know better than that, Law," Vergo said. "He's known since the very beginning. Surely you have guessed by now that we don't trust Caesar. To keep a close eye on things, we planted an agent here to make sure he doesn't betray us in any kind of way. Imagine our surprise when Monet called us about your arrival here. As for what I'm doing here and when I arrived, I was spending some time at Dressrosa. A SAD tanker was about to leave so I hitched a ride on it. And wouldn't you know? It looks to have been the right move."

"How was it the right move?! What harm did we cause you all to deserve this?!" Law demanded.

"If you two had caused any harm, you both would be dead right now. We'll that's not entirely true. The young master really does want to meet this wife of yours. So, I'll be taking her back to Dressrosa with me. Whether you come along or not is your decision. But, either way, your precious love is coming with me," Vergo said. He smiled when he felt Law's heart take a sharp jolt in his hands.

"You stay away from her! Vergo!" Law glared and grabbed for his sword. He grabbed the hilt and started to pull it free from the sheath. "You're not touching her!"

"You are in no position to argue. And you didn't say it properly," Vergo said as he squeezed Law's heart as hard as he could, causing Law to scream. He pulled out his bamboo baton and twirled it before smashing it onto Law's head. "It's  _Mr. Vergo_  to you!"

…

"What's happening?!" Neo asked herself. "Why's my magic not working?! Law?! Law, can you hear me?!"

Neo gripped a handful of snow when Law didn't reply. Her heart slammed against her chest when she couldn't feel him either.

…

"Luffy!" Robin cried out.

"Blast it!" Franky growled.

…

Neo looked up when she heard the two Straw Hat pirates cry out their captain's name and cursed. She struggled to summon her crystals back to her. Slowly, her magic stirred inside of her and some of her wind crystals flickered in front of her, but none of them would become solid. "Come on! I don't have time for this! What's wrong?!"

…

"Struggle all you want! But there's nothing you can do to escape this! My gas is the deadliest there is! Now, suffer and die, Straw Hat Luffy!" Caesar said with maniacal laughter. "It's over! There's nothing you and your friends can do to stop me! You're the only one here who can use haki and fight against a Logia! And, look, the only other one who could possible do something is having trouble with her powers!"

Caesar paused and looked down at Neo. "Hm, interesting. She  _is_  having trouble with her powers. Well, no use concerning myself over that for now. Soon I'll have the answers to my questions on why she's so different from the others. Soon I'll be able to experiment on her-Huh?!"

Caesar shot his eyes back to Luffy when the rubber man suddenly started to suck in all of the gas around him. He asked, "What the heck, Straw Hat?! Are you serious in a hurry to die?! What's the matter with you?! I've never seen someone as stupid as this!"

…

"Straw Hat! Stop it!" Neo shouted as she looked up at Luffy. She pushed through whatever was blocking her magic and summoned her wind crystals. Wrapping her winds around her, she shot herself into the air. "Wind Lift! Caesar! Let him go!"

"What's wrong with you, woman? Are you seriously going to try and fight me?" Caesar asked as Neo hurled herself towards him.

"Let him go!" Neo cried out. She pushed a gust of wind towards Luffy while wrapping another one around her right fist. She swung her wind engulf fist towards Caesar's head. Just as her fist was about to collide with is cheek, her winds vanished on her and she started to plummet down.

"Hm?" Caesar's lifted an eyebrow at her then grinned. "You wouldn't have been able to hit me anyway."

…

"Neo!" Robin called out. She crossed her arms over her chest, preparing to catch the falling woman.

"What happen?! Did her devil fruit suddenly decide not to work?!" Franky asked.

…

"Got you!" Caesar said as he snapped his hand out and grabbed the front of Neo's coat.

"No! Let me go!" Neo's body temperature dropped at Caesar's close touch. She went to peal his fingers off of herself, but stopped when she realized her magic wasn't reacting to her panic at all and Law still wasn't contacting her.  _What's going on?! Is Caesar's gas doing this too me? No, that can't be right. If it was, then he would be gloating over this._

"What's the matter, Neo?" Caesar asked. He tilted his head and was going to continue questioning her, but stopped when suddenly, all of the gas was gone. He turned back to Luffy. "What the heck?!"

"S-Straw Hat!" Neo looked over to Luffy.

"Don't worry, Neo. I'm fine." Luffy smiled and coughed. "I guess poisons don't work so well on me now. It might be because of Magellan."

"Magellan?! Are you talking about that venomous imp from Impel Down?!" Caesar hissed. "Don't you dare compare me to a lowly Paramecia eater! I'm a lot stronger than he could ever hope to be!"

"Gum Gum Jet Mace!" Luffy slammed his feet into Caesar's cheek knocking him down the ground and freeing Neo. When Neo started dropping again, Luffy wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her up to his chest. She flinched hard. "Sorry. I know you don't like being touched, but you clearly need a hand here. What's going on? How did you get captured by Caesar? And what are you doing so close to him anyway? I thought you were going to stay in your sniper position. Isn't that what Tra wanted you to do?"

"Sorry. I couldn't just let Caesar…" Neo glanced up at Luffy's straw hat. _Apparently I don't want anything to happen to him because he's connected to my godfather._  She cleared her throat. "I don't know what happened. My ma-powers just disappeared on me."

"Hm?" Luffy looked at her and blinked. "Did you get hit with sea prism stone?"

"No." Neo shook her head.

Luffy and Neo turned their attention down to the ground when the others started yelling.

…

"Master!" one of Caesar's men shouted.

"Yeah!" Franky called out. "Way to go, Luffy! You really sent him flying!"

"How could he do that to our master?!" another one of Caesar's demanded.

"We'll save you, Master!"

"Stay out of this, weaklings!" Caesar hissed once he picked himself up off the ground and out of the ship debris that now surrounded his body.

"Weaklings?"

"Did I hear that right?"

"That fool! He's going to regret that! I'm going to show him the  _true power_  of my Gas Gas fruit!" Caesar shouted, ignoring the confusion of his men. "Get ready, Straw Hat! This is it for you! First I'm going to kill  _you_  then take  _that woman_  as my personal science experiment!"

…

"Hold on, Neo! I need to finish this fight! And since your powers aren't working right, I'm going to put you under the protection of my crew!" Luffy said. He tightened his hold around Neo's waist and jumped down from ship wreckage before she could protest. "Hey! Robin! Franky! I need you to protect Neo! Something's wrong with her powers! So catch her!"

"What?!" Neo shouted just before Luffy tossed her towards his crew. "Straw Hat!"

"I've got you, Neo!" Robin cried out. She crossed her arms over her chest and formed a rope net with her hands and arms. She caught Neo then lowered her down the ground.

"Huh?" Neo looked at the arms and hands beneath her a second before they disappeared.

"Neo, what's wrong?" Robin asked as she knelt down beside her. "Did you get hit or something?"  
"No." Neo shook her head. "I don't know what happened. My powers just suddenly stopped."

…

"Come on!" Caesar shouted, stopping farther conversations between Neo and the Straw Hats.

"Gum Gum Gatling!" Luffy pulled back his arms and fired several rapid punches at Caesar.

"Gastanet!" Caesar shouted. A musical click came from a round object in the man's hand.

"What?!" Luffy shouted seconds before an explosion went off around him.

…

A bright light flashed, coupled with a loud blast, echoed through the air. The explosion caused several men to fly backwards while shooting shards of debris through the air. Franky jumped in front of Neo when a sharp piece of board came flying towards her. "Don't worry, Neo! I've got your back!"

"Uh, thanks, Cyborg Franky," Neo said.

"Just Franky will do," Franky replied. He kept his back towards her and kept his eyes on the smoke cloud above them. When it faded away Luffy was falling out of the air with smoke coming out of his mouth. "That's just great! He's out!"

"Luffy!" Robin called out.

…

"That's our master!" Caesar's men cheered.

"Now, I'm going to finish you off!" Caesar laughed. "Smilies, wake up!"

"Smilies? What the heck is that?" Franky asked.

"Looks like it's those weird blobs that fell from the sky," Robin said as the pink blobs started gathering up near Caesar. The blobs shifted then lifted themselves up until they looked like out of place pink pillars in the snow.

"What?! What the heck are they doing?!" Franky asked.

"Smilies, grab onto Straw Hat!" Caesar ordered. He threw out his hand into the air. "Jump!"

"No! Leave him alone!" Neo shouted. She, and everyone else, watched helplessly as the blobs followed the movement of Caesar's hand and shot into the air. They grab onto Luffy, encasing the young man in with their strange bodies. "Get them off! They're going to explode!"

Franky cursed." Blast it! What the heck are those things? Some kind of weird gooey puppies? They followed his command like he's their boss or something!"

"He needs to get away from them!" Neo said as she watched Luffy gasped and struggle against them. She pushed to her feet and started walking forward. "They're about to explode! Their some kind of gas! Get him out of there!"

"What?" Franky looked at Neo then shouted up to his captain, "Luffy, watch out! They're going to explode!"

"Luffy!" Robin screamed.

"Now! Die, Straw Hat Luffy!" Caesar shouted. He raised his hand to create another explosion.

…

"No! Straw Hat!" Neo, feeling some of her magic returning, summoned her wind crystals and charged at Caesar again.

"Neo! Come back!" Robin called after her, but Neo didn't hear her.

"Is she insane or something?" Franky asked. "Why is she getting so angry?"

"Caesar!" Neo pulled back her wind engulf fist.

"Why are you even bothering to try to hit me?! You know I'm a Logia! You can't touch me!" Caesar said. He lowered his hand down and prepared to dodge her attack.

"Shut u-AH!" A sharp pain suddenly shot through Neo's chest. She grabbed her chest and crashed to the ground ten feet away from Caesar.  _'L-Law? Wh-what's happening? Why does my chest hurt so much?'_  Neo's eyes shot open. "No…Caesar…he didn't…he could have used your heart to stop me, but he didn't. Law?!"

"Hm?" Caesar hummed and tilted his head when Neo called out for Law.

_'Sorry, Neo.'_

_'What is it? It's your heart, isn't it? Who has your heart?! Law, what's going on?!'_

_'It's Vergo.'_

_'No.'_  Neo gasped.  _'Would that have caused my magic to act up?'_

_'Your magic is acting up?! I was wondering why I couldn't feel you!'_

_'It is! I don't know why though!'_

"Gastanet!" Caesar shouted.

Neo covered her ears with her hands and curled into ball when another explosion rocketed through the air. The blast knocked the weaker, unprepared men down while the stronger ones remained on their feet.

"Luffy! Neo!" Neo peaked out through her right eye when Franky shouted. She looked over to see him and Robin holding their arms over their faces.

Caesar laughed again, bring Neo's attention back to him and the missing Straw Hat captain.

"Straw Hat! Where is he?!" Neo asked as the smoke cleared. She darted her eyes over the area where Luffy was falling to the ground. Nothing was there, but smoke. "He can't be!"

"Straw Hat's gone!" Caesar's men cheered in victory.

"That explosion was huge! There's no way Straw Hat's alive after that one!"

"No! He's not dead!" Neo shouted at them. "He's not!"

"Of course he is, Lady Law! He wasn't strong enough to fight against our master, our savior, in the first place! He should have known better!" one of Caesar's men replied. "And you should have known better than to betray the master! You and Law are going to die next!"

…

"No…Luffy!" Robin said. Then asked, "What do we do now? There's no way we can fight a Logia without haki!"

"We're in some deep trouble now!" Franky added.

…

"Yes! I am the greatest scientist in the world! I am the eater of the Gas Gas fruit! You all shouldn't have made me angry!" Caesar exclaimed as his men chanted his name over and over. He walked over to Neo until he was two feet from her and looked down at her for a moment before kneeling down. "You people didn't have a clue who you were messing with. You poor, pathetic saps! You know, for a moment there, I was a little worried. That wind power, or whatever it is, could have been a real pain to deal with. But lucky me I didn't have to. But what happened to you? You seem to be in some pain here. What's wrong?"

Neo gritted her teeth.  _What do I do? My magic still isn't working right. It faded away again._

"Why don't we go back to the lab? I can surely help you with whatever your problem is," Caesar said. He started to reach out for Neo.

"Stay away from me!" Neo screamed. Tears dripped from the corner of her eyes as she pushed herself to her feet. But once she got up, her magic returned along with a sharp pain shooting through her chest then through her head. She collapsed to the ground. ' _Law…what is Vergo doing to you?'_

"You poor thing," Caesar said with a light chuckle. He reached for her once more. She flung herself away from him. "Don't worry. I'll take very good care of you."

"Oh, that was a close one!" Luffy suddenly said, stopping Caesar's hand in midair.

Neo's eyes shot over to the uninjured pirate. "Straw Hat!"

"What?!" Caesar's eyes bugged out of his head as he jumped to his feet and spun around.

"Gum Gum! Jet Stamp!" Luffy shouted. Kicking out his foot, he nailed Caesar's chest, sending the gasman flying several yards away from them and into pieces of the wrecked Navy ship. "And that was for making Neo cry!" He brushed himself off and straightened up his hat before walking over to Neo. He bended down and smiled at her. "Are you hurt?"

"Uh, no," Neo said, even though she was seeing double. She blinked, causing her vision to clear, then looked over his body in disbelief. Her eyes then rested on his hat. "Not really. You're the one who almost got blown up.

"What are you doing over here?" Luffy asked. "I told you to stay with my crew."

"I, uh…" Neo blinked. She brought her eyes back to his. "I know. I just couldn't let you…I was just trying to…"

"You were worried about me, weren't you?" Luffy asked with a huge grin.

"Uh, yeah." Neo nodded, her eyes once again returning to the straw hat on the young man's head.  _I was worried about him. I guess adjusting to him and his crew is going to be a bit easier than I thought it was going to be. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Godfather trusts this guy. I'm sure he'd trust Straw Hat with my life, just like Law does._

…

"That jerk! For a second there I thought we were going to have to start looking for a new captain. How was it possible he moved that fast?" Franky wondered as he rubbed his head.

"It's a relief to know he can move that fast and avoid future explosions," Robin said.

…

"S-Straw Hat?!" a G-5 soldier stuttered in disbelief at the uninjured pirate.

"Is he invincible or something?" another G-5 soldier asked. "There's now way he could have survived that!"

…

"All right." Luffy stood back up. Keeping his eyes on Neo, he said, "You just stay right here. I'll take care of Caesar then we can get you back to Tra. I'm sure he'll want to see you since your powers aren't working right. He's a good doctor. He helped me after all. Promise me you'll stay out of the fight from now on. I don't want you to get hurt. Promise?"

"I, uh, promise." Neo nodded, unable to take her eyes off the pirate before her.

"How dare you do that to our master?!" one of Caesar's men demanded, though Luffy and Neo ignored him. "You're going to pay for that!"

"Good! I'll be back soon!" Luffy said to Neo before running in the direction he kicked Caesar in.

Neo's eyes automatically followed the young pirate. She watched as he smashed, punched, and kicked Caesar's men out of his way while screaming at them. "Out of my way!"

Once through all of Caesar's men, he grabbed a hold of Caesar's coat. "Okay, I really got you this time! You're not getting away again! Hey! Robin! Franky! Do you see something we can put him in?! We can't just tie him up!"

…

"Just a second, Luffy. There might be a barrel around here or something," Franky said as he looked around. He paused when the Navy soldiers started screaming and running towards them. "Here comes the Navy.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on, Straw Hat!" the G-5 soldiers said while running towards the pirates. "You can't just take him like that! He's a pirate! You all are! We're taking you all into custody! Now come quietly!"

"Such a pain," Franky said with a shake of his head.

…

"Smoker, Straw Hat and his crew just caught Caesar!" Tashigi-Smoker exclaimed.

"Darn it! Those idiots!" Smoker-Tashigi cursed before rushing forward.

"Smoker!" Tashigi-Smoker said before following her commanding officer.

"Let's go, guys!" a soldier shouted.

"Follow Smokey and the captain!" another soldier added.

…

"Is this really it?" Neo asked herself as she watched Luffy laughing like he didn't have a care in the world. "It can't be. Something doesn't feel right about…"

Neo's eyebrows perched up when she noticed a strange look on Luffy's face. Luffy then suddenly stopped laughing. His eyes went white and he dropped his hold on Caesar's coat. She narrowed her eyebrows and concentrated as hard as she could. A small amount of magic returned to her. She gasped when she sensed the gas floating around Luffy. She pushed herself to her feet and ran towards him. "No! Straw Hat! Get away from him! You have to get away from him! Now! Come on you stupid crystals! Work! Darn it!"

…

"Luffy?!" Robin asked. She then shouted out at Neo when she saw the young woman running towards Luffy and Caesar. "Neo! No! Don't go anywhere near Caesar with your powers acting up!"

"Geez! It's bad enough when Luffy acts without thinking!" Franky said. "What's she doing?!"

They both gasped when Neo suddenly crashed to the ground. Robin asked, "Did Caesar get her with his gas?! Franky, we have to do something!"

"Right! I'll draw their attention to me! You go help Luffy and Neo!" Franky said as they rushed forward.

"Be careful, Franky! That guy's a lot strong than we realized if he can easily take out Luffy like that!" Robin said while crossing her arms over her chest. "Cien Fleurs! Wings!"

"Right! You be careful too!" Franky said as Robin took off into the air. He swung his arms and knocked several of Caesar's men down before holding up his hands to fire his beam. "Franky Radical Beam!"

…

"Ah!" Neo stumbled to the ground when several hits pelted her body, Law's body. ' _Law! What is that man doing to you?! Law?!'_

She pushed up on her left arm with a low growl at her inability to help no one. Through her blurring vision, she saw Luffy reaching for Caesar who was back upon his feet grinning like a cheshire cat. She tried to push herself up to her feet, but the hits that Law was taking was taking just as much toll on her as they were him. She watched helplessly as Luffy fell to the ground, unconscious. She pressed her forehead to her forearm and grumbled, "Great. This is just great."

"Neo! Hold on for a second! I'm going to get you two out of here!" Robin's voice called out to her.

Neo looked up to see Robin lifting both herself and Luffy in the air. "Robin, you have to get out of here! Caesar's behind you!" she shouted when Caesar, in his gas form, slipped behind the woman. She screamed again when his gas took a hold of Robin just like it did Luffy. "No!"

"Robin!" Franky shouted from a distance away. "Get out of there!"

"Too late!" Caesar said just as Robin dropped to the ground. He turned his eyes to Neo. "Very soon, my dear. Very soon it will be just you and me."

Neo cringed and recoiled. She flinched when Tashigi-Smoker charged forward with her sword out and ready to strike the gasman. The Navy woman shouted, "Caesar! You're not going to get away with this!"

"No! You can't fight him! Get out of here! All of you!" Neo said, but the Navy woman didn't listen. Tashigi-Smoker just continued to charge forward until Caesar's gas took a hold of her too. She passed out and crumpled to the ground.

"What just happened to her?! What is he doing to them?!" Smoker-Tashigi asked.

"Would you like some too?" Caesar asked as he turned to the Navy.

"No you don't, Caesar! Element Crystals! Wind Circlets!" Neo screamed as she managed to call upon several wind crystals and engulfed the scientist. She then shouted over to the Navy soldiers. "Smoker! Get your men out of here! He's using gas!"

Smoker-Tashigi turned to his men. "You heard her! Everyone, get out of here now!"

Caesar turned to Neo and scoffed. "This is a waste of time! You clearly don't have the strength to stop me! Just give in and accept your fate! Your crystals are already beginning to fade again!"

Neo dropped her eyes down to her crystals. He was right. They were starting to flicker out of sight again. "Franky! Get Robin and Straw Hat out of here! I'll hold Caesar for as long as I can!"

"What?! I can't just leave you!" Franky shouted as he lifted Robin's head up off the ground. "Your powers aren't working!"

"We don't have a choice! I have enough strength to hold him while you get away! Now go!" Neo shouted.

"Crap!" Franky cursed. He darted his eyes between his crewmates and Neo.

"Franky! Hurry! I'm losing my hold!" Neo screamed seconds before her crystals vanished. "No!"

"Yes!" Caesar threw his hands into the air. His gas flew out over the area.

"Ack!" Franky gasped as air disappeared from him.

Neo growl again. She grasped her throat as Caesar's gas took a hold of her. Her vision clouded over. She felt herself collapse to the ground before everything around her went black.  _Law…_

…

"Master! Master! Master!" Caesar's men chanted.

"My strong, loyal soldiers! Tie these pathetic pirates up! Use sea prism stone chains for the devil fruit eaters! Leave the Navy soldiers here and get inside the laboratory! It's dangerous out here! Something strange is raining down from the sky, but don't worry! I'll protect you and this place you call home!" Caesar said.

"What about Lady Law, Master? What should we do with her?" a man asked while binding Neo with chains. "She and Law betrayed us. They are no longer our friends or allies."

"I can't believe she actually betrayed us like that," another man said. He sighed as he looked at Neo lying on the ground.

"I know it's hard for you all. She was such a nice, sweet young woman. But don't worry about her anymore. Her betrayal won't go unpunished," Caesar said.

"What are you going to do to her?" the man asked.

"Nothing for you to worry about. I have special plans for her. I'll be taking her personally into the lab," Caesar replied. He bend down and picked her up bridal style. He turned to the laboratory entrance then stopped when one of his men spoke again.

"What about the children?" the man asked.

"Don't worry about them. As soon as I secure Neo and get my blood samples from her, I'll go after the children myself," Caesar replied. He nodded to the other pirates. "Just take them inside to my lab. I'll be there as soon as I can. Make sure their chains are tight and secure. I don't want them escaping."

"Yes, Master!"

…

Blood poured into Law's mouth when Vergo twirled his bamboo staff before cracked him on his chin then whacked his back. His body slammed into the floor.

"Just as merciless as always," Monet said as she stood back and watched emotionlessly at Law getting pummeled. "Nothing ever changes with you."

"Showing mercy would make for a very bad punishment, Monet. And this kid needs to learn his lesson. Besides consistence is a good thing," Vergo said.

Law huffed as he pushed himself up on his arms. Pushing through the pain in his body, he focused his mind on Neo. He tried to contact her, but she wasn't responding. A small amount of relief flooded his chest that she wasn't feeling his pain, but it was quickly replaced with dread when he realized she was unconscious not just out of magic.  _Well, at least she's unconscious for all of this now. She won't have to deal with the pain until she wakes back up. But this also puts her in danger. Caesar probably already captured her. He's probably taking her to one of the labs. At least he won't be able to learn anything from her blood. But still…Vergo is the real issue here. If Doflamingo has and interest in Neo then Vergo will undoubtedly try and take her with him. And with my heart in his hands…there's no way I can stop him._   _Neo's going to freak out if that happens. I've got to try and distract Vergo some how and get my heart back so I can help her._

Law clenched his chest again. With a deep breath, he addressed Vergo. " _Vergo_ …the Navy soldiers of the G-5 are here on the island now. They're just outside the front of the lab. If they see you here, you're going to be in a lot of trouble with the Navy. You're there commanding officer after all. You're finished when they see you here."

Vergo swung his bamboo staff and whacked Law in the stomach. "Are you seriously trying to give me advice on how to deal with my own men? I know how to handle them. You should know your place, boy! Also, don't make me repeat myself. It's  _Mr. Vergo_!"

Law sucked back a scream when Vergo squeezed his heart. He fell back onto the floor, grateful that Neo was no longer awake before his own mind went blank.

…

"Huh?" Luffy asked as he started to wake up. He blinked away his blurry and waving vision before looking to his left. "Oh, Tra! What's going on?! Where are we?!"

"We've been captured, you idiot. What does it look like to you?" Law grumbled as he kept his eyes down in concentration on keeping track of where and how Neo was doing. Through her forced nap, he could feel her magic returning to her and their connection was growing stronger with each second, but she still wasn't awake.

"What?!" Luffy screamed. "When did that happen?!"

"When Caesar knocked us all out," Robin said calmly. "Don't you remember what happened?"

"Oh, right! That dingdong did something to me!" Luffy shouted as he struggled against his chains. He whipped his eyes to his right and saw Tashigi and Smoker was with them as well. "Huh?! Oh, you're here, too, Smokey?! Did Caesar capture you two as well?"

"Clearly!" Smoker-Tashigi hissed. "You're just as dumb as ever, Straw Hat!"

Tashigi-Smoker shifted against the chains that bound her borrowed devil fruit body.

Law noticed her struggle. He said, "Why are you wasting energy like that? That's sea prism stone chains. You're a devil fruit user now. You can't get free."

"Wait a second! Where's Neo?! Why isn't she here?! Where is she?!" Luffy asked. He whipped his eyes around their cell but didn't see her anywhere. He shot his eyes to Law. "Where is she, Tra?!"

Law's hat fell over his eyes as a dark aura surrounded his body. Luffy's voice faded from his ears as he locked his mind onto Neo and tried not to think about what Vergo and Caesar were going to do to her.

…

Caesar laughed to himself as he laid Neo down on the exam table. He rubbed his hands together while speaking to himself. "Finally! After all these months, I'll be able to see what this creature really is!"

Laughing again, Caesar flew over to his scientific and medical supplies. He pulled a heart monitor and a brain monitor over to her. Unzipping the top of her coat, he stuck the patches onto her chest, reaching under the neck of her shirt to do it, and then placed a patch on each of her temple. He then rolled up the sleeve on her left arm. Grabbing a needle, he stuck it into her arm. His eyes began to shine brightly as he watched her red blood fill up the syringe body. He pulled it out and held it up to the light. "Finally! Finally! Finally! FINALLY! All of her secrets will be mine!"

"You mean, all of her secrets will be Doflamingo's," Vergo said as he entered the lab. His hands were behind his back as he walked up to the scientist. "The young master wants her to come with us when we return to Dressrosa."

"Yes, of course," Caesar said. Placing the needle down he picked up a pair of scissors. He snipped off one of her fingernails then a lock of her hair.

"What are you doing?" Vergo asked.

"Getting as many DNA samples as I possible can!" Caesar replied with a ton of giddy vibrating through his voice. "I've waited for months to extract her DNA! This is the only chance I've been able to get it! You have no idea how sickeningly close she and that bratty warlord are! I've spent months doing nothing but watching them suck face! It was horrible!"

"So this is her, huh?" Vergo asked. He looked down at Neo's face. "This is the woman Law married and has the Navy in such a tizzy? She's just a child."

"Interesting, isn't she?" Caesar asked while he checked on the machines monitoring her brain waves and heart rate. He then turned back to her and ran his fingertip down her smooth cheek. "She has such an inhuman feel about her. I wonder if I slit her open if her crystals would appear inside of her."

"I can see that now," Vergo replied. "At first I thought that all those reports about her were just ridiculous drivel. But then I remembered another subordinate of Dofy's. She had the exact same inhuman feel about her."

"Seriously?!" Caesar snapped. "There's another one who feels just like this one?! Why didn't I know about this?! I could have had my answers all along!"

"It doesn't matter," Vergo said, purposefully ignoring the rants of the scientist. "You are not going to cut her open. Dofy, wants her in pristine condition when I deliver her to him."

"Pristine condition?" Caesar raised a skeptical eyebrow at the man. "I know you better than that. You're going to torture her in front of Law."

A smirk tugged at the corner of Vergo's lips.

Caesar frowned. "You are a sick man, Vergo."

Neo groaned and tilted her head to the side. Every single part of her body ached as if she had been run over by a large herd of elephants. Her eyelids parted to blurry vision. She licked her dry lips.

"Ah, she awakens," Caesar said just as Neo opened her eyes fully.

Neo shifted. The chains on her body bit into her coat. Her anxiety shot up when she realized she was bound by chains and being eyed by Caesar and Vergo. She had been cornered. Her mind flashed back to her past and to the time she woke up for the first time on Law's ship as a familiar, yet startling beeping filled her ears.  _'Law!'_

_'I'm here.'_

_'What happened?! Where am I?! Caesar and Vergo are here! Why does my body hurt so much?! What did Vergo do to you?!'_

_'Shh. It'll be all right, love. I know they're with you. I figured they would be when I woke up and you weren't beside me. We were fighting. Vergo got in some hits on me. That's why your body hurts.'_

_'Law! I'm chained up! I'm trapped! What do I do?! My crystals want to come out! I'm trying so hard not to let them! I'm in sea prism stone chains!'_  Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. She flinched when Vergo leaned in closer to her. "Stay away from me!" When Neo tried to scoot away from him, Vergo grabbed her arm and jerked her back to him. She tried to scream and pull away from him, but her head spun and her magic took a sharp dip before coming back. "No! Don't t-touch me! Get…away…"

"Shut up," Vergo said harshly. He squeezed his hold on her arm, making her yip in pain.

_'Neo!'_

_'Law…he's going to hurt me, isn't he?'_

A long pause passed between them before Law answered.  _'I'm so sorry, Neo. I messed up. I didn't even think that he would have ever showed up here. I'm so, so sorry.'_

_'Law, where are you? My magic keeps draining. I don't know how long I'm going to be able to keep our connection. I'm scared.'_

_'I know you are. It'll be all right. Just stay strong for me, okay? Don't give them anything they want. Can you do that for me? Can you fight?'_

_'I don't know. I'll try. I'm being held by sea prism stone shackles though. I don't know what Vergo is going to do either. Caesar has me hooked up to some machines. And I think he took blood. My arm hurts.'_

_'I know. I felt that. It doesn't matter. He won't be able to find out anything from your DNA. Vergo is the one you need to be concerned about. Just focus on him. I really don't want you to fight against him with your magic not working correctly, but if you get the chance to escape, then do it. Let loose on him and get away.'_

_'I'll try if I can. But my magic is about out. I don't think I'll be able to escape even if I try.'_

_'Then use your best judgment. If you think you can escape, then do it. If you think you're better off not fighting, then don't fight.'_

_'Okay, Law. I'm calming down now. Are the others with you? Caesar knocked them out as well.'_

_'Yeah. They're here. They're worried about you, especially_ _Straw Hat_ _. We're all bound by sea prism stone chains and in a cage. Well, my chains are normal ones. We got lucky there. But I still can't come and help you since it would reveal the truth.'_

Neo mentally chuckled at him through their bond when he hissed Straw Hat with an ocean size amount of jealousy in the words.  _'Leave it up to you to be jealous at a time like this.'_

_'I can't help it. You're_ _mine_ _.'_

"I've heard a lot about you, Trafalgar Neo," Vergo said. He squeezed her arm again, pulling her attention from Law. She grinded her teeth at the pain and refused to make any sound this time while his fingers dug through the thick fabric of her coat and into her skin. "What are you? You're clearly not human. And I know those sea prism stone shackles don't work on you. Why go through this charade? What exactly are you trying to hide?"

_'Neo!'_

_'I'm fine, Law. He's just digging his fingers into my arm. I can handle that.'_  Neo stared up at the ceiling. She focused on it instead of the pain shooting through her arm.  _'There's nothing he can do to me that will make me talk. He can't inflict anything worse than those people from my past already have. I'm strong now. I won't cave to him.'_

_'That's my girl. Keep telling yourself that. And don't worry if you lose control over your magic and can't speak to me. I'll always be right beside you. I'm not very far from you. We'll be reunited soon. Vergo won't do much harm to you since Doflamingo wants to see you. And I'm their real target anyway. They'll only try and use you to get to me.'_

_'Okay. I think it might be best if I don't try and fight him. I can conserve what little of my magic I'm regaining and save if for when I really need it. If they bring me to you, I might be able to free you all. We'll have a better chance of escaping that way.'_

_'That would be the best plan of action. All right. Do your best to get him to bring you to me. We'll figure out the rest from there. I'll see you soon.'_

_'Right.'_  Neo closed her eyes. She kept herself open to Law, but tried to conserve as much magic as she possible could.

"Well, if you're not going to just willingly answer me," Vergo said. He jerked her off the table, pulling and snapping some of the wires that were attached to her. The beeping from the heart monitor flat lined from the disconnection.

"Vergo!" Caesar hissed. "I wasn't done with her! And you broke my equipment!"

"We don't have time for your ridiculous experiments. Once we're back in Dressrosa you can play with her all you want. Right now, I want answers from her. Unlock her chains," Vergo said. He shoved Neo towards Caesar.

Neo swallowed a growl when she was shoved. She bit her bottom lip and took in a deep breath. She flinched when Caesar moved closer to her and reached for her chains. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out.  _Okay. This is it._

"Fight me," Vergo stated plainly as Caesar unlocked her chains.

Neo raised her eyes to him. Behind her Caesar chuckled softly before saying, "Yes, fight him. I'd like to see how your body reacts after being poisoned by me. You were clearly having trouble fighting before. I don't believe you were close enough to feel the effects of my gas. At least, not when your trouble first started. But let's see what you can do now."

Neo swallowed hard when the chain dropped from her body. She jumped when they clanked against the floor. She looked down at them, without thinking, and then quickly pulled her eyes back up to Vergo. But she wasn't quick enough. The second she had her eyes back up, Vergo's fist slammed into her stomach. She gasped. Her body fell forward.

"You should know to never take your eyes off your enemy," Vergo said as Neo slumped over his fist. "Didn't Law teach you that?"

Vergo grabbed a handful of her hair. He jerked her back and kicked his shin across her shoulders, sending her flying back against the wall.

Neo felt all the air being forced out of her lungs when her back hit the solid surface. She closed her eyes as she slid down the wall. She could feel Law's anger burning through their bond. But he didn't say anything to her. She knew he didn't want to distract her. He just wrapped his presence around her as much as he could until her magic faded away from them, plunging them both into a magicless darkness.  _Just great. My magic failed again. What is happening to me? Is this because of Caesar's gas?_

Caesar smiled as he watched her collide with the wall several feet across the room then slid down it until she was on the floor. He laughed. "Not bad. You never fail to impress, Vergo. You're so ruthless. She's quite a bit smaller than you are."

"Her small size does not matter," Vergo replied. He cranked his head to his left, cracking his neck a couple times. "The young master wants to know all of her secrets, just as you do. And it has been made very clear that her  _power_ , or whatever it is, increases when her beloved crew is in danger. Besides, that wasn't even half of my punching strength."

"I suppose that is somewhat true. She does seem to become more powerful when someone she loves is in danger," Caesar said as he inspected Neo from her spot on the floor. "But here and now, she's the one who's in danger. Perhaps we should take her to Law. I think you should be attacking him instead. That would put him in danger and release her fury. After all, you have Law's heart. The fight would be easy. You've already captured him."

Neo twitched. She raised her eyes to Caesar and glared.  _At least I don't have to do much of anything to get them to take me to Law._

"What's the matter, Neo? Haven't you figured that out just yet? Law hasn't come to save you yet," Caesar said. "And that's because he can't! He's trap! He's trapped like the little rat he is! He's in sea prism stone chain too! He can't come save you this time even if he wants to!"

 _You have no idea how big of an idiot you are, Caesar. Law isn't coming because he's pretending he's chained up with sea prism stone. But just wait until he gets free. You both are going to regret touching me. I can handle you two just fine. I might not be able to beat you, but I won't lose either!_  Holding her head high, she said, "I want to see him."

"You're in no position to make demands," Vergo said. He swung his right fist at her, clipping her right on the jaw.

She went flying again. She hit the floor, bounced once, and then rolled to a stop. Her vision and head spun like crazy. Her stomach flipped a couple times as she pushed up on her forearms. She touched her now sore jaw.  _There's no way he actually hits that softly. He should have broken my jaw just now. He's only toying with me. He is holding back._

Vergo walked up to her. She gritted her teeth when he pulled his right foot back and began to swing it towards her. He suddenly stopped when Monet entered into the room. She said, "Master, Vergo, the others are awake now."

"Ah, good," Vergo said as he set his foot back down on the floor. "This will be better with Law watching."

Neo gritted her teeth and glared up at the man hovering over her. Her heart pounded in her chest and her head.  _At least I'll be back with Law soon._

"All well," Caesar said. He smiled at Neo. "It was fun while it lasted. But I have to go pick up the children now. Be sure not to torture her too much before I get back."

"Then you better hurry," Vergo said as he walked over and grabbed the chains off the floor just as one of Caesar's men came in with a smaller piece of chain. The man handed it to Vergo then left the room. Vergo then turned back to Neo, pulled her to her feet, and chained her back up, adding another chain that served as a leash for him. He jerked her along as they left the room.

Neo pressed her lips together when vomit rose into her throat. She swallowed it back down. There was no way she couldn't let herself to be sick right now. It was a bit of a surprise that she hadn't thrown up yet. Her vision was still swaying a bit thanks to the hits Vergo gave her. She pushed it aside. For now all she was concerned about was getting back to Law.


	82. Vergo Part Two

Vergo

Part Two

Neo stumbled on her weak legs as Vergo led her down the hall like a dog. Her body was heavy and her forehead was hot.  _I feel like I'm getting sick. Maybe that's why my magic isn't working right. I really don't think it's because of Caesar's gas. This disruption started before he released it. And I wasn't close enough in the beginning to be affected by it._

Monet paused at the door of the main lab where Law and the others were being held. She turned to Vergo. "What now? Are you going to take her right inside?"

"No. I want Law to sweat for a while," Vergo replied. He pushed Neo's chains into the hands of one of Caesar's men. "Keep an eye on her for the moment. When I signal, bring her in."

"Right!" The man nodded. He clutched a hold of Neo's chains and held her firmly.

Neo flinched at his closeness, but didn't have enough strength to pull away from him. She closed her eyes and took a couple slow, deep breaths when her stomach began to spin again. She gritted her teeth and hoped she didn't retch everything up out of her stomach. She reopened her eyes just as Monet walked through the door.

"What the heck are  _you_?" Neo heard Luffy asked. He then said, "Never mind! I don't care about you! Where's Neo?! What have you done to her?!"

"You should be more concerned about yourselves," Vergo said as he entered into the room shortly after Monet did.

"What?! You're…" Tashigi-Smoker gasped.

"You're the head of the G-5! Why the heck are you here?!" Smoker-Tashigi demanded.

Neo's knees buckled at that point. The voices from inside the room faded away from her as her vision started to darken. She dropped to her knees. She felt her solar crystal trying to come out and heal her. She shook her head slowly.  _No. Don't come out. Not right now. I'm not alone. I'm fine. I don't need you right now. I can handle this for a little bit longer._

"Hey. Are you all right, Lady Law?" the man holding her asked. His voice was full of concern, but he quickly cleared his throat and changed his tone. "Uh, I mean, get up! Who told you that you could sit down like that?! On your feet!"

He grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet. She flinched at his touch, but didn't have enough energy yet to pull away from him. Once up right, she glared at him and summoned just enough energy to pull away from his hold. Hissing, she said, "Don't touch me! You're going to regret that! Remember what Law did to your fellow subordinate?! You're a  _dead man_!"

The man stumbled backwards when his mind filled up with the one guy who tried to take advantage of this woman. He recovered from his shock and tried to put on a brave face. "Shut up! He can't do anything to me now that the master has decided to fight! Besides, we have Vergo here now! You all are in such trouble! You're the ones who are dead!"

"Hey! Was that Neo?!" Luffy asked from inside the room. "She's here, isn't she?! Let us see her! Right now!"

"Straw Hat," Neo said. She tried to move towards the door, but the man jerked her back to him.

"I want to see Law!" Neo hissed, pressing her back against the wall and glared at the man. "Let go!"

"You'll see him when Mr. Vergo says you can," the man said. "Don't cause me anymore trouble. I don't want to hurt you, Lady Law."

Neo took a deep breath before dropping her eyes down to the ground. She could tell that his man was being honest when he said that. He didn't want to hurt her. She really didn't want to hurt him either so she chose to ignore him and focus on her returning magic and how she was going to escape from these chains.  _I wonder if I can pick the lock of these sea prism stone chains. If these were just regular chains, I could easily break them or cut through them with my fire crystals. I guess Caesar still has the key with him. I never saw him pass it to Vergo or anyone of his minions. If I get a chance, I should try and take it from him just incase I can't do anything on my own to get out of these chains._

…

"Answer me!" Luffy growled. "Where is she?! That was her that I heard, wasn't it?! What have you done to her?! And why aren't you upset over this, Tra?!"

"I am upset, you moron," Law replied calmly when Luffy turned his glare to him. He glared right back at the younger pirate. "But getting loud like you are is not going to do us or Neo any good."

"He's quite right, Straw Hat Luffy," Vergo said as he walked over to the couches. He sat down and crossed his legs just as Monet was finishing up with her call on the transponder snail. "You don't have anything to worry about. She's fine. For now."

Law frowned deeply. He struggled to keep his heart rate low as his chest burned with anger. He knew Vergo was lying and she wasn't fine. He knew that Vergo had hurt her. His stinging chin and throbbing stomach was solid proof of that. And he knew that Vergo was only trying to make him become furious. But what Vergo didn't know is he was already furious. And he was going to make Vergo pay dearly for hitting her.

"All the shutters are finally closed!" a man said from the other end of the line of the transponder snail.

"All right then," Monet said before hanging up the transponder snail. "It sounds like they're starting to move ahead with preparations. Poor little Navy soldiers. They should have left this island when they had the chance."

"What exactly is Caesar up to?" Vergo asked. He looked up at the bird woman and waited for her answer.

"Well, I'm not sure exactly, but he has woken up his pet Smiley. I think he might be planning to do a big experiment today. And from the looks of it, it looks like it's going to be a very dangerous one," Monet replied. She shot a smirk over at Law. The warlord glared back before she turned her attention back to Vergo. "By the way, Vergo, did you have hamburger for breakfast this morning?"

"Yes, I did. It's my favorite. Why?" Vergo asked.

"You've got a little left over on your cheek. Right there." Monet tapped her cheek.

Vergo pulled the hamburger off his cheek and shoved it into his mouth. "I think I'd like to see what kind of experiment this is before I go. Do I understand correctly that everyone outside will die?"

"I believe so. But we'll be safe in here," Monet replied. "So don't worry about that."

"Hey! Vergo! Those are all Navy soldiers from G-5 outside! They're your subordinates! Are you really going to leave them out there to die?!" Smoker-Tashigi demanded.

"Yes. I believe I am," Vergo replied casually.

"What did he just say?!" Tashigi-Smoker asked in disbelief.

"Anyway, I can't believe there are such big names in one cell." Vergo stood back up and walked over to the cage. "I like the view thought. The look really suits you, Law. I think it might be even better if your lover was in there with you. What do you think? Would you like her to join you all?"

"You jerk!" Luffy snapped.

"Maybe so," Robin said calmly. "But it's just like the old days, isn't it, Luffy?"

Law gritted his teeth. His chest flared up with even more anger than before as Luffy and Robin started going on about the past and being locked in the same cell or some other such nonsense and at how the cyborg could easily sleep through all of this. He struggled to keep his eyes from wondering over to the door that led to the hall where Neo currently was. He could feel her just right there, but she wasn't contacting him. He knew she was just trying to conserve her magic and strength. He just wished she were in his sight. He wanted to  _see_  her.

"How could you?!" Smoker-Tashigi screamed, bring Law's eyes back to their prison. "And how could I have not noticed it before?!"

"I don't blame you for not noticing before," Law said, forcing his mind off of Neo. "It's not like Vergo is suddenly turning on the Navy here. He's a pirate through and through. He enlisted in the Navy on Joker's orders long before he made a name for himself."

"What?! He's a pirate?!" Tashigi-Smoker asked. She then glared at Vergo.

"He's spend fifteen years climbing up Naval ranks from the very bottom. He's the most trustworthy subordinate Joker has," Law continued. "He's been Joker's man from the very start."

"If I remember correctly, Joker is the name of an underworld broke," Smoker-Tashigi said. "And he was right under my nose this entire time! How could I have not noticed this rat?!"

"You should be praising this rat for eluding the sharp eyes of the great  _White Chase_ ," Vergo said as he turned his back to the cage and took a few steps away from it. "From the day you were transferred from headquarters, I was on high alert. I'm glad now that I'm free from all that stress of working for the Navy. Anyway, you blurted out far too much, Law."

Law flinched when Vergo held out his heart. He swallowed and braced for the heart crushing pain that was about to come not only to him, but to Neo as well. He narrowed his eyebrows when Vergo just lowered his hand back down.  _What's he up to? Oh crap! Neo!_

"But it doesn't really matter. I know exactly how to handle you all from G-5," Vergo said as he walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. "It won't matter one single bit if the G-5 soldiers do learn about me and my background. I know exactly what to do. Isn't that right, Vice Admiral Smoker and Captain Tashigi?" He gulped back his drink then crushed it using his Armament Haki coated hand. While walking back over to the cage, he said, "You all will die here. That way you can't reveal to anyone what you have learned here. I can't just let people walk away who've learned about Joker's identity. And I will report it as an accident just like I always do."

"Hey, Tra, I've got a question for you. Who's this Joker you keep talking about?" Luffy asked.

Law glanced at Luffy and sighed. He felt momentarily relieved that Vergo's attention was off Neo. "There was a time when I use to work for him. That's how I know about Vergo. Joker is just his underground alias. He's actually a man you all know very well."

"What do you mean? We know him?" Robin asked.

"He's one of the seven most notorious pirates. He's a member of the Seven Warlords that are used by the world government." Law raised his eyes and glared at Vergo. "He is Don Quixote Doflamingo!"

"Uh, who's that?" Luffy asked completely clueless.

"You idiot! You saw him at the war at Marineford!" Smoker-Tashigi snapped.

"Huh?" Luffy thought back to the war. He hummed and tilted his head this way and that way before realizing who they were talking about. "Oh! You mean that guy with all the pink feathers?! The one whose tongue is always sticking out of his mouth? He looks so silly doing that."

"You better not take him lightly," Law warned.

"Hm?" Luffy blinked.

"Anyway, let's move on," Vergo said, pulling the captive pirates and Navy soldiers attention back to him. "I'm sure you're just  _dying_  to see your lovely little wife. I'll let you all see her now."

Law's eyes turned sharp as Vergo snapped his fingers.

…

Neo sighed and pivoted her body so she could press her throbbing forehead to the wall. Her body had become even heavier that it was before. She just wanted to curl up against Law's side and sleep. Her only comfort was when she heard Law's voice, but that was only when he raised his tone. Other times, he was talking normally and she couldn't hear him.

Turning back around, she pressed her back to the wall again. Carefully, she glanced down the hall when she felt Chopper near. She couldn't see him, from where ever he was hiding, but she was sure he was panicking. She glanced back at the man who was guarding her. She could easily take the man out, but knew she couldn't handle a fight with Vergo, Caesar and Monet right now. She had to buy herself more time while her magic continued to regenerate.

She peaked back down the hall when she caught a glimpse of Chopper peaking around the corner. He shot her a worried look before disappearing again just as the man guarding her looked down the hall. Neo tensed up, but relaxed when the man turned back around. He didn't see Chopper. She sighed internally and wished she could tell the reindeer that she was fine with her voice. Knowing she couldn't she had to use his animal side and her connection to that to get her message to him.

Closing her eyes, she felt out Chopper and sent vibes to him that she was okay while pushing away her guilt for having to lie to him about the chains around her.  _I'm fine, Chopper. I got separated from the others during our fight with Caesar. They, plus Law and two G-5 officers, are trapped inside this room. They're tied up with chains and are in a cage. My powers are messed up a bit, but they're starting to straighten out. I think I can pick the lock with my vines. Law and I replace some sea prism stone chains with some regular ones in case something like this happened. Or I might be able to get the key from Caesar. But, either way, I can't escape until I get enough strength to stand up to Vergo. When I get the chance I'll escape and most likely rejoin up with Law. Just keep yourself hidden for now. And be careful. Vergo is a very strong man. He's even worse than Caesar. The others will be just fine. Law will take care of them. They'll escape once they have the chance to._

…

Chopper slowly slid along the wall. He peaked around the corner and about screamed. He clamped a hoof over his mouth when he saw Neo bound by chains and looking like she was about to pass out. He jerked himself back around the corner. His heart pounded inside of his chest. For a moment, he felt like the pounding was going to crack a few ribs.  _What do I do?! Neo's been captured! Why?! She was with Luffy! How could she have been captured?! What happened?! What happened to her?! She looks so tired! What do I do?! What do I do?!_

Chopper danced around in a circle with his hoof still over his mouth. He started heading back the way he came then paused and walked back to the other hall. He glanced around the corner again before pulling back and pressing his body against the wall.  _What do I do?! I can't just leave Neo like that. But what can I do to help her? Those are probably sea prism stone chains she's wearing since she's a devil fruit user. We'll have to find the key and that's if I am able to help her escape._

Chopper closed his eyes. Tears stung his orbs as he tried to figure out what he was suppose to do. Suddenly, he felt very calm. He felt like nature had wrapped around his little body. No, he felt like Neo had picked him up and was cradling him in her arms.  _What is this? Why does Neo suddenly feel so close to me? Is she somehow communicating with me or am I imagining things? I feel like she wants me to stay away. Are you really going to be okay, Neo? If you want me to stay away and not help free you…I guess I can. But I don't like it. I don't like how drained you look._

Chopper peaked back down the hall towards Neo.  _But I'll stay away. If that's what you really want me to do. Just be careful._

…

Neo relaxed when she felt Chopper had received her message. She closed her eyes and smiled.  _That's good. I'm glad he was able to understand me. Though I'm going to have to make up for lying to him about these chains._

A far off snap sounded through the air, pulling her from her thoughts. Neo jumped when the man jerked her, by the chains, off the wall and pushed her towards the door. "Let's go! That's the signal! You're about to be reunited with your traitorous lover! You two deserve each other!"

Neo couldn't help but smile at the man's words as she wobbled into the room. Her eyes caught Law before the man behind her pushed her again. She stumbled before the cage and fell to the ground. She rolled over onto her back then heard Luffy shriek. He said, "What did you do to her?! Is that a bruise on her face?! Did you hit her while she was tied up?! You jerks!"

"Would you have preferred if I  _did_  hit her while she was tied up?" Vergo asked as he looked at Neo. He then ran his eyes over everyone inside, smirking when Law caught his look. "Well, here she is, Law. She safe and sound."

Law narrowed his eyebrows at Vergo.

"Shut up!" Luffy snapped. He struggled against the sea prism stone chains. "Let me go! Let me out of these chains! I'm going to make you pay for hurting her!"

"I'm all right, Straw Hat," Neo said. She turned her eyes to them, but looked at Law.  _'I'm all right.'_

 _'No you're not.'_  Law frowned as he focused on how much their bodies hurt. His pain coupled with hers, he couldn't help but wondered how she hadn't passed out yet. She was being incredibly strong through all of this.

 _'Well, can't blame me for trying.'_  Neo chuckled at him through their bond.  _'But really, I'm going to be fine. We're back together now. No matter when he does…Oh, by the way, he's going to torture me when Caesar comes back. They're trying to provoke me into using my magic while trying to tick you off.'_

_'It's too late. I'm already ticked off. Besides, I figured something like that would happen if you got captured. I'm so sorry about all of these. I shouldn't have left you alone with the Straw Hats. I should have predicted Vergo arriving here.'_

_'Don't worry about it, Law. You can't always predict everything. Besides, it was my decision to go with them. And I don't regret it. This wouldn't have happened if my magic were acting correctly. We'll get out of this. I'm sure I can pick these locks with my vines or steal the key from Caesar when he gets here.'_

_'Why is your magic acting weird? Is it because you don't feel good?'_

_'It might be because I am getting sick. I guess I didn't notice it before the fight with Caesar. But I'm feeling a bit better now that my magic is returning. I'd be back to a hundred percent if I could just use my solar crystal. It wants to heal me so badly. I'm struggling to keep it from appearing.'_

_'You'll use it when you get a chance. For now, just relax and focus on regaining your magic.'_

_'One other thing…'_

_'Neo, I said relax. Don't make me order you to do it.'_

_'You need to know that Chopper is near. He's inside the room right now. He's over there in that slit in the wall. He just slipped inside while everyone was distracted by Straw Hat's yelling. I was able to tell him not to try and help us to escape, but he might try and do that anyway. He's really worried about all of us. He's scared too.'_  Neo carefully looked over in Chopper's direct then quickly looked back at Law.

_'All right. Message received. Now relax. Don't use our bond for a while. Save as much magic and energy for escaping and fighting.'_

"Vergo, I've made some coffee," Monet said. She picked up the tray and walked it over to the couches and Vergo. "Would you like some milk with it?"

"Sugar will be just fine. And this really isn't necessary," Vergo said as he turned away from the cage and walked back over to the couch. He sat down and poured him a little sugar into his mug. "What's taking Caesar so long?"

"Hey! Come back here!" Luffy screamed. "I'm not done with you!"

"Drop it, Straw Hat," Law said. "You're in no position to fight him anyway."

"I don't care! I'm still going to pound his face in!" Luffy growled as he struggled against the sea prism stone chains. The chains then zapped his energy and he slumped against the wall. "Sh-tupid sh-ea pris-hum sh-tone."

"Relax, Straw Hat," Neo said. "He's not going to do anything until-"

"Until I return," Caesar then said as he slithered into the room in his smoke form. He took his human form and laughed. "Sorry to have kept you waiting. Shall we continue from before?"

Vergo gulped down his coffee then stood up. "That's fine. I was just enjoying some coffee and cookies. That's strange. I don't see the cookies anywhere."

"I didn't serve you cookies," Monet replied.

"That's right. I didn't have cookies," Vergo said. He rounded the couch and walked back over to Neo. "Well, anyway…"

"Just make this quick. I have to proceed with my experiment after all," Caesar said with a smile.

Both Neo and Law narrowed their eyebrows at Vergo when the man pulled out his bamboo staff. Her heart took a jolt. Law wrapped his presence around her as much as he could.  _'It's okay, Law. I can handle anything he throws at me.'_

Law gritted his teeth, silently cursing himself for not being able to do a thing to stop this.

"What are you doing?!" Luffy demanded while the others stared on in silence.

"Just this," Vergo said. He twirled his bamboo staff, covered it with his haki then struck Neo on her right side. The chains bit into her body from the hit of the staff and from colliding with the cage.

Though she tried to hold it in, a small yip passed through her lips when her body collided with the cage. She forced down the pain and glared up at Vergo with as much defiance as she could manage.  _Hit me all you want, Vergo. You won't break me._

"Hey! Stop that!" Luffy screamed as the others gasped in shock and horror.

"She's tied up, man!" Franky added, having woken up from his nap at some point. "At least unchain her and give her a fair chance at defending herself!"

Vergo only responded to the cyborg was with multiple whacks of his staff on Neo's body.

Neo gritted her teeth as his staff slammed into her right knee. Instinctually, she tried to move away from him. When she did, he cracked his staff against her left shoulder then swung it against her already bruised face. The bamboo staff collided with her skin, cracking it open causing blood dripped into her mouth. She started to lick her blood soak lips then stopped when the tip of Vergo's staff slammed down on her right wrist. She cried out. Both her and Law felt the bone in her wrist cracking.

"Stop it!" Luffy screamed. His eyes shot daggers at Vergo. "She hasn't done anything to you! Leave her alone!"

Law's entire body burned with rage. His hat casted dark shadows over his face as his mind spun through countless ways of painful revenge scenarios that he could and would inflicted upon Vergo just as soon as he got out of the thin cage that separated them. He forced himself to not look at anyone, even Neo. He kept his hat down over his eyes, trying to block out the sounds of the staff colliding with her body. But he couldn't do it. The sounds were just as bad as the pain he was feeling. He knew Vergo slammed his staff into her lips, cracking both of them. He felt the air leaving her lungs as Vergo slammed his staff against her ribs again, cracking a few in the process.

"Stop it!" Luffy growled again.

"This is just sick!" Smoker-Tashigi said. He narrowed his eyebrows and glared at Vergo. "I know she's a pirate and I'd do just about anything to see her brought to justice, but this is just flat out wrong. Where's the honor here? Beating up a defenseless woman who's bound by chains?"

"She's quite the resilient one, isn't she?" Caesar asked with a small laugh. He ran his eyes over the bruises and blood on Neo's body. "Any  _normal_  person would have passed out by now from the pain."

"What? Normal?" Tashigi-Smoker asked. She looked at Caesar then over at Neo. She blinked in confusion as she focused on Neo. Her eyes then widened slightly when she finally felt something different about the blue haired woman. "No way. Those newspaper reports were…"

Panting hard, Neo glanced at the Navy woman before rolling over on her right side. Her body screaming with pain from the movement, but also from hitting her bruises on the hard floor. While moving, she caught a glimpse of a very frightened, very angry Chopper. She lightly shook her head at him, hope that he and Law would both keep their anger contained and not do something stupid.

…

 _How could he do that to her?! What did she do to him?! She chained up for crying out loud!_ Chopper growled to himself as he watched Vergo strike Neo again and again. His anger building with each hit he was forced to watch. He wanted to look away, but he just couldn't. He wanted to run out there and help her. He had to do it. He had to do  _something_. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself to charge out there. Before he could, he caught Neo's eyes. She shook her head at him.

He froze, knowing she didn't want him to reveal himself. He hated it. He hated having to stand there and do nothing while she got tortured like this. Gritting his teeth, Chopper forced himself to nod at her and forced himself to remain in his hiding spot.

…

Vergo swung his staff at her once more. It collided with her jaw.

"Stop it!" Luffy screamed. His eyes burned with fire and anger for the man hitting his friend. He wiggled against the chains holding him, ignoring how they were zapping him of his energy.

"How much longer do you think you're going to be able to keep her secrets  _secret_ , Law?" Caesar asked as he turned to the warlord. He reached into his pocket and pulled out three vials of blood. "I have her DNA. As soon as my big experiment is over I'm going to do all kinds of experiments on her blood. I'll know exactly what kind of  _creature_  she really is."

Law looked out from underneath his hat. Forcing himself to fake being surprised and shocked at the revelation that Caesar had a DNA sample from Neo. He glared as Caesar laughed.  _Keep thinking that, Caesar. You'll learn nothing from her blood._

"Tsk," Smoker-Tashigi scoffed. He glanced over at Law. "So I was right. She's  _not_  a devil fruit user after all. She's not  _normal_  at all. Is she, Law?"

"Not normal? What are you talking about?" Luffy asked, momentarily forgetting his anger.

Smoker-Tashigi scoffed again. He said, "Don't tell me you haven't noticed. With how strong you are, you should have noticed immediately that she's different."

"She's different?" Luffy asked.

"How so?" Franky asked. Both the male pirates turned to Neo.

Neo dropped her eyes to the floor when she felt the two male pirates looking at her. She was still lying on her right side, panting hard and glaring up at Vergo. Then Franky's eyes focused harder on her for a few seconds before he noticed the strange inhuman feel she gave off.

"What?! That's not possible! What  _is_  she?!" Franky asked.

Neo flinched at the cyborg's words.

"Hm?" Luffy tilted his head to his right then to his left, his eyes steadily roaming all over Neo's body. "Hm? Err, I don't get it. She seems normal to me. What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing's wrong with her!" Law snapped at the Straw Hat captain.

"Then why did Smokey say she wasn't a devil fruit user? And that she wasn't normal?" Luffy asked.

"Take a close look at her, Straw Hat," Smoker-Tashigi growled. "Don't you  _feel_  something odd about her? Does she feel  _human_  to you?"

"Human? Why wouldn't she feel human?" Luffy asked as he turned his eyes to her once more.

Neo couldn't stop herself from looking at the young captain. He narrowed his eyebrows and stared at her for several seconds. Her heart raced. His eyes popped wide open when he finally felt she was different. Now he knew.

"What?! She  _does_  feel different! But why?! How is that possible?! Tra, what's going on?! Why does she feel so different from everyone else?!" Luffy said.

Neo closed her eyes and exhaled.

"Yes, Law. Do tell us why she's so different," Caesar said with another laugh. "But I know that you won't. It doesn't really matter. I'll know soon enough with these blood samples. And I'll have all the time in the world to experiment on her and figure out what she is when we get back to Dressrosa. Right now, I have more pressing matters to attend to. That is, if you are done playing with her, Vergo."

"I think that would do for now," Vergo replied. He put away his bamboo staff and turned to Caesar. "You can proceed with your experiment."

"Very good. Get the video feed up, Monet," Caesar said, turning to the bird woman.

"Very well," Monet replied. She turned from the group and lifted herself into the air with her wings.

"You know, Vergo, you could do a better job at keeping your men under control," Caesar said as he sat down on the couch. "I about broke out into a cold sweat when I learned that Smoker was here."

"He can't be controlled. He's like a wild dog," Vergo replied. "But you won't have to worry about him after day."

"Yes, I suppose that's true," Caesar said. He got up and wondered back over to the cage. He paused momentarily to look at Neo. He smiled at her when she glared at him. He then proceeded to move closer to the cage. "This look suits you, Law. I bet you were rather helpless against Vergo. Weren't you? Looks like I was right in making that deal with you, wasn't I?"

Neo gripped her fists. The pain from that deal became fresh in her memories.

"You should have known better. It's your own fault. I guess you learned the hard way that Vergo has your heart," Caesar said as Vergo stepped over to him.

Neo's eyes widened when Vergo pulled out Law's heart. It pulsed once. Before anyone could say anything, Vergo squeezed Law's heart. Sharp, intense pain shot through both Law and Neo. And both screamed out at the pain.

"Hey!" Luffy shouted. He looked at Law then over at Neo. His gaze bounced between the two in complete confusion. "What's going on?!"

"They're  _both_  in pain?!" Franky asked. His eyes also bounced between the two screaming.

"How is that possible?" Robin wondered.

Vergo turned his eyes to Neo. He watched as she curled into herself.

"Hm?" Caesar blinked. His eyes darted from the heart in Vergo's hand to Law then to Neo then back to the heart. "What the heck? How is it possible that  _she's_ screaming in pain when Vergo squeezed  _Law's heart_? Vergo, do that again. Maybe we all were just imagining things. Perhaps she was just pretending or something."

 _Crap! I can't let him do that!_  Law thought to himself. "Caesar! Why did you give my heart to Vergo?! What good was that suppose to do?! All you had to do was squeeze it and I would have been at your mercy! How did you even know what we were up to?!"

"How you ask? Well, that's thanks to Monet," Caesar replied, forgetting about Neo's pain for the moment. "She cleverly changed her shape and followed you two when you left the lab. She heard  _everything_  you guys plotted."

 _'What?!'_  Neo's eyes popped open. Her eyes shot over to Monet.  _'But how, Law? If Monet was anywhere near us I would have sensed her!'_

 _'I was thinking the same thing.'_  Law huffed as he glanced over at the bird woman. Monet smiled back at him before turning her attention back to the giant transponder snail.  _'Maybe this issue you've been having with your magic started a lot sooner than you realized. That's the only way Monet could have gone undetected by you.'_

_'Oh, Law. I'm so sorry. This is my entire fault. You all got captured because-'_

_'Stop that! This isn't your fault. You didn't know any of this would happen.'_

Neo clenched her teeth, but stopped when pain from Vergo's hit shot through her jaw. She relaxed her jaw and pressed her forehead to the floor, biting back her tears.

"Hey, Tra, are you two all right? What happened?" Luffy asked. He continued to repetitively dart his eyes between Law and Neo, unsure of whom he should be more concerned about.

"It really is such a shame," Caesar then said. "I thought we had become friends. My men are so disappointed with how Neo had betrayed them. They grew rather fond of her. She was so nice to them and the children."

"So Monet saved your hide. I guess we should have been more careful around her then. I really didn't think she was anything to worry about since the one she was working for is so stupid," Law said with a smirk.

"Hn?!" Caesar hissed and grounded his teeth in fury at Law's words. He swung his hand back and whacked Law's heart just as Vergo held it up, sending another wave of pain through Law and Neo. "Watch your mouth, you brat!"

Vergo watched Neo carefully as she screamed and writhed on the floor.

Neo screamed. She curled more into herself, hoping it would relieve some of the pain. But it did. She turned and twisted until darkness seeped into her brain and she passed out. Luffy's voice just reaching her ears before everything went black. "I can't believe it! They have your heart and you're still alive?! How and why is this hurting Neo so much?! Tell me what's going on!"

…

"Hn." Neo groaned when her senses began to come back to her. The sharp shrill of Caesar's laughter cut through her, making her stomach spin to the point of gagging. She wished she had remained unconscious if she was just going to feel this bad. When she opened her eyes she thought the entire room was spinning and swaying before her, but noticed it was just her head and stomach. She closed her eyes and took a deep, slow breath as Caesar's voice floated into her ears.

"Yes! That's it, Smiley! Now, come to life! Become the weapon of mass destruction, Shinokuni! Change the entire face of this island completely!" Caesar shouted out. While he continued on ranting, Neo tilted her head to see what was going on. A blinding light from a large screen burned her eyes. She blinked a couple times, allowing her eyes to adjust to the screen's light. "The problem with the last experiment is there were survivors. They could still move even after being poisoned so they were able to escape."

 _What's he going on about?_  Neo asked herself. Her vision finally came into focus. She saw a dark pink colored cloud rolling over the island and several men running from it on the screen. She looked around the darkened room and noticed that Caesar, Monet and Vergo were all distracted by the large screen and the terror that was unfolding on it. She narrowed her eyebrows at Caesar's coat and summoned one earth crystal.

_'Neo?'_

_'I have to get the key to these chains and those blood samples. This might be my only chance. They're all distracted.'_  Neo took a slow deep breath. The spinning in her head and stomach slowed down a bit more. Her vision became more clear. She moved her crystal over to Caesar's puffed out coat. Creating the smallest vine that she could, she slithered the vine into his pocket.

"Which means I should have petrified them!" Caesar shouted, causing Neo to jump. She paused her vine, thinking all of his jerking around was going to alert him to her vine. Her heart pounded in her chest, but he didn't seem to notice the vine as he continued with his monologue. "This gas clings to people's bodies like ash! It enters through their skin and paralyzes their whole body all at once! Now, the perfect weapon of mass destruction, Shinokuni! Give us a good glimpse of your true power! Show all these fools what you can really do!"

 _'When we get out of this mess, I really hope someone punches that guy in the face.'_  Neo thought to Law as she finally got her vine twisted around the key and the vials in Caesar's pocket.

Law chuckled to her but didn't say anything. He just carefully took quick glances at her vine slithering out of Caesar's pocket and back over to Neo. His heart about skipped a beat when Vergo shifted on his feet. He relaxed and released his breath when that's all Vergo did.

"What the heck is going on?!" Smoker-Tashigi asked. His eyes glued to the screen before them.

"Are those people solidifying?!" Luffy asked.

Neo turned her eyes to the screen when the key and vials were safely tucked into her own pocket and when Luffy shouted out his question. Her eyes popped open as the bodies of some of Caesar's men hardened with some kind of ash like shell. She hissed under her breath. "What the heck?! Those are Caesar's men! Why would he do that to them?! They look up to him! They practically worship him!"

"Hey! That's Zoro and the others! They're being chased by the smoke!" Luffy shouted.

Neo looked at him then back up at the screen. She vaguely remembered their faces from seeing them at Sabaody and from their wanted posters.

"What are they doing?" Franky asked. "I mean, why are they running like that?"

"Oh, look! That samurai got his body back to normal," Robin said calmly.

Neo looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. The dark haired woman seemed far to calm about all of this.

"Oh, man! He's not going to let me have those legs, then!" Luffy whined. He then shouted at his subordinate in the cage then at the screen. "Hey, Robin! That's not important right now! Hey, guys! That smoke is right behind you! It's deadly! You have to r-run…you have to…ugh…I can't even yell anymore. Stupid sea prism stone!"

"They are your friends right, Straw Hat Luffy?" Caesar asked as he hovered near the cage. "That's just what I'd expect from your friends. They're rather tough. But soon they're going to run out of breath and strength. That's when my poison gas will get them. And eventually, there'll be there will only be the uninhabitable 'Land of the Dead'! No one outside of this laboratory will be able to survive. Neither will any of you."

Suddenly, a loud clank from a lever being pulled sounded throughout the room. Everyone gasped when a section of the wall opened up from behind the cage. The cage then lifted up off the ground. Those inside the cage jerked and fell around as it rose up into the air.

Neo, ignoring the pain in her body, pushed herself up into a sitting position then up onto her feet. She ran towards the cage. "Law!"

Vergo jumped in front of her. Slamming his leg across her shoulder, he sent her flying across the room.

Neo's back slammed into the wall, pushing all the air out of her lungs. She slumped to the ground. Her anger flared up and a low rumble of thunder rolled around the room. "You're going to pay for all you've done,  _Vergo_."

"Don't tell me Law taught you all of his disobedient mannerisms," Vergo said. He started to walk over to her. Once close enough, he pulled out his bamboo staff and infused it with his haki. "It's  _Mr. Vergo_  to you  _children_!"

 _'Neo! Break free of the chains!'_  Law shouted for her as they got pulled outside the laboratory.

_'What about the sea prism stone?'_

_'It doesn't matter now! They already know! We can't hide it from them any longer! Escape! Now! Find somewhere safe and use your solar crystal. I need you to help fight once we get free of this cage!'_

_'Right!'_  Neo pulled out the key from her pocket, careful to not let anyone see her doing so.

…

"Well, that lab was very well built," Franky said, impressed.

"Yes, it was," Robin replied in agreement. "You can easily carry big equipment with this thing."

"How can you two possible be this relaxed about all of this?!" Tashigi-Smoker demanded. "We're in some serious trouble here!"

"Hmmm…Okay, but what should we do about it? We're all tied up here," Luffy said. "Neo's still tied up as well. I hope she's going to be fine. She didn't look so good down there."

"She'll be fine, Straw Hat. I didn't plan on or even suspect that Vergo would show up here," Law said. "But we're not going to get held up at this stage. We're still moving forward with the plan. So don't screw it up this time. It's time for us to fight back."

"Hm? All right then. But what about Neo?" Luffy asked. "Are we going to go back for her?"

"Don't worry about Neo," Law said. A smile pulled over his lips causing the others to blink at him in confusion. "She'll be just fine. Caesar and Vergo did the worst thing they possible could do to her."

"That was some kind of beating they gave her," Franky said. "And also stealing some of her blood. The poor thing."

"That's not what I'm talking about," Law replied.

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked.

"I take it you don't read the newspapers, Straw Hat," Law glanced at the young man beside him.

"Nope. I don't," Luffy replied, carefree.

"Neo only lashes out strongly, with all her fury, at someone when they hurt someone she cares about," Smoker-Tashigi replied. "How in the world have you made it this far, Straw Hat? Pick up a newspaper once in a while! You should know your rivals!"

"They have no idea the kind of storm they've just unleashed on themselves," Law said. His eyes rose up to the darkening sky as it rumbled with thunder and the wind began to pick up.

"What the heck?!" Luffy asked as he and everyone else shot their eyes to the sky. "Where did that storm come from?!"

"Never mind that," Law said. "We need to focus on escaping from here. Time for us to make our counter attack."

"Counter attack?" Luffy asked with a blink.

"Yeah." Law nodded. "And this time, don't screw it up."

…

Neo jammed the key into the lock and turned it just before Vergo swung his bamboo staff at her.

"Element Crystal! Vine Snap!" She summoned her earth crystals, wrapped a large vine around the staff then, using the momentum from Vergo's swing, she swung his entire body. Landing a kick to his stomach before lifting his feet off the ground, she flung him up into the air. She slammed him into the walls a couple times before slamming his body into one of the couches, tipping it over as he fell to the floor. She wrapped multiple vines around him in an attempt to trap him.

…

 _Yes! Way to go, Neo!_  Chopper silently cheered as he watched Neo launch her attack on Vergo. He jumped and danced around.  _Kick his sorry butt! Make him pay for what he did to you!_

…

"What?!" Caesar screamed. "How did she escape from the chains?! Even if she's not a devil fruit user those sea prism stone chains are practically indestructible!"

"Do you still have the key?" Monet asked calmly.

"Of course I do!" Caesar snapped. He shoved his hand into his pocket. "What?! It's gone! The blood samples are gone as well!"

"She must have picked your pocket at some point," Monet said. "Probably when we all were watching the screen."

"Who cares?! Vergo! Stop her! I want those samples back!" Caesar demanded just before Neo charged right at him. "What?!"

"Wind Lift!" Neo wrapped her winds around her. She landed a kick to his head, sending him flying across the room. She flinched when pain shot through her body from Vergo's beating. When Caesar picked himself up, she held up the vials of her blood.

"Give those back!" Caesar demanded.

"No," Neo said flatly. She tossed them into the air and engulfed them in her fire crystals. "Fire Flare!"

"Kill her, Vergo!" Caesar shrieked as the smoke from her fire crystals cleared, leaving nothing behind. "Kill her in the most painful way ever!"

From the corner of her eye, she saw Vergo break free of her vines and picking himself up off the floor before charging at her. She ducked just in time to avoid a punch from him. The sudden move shot more pain through her, slowing her moves down. Seeing Vergo coming after her again, she clapped her hands together as hard as could.

A sharp crack of thunder vibrated through the room, causing all of them, but for Neo, to cover their ears and buckle over in pain. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized she had forgotten Chopper was in the room as well.  _Crap! I'm sorry, Chopper! Give me second and I'll get you out of this place!_

Pushing through the pain, Neo steadied her winds and flew towards Chopper. She turned when she felt Vergo coming towards her, but she wasn't quick enough. He landed landed a kick to her head. Her body spun until she collided with the floor. Picking herself up, she placed her hand on her head to try and force the ringing in her ears to vanish. Sensing Vergo coming at her again, she used her winds to hurl herself away before he could land another kick to her head. She continued to use her winds to dodge multiple kicks and punches from him. With each move more pain shot through her.  _This isn't good. I'm still not back to a hundred percent yet. If I'm going to land a blow that will actually do some harm to him, I'm going to have to use my solar crystal to heal my body. I can't fight with this much damage even though I'm raising a storm outside due to my anger._

Neo glanced over at door.  _Looks like I'm running for now. All right then, first a distraction so I can get Chopper. I'm not leaving him in here with these nut jobs._ She summoned her fire crystals and hovered them close to each of the three others in the room. She put over a hundred around Vergo, since he was the biggest concern, and fifty around Monet and Caesar. She smirked at their confusion before saying, "Fire Flare!"

Her crystals flared up. Caesar screamed. Monet pulled in her wings with a gasp. And Vergo just frowned. Neo then wrapped her winds around herself again and flew over to Chopper. He was still on the ground, recovering from Neo's thunder attack when she used it. Guilt stabbed into her heart when she saw him. She was going to make up for that later as well as lying to him. She grabbed him and flew out of the room. "Come on! I'm getting you out of here!"

"Neo," Chopper said while glancing at her. "Wh-what did you do? Did you create thunder?"

"Uh, yeah." Neo nodded, unable to look at him. She summoned her solar crystal. Keeping the crystal hidden under her coattail, she let it wash its healing magic over her body, instantly feeling some relief. She also felt Law's relief that she was now using it.

"What?!" Chopper screamed with sparkling eyes. Neo faltered in her flying a bit thinking he saw or sensed her solar crystal. "That's so cool!"

"Huh?" Neo looked down at him and blinked. "How can you say that was cool when I hurt you?"

"You didn't mean to hurt me. So it's okay," Chopper said with a smile. "It was unavoidable anyway. Don't worry about it. We need to be more concerned about how to free Luffy and the others."

"You don't have to worry about them," Neo replied turned down another hallway. "Law's chains aren't sea prism stone."

"What?!" Chopper screamed.

"He'll get free in no time and they all will be able to escape. He'll warp them back inside the lab," Neo said. "You need to focus on helping the kids. Did you figure out the drug?"

"I did. And I have everything that I need to help them. But I don't know where to go from here," Chopper replied. He looked around the unfamiliar laboratory. "This place is just so huge."

"If Caesar brought the kids back like he said he was going to, then they will be heading for the Biscuit Room. I know where that is. I can take you to it. We should check it out either way just incase the kids really are there," Neo replied. "Thought they might still be outside. It hasn't been that long since Caesar returned to the lab. I have no idea if he really did bring them back or not."

"What are you going to do then?" Chopper asked.

"I'll join back up with Law," Neo replied. She narrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not going to let him fight Vergo alone. Not while that madman has his heart."


	83. Vergo Part Three

Vergo

Part Three

Law sighed internally when he felt Neo escaping Vergo with no trouble at all. He almost panicked when he felt her turn away from the door, but relaxed when he remembered that Chopper was also in that room. He knew Neo, despite only having meeting the Straw Hats once before, love the little animal that pirate crew had. She wouldn't leave him behind no matter what.

Once he felt her moving farther down into the laboratory and felt her body healing through the use of her solar crystal, he turned to a more pressing matter at hand. He glared down at the two body switched soldiers. Their lives were in his hands at this very moment. And they knew far too much about Doflamingo, himself, and, more importantly, Neo. The Vice Admiral had come to the conclusion that Neo wasn't human. There was nothing he could do about that, but he wasn't going to confirm anything for the man either. He said to them, "White Chase, I have no obligation to save you and your subordinate, but if you two get out of this alive and ruin Vergo's reputation then that works out well for me and Neo. However, you need to forget everything that you heard about Joker, Neo and me. If you give me that, I'll give you two your lives."

Smoker glared at the pirate. But he took the man's words in and thought about them. He knew he didn't have much choice in the matter. He took a deep breath and said, "Fine. Your secrets are safe. I won't tell anyone of what I've learned on this island."

Law lifted his sword in acceptance to the man's words and sliced his and Tashigi's chains off. He then turned his back to the marines and let his hat fall over his eyes. He really didn't believe that the Vice Admiral would keep his mouth shut about everything he learned, especially about Neo. But, for now, he wasn't going to worry about it. He looked over to the Straw Hats when their captain suddenly shouted out again.

"I can't see anything from here! What's going on out there?!" Luffy asked as he pulled apart the chain link fence holding them in. He stuck his head out when the hole was large enough. "Yes! I'm finally free!"

"What are you doing?!" Law demanded, but not quick enough to stop Luffy from jumping out of the cage. "You idiot! You can't just do whatever you wish! Get back here!"

"Well, the links aren't made of that sea prism stone so it was easy for him to break out of here," Franky noted.

"That's just how our captain is," Robin added. "He does this every time your back is turned."

"That idiot!" Law hissed when Luffy's feet caught on the railing outside of the laboratory. The rubber man stretched out then sprung back up and screamed out again.

"Hey, Tra!" Luffy called when he landed on the rail. "How do we get inside from here?!"

"Look, pal, I want to get back to the Sunny," Franky said.

"Fine. Do what you wish," Law grumbled. "I've got to get back into the labs."

"And get to Neo," Franky said. He noticed Law flinched a bit. He smiled. Law could see the cyborg wanted to ask him questions. But knowing he wouldn't get answers to his questions, the Straw Hat pirate decided to save them for now and get back to what was most important to him. And Law was grateful for that. "Okay! I'll see you all later then! Coup de Boom!" Franky jumped out of the cage. He laughed at his flying ability and took off to their ship. "I'm coming for you, Sunny!"

"Good luck, Franky! I'm counting on you! Gak! It stinks!" Luffy called as he waved to his shipwright then choked on the nauseous fumes. He then turned and waved to Law. "Come on, Tra! Let's go! What are you waiting for?! Neo's still inside the labs! We have to go help her!"

"Room," Law said with a huff. He warped himself and the others down to Luffy. He glared at the Straw Hat captain. "Neo will be fine. She'll escape from them."

"Huh?! How?!" Luffy blinked a couple times. "She was tied up! Plus, all three of the enemies were inside that room with her! How could she possible escape on her own?!"

"She can. So there's no need to worry about her," Law replied. "She'll come to me when she can."

"Really? How will she fine you? This place is  _huge_!" Luffy practically shrieked.

"I've already told you, Straw Hat," Law said, getting annoying at this young pirate. He was tempted to just tell him about their bond so things would be easier. But then he realized that this young man wouldn't be smart enough to understand his explanation on the bond. So he let that idea go and stuck with an easier explanation. "We've been here for  _months_. She knows the layout of the lab well enough. And she knows what my plans are. She'll know where she can find me. In fact, I know she's already escaped from them and is helping your doctor escape as well."

"What?! She's got Chopper?!" Luffy screamed.

"Will you stop shouting?!" Law demanded.

"Let's just get back inside and move on with the plan. Room." Law held out his hand and formed his Room once more then warped them inside the building. "Shambles."

…

"What the heck was that?!" Caesar demanded when the fire and crystals faded away.

"Seems to have been just a diversion," Vergo replied.

"Diversion?" Caesar asked. He whipped his eyes to Vergo. "What do you mean?"

"If she wanted to escape, then all she had to do was fly right out of here after pinning us to the wall with her winds or wrapping us up in vines. But we could have easily seen what she was doing through those means," Vergo explained. "She used her fire as a distraction for some reason. There was something she wanted to get but didn't want us to see it."

Monet looked at Vergo then drew her eyes over to the opening in the wall where Chopper had been hiding.

…

"So what happened to you back there?" Chopper asked as Neo continued to fly them through the lab.

"What do you mean?" Neo looked down at him and blinked.

"When that Vergo guy squeezed Law's heart," Chopper said, causing Neo to flinch. "You were in pain too. How was that possible?"

"Oh, well…" Neo dropped her eyes from him. She didn't want to lie to him, but she couldn't tell him the truth either. She looked back up at him when he placed his hoof on her cheek.

Chopper inspected the bruises on her face with tears glistening in his eyes. He said, "You're injured. How could they do that to such a sweet person?"

"I'm all right, Chopper. You don't have to worry about me. I'm a quick healer too," Neo replied. She then hugged him until she felt his body relax in her arms.

"What's wrong, Neo?" Chopper then asked, looking at her again. "You seem upset about something. Does it have to do with Law, his heart and Vergo?"

"I'm sorry," Neo replied. She adverted her eyes from him. "Its just, well, me and Law…we're really close. So…"

"Oh, I get it!" Chopper suddenly said. "You just feel each other's pain because you're so close. Is that why you were in such pain when his heart was being squeezed?"

"I suppose that's one way that you could put it," Neo replied with a nod. She placed her eyes back on the reindeer. "It's a bit more complicated than that. But that does abou-"

"No! Let me out of here!"

Chopper and Neo looked up when screaming and banging erupted through the air. Neo was thankful for the interruption, but was quickly taking over with panic when she saw the banging and screaming was coming from Mocha. She was up on a platform where she had seen Caesar use a transportation balloon before.

"Mocha!" Neo shouted.

"One of the kids?" Chopper asked.

"Yes!" Neo nodded.

"Let's hurry then!" Chopper shouted.

Neo nodded again and picked up on her wind speed.

"Let me out of here!" Mocha cried, banging on the door again.

"Hey! Stop that!" one of Caesar's men demanded.

"If you don't stop, I'll shoot you!" another one said.

"He did not just say that!" Neo growled. Her anger flared up again. Her instincts to protect the child grew rapidly in her chest.

"Neo, put me down now!" Chopper said. "I'm going to transform!"

"Right!" Neo nodded. She lowered them closer to the floor and allowed Chopper to jump out of her arms.

"Weight Boost!" Chopper said. Neo's eyes widened slightly as she watched his little body extending into a larger one with bulging muscles and a thick fur collar. He then shouted, "Stop that! Leave her alone!"

"Who, or what, is that thing?" a man of Caesar's asked and the three turned around to see Chopper and Neo there.

"Hey! It's Lady Law!" another one said. "What's she doing here?! I thought the master had her tied up with the others!"

"Stay back, Lady Law!" the third one said. All three raised their guns to her. "We don't want to, but we will shoot you both if you come any closer to us!"

"After all these months, you three should know better than to raise a gun at me!" Neo said while summoning five of each of her crystals. The men took a few steps away from her. "And you should know better than to threaten these children around me!"

"Don't say we didn't warn you!" the third one said, summoning a little courage just before they fired on her and Chopper.

Neo remained hovering in the air as Chopper jumped to avoid the shots. She shifted her fire crystals in front of her body and melted the bullets. "Fire Crystals! Fire Flare!"

"I gotcha!" Chopper cried out as he plunged down towards the men. He slammed his fist into the floor, causing the three men to go flying and slam into the walls around them.

"Whoa! Nice punch!" Neo said, impressed.

"Thanks! It was nothing!" Chopper said while blushing. He then looked up at Mocha. "Hey, are you okay?"

Mocha glanced at Chopper. Fear filled her eyes. She screamed and turned back to pound on the door. "Ah! Monster! Help!"

"Chopper! What's wrong with her?" Neo asked as she landed beside the large reindeer.

"It must be the withdrawal symptoms," Chopper replied. "She's hallucinating."

"Hallucinating?" Neo asked, trying to remember the meaning of the word. She's heard Law and the rest of the crew use it on occasion. "That means she's seeing things that aren't there, right?"

"That's right. That's why she called me a monster even though we met a short while ago," Chopper replied, not noticing Neo's lack of clear knowledge of the word. "Calm down, please."

"No!" Mocha screamed as she continued to pound on the door.

"Mocha, please calm down," Neo said. She guided her winds over to the frightened girl. She picked her up and started rocking her. Mocha curled into herself and cried. "Easy, Mocha. It's me. It's Neo. We're not going to hurt you. You're safe with us."

"Huh? Neo?" Mocha opened her eyes. She started to look around for Neo. When her large purple eyes landing on the pirate, she became frightened again upon seeing Neo as a snake. "No! Let me go! You're not Neo! You're a monster!"

"Mocha, listen to me, I need you to keep your eyes closed. Here, I can help you," Neo said softly as she moved herself closer to the frightened child. She guided a couple earth crystals in front of her. With one of the earth crystals she formed two large leaves while with the other one she formed a couple vines of different sizes. The smallest vines she weaved through the leaves, stringing them together to make a blindfold while using the large one to make the strap for it. She then placed it around Mocha's head. The little girl then relaxed when she couldn't see the monsters anymore. Neo moved even closer, flying up, and placed her hand on Mocha's cheek, stroking it gently as she spoke softly. "You're seeing things right now. All these monsters you've been seeing aren't real. They're not going to hurt you. I'm here now. This guy with me, his name is Chopper. He's a doctor. He's going to help you. He's going to make you feel better. Right, Chopper?"

Chopper didn't reply. He just stared up at Neo and Mocha, completely entranced by Neo's voice. He felt oddly relaxed himself.

"Neo, I'm scared!" Mocha cried, but did as Neo said and kept her eyes covered with the blindfold.

"I know you are. It'll all be over soon," Neo said. "I won't let anyone hurt you anymore. Okay?"

"O-okay." Mocha nodded.

"Chopper," Neo said, turning her eyes to the reindeer.

Chopper continued to watch in awe as Neo calmed and soothed the scared child in her winds and with her words. He was so deep in a trance that he almost didn't hear her address him. He took off his bag and reached into it. He pulled out a needle with green liquid inside of it. "Oh! Right! The sedatives! This will ease your pain. This will help you. Can you hold her still, Neo?"  
"Yeah." Neo nodded. "I've got her. Go ahead, Chopper."

"Right. I'll be quick," Chopper said as he jumped up onto Mocha's back. Neo adjusted her winds for him to do so. He stuck the needle into her neck and pushed in the sedative. "That's a good girl. It's done."

"Well?" Neo asked. She watched anxiously for signs of the sedative working.

"It'll take a effect any second now," Chopper said. He and Neo watched Mocha carefully.

Neo removed the blindfold from the young girl's face.

Mocha's eyes slowly fell closed. When she reopened them, they were back to normal. She blinked several times then looked at Neo. "What was I doing?"

"Mocha!" Neo squealed happily. "You're back to normal!"

"You were pounding on the door and demanding to be set free," Chopper replied.

"Oh, yeah. I was trying to get out of here," Mocha said. She looked at the door then turned back to Neo.

"Are you okay now?" Neo asked. She lowered Mocha to the floor and continued to carefully inspect her. "Does anything hurt? How do you feel?"

"I think I'm okay. Nothing feels like it's hurting. But what happened?" Mocha asked while Neo placed her hand on her cheek. "I don't remember."

"Me and my friends took you out of here earlier. You asked us to help you escape from this place," Chopper said. Mocha turned to him. "How did you even get to this point? You were with my crew when I left with Law to come here. You didn't walk all the way back here, did you?"

"We came back here in the Flying Gas Balloon that the master picked us up with," Mocha replied. "But big brother and sister told us not to come back here."

"They were right. You shouldn't have come back here. What about the other kids? Where are they?" Chopper asked.

"Everybody's heading back to the Biscuit Room because they have more candies there," Mocha replied.

"That's just great. More drugged candies. The Biscuit Room, huh? You mentioned that place before," Chopper said, turning his eyes to Neo.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "It's where the kids stay."

"Listen to me, Mocha, was it? You can't ever eat that candy again!" Chopper said. He turned his eyes back to the child and narrowed his eyebrows.

"What? Why?" Mocha asked.

"It's very bad for you," Chopper said before jumping off Mocha. Once back on the ground, he looked at Neo again.

Neo had dropped her eyes, and feet, to the floor in heavy consideration before looking back in the direction they had came from. She placed her hand over her heart and took a deep breath.

Though he didn't know her very well, he could easily tell she was divided on splitting up with him. "Neo, I have to get to the Biscuit Room. You should go ahead and get back with Law."

"What? What about the children?" Neo asked. She brought her eyes to Chopper.

"Don't worry about them anymore. I'll take care of them. And I'm sure Mocha here can lead me to the Biscuit Room," Chopper said. He jerked his thumb towards the girl.

"I can take him." Mocha nodded. "I know a shortcut to the Biscuit Room. We can get there before the others do."

"Chopper, are you sure?" Neo asked. "I know these kids better than you do. I can calm them down and-"

"It's okay, Neo." Chopper held up his hand to cut her off. "I know you're worried about Law. And you have a right to be. I saw your fight with that Vergo guy back in that room. I know this is going to be a very hard battle. You really should be there to help him. Though I am a bit concerned about how you're going to find him. This place is so huge."

"It is, but I know he's heading to the SAD room right now," Neo said. Her body was healed now so she banished her solar crystal before they could notice it.

"Hm? You know that? How?" Chopper asked.

"Our bond tells me." Neo shifted on her feet. "Besides, once he escaped from the cage that's where he's going anyway. That was his destination all along. He went over his plans for all of this with me several times before we even arrived on Punk Hazard."

"Oh, I see." Chopper nodded. "Of course you'd know his plans. You've been with him for a while now too, two years at least. So you can easily guess what he's next move will be. You go on then."

"Well, all right. But I'll still hang with you two for a while," Neo replied. "I'm not good with numbers and distances, but I think it will be a quicker route to the SAD room if I follow you two to the Biscuit Room then head on to Law."

"Then lets get going," Chopper said with a nod.

Neo nodded back then gathered them in her winds and took off.

…

"How much farther?" Chopper asked when Neo flew them up a fight of stairs.

"Not much farther now," Mocha said. She pointed in the direction of the Biscuit Room. "The room is just down this way!"

"Then lets keep going!" Chopper said.

Neo nodded and started to move them forward when they heard the kids coming from another hallway.

"Can I have the candy now?!" a child asked.

"We're almost to the Biscuit Room!" another child shouted.

"It's the kids!" Neo gasped. "What do we do?"

"We can't let them go beyond that door!" Chopper said. Neo flew them towards the door. He wiggled out of her winds and ran to the door. He pushed it closed. "We have to close it! Mocha! If you really want to save your friends you have to help us!"

"Okay!" Mocha placed her hands on the door after Neo lowered her to the floor.

"Hold the door, you two!" Chopper said before releasing his own hold on the door.

Neo shifted her winds again and pressed them to the doors as well while Chopper grabbed a nearby pipe. He rushed back over and slid the pipe into the door handles. Keeping her winds strong, Neo summoned an earth crystal. She created vines and wrapped it around the door handles to help give it extra security. She nodded at Chopper when he looked at her and smiled for the assistance.

"You go on now, Neo. We can handle things from this point on," Chopper said.

"All right," Neo replied in a low tone. She flew back from the door, her eyes bouncing between Chopper's and Mocha's. "Please, be careful, both of you."

"What are you doing, Mocha?!" a kid screamed. "Let us in there!"

"Open up!"

"I want to go to the Biscuit Room!"

"It'll be fine, Neo. We won't let them get to the Biscuit Room!" Chopper said, pressing his hands back to the door. "You go ahead. Law needs you more than we do."

With a deep breath, Neo nodded and consented. She turned and flew herself away from her two friends. She glanced up when the alarms when off and an emergency broadcast rang out over the entire building.

…

"This is the D building! This is the D building! This is an emergency broadcast to all buildings of the Third Laboratory! The member of the Seven Warlords, Trafalgar Law, has infiltrated the SAD manufactory room!" the man said. "I repeat! This is the D building! This is an emergency broadcast to all buildings of the Third Laboratory! The member of the Seven Warlords, Trafalgar Law, has infiltrated the SAD manufactory room!"

…

"That's great," Neo said with a sigh.  _'I was wondering when you'd get into the SAD Room.'_

_'I just had a bit of an issue with Straw Hat. But I'm here now. Though I'm not very happy with you coming to me. I'd rather you not fight Vergo again. Not after what he did to you last time.'_

_'Yeah, well deal with it, pirate boy. I'm not letting you fight Vergo alone, especially since he has your heart.'_

_'He's going to squeeze my heart again. And it'll affect you. How do you think that will help me?'_  Law frowned at the pain he was causing her through his stupid decision to let Caesar have his heart. If only he knew, if only he could have guessed that Vergo would have appeared here.

 _'Don't blame yourself for this, Law. You did what you knew you needed to at the time. Besides, how will this help anyone? If I stay with the others, I'll only be a burden to them since your battle will affect me. They won't know how to handle me, especially since I'm not comfortable enough for them to touch me, except for Chopper._   _But, he has to focus on the children not on me. And you know he'd focus more on me than the kids because of my link to nature. He's attracted to me because of that. If I'm with you, then my anger will be unleashed on Vergo. That will help me push through the physical pain and help you.'_

_'I noticed you used your solar crystal. I hope you were alone.'_

_'Uh, I wasn't.'_  Neo swallowed when she felt a slight touch of worry and frustration build in Law's chest.  _'Don't worry. It was just Chopper. And he didn't see my solar crystal at all. I hid it underneath my coat while flying with him in my arms. I was able to keep the glow dim enough that he didn't even notice that.'_

 _'Fine. You've made your points very clear. And you are correct.'_  Law relaxed and conceded to her will. Both knew she had done the right thing in using her solar crystal and in the choice that helping him would end in better results than helping the others.  _'Just get here then when you can. I'm sure Vergo will be here any second since everyone knows I've entered into this room.'_

_'He'll probably get there before I do then. I'm not sure where he went after I escaped from him. I had to help Chopper and Mocha get closer to the Biscuit Room before I left them. I'm worried. I know they're just kids, but they're so strong and angry. I hope Chopper and Mocha…I hope all of them will be all right.'_

_'I know, love. They'll be fine. The Straw Hats are dependable. You see that, right?'_

_'I do.'_  Neo nodded.

_'Good girl. Now focus and come to me.'_

_'Right!'_  Neo narrowed her eyebrows. She picked up her wind speed and flew faster down the halls.

…

"Understood, Young Master. I'll even bring you a picture of Law's dead body once this is over," Vergo said as he headed down the hall to the SAD room.

"You don't even have a camera," Doflamingo replied from the transponder snail.

"Oh, you're right. I don't have a camera. Guess I'll just have to bring back one of this ears then," Vergo said.

"Well, then I look forward to seeing it," Doflamingo said with a laugh.

"By the way, there is something else I've become aware of," Vergo then said. Light flashed across his sunglasses. "It's about Law's little love, Neo."

"Oh? What did you find out about her?" Doflamingo asked, his laugh cutting of instantly.

"For some reason she can feel Law's pain. I noticed this when I squeezed his heart earlier," Vergo reported. "I also assume that the pain feeling thing, whatever it is, works in reverse too."

"I see. Since you've brought up the subject of the woman," Doflamingo said. "What do you think about her?"

"I don't  _think_ , I  _know_  she's not human. All those newspaper reports are correct," Vergo said. "She was clearly holding herself back when she fought against me to escape. She was also injured, but it's clear that she and Law are hiding something. Would you like me to beat the truth out of them?"

"Well, if you would like to, I see no reason for you to not try and get the truth from them. Although, I'm not sure you'll be able to get either of them to talk," Doflamingo said. Vergo's eyebrows rose slightly when he felt something from his master. It was bloodlust and anger. "After all, that other one, Ren, never would reveal a single thing to me no matter how much we tortured her. Perhaps we should let Law live, for now anyway. We could use them against each other. I want to know the truth about these two women. I want to know the truth about what Law and Neo are hiding! Bring them to me! I want them  _both_  brought to me! I really want to meet my sweet, little sister-in-law!"

"Yes, Joker," Vergo replied, obediently as his master laughed again. "Consider them captured."

…

Law lifted his eyes to the SAD machinery before him. He focused on Neo; she was getting close to the room. He then lifted up his sword and unsheathed it. His body ticked when footsteps echoed in the room. They were followed by a very unwelcomed, but expected voice of a guest.

"I feel like I've been bitten by my own dog," Vergo said with mock disappointment in his tone. "Law. This is far too much even for a disobedient and mischievous child. You always were too smart for your own good. People like that tend to always die young. It would be so easy for me to kill you by crushing your heart, but I'm not going to do that. I want to torment you as slowly as I possibly can. And wouldn't you know that I'm going to get the pleasure of torturing two people at the same time. I can't wait to see your face twisted in fear and pain when your precious love is writhing in agony. Maybe she'll come here to try and protect you. I hope she does. I'd love to see her fear and pain while  _you_  writhe on the floor in agony."

Law narrowed his eyebrows and glared at the man before him. His anger built up in his chest at the thought of how this man had already torture Neo before. One way or another, Vergo was going to pay for that. He was going to pay for touching Neo.

Vergo pulled out his bamboo staff and covered it with his haki before charging forward. He cracked Law in the chin while saying, "Let's just see how much pain you two can handle!" He jumped into the air before he slammed his fist into Law's stomach, driving the young warlord into the floor. He glanced down at the young man as he stood over Law.

…

"Ah!" Neo screamed when excruciating pain shot through her and Law's chin. She lost control over her crystals and dropped to the floor. Thankful to only have been flying a few feet off the ground, she landed on her feet but stumble forward then dropped to her knees when pain shot through their stomachs then back. Pushing herself back up, she recalled her wind crystals back to her and lifted herself back up into the air. She gritted her teeth at the pain both her and Law were taking from Vergo. She pushed through it all and forced herself to move forward to the SAD Room. She narrowed her eyebrows when the room came into her view, forcing herself not to release claps of thunder that wanted to form from her anger. She could see Vergo inside of it. She picked up the speed on her wind crystals and flew straight to it. She could hear Vergo's voice when she entered into the room.

"Get up, Law. It's far too early for you to die. Your young love isn't even here yet."

Law gritted his teeth and glared at the man hovering over him. He forced himself to keep his eyes on him so he wouldn't give any hints away that Neo was about to go on the attack. He just watched her carefully through their bond while she focused her anger on Vergo. She wrapped her winds around her right foot before slamming a kick into the man's head, sending him flying several feet away. Law could help but crack a grin then. He said, "Well, she's here now. Let's see how well  _you_  handle a force of nature."

"Force of nature, huh?" Vergo asked while picking himself up off the floor. "Interesting thing to say when she's got control ove-"

Neo flew forward and slammed her wind engulfed foot into Vergo's face. She once again sent him flying through the room. This time she followed then slammed a kick into the man's stomach before flying under him and landing another kick on his back. Following him again, she laced her fingers together and tried to land another hit on his stomach. She gasped when her wind engulfed fists landing on something harder than his stomach.  _Crap! I forgot he has full body Armament Haki!_

Vergo smiled, seemingly sensed what her thought was just now. Using her momentary distraction, he grabbed a hold of her wrist. She shrieked at the unexpected contact and released a sharp crack of thunder that vibrated her own racing heart. "No! Don't touch me! Fire Flare!"

"Hm?" Vergo's eyebrows rose at her frenzy while simultaneously releasing her when she summoned her fire crystals and tried to burn his hold off of her. He watched her carefully as she put a decent amount of distance between them, just across the room from him. He landed on his feet and stared at her. "You  _really_ don't like being touched, do you?"

Neo flinched at his words.

"I thought so. You did show this kind of behavior before when I touched you. I really do wonder what could have happened to you to cause you such extreme reactions from being touched. And I assume that's only by people you don't know. I'm sure you have no problem with  _Law touching you._  You are quite attractive for someone who looks so young," Vergo said. He glanced over at Law with a suggestive smirk that made Law boiling hot with anger. "But never mind that. It really doesn't matter. What I would like to know is why are you bothering with this charade of pretending to be a devil fruit user when it's obvious that you're not one? Come now,  _child_. If you're going to fight me, then fight me as you really are. I don't want this fake fight with a fake devil fruit user."

' _Law?'_

' _It maybe pointless, it pretty much already is, but keep calling out your attacks.'_

' _Okay.'_  Neo took a deep breath. Her racing heart was calming down and her body temperature went back to normal. "Element Crystals! Vine Snap!"

Vines shot out of her crystals and over to Vergo. Before they could wrap around him, Vergo squeezed Law's heart. Both Neo and Law cried out in pain and crashed to the floor. Neo growled. She shot herself over to Vergo. She wrapped her winds around her right foot and kicked out at him. When he easily saw that attack coming, she switched her moves to her water and wind crystals. "Element Crystals! Water Rush! Wind Circlets!"

"What?!" Vergo growl just before the water encased him. Neo spun ten wind circlets around the man's body while dropping both the wind and water temperature. The water began to freeze, trapping Vergo inside.

Neo flew herself away from him. She landed on the floor, huffing and puffing as the pain in their chest finally started to subside. Both Neo and Law watched the now froze statue of Vergo only for a few short seconds before the ice started to crack. Neo went back on the attack, hoping to land another hit on Vergo before the man could retaliate. "Multiple Vine Snap!"

Neo summoned twenty earth crystals and snapped out five vines from each of her crystals. Once the ice was cracked he slipped into his fastest attack. Neo's eyes widened when Vergo disappeared from her sight, her vines just missed hitting him. She could feel him moving around, but couldn't get a lock on him. She guided her winds all over the room and tried to locate him that way. She was able to detect him when her winds touched his body, but then he would quickly move again. Frustrated, Neo growled and summoned her fire crystals. Tweaking one of her defense attacks, she created firewalls and pushed them out into the room. "Fire Walls!"

"You're getting frustrated," Vergo said as he appeared by her side. He infused his right leg with his haki and kicked her right side, cracking her ribs. Neo yipped and Law grunted at the pain. Vergo pushed through his attack in an attempt to kick Neo across the room. His eyes widened slightly when Neo wrapped her vines around his leg then jerked him away from her. She snapped the vines and his back collided with the ground. Before he could move, she slammed both her wind-engulfed feet into his stomach and pinned his jacket down with large thorns. He gasped and coughed out blood.

"Fire Flare!" Neo shot a flash of fire onto Vergo's body as she lifted herself into the air. She continued to push more fire at him. The heat from the fire washing back over her and Law's skin.

Law pushed himself to his feet. He narrowed his eyebrows and tried to concentrate on Vergo's fire engulfed body. Something wasn't right. Neo pinning him down like that was far too easy. Plus, they should have smelled burnt skin by now. His eyes widened then shot up to Neo.  _'Neo! I order you to drop! Now!'_

Her body instantly obeyed his command. Neo released her winds and plummeted from the air just before Vergo could smash her head in with his haki engulfed fist. She fell a little too fast. When her feet hit the floor, she stumbled forward and dropped to her hands and knees.

Seeing Vergo disappear from his aerial attack and reappeared beside her. He lifted his bamboo haki embedded staff in preparation to break her back. Law shot out his hand. "Room! Shambles!"

Neo disappeared just as Vergo swung his staff down. The staff hit the floor, causing a loud clank to vibrate through the room. Vergo looked up to see Neo was now beside Law, still on the floor and panting hard from the fight and from the shock of almost getting her back broken in half. Vergo said, "Interesting. She didn't sense that I had moved from underneath her fire. And she didn't sense me moving behind her to attack. Yet, somehow, she was able to avoid getting hit by me. And the only one who could have alerted her to my presence never said a word out loud."

Law cursed under his breath. He had screwed up and given a hint to the enemy about his and Neo's bond. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

Neo tried to stand up but paused when pain shot through their bodies. She took a quick glance at Law, he gave her a quick glance, before they both turned their eyes to Vergo who had already landed on the floor.  _'Law, calm down. He can only guess at what that means.'_

' _Yeah. I know.'_

"She's not human. You two can feel each other's pain. She's moving a lot faster now than she was during our fight before. The newspapers have said before that when she becomes angry her moves become faster and stronger, but that's not possible when a person's body is as damaged as hers was. And, if I recall correctly, she was having issues with her  _powers_  before all of that. That makes me think she's somehow an incredibly fast healer. And from what I just saw, I'm guessing you two have some ability to communicate through some kind of telepathic bond," Vergo said. He moved his hands behind his back and held them there. "And the only way that could possible be true and be done is through some form of magic. Am I correct?"

 _'Well, that's just great. He's figured it out far too quickly.'_  Neo thought to Law.

 _'Yeah. But he still doesn't have any confirmation about it. We can still leave him guessing.'_  Law thought back to her. But he still had doubt rattling around in his chest that he didn't even try to hide from her.

Neo's lips twitched into a small smile at his weak attempt of making her feeling better.  _'You're sweet for trying to comfort me like this, my love. But I know that I can't keep my magic hidden forever. We're not perfect. People will eventually figure it out, especially when I engage in battle more often. You saw what happened just now. One little slip up and Vergo has it all figured out.'_

 _'Well there's no point in worrying about it right now. We have to get through this fight first. I'll try and move his attention elsewhere. While his attention is on me, use your solar crystal to heal your body. You're not going to be able to fight him with those cracked ribs.'_  Law placed his hand on his ribs and rubbed them before letting his hand drop back to his side. The pain was fairly intense for him. He knew it was worse for her.

 _'I'm fine, Law.'_  Neo's body twitched in pain with each breath she wheezed through. She placed her hand on her damaged ribs and tried to stand up again. A sharp pain shot through their bodies once more. She dropped back to the floor, gritting her teeth and trying not to whimper at the pain.

_'Sure you're fine. Use your solar crystal, my stubborn little princess. Since you insist on fighting Vergo, you're fighting him_ _at_ _full_ _strength_ _.'_

_'Fine.'_  Neo relented. She summoned her solar crystal underneath the back of her coat. It was a little uncomfortable to have the crystal pushed against her back by her coat, but it was way more tolerable that her ribs. And as long as she kept her back away from Vergo's sight, she should be able to keep it hidden, especially if Law drew Vergo's attention to him.  _'But when I get the chance, I'm healing you as well. And I will not hear any argument on the subject. That's an_ _order_ _.'_

 _'Yes, ma'am.'_  Law chuckled to her through their bond. It was rare for her to give  _him_  serious orders. And, despite his 'Don't tell me what to do' attitude, he really did love it when she took control over him, especially when it came to their intimacy moments. Forcing those suggestive thoughts from his mind, he focused his attention on Vergo. He said, "That some pretty big assumptions you're making about us there, Vergo. Or are you people just frustrated because your scheme is crashing down around your ears? It's important to you guys after all, isn't it? This  _thing_?"

Both Neo and Law felt a small amount of relief when Vergo turned his attention to the warlord. But it didn't last long as Vergo grasped Law's heart and squeezed it hard. The bonded pair screamed out. Law bent backwards over the railing while Neo crashed to the floor, trying her best to keep her back away from Vergo. She felt her solar crystal increasing its magic healing ability over her body. Desperate for Vergo to not see the glow engulfing her body, she forced it to back off into a slower, steadier pulse. She could feel it resisting her will, but eventually it obeyed her.

"Watch your mouth, you runt!" Vergo hissed, squeezing harder on Law's heart.

The bonded pair screamed out again. Neo curled into a ball, once again having to fight against her solar crystal's increasing desire to heal her. She huffed and spoke through a strained bond.  _'L-Law…if he keeps squeezing your heart…m-my solar crystal keeps trying to increase its magic t-to heal me. Vergo will notice the…the glow if it increases.'_

' _Right.'_  Law formed his Room and tried to call his heart back to him. "R-room! Come back to me, my heart!"

The heart warped out of Vergo's hand and landed in Law's palm. Vergo rushed forward, struck a kick to Law's body causing the warlord to fly backwards. Law and Neo grunted when his back collided with the railing then again when he collided with the floor. Law grabbed a hold of the railing and struggled to pull himself to his feet. Vergo then punched Law across the jaw twice, sending excruciating pain through the bonded pair's bodies.

Neo mentally growled to herself. With having to keep her solar crystal low, she wasn't healing fast enough. She tried increasing the magic of her solar crystal a bit. She started to heal a little faster then, but it still wasn't as fast as she wanted. She forced herself to pull her thoughts off her solar crystal and put it on Vergo and how much he was hurting Law. She focused on her next fight with him. She had to get Law's heart away from him. She knew she might not be able to actually defeat Vergo, but Law could. She gathered her anger up. A low rumble of thunder mixed in with the sounds of the machinery around them.

Huffing and bent over backwards on the railing, Law placed his thumbs against Vergo's arms. Crackles vibrated through the air then Vergo's body. "Counter Shock!"

Law huffed as he struggled to keep himself standing. He placed both arms on the railing and looked at Vergo. The man's face was covered in blood, but he was still standing. Both Neo and Law's hopes sank a little when the attack didn't do anything. Vergo then said, "I have a message from Joker. He said 'What a shame.'"

Vergo straighten up his body then turned to Neo and added, "He also said he's excited to meet his sister-in-law."

"I'm  _not_  his sister!" Neo hissed.

"You are. You married Law. And Law has been like a little brother to Joker," Vergo said. "He's really looking forward to meeting you. He also has a wedding present for you. Has Law told you about that yet? Well, I suspect you two haven't had much time to chat since you've been separated until now. But then with your obvious bond, I could be wrong."

_'Wedding present? Law, what's he talking about? What could Doflamingo possible have to give us? Other than a beating that is.'_

_'He mentioned it earlier when I first fought him. I don't know what he's talking about either. And you're correct. Whatever Doflamingo's gift is, it's nothing good.'_ Law pulled his attention back to Vergo. "Whatever it is, we don't want it. I'm more concerned about how my attack didn't work on you at all. I knew exactly how to get my heart back from Caesar. I just didn't expect  _you_  to show up here,  _Vergo_."

"That's  _Mr. Vergo_  to  _you!_ " Vergo hissed. He squeezed Law's heart.

Law bent back over the railing and screamed. Neo screamed as well. Her cracked ribs finally healed. She tapped into her anger, she summoned an earth crystal and created some cotton for Law's ears. She stuffed them into his ears, with her vines, to shield him from her next attack. Once he was secured, she threw her hand out at Vergo, she curled her fingers into a fist causing a sharp crack of thunder to sound off through the room. Once she had Vergo covering his ears from the mind rattling noise, she wrapped her winds around herself and charged at him while positioning her solar crystal just below the platform where Law was now laying on his back, she fed it's healing magic to him. Keeping her thunder clapping in the room, she repetitively punch, kicked and hit Vergo with her crystal attacks.

She went to kick Vergo again, but he dodged the attack. He retaliated with a kick of his own to her stomach that she just barely avoided with a quick push of her winds. Her eyes widened at some of the fibers that was cut off from his kick. The two then locked into an intense round of trading kicks and punches. When he attacked her, she tried engulfing him in her fire, but his haki pushed him past her attempts. She tried to pin him with her winds but it didn't work either. He moved just far too fast for her winds to hit him. A couple times he made contact with her body. Her lip split open and several bruises were forming on her arms and legs. _I think…Isn't that the Shave technique he's using? He's moving to fast for me to hit him effectively. I've never fought someone who uses that technique. This isn't working. He's trying to wear me down. He knows I'm not physically strong enough to stop him. And the majority of my crystal attacks aren't being very effective with how strong his haki is. I've got to figure out away to stop him. But how can I do that?_

Neo twisted her body to the right. Vergo's punch clipped her left shoulder. She stumbled back from him. He followed with lightning fast reflexes. Her eyes widened when she saw him swinging his haki infused fist and hitting her in her stomach, causing her ribs to break and one of her ribs to puncture her left lung. Her heart raced with panic at the same time Law's did. She blinked and noticed she hadn't been hit. She blinked again and noticed Vergo swinging at her stomach. A feeling of déjà vu flooded through her. Her body reacted to the oncoming attack. She flew herself up with her wind crystals. Wrapping the wind around her, she flipped her body -head over heals- until her boots collided with Vergo's head. She pushed on through until his nose collided with the floor. Her heartbeat increased at the unfamiliarity of what just occurred. Her body temperature dropped and her breathing increased.  _'Law! Wh-what was that?! What happened?! What did I just do?!'_

_'I'm not sure. You saw Vergo's attack coming before it happened. It might be possible that you've developed Observation Haki.'_

_'What?! I can't…I don't know…I'm not…'_  Neo ducked just in time to avoid being hit by Vergo's punch.

 _'Neo, calm down. Haki won't hurt you. If this really is Observation Haki, and not your magic developing in a new way,'_  Law thought to her as he watched her easily dodging Vergo's attacks now,  _'all it's doing is showing you what Vergo's next attack is going to be.'_

 _'Th-that's all it's doing? It…it won't hurt?'_  Neo thought as another vision came to her. She pulled her legs up underneath her as Vergo swung his left foot at her. She retaliated by kicking her wind-engulfed feet out at his chin. Blood shot out of his mouth as his head jerked back.

_'No, it won't hurt you. You're fine.'_

_'I'm fine. I'm fine.'_  Neo took a deep breath. She looked at Vergo. His head was still tilted backwards, but she knew he wasn't really hurt. With his haki it was impossible for her to do any real damage, even if she was angry with him.

"Well, isn't that interesting," Vergo said as he tilted his head back down in the correct position. "If I'm not mistaken, you've just developed Observation Haki. You are an interesting subject. I can see how you've become such a handful for the Navy and other pirates to deal with. With them, you can easily defeat them. But, with me, you have no chance. I'm sure you are aware of that. However, there is one way you could have ended this already."

Both Neo and Law twitched. Both knew where this was going.

"And that would have been for you to have blood lust within you. If you had the desire to kill me, I would have undoubtedly been killed by you," Vergo said, nonchalantly. A smile spread across his face. "You would make a wonderful addition to Joker's family. Of course he would have to beat all these weaknesses out of you."

"Don't you dare,  _Vergo_ ," Law hissed.

Ignoring Law's demand, Vergo continued, "You're far too powerful to keep holding yourself back. From what I've seen you could easily be a serious problem for the entire world. You could easily wipe out the Four Emperors. So why don't you?"

"I have no interest in becoming an emperor," Neo said, even though she felt like she should remain quiet. Her mind drifted back to Luminous and her royal title. She didn't even want to rule over them. She just wanted to be with Law and her family. "I don't want to rule over anything."

"Such a shame." Vergo shook his head with a smile. "But it doesn't matter. You'll get over that once we integrate you into our family."

"No!" Neo screamed. Tears stung her eyes as her anxiety and fears of being taken away from Law rose up in her mind. "I'm not going with you! I'm staying with Law!"

Law about told her to calm down, but quickly halted himself. He knew she could use this to her advantage.  _'Neo, use that fear against Vergo!'_

"I won't let you take me away from him!" Neo summoned more of her crystals to her. Thunder clapped both inside and outside of the laboratory. Outside of the laboratory, storm clouds gathered above the island. Thunder rumbled and lightening flashed. The wind picked up and swirled the deadly gas around, creating tornadoes of gas spinning in place. Inside the building, Neo created wind and fire tornadoes. She struggled to keep them away from Law as she held onto her fears of being taken away from him. Combining her elements -blending leaves into her wind tornadoes- she launched them at Vergo. She cut up his clothes, and some skin when she could reach it. She then launched her fire tornadoes at him.

Vergo's smile vanished when he realized he was having a difficult time of dodging her attacks now. He kept getting hit with her attacks as she pelted him with then one right after another. She clapped thunder around his ears to the point of blood leaking from them. She pounded his body with vines, trapped him in a flower trap, slammed a current of boiling water onto him, and then tried to freeze his body in place again. He broke free of the ice and started dodging her attacks again. He tried to attack her, but with her possible development of Observation Haki it had become impossible for him to hit her.  _Interesting. Her attacks have gotten even stronger than before. The fear in her eyes has increased as well. It's amazing how well she's controlling her anger and focusing it solely on me. Usually when a person gets to this level of blind rage they become unfocused and pretty much forget how to fight effectively. But she's the complete opposite. It seems her fear of losing Law is far greater than her anger over him being hurt. It's increasing her strength to what should be an impossible level. Who_ _is_ _this woman? What could have possibly happened to her to have such a strong attachment to Law? It's almost like they're one person instead of two separate beings. Could that even be possible? They do feel each other's pain. Could it be possible that they really are bonded to such an impossible level that they would die without each other? If she keeps this level of fury up I would actually lose this fight within just a few minutes. Well, I would lose if I didn't have Law's heart._ Vergo leaped away from her. He reached into his pocket and squeezed Law's heart as hard as he could, without killing him, before Neo could stop him.

"Ah!" the pair screamed. Neo grabbed her chest and dropped to the floor. Her crystals vanished.

Vergo lightened up on his hold then squeezed it again. He smiled when Law and Neo cried out again. He squeezed it a couple more times, his mind debated on obeying Joker's orders and slightly disobeying them and killing these two right here and now. He could tell Joker that it was necessary. The man would be disappointed, but would understand that Vergo took the correct course of action. Sensing another presence in the room, he stopped squeezing the heart. He said, "What is it? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something here? What do you want, Vice Admiral Smoker?"

All three turned their eyes to the fourth person in the room. The Vice Admiral scanned his eyes over the scene before him, but said nothing. His eyes landed on Neo. His mind going over everything that he just saw her do to Vergo. She was far more trouble than he had first thought she was. And he had no idea what he was going to do about her once this whole issue had been settled. But, for now, that didn't matter. He had to focus on the real problem at hand. He turned his eyes to Vergo and prepared to do his part in this battle. He scoffed and said, "Never can rely on you pirates to do anything correctly. No matter. This fight is now mine. I'll handle  _him_  from this point on."

 _'L-Law?'_  Neo's bonded voice and body trembled. She kept her eyes on Vergo despite wanting to look over at Law.

 _'It's fine, love. You've done more than enough for now.'_  Law thought to her as he wrapped his presence around her, knowing she really wanted to be held by him, but knowing that wasn't possible right now.  _'You just relax and heal. Vergo knows you would have beaten him if he didn't have my heart. I'm very proud of you. You've done so well in all of this.'_

She rubbed the heel of her hand in her eyes when tears gathered there and nodded. That was all she could manage at the moment. She shrunk down on the floor and curled into a ball while summoning her solar crystal behind her. She released a relaxing sigh when relief came to her body through the solar crystal and settled down to watch Smoker engage in battle with Vergo after they exchanged some heated words. Soon the fight would finally be over.


	84. Vergo Part Four

Vergo

Part Four

Neo panted as her solar crystal washed its glow over her. She looked at Vergo and Smoker then over at Law. She carefully took in Law and how tired his body was. He was just as, if not more, tired as she was.  _'Law, give me a minute and I'll heal you some more.'_

 _'No, don't worry about me. Heal yourself for now.'_  Law thought to her. He lifted up his head and looked over at her.  _'I'm fine. But you feel like you're getting a fever.'_

 _'I might be.'_  Neo thought about how heavy her body was feeling and how warm her forehead was now that she wasn't fighting.  _'For once I'd be willing to take a nap.'_

 _'I'd join you. Maybe once this is over we can do just that.'_  Law laid his head back on the floor and returned his eyes to Vergo.

_'Oh, by the way, the lab's on fire.'_

_"I figured as much. Some of the Straw Hats brought in the little dragon in to the lab when I opened the shuttered before for them, the soldiers and some of Caesar's men that were trapped outside the lab. It's sedative must have worn off. That would be the only reason its attacking.'_

_'So that's why it felt like floating fire. I forgot I couldn't sense the dragons here. I'm healing fine so I should be able to absorb the fire if it gets too far out of control. Right now, it's not causing problems so I'm going to let it burn.'_

_'That's fine. As long as we can get out of here, I'd prefer this place to burn to the ground.'_  When Law felt her nod in acceptance to his words, they both turned their attention back to the oncoming battle at hand.

"What is this place? Is very disturbing," Smoker said as he looked around.

"That's none of your business," Vergo replied, turning more towards the intruder.

"Hey, Vergo! Why are you looking away?!" Law called out. "I'm not done with you yet."

Neo's heart skipped a beat when Vergo turned back to Law. Her eyes widened when he took out Law's heart and squeezed it. Both screamed out in pain. Neo curled more into herself. She struggled to keep her solar crystal's glow down low. She gritted her teeth and hissed.

"I'll take care of you two later. I'm sure Joker would love to hear my theory on how I believe you two are bonded to the point that if one of you died then the other would die. He might even want to test that theory himself. For now, you two just shut up and think about how you're going to grovel to me and to Joker," Vergo said.

 _'Law, please. Don't provoke him anymore.'_  Neo's pants increase as the pain in her chest subsided.

_'Sorry. I won't do it again. Despite how much it aggravates me, I'll let Smoker handle Vergo from this point on. He should be able to get my heart back easily now that you've worn him down.'_

_'I'm sorry I couldn't get it back. I should have been able to grab it.'_

_'Don't worry about it. He was too much on guard. You did more than enough.'_  Law sent her a smile through their bond. She nodded in response and forced herself to relax.

"Vergo!" Smoke said, calling the man's attention back to him. "I don't want the troops to learn about you and your involvement in this. They admire you like a father. It's a serious breach of their trust. I just can't believe that you're Joker's dog. It's sickening."

"It's far too late for that. I ran into them a little while ago," Vergo replied.

"What did you do to them?!" Smoker demanded as he pulled out his jitte and charged towards Vergo.

"I don't remember," Vergo replied. He raised his haki infused bamboo staff to block Smoker's attack.

_'Neo, I want you to remain calm, but I need you to know that Joker, most likely, is listening in on everything that happened here between us and Vergo.'_

Neo's eyes widened. Her heartbeat increased and a cold wave washed through her body.  _'But…then he knows everything that Vergo suggested about us!'_

_'Calm down. It's fine. Joker would have come to the same conclusion. I just want you to be prepared for when we go to Dressrosa. Joker will probably try and use this against us, mostly you since you're not use to how he works, in some way or another.'_

_'Geez. This day just keeps getting better and better.'_  Neo huffed. Her pants were finally subsiding.

"You're getting all heated up, Smoker," Vergo said. He pushed Smoker away from him. "Don't tell me you are actually worried about those Navy misfits. I'm the base commander. I can do whatever I wish to my good-for-nothing subordinates. Plus, you're going to have to die here anyway since you've learned who I am."

A vein popped out on Smoker's forehead before Vergo moved in front of him. Vergo held up his bamboo staff to his mouth. He blew into it, firing a bullet at Smoker. Smoker, using his smoke, appeared behind Vergo and took a swing at him with his jitte. Vergo bent backwards to avoid the hit then kicked and swung at Smoker with his staff. Smoker formed a smoke twister and voided the hits before slipping in front of Vergo and landing a punch on his nose, sending the base commander flying across the room. Vergo hit the railing, smashing it in, and then fell to the floor before picking himself up.

"Even if you've known them for a long time and even if you are the base commander, which I don't acknowledge now, once we're out of the base, a unit commander is responsible for the troops' life. Don't lay a hand on my men!" Smoker shouted.

_'Law, I really hate having to leave the rescue of your heart to this soldier-Uh!'_

_'What's wrong, Neo?'_  Law glanced back over to her.

 _'The fire's just caused one of the tankers to explode. And…and the gas from outside is leaking into the B building!'_  Neo thought to Law as Vergo and Smoker traded haki infused punches, kicks and hits at each other. She pulled her focus from the battle and concentrated on the fire within the laboratory. She summoned a few of her fire crystals to those spots and started absorbing the fire into them.  _'I can bring the fire under control, but with as low as my magic is at the moment, I can't completely get rid of it yet.'_

_'That'll be fine. Just do what you can.'_

"My Armament Haki far surpasses your ability with it," Vergo said. "You should know that it's completely useless to fight against me. Are you really going to try and take revenge on their deaths? Those soldiers were useless."

Neo turned her eyes back to the fight. She studied Smoker. It was obvious he was wearing down. She narrowed her eyebrows and frowned. She really didn't like the idea of leaving Law's heart into the hands of a marine, especially a Vice Admiral. But she knew she didn't have a choice. Despite Vergo's attention being on Smoker, she knew he was still keeping an eye on her and Law. Her eyes lowered to Vergo's pocket where Law's heart was. She wondered if she could possible summon an earth crystal close enough to pull the heart out of his pocket. Her thoughts of attempting that were halted when Smoker released a series of punches at Vergo. She watched as his fist extended in smoker form and tried to land a punch on Vergo. She gritted her teeth when Vergo started using his Shave technique. She wouldn't be able to even try if she couldn't keep her eyes on the man, even if she could sense Law's heart in his pocket. Finally, Smoker landed another blow on Vergo.

"Don't mess with the Navy!" Smoker hissed.

"I didn't know you cared so much about those men," Vergo said, after picking himself up off the ground. He cracked his neck a few times before staring Smoker down.

Neo's eyes remained on Smoker. She felt a smile twitching on her lips, but wasn't quite sure why.

 _'And why are you suddenly so smiley about?'_  Law asked her.

 _'I'm not sure. I guess I've just never really been around the Navy before, in this type of way. Smoker's just…he just seems so loyal to his men.'_  Neo pushed herself up into a sitting position.

 _'Don't you dare get attached to him!'_  Law frowned. Jealousy vibrated through his chest and mind.

_'Don't worry, Law. I'm not. I'm just a bit surprised I guess. He really doesn't seem like the type of man that would get so attached to his soldiers. I…I think I just obtained some respect for him because of that.'_

_'Fine. Just as long as you don't become attached to him.'_  Law grumbled, his jealousy slowly leaving his body. Neo giggled at him and his jealousy.  _'Is there anything else you want to inform me about?'_

_'Yeah. Monet's going a bit crazy in the Biscuit Room and Chopper, for some reason, is quite upset. I don't think it's anything too serious but…'_

_'They'll be fine. Monet's not that strong at all. And since they all were trying to help the kids, the Straw Hats and the Navy should be gathering in that room at some point.'_

_'I guess so. But if something happens I'm going to go help them. That is, as soon as we get your heart back from Vergo.'_  Neo glanced towards the door.

_'You're too protective at times.'_

_"You're one to talk.'_  Neo shot Law a smirk through their bond.

' _Vergo is finished. You'll see.'_

 _"Mocha!"_  Neo gasped when Chopper's painful cries pounded into her head. She grabbed her ears and fell back to the floor. Tears streaked down her cheeks.

 _'Neo?! What is it?! What happened?!'_  Law's heart raced when panic when Neo suddenly collapsed, both their heads throbbing in pain.  _'What is this pain?'_

 _'I…I think something happened to Mocha. This is Chopper's angst we're feeling.'_  Neo clenched her fists. She hated how useless she felt in the moment. But there was nothing she could do for either of them as long as Vergo still had Law's heart. She looked at the battle before her.

Law, now sitting up and leaning against the rail, glanced over at her. He hated how she felt so useless, but he also knew there was nothing either of them could do for anyone at the moment. He turned his attention to the battle. "Smoker…"

Smoker was going back on the attack. He punched the ground, cracking it, and sending up a puff of smoke before charging at Vergo. He threw a punch at Vergo, who blocked it with a punch of his own. He hissed, "Vergo! How dare you mess with the Navy?!"

"This fight is pointless. You're too weak. You can't beat me," Vergo replied. The two locked into another battle of their haki. Smoker tried his 'White Blow' attack but Vergo just grabbed his smoke arm and landed a vicious punch to the Vice Admiral's face. Smoker's body flew back and crashed into the railing. "You keep on fighting me because I betrayed the Navy?"

"I just want to settle this! I have to finish you off with my own hands!" Smoker declared as he stood back up. "Vergo the Pirate!"

"Your haki isn't good enough to defeat me. Why do you refuse to see that?" Vergo asked, once again locking into a haki infused battle of punches and kicks from each other. Smoker landed a punch on Vergo's face, but the man used his haki to stop it. He asked, "Are you don't yet, Smoker?"

Neo's stomach lurched when Vergo landed a vicious series of punches to Smoker's stomach that sent him flying across the room and crumbled against the broke railing. She forced herself to look away from the battle and took several deep breaths. She felt Law's eyes and concerns on her as she tried to get her body under control.  _'I'm fine. Just a little nausea.'_

_'Because of the battle?'_

_'No. You know battles don't make me nausea. It's just the combination of everything.'_

_'I suppose so. You still feel a little feverish.'_  Law pushed himself to his feet.  _'Sorry about this, Neo, but I have to provoke Vergo again.'_

Neo groaned.  _'You are so going to pay for this later. I'm adding another fifty baths to your promise for giving Caesar your heart. Do you understand_ _me_ _?! I get a_ _hundred_ _baths with you! And I get them whenever_ _I_   _want them!'_

 _'Of course, love.'_  Law managed to push himself to his feet. He looked at Vergo when the man addressed him on what he wanted. "If only I could take back my heart, I'd be easily able to kick your butt, Vergo!"

Neo took in a deep breath and readied herself for the intense pain that was about to come their way.

"You just don't learn either, do you? Don't you care about the pain you're causing your precious love over here?" Vergo asked while lifting up Law's heart. "And it's  _Mr. Vergo_!"

They screamed. Law grabbed his chest and fell backwards onto the floor. Both writhed in severe agony as Vergo continued to squeeze the heart in his hand.

"I was suppose to take you two to Joker, but you two have been far too much of a pain to deal with. I have no choice. You two will die here along with this Naval trash." Vergo sighed. He looked over his shoulder when Smoker stood up. "You still want to fight, Smoker? Even though you know that you are no match for me?"

Neo blinked in confusion when Smoker spun a tornado of smoke around Vergo. From inside the tornado she heard the clashing of their haki infused weapons "What's he doing? He shouldn't spread out like that. Vergo has Armament Haki. He can hit Smoker a lot easier now. Unless this is a trick. Could it possible mean that…?"

She heard a few more punches before the smoke tornado started to disappear. Through breaks in the smoke, she saw Vergo punching Smoker away from him. Smoker landed on his feet and released even more smoke.

Vergo then asked, "Why do you keep insisting on utilizing your devil fruit powers? It's not like you to do that, Smoker."

Neo swallowed down a gasp of realization, finally understanding what the Vice Admiral was really trying to do.  _He's trying to grab Law's heart. It's brilliant. There's so much smoke that Vergo won't even notice if some moves towards his pocket. I should have thought about this before. It's the logical solution to a problem situation like this._  Neo bit her bottom lip in concentration on the battle. She watched it very closely, studying Smoker's style.

Law glanced over at her when he felt her concentration pulling into a sharp focus on the battle. A smile pulled across his lips. He loved how she, over the years of her training, had gained the ability to study her opponents fighting styles and apply them to her own battles. A swell of pride bubbled up in his chest. She would grow stronger through doing this. Quickly, he shook his head. There was no time to think about how proud he was of her. He could reward her on that later. Right now the focus needed to be on Vergo and Smoker. He looked down at his hand when smoke covered it.

 _'Law! It's…'_  Neo's eyes shot over to Law.

 _'Yeah. Smoker got my heart back.'_  Law confirmed her feelings. A huge wave of relief washed over both of them, mostly it was from Neo. She felt so happy relieved tears swelled up in her eyes.

 _'Law…we got_ _our_ _heart back!'_  Neo rubbed the heel of her right hand in her eyes. She smiled, as swell of possessiveness over Law washed over her. She heard Vergo saying something about having enough of this and that this was over, but she didn't care anymore. They had their heart back. There would be no more pain from this. This was already over. Law was going to finishing this now. Exhaustion over this whole thing took her over. She slumped to the floor in relief. "It's over. It's over. It's over."

"Bamboo Demon!" Vergo cried out.

Neo looked over at the almost forgotten battle. Vergo had slammed his haki covered bamboo staff into the Vice Admiral's stomach. The move snapped Smoker's jitte in half. Smoker and his jitte landed on the floor with a sickening hard thud. She flinched. Her forgotten upset stomach reminded her it was still there. She placed one hand over her mouth and hoped she didn't retch.

"I know you want to kill me for messing with the Navy," Vergo said. "But you have to be much stronger to be able to defeat me, Smoker. It's over."

Neo lowered her hand to her stomach when Law stepped forward. She took slow deep breaths as Law spoke. He said, "You got me back my heart, Smoker. Thank you for winning it back."

Vergo glared as Law placed his heart back where it belonged, in his chest. He turned back to Smoker and growled. "Now it makes sense! That's why you kept turning into smoke!"

"Now we're even," Smoker said through he tired pants. "Just finish this all ready."

"Are you really that unhappy about having to owe a pirate a favor?" Law asked. He formed his Room and warped his hat back to his hand. He placed it on his head, covering his eyes.

"It's a dishonor to the Navy. I have no right to face my men after this," Smoker said.

"But it's the only reason I'm still alive," Law said, even though he really wanted to say 'Even thought it's the only reason  _we're_  still alive.' He was started to feel the same possessiveness over Neo that she was feeling over him. They both wanted to refer to themselves as one person. "It's over.  _Mr. Vergo_."

"You miserable runt! Well, at least you finally remembered your place in all of this!" Vergo hissed with a frown.

"Go ahead and keep thinking like that! But don't assume that  _you people_  will sit on the thrown forever! You two!" Law lifted his eyes to Vergo. "I know you're listening,  _Joker_!"

Neo flinched. Her mind snapping back to when Law told her that Doflamingo was listening to their conversations with Vergo. She swallowed. She knew he was right, but it was still a bit of a shock. She turned her eyes from Law and looked at Vergo. She assumed he had a transponder snail in his pocket.

"Vergo is a dead man, Joker. You're about to lose your most trusted pawn. And Straw Hat is currently taking care of Caesar. That means you've lost everything, including losing SAD. You couldn't see this coming because you are far to overconfident. So why don't you just sit back and continue to laugh like always and think about your next move. But you won't be laughing for much longer because…" Law paused. He smiled before continuing. "…we're about to do the unthinkable!"

Neo cringed when Vergo took off his coat. The coat fell to the floor with a pink, blue and yellow transponder snail wearing pink feather and sunglasses on top of it. The transponder snail vibrated with a deep laughter, making her body tremble. It was Doflamingo. He said, "Nice try action so tough, you little squirt! Tell me, it's all an act just to impress your love. She is still there, correct? She doesn't seem like the type to willingly abandon you in a time like this."

Neo narrowed her eyebrows and growled despite her body still trembling. She was angry, frustrated and afraid all at the same time just from the sound of this man's voice. The voice of the man who let Caesar preform these terrible experiments on innocent children. The voice of the man who tortured her love. The voice of the man who killed the one person Law loved after losing his family. A rumble of thunder vibrated through the room.

Law sent her soothing thoughts and wrapped his presence tighter around her. He assumed she would have a reaction like this. This was the first time she heard Doflamingo's voice. He had no doubt that, if the other warlord were here, she would attack him.  _'Easy, Neo. He can't hurt us. He's not even here.'_

Neo swallowed. Her thunder vanished from the room.

Doflamingo laughed again. "Nice display of aggression, my dear  _sister-in-law_."

"I'm not your sister!" Neo snapped.

"Of course you are. Law's been like a little brother to me after all. I'm really excited that I'm going to meet you," Doflamingo said with another laugh.

"Law's not your brother! You have no clue what a family even is!" Neo screamed. Her mind rapidly going over everything Law had told her about this man, about what he did to Corazon, about how she, somehow, met Corazon when she was poisoned on Luminous. She had no clue how she had actually met a dead man, but she truly believed that she did. She truly believed that she had met the man who had healed Law. She truly believed that Corazon had somehow protected her while she was with him. "If anyone of you Don Quixote's are my brother then it would be  _Corazon_!"

"Corazon? Corazon is dead. Why would you even consider him a brother when you've never met him?" Doflamingo asked, his voice laced with venom when he said Corazon's name.

Neo flinched, both at the man's words and at her own.  _'I'm sorry, Law. Should I have not said that?'_

' _It's fine, Neo.'_  Law's lips twitched into a smirk.  _'You've actually ticked him off quite a bit. I know he's seething right now.'_

' _Fine. But I'm not saying anymore to him. I don't want to talk to him anymore. I don't even want to hear his voice. I don't want to hear Corazon's name from_ _him_ _again. Make him go away. Just make him go away, Law.'_  Neo covered her ears and pulled her knees up to her chest.

_'All right, love. It's almost over.'_

"What's wrong,  _little sister_?" Doflamingo asked, making her flinch and press her hands to her ears even more. "Nothing else to say? You seemed so talkative a second ago. Did I say something that I shouldn't have? Well, it doesn't matter. We can chat more about this later. Right now, I want to know if you, Law, are positive that you will survive. Look at Vergo there. You really ticked him off now, didn't you?"

Neo gasped. Her eyes locked onto Vergo's body in disbelief. She knew he had full body Armament Haki, but didn't realize how intimidating he could be with his bulging, haki covered muscles. She planted her right foot on the floor while getting up on her left knee. She summoned fifty of each of her crystals in automatic preparation to help Law.

"Do you remember what happened the last time that you crossed Vergo?" Doflamingo asked. "How did it go that time? The time you ticked Vergo off? What did he do to you? It was traumatic for you, wasn't it? You probably think a lot about that time."

Law lifted his sword off his shoulder and started to unsheathe it.

"You must have a terrible fear of Vergo," Doflamingo continued. "A deep seeded fear that will never go away."

Neo jumped when Vergo slammed the tip of his bamboo staff onto the floor. She gathered the elements around her crystals, even though she was sure Law could handle Vergo just fine on his own.

"Even with your incomparable swordplay, you can't do anything. His haki is far stronger than your severing abilities," Doflamingo said.

Neo frown and glared at the transponder snail. She could feel the man's smug grin from the other side of it. She wished she could wipe the look off his face then make him eat it.

"In terms of both status and power, you are no match for Vergo!" Doflamingo declared.

Law lifted his left hand. His Room smoke swirled around his palm as Vergo charged forward. He pulled out his sword and sliced it across Vergo's torso and the entire room.

Neo blinked. A strange stillness settled over the room as she let her element crystals fade away. She slumped back down to the floor. It was over.

"It's been two years since the War of the Best. Did anyone actually accomplish anything? All you did was stay calm. All Whitebeard did was end the era. The Navy rounded up new strength. The big-timers didn't make any moves at all. It's like everyone was just preparing for something else. That war was only the beginning of something else. You've always told me that a new era of daring ones is coming along with an unstoppable swell! Well, now I have broken the gears! And no one can turn back!"

Neo summoned her wind crystals when the divided building came crashing back down. She diverted the falling debris away from them while Law sheathed his sword.

Vergo pushed up on his bamboo staff. He said, "Broke the gears? There's no turning back? That's hysterical."

Law, seemingly ignoring Vergo, walked over to Smoker. He looked down at the marine.

Neo watched as Vergo pulled himself along the floor before pushing his body up into the air. She gasped and, in an automatic reaction, whipped her crystals towards him.

"Learn your place!" Vergo hissed. "Law!"

Law reformed his Room. He turned back to Vergo and sliced his body up into multiple pieces before placing them on the railing.

Neo sighed. Booms and crashing debris sounded throughout the room while she banished her crystals. She placed one hand on her face and the other on her stomach. "Oh, geez. Finally. I don't think I could take much more of this."

She looked up when she heard Vergo cursing out loud. He said, "How am I suppose to eat breakfast tomorrow?"

Neo blinked rapidly and in disbelief at Vergo's shattered body pairs that were now attached to the railing in the room. Suddenly, without any warning, she laughed out loud. It was one of those rare, out of control laughter that came from deep within. She pointed at Vergo, uncaring about the odd stares she was getting from all three of the men in the room and uncaring about her bells.

Law's heart about jumped out of his chest when she laughed. He about turned his powers on her to get her to stop. He was on the verge of pulling out his sword when he realized that neither Vergo nor Smoker was taking notice of her bells. He took a closer inspection of her. He relaxed with a sigh and pushed his sword back into its protective case. It was far too noisy in here. Her bells were being cover by the sounds of the collapsing building. He only heard them because of their bond and prior knowledge of it.

"What the heck is her problem?" Smoker asked as he inspected the laughing woman. "Is she seriously laughing at a time like this?"

Law just blinked. He tilted his head at Neo. He raised an eyebrow in confusion.  _'Neo? What's so funny? Why are you laughing like that? Do you even realize you could have given away the secret of your bells?'_

 _'I-I know I could have! But I-I-I don't know why I'm laughing!'_  Neo wrapped her arms around her stomach. Her laughter continued to come at full force with no signs of stopping.  _'I just can't stop laughing!'_

 _'You have seriously been acting weird here lately.'_  Law blinked again as he started to walk over to her.  _'Well, at least the sounds of the building collapsing are hiding your bells.'_

"What the heck is the matter with you, woman?! How could you possible be laughing right now?! This isn't funny!" Vergo hissed. Still Neo showed no signs of stopping. "What an upsetting turn of events. How dare you, Law! You might have caused a serious upset, Law. But I know you're going to regret it! You will do well to keep that in your mind! You know nothing of Joker's  _past_. And that will be your downfall!"

Law stopped, mere feet from where Neo was laughing on the floor, and turned back to Vergo.

"Upstarts like you with a little touch of fame following behind them can't possibly hope to seize the reins. It's filled with others who are much stronger than you are. And stop that laughing, you  _child_! What's wrong with you?! This isn't funny!" Vergo hissed as he sent a harsh glare at Neo. She momentarily paused to take a look at him then started laughing all over again. He growled then turned his attention to Smoker. The Vice Admiral was pretty much ignoring the whole thing. He had turned his attention away from the laughing pirate and pulled out two cigars. He placed them between his lips and lit them while Vergo started to address him. "Tell him, Smoker. Tell him that there's no room for someone who thinks they can-"

Law swiped his sword at Vergo's head. Slicing the man's head vertically once more.

Smoker stood up. Still ignoring Vergo, he walked towards the door. He gave the laughing pirate one last glance before shaking his head and continuing out the door.

Resting his sword on his shoulder, Law said, "Don't tell Neo what to do. And don't worry about me. You have far more important things to worry about. Like how you're going to get out of this. This room will blow sky high soon. Goodbye, Vergo the Pirate."

Neo continued to laugh. She was laughing so hard that she didn't even register Law had put up his sword and was now standing less that a foot from her. She didn't even feel his confused eyes on her as he stared down at her. He said, "Neo?

Tucking her solar crystal under her coattail, she suddenly stopped laughing and shot up to meet his gaze with a sharp glare. Law about recoiled from the glare and from her sudden change in moods. She snapped, "How dare you put me through all of that! What's the matter with you?!"

"I, uh…" Law blinked again in pure confusion. He had no clue what to say or what brought on this sudden change of moods.

Despite still glaring at him, she spreading her solar crystal's healing glow over him while she grabbed his zipper and jerked it down. Her glare lightened up and she started to blink rapidly, she pressed her fingers to his whole chest as if she was making sure she didn't dream they got  _their_  heart back. She sighed when her brain finally accepted it as real. Law really did have  _their_  heart back. It was right there where it should have been all along. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his chest. She kept her lips there and felt his heartbeat a few times before pressing her forehead to his chest with another sigh. "It's back. It's really back.  _Our_  heart is really back inside your chest."

 _'Yes, love.'_  Law replied cautiously through their bond.  _'But we don't have time for this.'_

 _'I know you're correct. You and Smoker have to pull the carts to the R Building for everyone to escape in while I go help Chopper.'_  Neo thought, knowing what his next move was going to be. She quickly lifted her head up from his chest. She pushed up on her toes and kissed his lips then pulled away before Law could even comprehend what she had said. She wrapped her winds around herself and was halfway out the door before he registered her words.  _'But we are having some serious cuddle time at some point after this.'_

 _'What?'_  Law asked flatly through their bond.  _'Where do you think you're going?'_

 _'Sorry, love, but I have to go help them. Something bad happened to Mocha. And even if Chopper gets assistance from his friends or the Navy, carrying Mocha will slow them down. I can fly them faster to the R Building than they can run. I'll be fine. I have enough magic to get there and back while holding back the gas if we run into it.'_  Neo replied to him as she continued on down the hall. She could feel he was a bit upset with her for leaving, but both knew it was the right choice. Mocha was far too big for them. She was their best chance to escape the gas and get to the R Building successfully and quickly.

 _'Fine. But I expect a better kiss at some point after you return. Preferably when were alone.'_  A suggestive smile pulled across his lips that he passed to her through their bond. He passed suggestive, sexual thoughts to her as well.

 _'I think I can manage that.'_  Neo smiled, passing her own suggestive thoughts to him.  _'I'll be there as soon as I can.'_

 _'Right.'_  Law nodded. He continued to walk to the door.

…

Neo locked her mind onto Law's location as she also searched out where Chopper was. A wave of relief washed over her when she found him in one of the examination rooms on the second floor of the B Building. She would be able to get there within just a few short minutes. She took a deep breath and sent her thoughts to the reindeer.  _Chopper! I'm coming for you! Just hold on a little bit longer! I'm going to fly you all to the R Building! I can get you there faster than you can run!_  She looked over her shoulder when she felt Caesar's presence flying away from where he should have been. She wondered why she felt him flying off. She about stopped flying when she realized she could feel Luffy too. "That's odd. I've never felt him before. Oh, wait, Straw Hat's made of rubber. And rubber is made of, uh…Law?"

_'Yes?'_

"What's rubber made of again?"

_'I think you remember. Just talk it out.'_

"Okay, there are two types of rubber, natural and synthetic. Natural rubber comes from rubber tress. Latex is taken from the tree when it's about six or seven years and…Oh! Of courses!" Neo smacked her face. "Rubber  _trees_! That's why I can sense Straw Hat! Rubber  _is_  a part of nature!"

 _'You can sense Straw Hat?'_  Law thought to her. His voice was laced with jealousy as his body twitched.

"I love it when you get jealous," Neo said with a smile, her heart fluttering in her chest. "But I can't believe I never noticed until now. Geez! First I didn't sense Monet following us, my crystals failed during our fight with Caesar and now I just realize I can sense Straw Hat. How messed up has my magic been?"

_'We'll figure that out later. Just get to the Straw Hat doctor and get back to the R Building. We don't have much time left.'_

"Right!" Neo nodded. She shook the thoughts from her mind. They could figure out why her magic's been off later.

…

"Chopper! We have to go! It's not safe here anymore!" a soldier cried out.

"Uh-huh! I've done all that I can for her for now!" Chopper replied from his perch on Mocha's body. "Let's get to the R Bui-Huh?"

Chopper's voice cut off when he felt Neo contacting him again.  _Neo? What is it? You're coming for us? What?! I'm not sure that's such a good idea, but okay. It does make sense that flying with your winds would be faster than running all the way there. We're still going to start heading that way. I hope you can find us easily enough since you've been here for months._

"Uh, Chopper? Why are you daydream?!" the man asked in a panic. "We have to go! The building is collapsing!"

"Sorry about that. Neo was…" Chopper paused. His instincts screamed at him to not reveal that Neo can contact him somehow.

"Neo? You mean Lady Law? What about her?" another soldier asked.

"It's nothing. I'm just worried about her I guess. Let's get going!" Chopper ordered.

"Yeah! Let's go!" the soldiers cheered. They picked up the unconscious girl and ran from the room and down the long hallways.

"Mocha! Stay with me! Let's get out of here together! Neo wants to see you again!" Chopper told the child. He looked up when he felt Neo near. Just then, Neo rounded the corner and smiled at him. His eyes sparkled with admiration for the blue haired pirate. "Wow! That was fast! You're so cool!"

"Chopper!" Neo cried out. She then gasped at the unconscious child. "Mocha! Chopper, what happened?!"

"She'll be okay, Neo! She ate all the drug candies to keep the other children from eating them!" Chopper replied. He looked down at Mocha then back up at Neo. "Please, don't worry. I've pumped as much of the drug candy out of her. Now, we just have to get her out of here. Law can probably help her more than I can. Isn't that correct? I assume he's been studying medicine a lot longer than I have. Plus, he's got his Op Op devil fruit to help him."

"Right." Neo nodded. She summoned a five more wind crystals and gathered them all up in her winds. "He'll help. I'll make him do it even if he refused to."

"Hey! What's going on?!" a marine demanded as he kicked his airborne feet. "Let me down!"

"Sorry, but I have to fly you all to the R Building. It's faster than running," Neo informed them. "Law severed the building so the poison gas from outside is coming inside."

"What?!" the marines shrieked. "Then let's get out of here!"

Neo nodded then flew them down the hall. A marine turned to her. He asked, "Are you sure this is the right way?"

"Of course I'm sure. I memorized the map of this place when we first came here. Law didn't want to take the chance of me getting lost in this place," Neo replied.

"Well, I was going to tell you directions to the R Building," Usopp's voice said, "but it looks like you're going to be just fine with Neo there."

"Huh?" Chopper looked around. "Usopp, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Usopp replied. "I've taken control of the control room. I'm going to shut the door to the R Building once everyone is inside. That way the gas won't get in."

"That's great! Thanks!" Chopper replied.

"Sniper King Usopp?" Neo then asked after a few seconds of thoughts.

"What is it, Neo?" the sniper asked.

"There should be some of Caesar's men in the control room," Neo said.

"Yeah, they're here. They over heard Caesar admitting he never cared about them and was just using them during his fight with Luffy," Usopp replied. "They're pretty upset about it."

"I see," Neo said. She glanced down.  _So he did betray them. He never cared about them. That's why he was able to leave them outside for the poison gas to kill them._  She gritted her teeth with a low growl. "Sniper King Usopp! Please, bring them with you to the R Building! This isn't their fault! Caesar was using them!"

"Huh? Oh, sure thing. I guess you've formed a friendship with these guys since you've been here for so long," Usopp's voice said.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "Something like that."

"All right. We'll see you soon then. The other's are almost to the R Building as well. Just keep run-uh-flying! I'm leaving Chopper and the others in your hands, Neo!" Usopp said.

"Right!" Neo nodded again. She picked up her wind speed. When she felt Chopper looking at her from Mocha's body, she turned her eyes to him. "What?"

"You really care about people, don't you?" Chopper asked.

"Uh…" Neo blinked.

"You kind of remind me of Luffy. But you're way calmer than he ever is. There's just something about you that's just very relaxing," Chopper said with a soft smile. "I like it."

Neo smiled. She held out her hand to him. When he placed his hoof in her palm, she curled her fingers around him. "Thanks, Chopper."

…

Usopp smiled as he watched Neo take Chopper's hoof. He chuckled to himself.  _I guess Chopper has found himself a new friend. She is a nice girl. A bit skittish and shy, but very nice. I'm glad she gets along so well with Chopper. It seems she'll get along with the rest of our crew as well._  He pulled his eyes from that screen and over to the screen where Nami and the others were running. "Hurry up, Nami! You're almost to the R Building!"

"Why? Why is this happening to us?" one of Caesar's men asked. Usopp glanced at him from over his shoulder. They all were crying from Caesar's betrayal. "I can't believe that the master is such an awful person! Who should we trust from now on?!"

"You're worried about that when this room is falling down around our heads?" Usopp asked.

…

"Hold on, Mocha! Just a little bit longer!" Chopper pleaded.

Neo flew a bit closer to him and Mocha. With her solar crystal still hidden in her coattail, she passed her solar crystal's healing glow over the young girl's body.  _You can do it, Mocha. I'll help you heal. I don't know if my solar crystal can do anything against whatever poison this is, but it should help you some. We'll get you to Law. He'll help you. He'll remove the poison from your body. Won't you, Law?_

_'Of course I will, love.'_

Neo flinched. She had forgotten their bond was still open with each other and he was monitoring her.  _'Sorry, I didn't mean to…'_

_'It's okay, Neo. I knew this was coming anyway. I knew my doctor skill surpassed the Straw Hats' doctor. And I know how much you love the kids.'_

_'And you're not going to argue with me on this?'_ Neo narrowed her eyes playfully.

 _'No, I won't.'_  There was a short pause before Law spoke again.  _'As long as you don't bite my head off again.'_

_'I'm sorry. I don't know why I snapped at you like that. I guess everything just came crashing down and it was just an unexpected reaction, maybe a nervous reaction.'_

_'I figured as much. Just hurry up now. Smoker and I are almost to the R Building.'_

_'We'll be there soon. Not as soon as I thought. I'm a bit slower since I'm not completely healed. But we will be there.'_

_'Just focus. And if you feel like your magic is going to fail you again, put them down and have them start running again. I don't want you to get hurt.'_

_'I will, Law. I'll see you soon.'_  Neo flinched when an unexpected scream shouted out from behind them. She turned to see the skeleton member of the Straw Hats was running towards them with something under his boney arm.

"Chopper!" the skeleton cried.

"Huh? Brook?" Chopper turned and looked at his crewmate. "Ack! Brook?!"

"We have a problem! Kin'emon got hit by Caesar's poison gas and died!" Brook cried.

"What?! Neo, stop! Please stop!" Chopper shrieked. Neo, against her better judgment, halted at the reindeer's request. "What happened, Brook?!"

"While we were helping the children in the examination room evacuate and looking for Kin'emon's son, we met a young girl. And she said that his son was turned into a small dragon! He ran off to find that dragon we sliced up earlier! And he ended up like this!" Brook informed them. Everyone looked to the statue under the skeleton's arm.

"That's crazy! What was he thinking?!" Chopper said, his eyes wide and round.

"What should I do? What do I do?!" Brook demanded as he danced around in a panic.

Neo gasped when she felt the gas closing in on them. She opened her mouth to inform them of this, but Usopp cut in before she could utter a word.

"Chopper! Brook! Don't stop now! What are you doing?!" Usopp's voice asked. "Hurry up! You don't have time to waste with this!"

"He's right," Neo said. She looked at Chopper. "We're almost to the R Building. All we have to do is go down the stairs right here."

"And the gas is coming up from behind you!" Usopp added. "Get a move on!"

"Ah!" Chopper, Brook and the soldiers screamed when they saw the purple gas flying towards them.

Neo summoned a few more wind crystals and pushed back the gas.

Chopper cried out, "You saved us!"

"Not for long," Neo replied just as her crystals started to flicker again.  _Not now! Don't start acting strange on me now! I really need you right now!_  "My ma-powers are fading again! We have to get to the R Building before it's too late!"

"Right!" they all screamed.

Neo gathered Brook and Kin'emon into her winds and started down the stairs.

…

"Do we really  _need_  this thing?" Smoker grumbled as he and Law pulled the very large, very heavy carts down the hall.

"Yes, this was the cart that they used to haul the SAD equipment into the building. We can fit everyone on it and use it to escape from here. The lab's going to collapse soon. We have to escape as soon as possible," Law replied. He then had to force himself to smother a gasp and his panic when he felt Neo's magic take a dive.  _'Neo! Is your magic fading again?!'_

_'I think it might be. My crystals just flickered a little bit. But I'm fine. We're heading down the stairs now.'_

Law bit back a growl. Now was not the time for her magic to be acting up again. _'Just hurry. I want you back in my sight. And I want you to stop using your crystals for a while.'_

_'I'll use them as long as we're in this building. I know I'm going to have to help in our escape.'_

_'Neo…'_  Law warned.

_'I know, Law. My safety is above everyone else here in your opinion. But I'm not going to let anyone get hurt anymore. I promise, once this is over, I won't use my magic for a while. I'll even hold off on using it, unless it's life or death, until we arrive at Dressrosa.'_

_'Fine But you'll_ _only_ _use them when_ _needed_ _. If something comes up that someone else can handle then_ _they_ _will handle it, not you. And I'm giving you a check up as soon as I can. Deal?'_

_'Yes,_ _Doctor_ _.'_  Neo smiled.  _'I agree to that compromise.'_

Law casted a glance over at Smoker when he felt the marine's eyes on him. He frowned. "What?"

"I was going to ask you what's up with that woman of yours, but I know you won't answer me," Smoker said even though he knew it was useless.

"You got that right," Law grumbled, turning his eyes back head of him.

Smoker studied him for a few seconds before adding, "You know everyone's going to figure it out eventually. What will you do then?"

Law didn't reply. He only spoke up again when Luffy came into his sight. "Straw Hat!"

"Tra! Smokey! I wasn't expecting you to come from that way!" Luffy said while waving at them as the Navy cheered at their commander's return.

"Yeah! Smokey!"

"What?! Smokey?! He's back!"

"Smokey!"

"All right!"

"Smoker…I'm glad you're safe," Tashigi mumbled to herself as she inspected her commanding officer.

"Smokey! We're so glad you're safe! We have so much to report to you!"

"Stop scream!" Smoker ordered. "I know!"

Law, ignoring the rambles of the excited Navy soldiers, looked around the room for Caesar, barely noticing Brownbeard lying beat on the floor. Glaring, he looked at the Straw Hat captain and walked over to him. "Hey! Where did Caesar go?!"

"Oh, you know that door that was right there? Well, I kicked his butt and he, plus the door, went flying that way," Luffy said while pointing in the direction of the missing door. "How far do you think he flew? He really went sailing!"

"What?! Hey! You…Our plan was to  _kidnap_  him!" Law hissed.

"I don't even want to capture that jerk anymore! Do you have any idea what he did to his own men?!" Luffy demanded. "He betrayed them!"

"What are you talking about?! You can't just change the plan because Caesar did something you didn't like! What are you going to do if he gets away from us?! The whole plan will be ruined!" Law pointed out.

"So what?! Who cares about that jerk?!" Luffy replied.

"You think you can just change the plan as you like? What's the matter with you?! I never should have trusted you to take care of this!" Law hissed as he turned away from Luffy.

_'Law? What's wrong? Why are you angry?'_

_'This idiot Straw Hat captain just smashed Caesar through the door! I have no idea where he is now!'_

_'He's outside of the lab.'_

_'What?!'_

_'I sensed Caesar flying away from his location before. I didn't know what happened. But when he stopped, he was outside. He's near the ocean. I'm guessing he hit the tanker since it's still docked there. I'm sorry. I should have told you I felt him flying off.'_

_'No, it's not your fault. It's this idiot pirate here.'_  Law grumbled. He then addressed Luffy again. He said, "We have to go after him!"

"What?!" Luffy protested with an annoyed look on his face. His look vanished when he noticed something. "Hey! Where's Neo?! Isn't she with you?!"

"She went to help your doctor," Law replied, even though he didn't really want to, as he walked away from the young captain. He placed his hand on the broken door and looked down the dark hall.

"What? That's great!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Brownbeard. Chopper will be here soon to take care of you. Hey, Luffy? Do you think they're all right?" Nami asked after expressing concern over Brownbeard's condition.

"Of course their fine. Since Neo's with them, I'm sure they'll be here any second," Luffy declared.

Law sighed at the Straw Hat captain's words. He could feel her magic starting to fade once more.  _That is if Neo's magic doesn't quit on her again._  He looked back at the group. He said, "Hey, Straw Hats! Everyone needs to get onto the carts! Now! We have to go after Caesar!"


	85. Leaving Punk Hazard

Leaving Punk Hazard

"Come on! Everyone, hurry up and get on the cart!" Law shouted out over the crumbling building. He was currently standing on the cart looking down at everyone on the floor.

The kids screamed and ran towards the carts. The Navy soldiers and, formerly Caesar's, men helped the kids climb up the ladders, hurrying them along. "Hurry, kids! Let's go!"

"Up the ladder!"

"I can't climb!"

"Come on, you can do it!"

"Where does this passage lead to?" Nami asked as she watched Zoro set Brownbeard down in the cart.

"It leads to a harbor where a tanker is currently docked," Law replied.

"That deadly gas is covering the entire island. Will we be okay by going this route?" Nami asked.

"Yes, we have to risk exposure to the air outside in order to get to the tanker but isn't it better than being buried alive under some wreckage?" Law questioned.

"But the children…" Nami started.

"We'll be fine, sister," a girl said. "We want to get out of here."

"She's right! We can make it if we hold our breath!" a boy added.

"We want to see our mothers and fathers!" another boy said. "Please take us with you!"

"Please!" the children begged.

Lin then walked forward. She looked up at Nami and said, "Neo will protect us. Remember she has control over the wind. She has flown us around before. I told you that when we were outside."

"You're right." Nami smiled at Lin. "She does have control over the wind. She's your friend, right?"

"She is." Lin nodded.

"Then we'll just have to leave it all up to fate," Nami declared. She planted her hands on her hips. "Kids! We'll make it through this at any cost! You have to survive this and go home! Your parents, your families are waiting for you!"

"Yeah!" the kids cheered.

Lin smiled and nodded in agreement. She looked around and noticed that Neo wasn't anywhere to be seen. She then walked over to Law. She glanced up at him, lightly flinching when he returned her gaze. "Where's Neo? She's not here. Do you know where she is? You're her husband, right? I've seen you with her before."

Law stared at the child. This blonde haired, pigtailed child was the one who Neo seemed to have bonded with the most. He sighed. "She's coming. She had to go help a friend of hers. She'll be here soon."

"So she's okay?" Lin asked.

"She's fine." Law nodded despite still being concerned over her magic loss.

"I'm glad." Lin smiled at him. "I'm sure you're glad too. She really loves you."

Law nodded again, somehow surprised at the girl's words. He had to force his heart rate to slow down when his brain automatically thought back to how Neo was with this child. Back to when she first comforted Lin, told them an altered version of how they met and then tucked the kids into bed. "Yeah. I'm glad."

More rumbling forced them to pull their attention away from each other. Someone asked, "The door's starting to close! Who did that?!"

"Hey! What's that?!" a blonde haired boy asked. He pointed towards the closing door and the dark hallway.

Soldiers screamed and gasped when the purple gas rolled towards the door. "Ah! It's the poison gas!"

"Hurry up! Get on now!"

Law concentrated on Neo's position. She was so close to him now, but he could feel her magic draining fast from her.  _'Neo, hurry up! The door's closing!'_

…

 _'I know, Law. The Straw Hat's sniper said he was going to close it. We're close enough. We're going to be fine.'_  Neo thought to him despite her pants, her faltering crystals and her strong desire to just curl up on the floor and sleep.  _'Just make sure everyone is on the cart by the time we get there. We can leave immediately.'_

…

 _'Right. I'm trying, but the Straw Hats are being stupidly stubborn.'_  Law looked down at the pirate crew standing on the ground. They all had their eyes locked onto the closing door. He shouted, "Hey, what are you all doing, Straw Hats?! All of you get on the cart now! If we let Caesar gets away, our plan will be ruined!"

"So what?! Not all of my crew is here yet!" Luffy protested. "I'm not leaving without them!"

"Mocha's not here, either!" the giant blonde boy said.

"Some of our soldiers aren't here yet, either," Tashigi added.

Law growled. He clenched his teeth and fists, wishing he had Neo's magic so he could force the Straw Hat crew into the cart with her winds. This was ridiculous and dangerously stupid to wait.

…

"Come on, Neo!" Usopp cheered from the control room. "You can do it! You can out fly the gas! You're strong! Hurry up! Just fifty meters to go! The gate is already closing, but you can slide in easily! The building's collapsing! I'm heading to the R Building now!" He jumped off the platform he was standing on. Once landed, he realized something and smacked himself. "Oh shoot! I forgot all about the sea prism stone shackles I was suppose to be getting! Hey guys, do you all know where I can get some sea prism stone cuffs or shackles? I really need them."

"Sure. We've got some right here," one of the men said, holding up some shackles. Others held up shackles too.

"Whoa! I don't need that many!" Usopp said. He took one of them. "But thanks a lot. This really helps me out."

"Hey, you're going downstairs, right?" a man asked.

"It's too mortifying to die here because of that traitor!" a man said. "We'd like to come with you!"

"Of course you can come," Usopp said with a confused blink. "Didn't you hear what Neo said before? She wants me to bring you all along. She's your friend, isn't she?"

The men exchanged guilty looks. One of them said, "She was, but we turned on her when we thought she and Law betrayed the Ma-betrayed Caesar. We're sorry we acted so harshly against her. She didn't betray us at all. She was always so nice to us. She helped the cooks here get better at cooking. She made us snacks. She's just so nice and sweet. We want to apologize to her."

"Then come on," Usopp said. He jerked his thumb to the door. "She'll be glad to see you all again. You can tell her how sorry you are for turning on her."

…

Neo's control over her winds faltered again. The group dipped down with a startled cry before she was able to regain control and lifted them back up. A soldier asked, "Are you sure you're okay? That's the sixth time that's happened."

"What's wrong with you?!" Chopper snapped at the soldier. "Are you accusing her of doing that on purpose?!"

"No, I was just asking if she was all right," the soldier replied.

"Well, then be more careful with your words! You sound like you're accusing her of something that's not her fault!" Chopper growled.

"It's okay, Chopper," Neo replied. She looked at the reindeer then looked at the soldier. "I'm sorry. I'm just a bit tired from my battle with Vergo. My m-powers and strength hasn't had much time to regenerate."

"I suppose you are correct. Vergo always was a tough opponent. And if you really fought him as hard as you say then I'm not surprised you're so weak at the moment," the soldier said. "I'm actually quite a bit surprised that you've been able to carry us this far. I'm grateful for your help."

"Yeah!" the rest of the soldiers agreed.

"Uh." Neo blinked at them, a bit shocked at getting thanked from Navy soldiers. "You're welcome. I mean, I know we're technically enemies, but I still don't want you all to get hurt here. This is all Caesar's fault. You didn't ask for any of it."

"Ah, you're so nice," a soldier said with a smile. He then banished his smiled and somewhat growled at her. "But don't think that this makes us friends! Once this is over we're still hunting you and the rest of you pirates down!"

"Of course," Neo said with a light smile. "I wouldn't expect anything else."

"But I'm still not sure we're going to make it!" another soldier said. "No offense, Neo."

"It's only over when you decide to give up!" Brook said.

"But the deadly gas is right behind us!" a soldier cried. "And Neo only has enough strength now to fly us! She's can't push it back anymore!"

Neo sighed. The man was right. It was taking too much out of her to try and push the gas back and try to fly them forward. She had to release her crystals that were on the gas and focus completely on flying them. She narrowed her eyes. The doors ahead of them were almost closed. Almost. She wasn't going to lose anyone of them. Not when being this close to escaping from this horrible place. She wasn't going to lose. She wasn't going to let them die. Not here. Not now. Tapping into her remaining strength, she pushed them forward to the doors, through the doors. She heard someone call out Luffy's name, but wasn't sure who said it. All she could focus on was how she just skimmed them all passed the closing doors.

The kids screamed and cheered Neo and Mocha's names. "They made it! Neo! Mocha! Neo! Mocha!"

"We made it!" Chopper cried out. He raised his hooves into the air in victory. "We made it! You did it Neo!"

"Yeah." Neo nodded. Her pants were so heavy only that one word was all she could manage. Keeping her hold on her wind crystals, she continued to fly them towards the carts.

"All right! We're all here now!" Luffy cheered. "Way to go, Neo! You saved them!"

"You had us rather worried!" Nami added.

"I'm glad you all made it!" Usopp said. He and the men from the control room were standing on the stairs as Neo flew passed them.

"I'm glad you're safe too, Usopp. You've been a lot of help," Chopper said as Neo flew them over to the carts.

"That's enough! We have to get going now!" Law called out again. His eyes rose to Neo as she passed over him. Their eyes locked on to each other.  _'Did you really have to scare me like that? I was worried.'_

 _'Sorry. But you would have done the exact same as me if you were in my position.'_  Neo smiled at him. He smiled back with a light shake of his head.

"Yeah! Time to go, everyone! This place is coming down!" Luffy then shouted out with more happy enthusiasm than Neo thought was appropriate for a situation like this.

Neo lowered her passengers to the floor of the cart. She about fell backwards when Lin rammed into her. She placed her left hand on the floor to keep herself from falling while her right arm wrapped automatically around Lin's smaller frame. "Uh, Lin?"

"N-Neo, I was…so worried about you," Lin cried. She tightened her arms around Neo's neck. "I'm so glad…you're okay."

"I'm glad you're okay as well." Neo, stabilized, put her left arm around Lin's body. She looked around at the rest of the children. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she mentally counted the kids like she always did after her crew had been in battle. She relaxed with sigh when they all were accounted for and relatively safe. "I'm glad you all are safe."

"Neo! You did it!" Chopper shouted. He joined Lin in hugging the blue haired woman. "I'm so glad we made it!"

"Me too, Chopper," Neo replied. She focused on Law then. He was carefully monitoring her with a thick worry clouding his chest.  _'All right, my love. I'll relax now and I won't use my magic unless it's life or death, despite us still being in a life and death situation.'_

_'We'll be fine.'_

"Wait! What should we do?! What should we do about Kin'emon?!" Brook shrieked.

Neo looked up when the skeleton shouted out. She couldn't seem him anymore since he had moved to the front cart. She heard someone else shouting, but wasn't sure who it was as she didn't recognize their voice. She had decided to stay with Lin and kids, mostly because Lin was still holding on to her, but also because some other kids had a hold of her coat. She really wanted to go be with Law, but knew the kids needed her at the moment. They were still scared and confused about all of this. She felt Law wanted to be with her too, but he needed to remain in the front to help take care of any obstacle that might present itself while they rolled down the hallway. She looked down and stroked Lin's hair before lifting her eyes back towards the direction Law was in when she felt his frustration.  _'Law?'_

_'How far away is Caesar? I don't see any light yet. The exit must be farther away than I thought.'_

_'You're right. We're getting closer but we're still a fair distance from the exit. Would you like me to speed us up a bit? I can give us a boost.'_

After a pause Law replied to her.  _'No. Save your magic for now. We'll get there soon. This wouldn't have happened if Straw Hat wasn't being so stupid.'_

_'Easy, Law. He doesn't think like you do. It'll be fine. Caesar's not moving. If he wanted to escape, he wouldn't be able to do it without someone's help.'_

Suddenly a loud boom vibrated the entire unstable building.  _'Law! That was an explosion!'_

…

"Was that an explosion?" Nami asked at the same time Neo contacted Law.

"I think it came from the D Building," Law replied to both of the women. "From the SAD manufacturing room where we were fighting Vergo."

 _'Vergo.'_  Neo narrowed her eyebrows.  _'Do you think he…?'_

 _'Probably.'_  Law looked back towards the direction of the exit.

"Hey, Law," Smoker said. "If we get out of here, it's obvious we'll go our separate ways. But, before that, there is something I want to ask you."

Law dipped his head, hiding his mouth below his collar. He felt Neo tensing up at the Vice Admiral being so close to him. He narrowed his eyebrows and asked, "What?"

"Why did Caesar think that he had my heart? I thought you had it since you took it from me," Smoker said.

"I never said that was your heart. He made that assumption on his own," Law replied once he felt Neo relax. He then went ahead and explained to the Vice Admiral about the deal he made with the scientist. "To earn Caesar's trust I let him keep my heart and took his secretary Monet's heart in return. And then I cut your heart out when you arrived at on the island, as you know. So I had two hearts in my possession instead of just the one. I just gave his secretary Monet's heart back to him out of kindness. Just like they say. If you are kind to people, that good karma will come back around."

Smoker scoffed. "I can't believe that woman of yours allowed you to do such a stupid thing."

Law just smirked behind his collar and thought about how he earned himself a hundred required baths with her. He sighed. Despite preferring showers, he knew he was going to like taking these baths with her. They were going to be a lot more  _fun_  for him. And he was going to make her  _pay_  for forcing this onto him despite willing agreeing to do this in the first place. He felt Neo growling at him for thoughts of turning that against her with sexual ambitions.  _'Don't give me that attitude,_ _little_ _girl_ _. You should have seen my intentions coming long before now.'_

Neo sighed.  _'Yeah, I know. But it's fine. I still get my hundred promised baths with you.'_

_'Yes, my love, you'll still get them.'_

"It's no good! That explosion is causing everything to collapse faster!" Usopp shouted out.

…

Neo gasped when she felt a piece of rumble falling towards them. She looked up, readying herself to do something about it, but stopped when Luffy appeared in her view and kicked the debris away from everyone. "Straw Hat."

"N-Neo, I'm scared," Lin whimpered.

"It'll be okay. You're going to be fine. We're going to get out of here and you'll get to see your parents very soon," Neo replied. She looked back down at the girl in her arms. She stroked her blonde hair. She then looked back towards Law's direction.  _'Law?'_

…

"I know. We're in a tunnel that passes through a mountain. If it collapses, we'll be buried alive," Law said while looking up at the cracking ceiling.

…

 _'I might not have enough magic to dig us out. I'm going to give us a boost. I have enough magic to do that still.'_  When Law nodded back to her, Neo summoned ten wind crystals behind the carts. She gave them a push with a strong gush of wind then let her crystals vanish with a tired sigh.

…

"This is no time for idle narration!" Usopp shouted.

"I wasn't talking to you," Law replied.

"Huh?" Usopp blinked.

A loud thump disrupted any more conversation between the two. A Navy soldier cried out, "Oh no! A piece of the ceiling had fell onto the track! We're going to hit it and crash! Someone hit the brakes!"

"Just keep going," Zoro said. He was standing on the edge of the cart.

"What?!" a soldier gasped. They watched as Zoro pulled out his sword and easily sliced up the obstacle with one slice of his blade.

"So cool!" a child cried happily.

"He did it! I can't believe it! He saved us!" a soldier cheered.

"Wow! For an enemy, he's really someone you don't want for an enemy!" another soldier said.

…

_'Law! The gas is coming closer! We're almost outside, but there's a lot of gas at the exit! I can't push it all away!'_

_'I'll handle it._ ' Law placed his hand on the cart and asked, "Can anyone here generate wind?"

"Why are you asking that when you're married to a woman who can do just that?" one of Caesar's former men asked. "Have her do it."

"She's too drained right now," Law replied. He then glared at them. "So leave her alone."

"Yes, sir!" they shrieked.

"Well, it's not going to be so easy to find another person with that skill," a man said.

"I can do that," Nami then said.

"Seriously?!" the men shouted.

"I can see the exit!" Usopp announced.

"All right! We're almost there!" Luffy said tossing his fist into the air. "Go faster!"

The soldiers screamed again and covered several of the kids' heads, protecting them from the crumbling building. "Don't collapse just yet! We're almost there!"

"Even if we can get out of here in time, there's still the gas to deal with outside!"

One asked, "Hey! Can you really create wind, pirate?!"

"Are we going to be okay?"

"Hey, hey!" Sanji shrieked while burning with fire. "Those of you who don't trust my beloved Nami can jump off right now! No, I'll kick you off for your doubt!"

"You're scaring us!" a soldier whined.

"We're counting on you, Nami!" Luffy said after punching a rock.

"We trust you!" Usopp added. "Now get us out of here!"

"Trust me! I've got this under control," Nami declared. She pulled out her baton and twirled it. Pointing the end at the exit, she said, "Sorcery Climate Baton! Gust Sword!"

A swirl of wind shot out of the baton.

Law twitched in remembrance of when Neo had first felt this orange haired woman create wind. He focused his attention back on her.

…

Neo tightened her arms around Lin's trembling body. Her mind was split in three different directions, the gas in front of them, and the gas behind them and how she couldn't do much to help. Still, she summoned a couple wind crystals and pushed the cart. Sweat beaded on her forehead as her body began to feel heavy again from a small fever. She flinched when a distantly familiar feeling washed over her.

"Neo, are you all right?" Lin asked. "You don't look so good. Are you sick?"

"I might be," Neo replied. She smiled when Lin gave her a worried look. She stroked the child's cheek then pulled her back to her chest.  _That wind wasn't created from nature. I guess Law asked the Straw Hat navigator to create some wind to blow away the gas at the exit. We're so close to it now. At least she can create wind. And I'm adjusting to the way it feels since I've already felt it before and have gotten stronger._

_'Neo? Did that bother you too much?'_

_'No. It still feels a bit weird, but I'm adjusted to it.'_

_'That's good. Looks like we're out now.'_  Law thought her to as everyone around them cheered as the gas vanished from the exit and they were suddenly outside. The sun beaming down on them, the cool air rushing over their faces. It felt good.

"Neo! We did it! We're out!" Chopper screamed. Neo looked up at him. He had once again climbed up on Mocha's body.

"Yes. We've escaped." Neo nodded with a smile. Soon the carts had coasted to a stop. Those who were hunkered down peaked up and noticed they had stopped and were safe. They all cheered again.

"Huh?" Neo blinked when Chopper disappeared from her sight. She heard him, Luffy and Usopp shouting about something cool. She stood up with Lin still in her arms. The little girl wrapped her legs around her and continued to hold tight. She peaked through the bodies of everyone to see what all the excitement was about.

"What?!"

"It's a robot!"

"The ultimate one!"

"Wow! So cool!"

"Now that's more like it! That's what we guys love!"

"Uh." Neo blinked again when she could finally see what all the guys were shouting about. She tilted her head in wonder at the robot before her eyes.  _'That thing is kinda cool looking. Is it really a robot? Why are the guys so excited?'_

_'Guys just do that sometimes. You've seen the crew get that way.'_

_'I guess so. But they don't even seem to get this excited. Or I don't think they do. They might and I just don't remember.'_  Neo sighed. A wave of homesickness washed over her.  _'I miss them, Law. I want to go home.'_

 _'We will, love. We're done with this step now. Just be patient a little bit longer.'_  Law relaxed a bit when he felt Neo sigh in acceptance to his words. He then looked over the land in front of him and narrowed his eyes. "Buffalo! And, is that, Baby 5?"

He felt Neo's heart skipped a beat at his words.  _'Buffalo and Baby 5?! What are they doing here?!'_

_'Joker must have sent them to try and save Caesar.'_

Neo summoned a wind crystal. She lifted herself and Lin upon the side of the cart. Her heart skipped another beat when she saw a woman with black hair dressed in a maid outfit and a large man wearing an orange coat. She recognized them from the pictures Law showed her of them.

"Law! Are you seriously going to stand against Joker?!" Baby 5 demanded.

"You traitor! Don't you know that Joker is still holding the heart seat open for ya?!" Buffalo said.

"Huh?! It's her!" Baby 5 shouted as she pointed at Neo.

Neo gulped and took a step back, wishing she had just stayed down. She didn't have enough magic or energy to fight anyone right now, even if she got angry.

 _'Relax, Neo. They won't attempt a fight here. They're far too many of us for them to try. They're not that stupid.'_  Law's words calmed her down, but she still kept her guard up.

"Who are they? Are they friends of yours?" Luffy asked Law.

"No! They're enemies!" Law replied. He growled when the two grabbed Caesar and took off.

"Hey! They're running! All right! I got this one!" Usopp announced. "It's my job as the sniper to take down a flying enemy!"

"They can't get away! Got to stop them!" Law hissed. He held out his hand and started to form his Room.

"Hey! Whoa, whoa! Take it easy!" Luffy said. He grabbed Law's shoulder. "Usopp said he would handle this."

"Don't think just because our sniper has a long nose he can't do his job," Zoro said.

"Did you really have to say that about my nose?! It has nothing to do with my sniper skills!" Usopp snapped.

"That does matter! If we let them get away, our plan is…" Law started. He calmed down a bit when he sensed Neo coming towards him. She landed beside him, but he didn't look at her.

"Are we an alliance or not?" Nami asked as she walked by them. "We'd appreciate a little  _trust_."

"Alliance? What are you talking about?" Zoro asked.

 _'Law, let them handle this.'_  Neo placing one hand on his arm, calming him down completely, while using her other to keep Lin stable in her hold.

 _'Fine.'_  Law sighed, aggravated.

"I've had enough running around. I want in on the offensive," Nami said. She licked her lips. "I'm not afraid of enemies who runs off like that and have no will to fight!"

"On top of that, they're wounded and have their backs towards us!" Usopp added.

"Just get on with it, already," Zoro huffed.

"Okay, now for your watering," Usopp said.

"Huh?" Neo cranked her neck when she felt the sniper's slingshot suddenly coming to life. Her eyes widened slightly as she felt the plant grow.

 _'What is it, Neo?'_  Law turned his eyes to Neo. His heart skipped a beat then pounded rapidly in his chest when his eyes landed on her. He wasn't expecting to see her holding a child, but there she was. Her arms cradling the little blonde haired girl while her eyes sparked with interest on what the Straw Hat sniper was using as a weapon.

 _'His weapon is some kind of carnivorous plant. I wonder where he got it. It's incredible.'_  Neo watched, almost in a trance, as the sniper told it to eat up and it actually obeyed him. She blinked rapidly as it munched up rocks and other debris it could reach.  _'I didn't know plants could each such things.'_

"Go! Weather Egg!" Nami shouted. She swung her baton towards Buffalo and Baby 5. "Now, hatch! Thunder Egg!"

Neo's eyes widened even more when she noticed the giant egg flying through the air. Upon Nami's command it broke open and released a black cloud. The cloud rumbled with thunder as yellow lightning danced within it. She bit her lip to fight back a giggle of anticipation.

 _'This isn't bothering you?'_  Law wondered as he broke into Neo giddiness.

_'Not really. It still feels a bit weird like the first time she manipulated nature, but not as bad.'_

"Nope! You're not getting away from us!" Nami said with determination. She twirled her baton, a strike of lightning followed its movements. "The Science of Weather. Thunder Breed Tempo!"

"Such control!" Neo gasped when lightning bolt struck Baby 5.

"Good isn't she?" Luffy asked with a laugh. Neo nodded.

 _'You are far too impressed.'_  Law thought to her. He raised an eyebrow.  _'It's not like you to be so open like that.'_

 _'Well, I'm still a bit nervous about them. But I'm with you and we're in the open. I'll be nervous later when we have more one on one time with them. Besides, with how odd I've been acting, this should be a surprise.'_  Neo didn't look at him when Law turned his full attention to her despite feeling his confusion about her odd behavior. She gnawed on her bottom lip while keeping her eyes on the Straw Hats. Nami stepped back and Usopp stepped forward. She shifted on her feet, wondering what the sniper was going to do with the strange plant slingshot of his. Her eyebrows rose when she sensed a small amount of the sea inside the plant.  _Hm…so that's what's going on. He's got sea prism stone in that thing._

"Okay! Here's the final blow! Go, Chomping Grass!" Usopp said, sitting down on the long handle of his slingshot. "Special Attack! Charging Shooting Star! Go!"

The sniper released his attack. The plant shot out, shooting out everything it had gobbled up. The debris easily pelted Buffalo's body, but easily passed through Caesar's Logia body. Usopp grinned. "That won't work. That last shot was sea prism stone shackles."

Everyone cheered when the shackles wrapped around Caesar's neck and he went falling out of the sky just like Buffalo and Baby 5. "That serves you right, Caesar!"

"Count on me when the enemy has their back turned," Usopp said, pushing up his goggles.

"We get it!" everyone snapped.

"All right. This stage of the plan is completely," Law said.

"See? I told you we were good," Luffy said with a huge, goofy grin.

"So, how are we going to get them out of the ocean?" a Navy soldier asked when the three unconscious bodies fell into the freezing water. "It's far too cold for us to swim."

"I got it," Neo said. She smiled when Law frowned at her.  _'I'm just pulling them out. I can handle that.'_

Law nodded. She summoned a water crystal and easily lifted them out of the cold water. She laid them out on the ground just as people started to disembark from the carts. Someone said, "Come on. Let's get the kids inside the tanker. It's far too cold out here for them to be without coats. Maybe we can find something for them to wear."

"Oh, right the kids," Neo mumbled. She looked down at the girl in her arms. Lin was dozing off in her warm embrace. Summoning a two fire crystals, she hovered them near the girl to help keep her warm. She then glanced up at Law. A smile tugged on her lips.  _'Do you want to talk about why your heart skittered when you saw me holding Lin?'_

Law turned his head away from her slightly. He felt his cheeks grow warm. He let his hat fall over his eyes and tucked his mouth behind his collar. His reply was flat and disconnected.  _'No.'_

 _'Fine. We have more important things to worry about anyway.'_  Neo summoned a couple wind crystals. She wrapped them around herself, Law, Lin, Chopper and the rest of the children. Lifting them into the air, she flew them over to the tanker.

 _'Neo…'_  Law, cheeks back to normal, looked at her.

 _'What?'_  Neo stuck her tongue out at him.  _'You said you'd help. And it's quicker to fly them. I have to fly Mocha anyway.'_

Law sighed in defeat. He remained quiet until Neo had landed them on the tanker's deck. He addressed the Straw Hat doctor while Neo ushered the kids inside and carefully flew Mocha through the doors. He said, "Stay out here. And, whatever you do, do  _not_  look inside."

"Huh?! What do you mean?!" Chopper demanded, but Law was already inside the room with the kids. He about followed, but Neo had appeared. She smiled and waved at him before closing the door. He sighed. "I guess it'll be okay. Neo's with the kids after all. She'll make sure he doesn't hurt them. But still…what is he going to do to them?"

Chopper remained on the deck for a while. He tapped his hoof on the floor before walking over to the door. Grasping onto the door, he peered inside. Mumbling to himself, he said, "Law told me not to look inside. And I know Neo is in there with him, but I wonder if they are really okay. What's he doing to them? He doesn't have any equipment with him."

"Ah!" the kids suddenly screamed. Chopper gasped and rushed towards the room.

…

Law walked into the room just as Neo walked over to the door. He looked around the room. Mocha was laying on the floor, on a tarp Neo had found. The rest of the kids were standing, or kneeling, around the unconscious girl. Ten fire crystals were hovering in the air near the kids, keeping them warm and warming the room. He didn't move until Neo had walked back over to him, after closing the door, and stood beside him. She said, "I hope this is okay. I don't think they'd have a bed big enough for her on this tanker."

"It'll do," Law replied. "After I remove the poison, she should regain consciousness soon enough."

"I hope so," Neo said with a low sigh.

"So, what's going to happen to us?" Lin asked. The little girl walked over to Neo and grabbed onto her coat.

"You're going to get better," Neo said. She bent over and placed her hand on the girl's head. "Law's going to take away the poison."

"Will it hurt?" Lin asked, fear gathered in her eyes.

"No, it won't," Neo said. She then looked at Law, unsure if it would or wouldn't hurt them.

"No, it won't hurt them at all," Law replied. He looked at the girl. "Go join the other so we can get this over with."

"Uh." Lin whimpered and held onto Neo tighter.

"It's okay, Lin. I'm not going anywhere," Neo said soothingly. She hugged the girl. "Go ahead and join the others. This won't take very long at all."

"O-okay." Lin nodded. She then released Neo and rejoined the others.

Law held out his hand. He formed his Room then pulled out his sword. The kids screamed when he sliced at them.

"Huh?" Neo looked over her shoulder when she felt Chopper getting closer to the room. Suddenly the door busted opened.

"What?!" Chopper gasped. His arms flailed wildly, his eyes turned into spirals.

"Chopper, wait!" Neo cried out to. But she wasn't fast enough. The little reindeer shot off like a bullet and left the room. "Oh no."

"Just let him go," Law said as he finished up with the kids. Neo sighed, but nodded. There was nothing she could say to Chopper at the moment. Even from inside the tanker, she could hear Chopper screaming for Luffy and something about murder.

"You know, you could have just let him come in here with us," Neo said as she watched Law drain the poison from the kids' bodies. She sent relaxing, encouraging smiled to each and every one of the kids. They relaxed and smiled back at her. She was glad they weren't very afraid of their treatment.

Law just smirked, put up his sword and put the kids' bodies back in order. He then turned and headed for the open door. Neo turned to follow, but stopped to address the kids. She said, "Just stay in here okay? The Navy's suppose to be finding you some coats or something to wear. When you have them, you can come outside."

"Yes, Neo!" the kids said, obediently.

Neo smiled at them then skipped towards Law until she was once again by his side.

"Law! Show yourself, Law!" Chopper's voice then demanded. "What did you do to the children?!"

"Chopper, they're fine," Neo said when the little reindeer stomped up to them.

"How can you say that?! I saw them! I heard them screaming!" Chopper snapped at Neo. "You're supposed to care about the kids, Neo! How could you let him hurt them?!"

Neo sighed. She knew he was upset and didn't understand what Law had actually did in that room, so she didn't hold his snappy tone against him.

Chopper's eyes then glared at Law. "If you hurt them in any way, I'll…"

"Well, I told you not to look inside, didn't I?" Law glared down at the Straw Hat doctor for yelling at his love. He calmed down when Neo place her hand on his arm. He then tilted his head slightly and took on an all too familiar sadistic tone. "I was just inside slicing up their bodies."

Neo pinched his arm, despite him not feeling it due to the thickness of his coat. She hissed, " _Law!_ "

"What?!" Chopper shrieked. He ran passed the two Heart Pirates without another glance at them.

"Long term, painful rehabilitation is unavoidable," Law said as the reindeer rushed by them. He then started walking forward with Neo still trying to pinch his arm. His lips twitched into a smile.

"You jerk," Neo snapped, though it wasn't heated. "Did you really have to freak him out like that?"

"Well, I wasn't going to until he snapped at you," Law replied, casually.

Neo rolled her eyes. She knew better than that. He loved messing with people, especially when he could exercise his sadistic nature. Sighing, she decided it was best to just let it go. There was nothing she could do with him now about this. So, instead, she summoned two wind crystals when they walked out onto the deck. Wrapping the wind around them, she lifted them into the air.

"What are you doing?" Law asked as he looked down at the ground. They were far enough away that everyone just looked like small, black dots.

"Just this," Neo said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She smashed her lips onto his. Forcing her tongue passed his lips; she gave him the better kiss she had promised him before. She ran her tongue around his dark cavern for several seconds. She then felt him trying to take control of the kiss when he started moving his tongue against hers. But she wasn't having any of that. Using her winds, she pushed him into a laying position and hovered over him. He smiled into their kiss and conceded to her control by relaxing his tongue and wrapping his arms around her waist. A minute later, Neo had to pull away. She panted as he kissed over her cool skin and down to her neck.

"Hm." Law hummed against her neck and at the awkward angle he was in because of the thick collar of the coat she was wearing. "You're right. These collars are a pain."

"Told you so," Neo through with a giggle.

Law's heart skittered inside his chest at her bells. He lifted from her neck and placed his forehead against hers. "I love your bells."

Neo smiled, her eyes twinkled with sparkles as she stared at him lovingly. She fiddled with his goatee, her eyes catching his ring on her finger. She said, "Thank you, my love. Thank you for helping the kids. I know you really didn't want to do it."

"It's fine. And it made you happy," Law said, tightening his hold on her. "I'm sorry I got angry with you before for wanting to help them."

"You don't have to apologize again." Neo shook her head. "I did push you a bit harder than I should have. I know we weren't here to help complete and total strangers."

"But you were right. It was the right thing to do," Law said, looking a bit guilty.

"You have nothing to feel guilty about. You're still use to always being in control and giving orders. Besides, I have already forgiven you," Neo said. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pecked his lips. "You've done well."

He claimed her lips and pulled her into another heated kiss. When she smiled, he mumbled against her lips, "What?"

"Nothing. Chopper has just settled down now," Neo mumbled back. "I guess he finally realized the kids are just fine."

"That's good. Now stop talking," Law ordered. He gave her no more room for talk as he placed his hand on her head and pulled her even closer to him. After a few more minutes of intense kissing, he pulled away from her, earning a whine of protest from her. He brushed his nose against hers. "All right, that's enough of that. We have to get back to the others and get out of here. Joker, without a doubt, is on his way here. I don't want you in another fight today."

"Okay," Neo relented. She lowered them back to the ground. Once their feet were back on the snow, she placed her hand in the crook of his arm and followed him over to the Straw Hat captain. She ran her eyes over the kids who were now outside. Someone had found them blankets to wear around their bodies. She smiled at how much happier they looked now. She noted Sanji was constructing some sort of fire pit out of stones.

"Hey, Straw Hat," Law said. "We need to get out of here. We don't have much time to eat. Someone's coming after us."

"Oh, really?" Luffy asked.

"Tell your crew," Law said.

"All right then." Luffy turned away from the couple. He planted his foot onto a crate. "Hey, everyone! Someone's coming after us! So we've got to hurry up! It's a banquet! Let's party!"

"Yeah!" the group cheered.

Law's mouth fell open. Neo bit back a giggle at his expression. He said, "Are they insane?! Don't they realize the danger we're still in?!"

"It's fine. Isn't it, Law?" Neo asked. She slid her hand into his, instantly feeling his anger subsiding at her touch. His hat fell over his eyes as he curled his fingers over her skin. She stepped closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder while placing a hand on her stomach, rubbing it lightly. "We have a little time before anyone shows up. We can afford to relax for a moment and have something to eat."

"Law?" The two looked up when Chopper's voice rang out. Neo let her hand drop from her stomach as they turned their eyes to Chopper and Mocha. The black haired girl was holding Chopper in her hands while he held two bowls of soup in his hooves.

"Mocha! You're awake!" Neo exclaimed happily.

Mocha smiled and nodded. "I am."

"I'm sorry that I got upset earlier and called you a murder," Chopper said. He held out the bowls to the two Heart Pirates. "And I'm sorry for snapping at you, Neo. I was wrong."

"He told me what you did for us," Mocha then said. "I got better because you treated me. Thank you."

"Thank you," Neo said. She took one of the bowls from Chopper. When Law did nothing but stare, she elbowed him in the arm. "Law, don't be rude. Take the bowl of soup from the nice reindeer."

"Fine." Law took the bowl and closed his eyes. "Don't thank me. I didn't really do much. It was Neo who wanted to save you."

Neo bit back her giggle. Law was never going to change when it came to accepting someone's gratitude. She never ever seen him actually accept it from anyone, except for her, and she knew it would always be like that. She then said, "You two should go eat something as well. And, Mocha, if you start feeling bad, please be sure to tell us. And relax for now. Get near the fire over there and keep warm."

"I will." Mocha nodded before heading off with Chopper. "See you later."

"Okay." Neo waved to them while they walked off. She watched them until they were back over with the group before following after Law. She remained quiet even when he led her over to a crate near the Vice Admiral. He sat down. She followed him. Sitting behind him, she leaned tiredly against his back. She didn't even flinch when she felt the Vice Admiral's eyes taking them in. She raised her soup to her lips, paused just before the bowl could touch her skin, and then lowered the bowl to her lap.

_'Neo, eat.'_

_'I'm not hungry.'_

_'Neo, you haven't had anything for hours. You've just gone through a tough battle. You need take care yourself. Maybe that's why your magic has been messed up. I still need to examine you. But that'll have to wait for now. Perhaps we can do that when we're on the Straw Hats ship. I'm sure they have a room we could use.'_

_'But I don't feel like eating.'_  Neo's lips formed into a pout. The type of pout she always used to get what she wanted when he was being difficult.

 _'That's not going to work this time. You need to eat. At least eat half of it. I'll settle for that.'_  Law thought to her, shaking her pout out of his mind.

 _'All right, half it is.'_  Neo raised the bowl to her lips and took a drink of the hot soup. The steam washed over her cheeks. Her eyebrows lifted up on her forehead at the spices that danced over her tongue. This was far better than any soup she ever made.

_'Good girl.'_

"Law. Don't expect me to keep my promise to a pirate like you. If you really wanted me to keep quiet, then you've had plenty of opportunities to silence me," Smoker said. He took a slurp of his soup. "What are you up to? What are you using Straw Hat for?"

"Using Straw Hat? Maybe  _he's_  using  _us_." Law smiled. He brought his bowl of soup to his lips and smiled. His mind filled with their plans of taking down Kaido and how Luffy wants to take down all four of the emperors. He guzzled down his soup before speaking again. "There's no particular reason that I didn't kill you, White Chase. Despite that, we're planning on heading to Green Bit after this. I guess we'll see if the Straw Hats are compliant enough to play along with my plan. Neo, come."

Neo quickly finished off half of her soup then stood up. She placed the bowl down on the crate, while Law tossed his on the ground, and then followed after him. She only went about five steps before stopped. She turned around and walked back over to the Vice Admiral. It took her a few seconds before she could look at the man in the eyes. When she did, she strongly held his gaze and pushed down what little fear remained in her when it came to eye contact with strangers. She felt Law. He had stopped walking, but didn't turn around to face them. He was monitoring her carefully.

"What do you want?" Smoker asked.

"I know," Neo said, "it won't mean much considering I'm a pirate and you're a marine, but…I really am grateful that you got our -uh- Law's heart back. And I understand that you're going to have to report  _everything_  that happened here back to your superiors. Still, thank you very much for your help."

Smoker stared at the woman. His mind going over her words and what he had learned about her while on Punk Hazard. He scoffed and tossed his head to the side. "Whatever. It's not like I had much of a choice in helping you  _pirates_."

"I suppose so." Neo nodded. She then turned and rejoined Law's side. The two pirates walked away from the marine. "Do you think he'll tell?"

"I don't know," Law replied softly. He tossed a sideways glance at her. "Are you okay with him pretty much knowing  _everything_?"

Neo looked down at the ground, the snow crunched under their boots. Her mind spun over Law's words and how the Vice Admiral, Vergo and Doflamingo pretty much knew everything about her now. Sure, nothing was actually confirmed, but it was clear that their secrets were on the verge of being busted wide open. "It's not like I can hide it forever."

"I know. I just want you to be prepared for anything that might happen," Law said. They paused and turned towards each other.

Neo tilted her head and took him in. "Law, we both know that it's impossible for us to prepare for the future when we have no clue what's going to happen. And you know new things scare me. I'm going to be scared a lot in the future, but that's nothing new, right? Besides, I still have you beside me. You are my bonded. With you, and the crew, I know I can handle anything that the future might throw at us. It might take me a while to get use to whatever happens, but I know I'll be fine. You showed me that when you took me in. I love you so much."

"And I love you just as much, if not more," Law said with a chuckle. Neo rolled her eyes before he pecked her lips. "You should spend some time with the kids."

"Hm?" Neo raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"In a way." Law looked over at Doflamingo's three subordinates before dropping his eyes back down to her. He passed his thoughts over to her. He smirked a bit when her eyebrows shot up and her face tinted green. "I thought you might not want to witness what I'm about to. Besides, I know you'll want to spend a little more time with the kids before we have to separate from them."

"Fine. I'll somewhat willingly separate from you for now," Neo said with a stiff nod as she tried to erase Law's thoughts from her mind. She still wasn't use to certain ways Law used his powers. It was bad enough envisioning peoples heads getting hacked off. She really didn't want to witness it. She took a few steps away from him. "Don't take too long though."

"I won't." Law smiled. He watched her walk off for a moment before turning to face his three targets. Buffalo and Baby 5 looked at him. He narrowed his eyebrows and grabbed his sword.

…

Neo walked towards the kids. She stopped when some of Caesar's former men appeared in the corner of her eyes. She turned to them. Their eyes were down cast. Some were fiddling with their hands or protective suits while a few casted quick glances at her then quickly looked away. She shifted on her feet, feeling Law's guard rising up on her, and sent him her own feelings on how she was okay and could handle this situation on her own. She said, "Uh, hi. Did you all need something?"

"Yes," one said. "No."

"Well, sorta," a second one said.

"We just…" a third one started. He paused before continuing. "We just wanted to come apologize. We're sorry we turned on you like we did when Caesar told us you betrayed him. We were wrong."

"I see," Neo said, considering their words. They continued to keep their eyes low, but she could easily see they were truly sorry. She smiled. "It's okay. Caesar lied to a lot of people. I probably would have reacted the same way you all did if I was in your position. Don't worry about it."

"A-are you sure?" a man asked.

"I'm positive. Please, don't worry about it anymore. It wasn't your fault," Neo said.

"Thank you, Lady Law!" they cried, tears running down their cheeks. "You're so kind! We're sorry we doubted you! I won't happen again!"

"That's nice of you all. But I really doubt we'll see each other again," Neo said with her eyes turned up in an 'I'm sorry' fashion.

"You're probably right." the men agreed since the Navy was taking them into custody. The group waved and parted from Neo. She waved back then proceeded over to the kids. The party was still going strong. The kids were playing with each other and some of the Navy soldiers, some kids pulling on Luffy's rubber skin. People were getting seconds on the delicious meal that the Straw Hat cook had made. Quite a few adults were gulping back drinks while others just drank water.

Neo ran her eyes over the large crowd until her eyes landing on who she was looking for, Lin. The little blonde haired girl was sitting on a crate by herself and looking really down.

"Hey, Lin," Neo said as she sat down beside the child. Lin was holding her empty bowl in her lap and tears were gathered at the corner of her eyes. "You okay? Do you need anything else? Are you feeling sick?"

Lin shook her head. "I'm fine. It's just…"

"Tell me," Neo coaxed even though she knew why Lin was upset.

"We're leaving soon. I'm happy to be going back to my mom and dad, but I'm also sad for leaving you," Lin replied. She sat her bowl down and hugged her knees. "I'll miss you."

Neo's heart sank. She put her arm around the girl's shoulder and pulled her to her side. She pressed her lips to Lin's hair. "I know, Lin. I'll miss you all as well. But there is one way you can keep your eyes on me."

"How?" Lin sniffled. She looked up at Neo.

"By watching the newspapers," Neo replied. She brushed Lin's bangs from her forehead before they stubbornly fell back into place. "We're pirates. Reporters will be reporting on us from time to time."

"I'll be able to see how you're doing," Lin said. She lifted up from Neo's side with a small smile. The smile quickly faded. "But it won't be the same."

"I know it won't. But, maybe, someday I can come see you," Neo said.

"Would you?!" Lin asked, hopeful. "I live on Wisteria! Remember that! Wisteria!"

"I'll remember. And I promise that, if we're ever near your home, I'll come see you," Neo said. She placed her hand on Lin's head and stroked her hair. Tears filled Lin's eyes seconds before she lunged forward and hugged the pirate. Neo wrapped her arms around her smaller body.

"I love you, Neo," Lin mumbled into Neo's hold.

Neo's heart skipped a beat then fluttered. No one, outside of Law and the crew, has ever said that to her. It warmed her chest and her cheeks. Tears pressed to the back of her eyes. She closed her eyelids to keep them from falling. A huge wave of guilt slammed into her chest. She wanted to tell Lin the truth. She searched out Law's feelings. When he didn't protest, or even felt surprised at this, she whispered, "I love you too, Lin. And there's something I want you to know…"

Lin's eyes widened. She pulled back from Neo and blinked rapidly.

"Think you can keep my secret?" Neo asked.

Lin nodded rapidly. "I will! I promise I will!"

"Come on, kids! It's time to get on board the tanker!" a soldier called out. "We're going to take you all home now!"

"Yeah!" the kids cheered, most of them, and charged towards the tanker. At the same time, they all stopped and turned back to Neo.

Neo looked up at them when she felt their eyes on her.

"Um, would it be possible for you to fly us?" a boy asked.

"Yeah! We'd like to fly one more time with you!" a girl said. The rest of the kids started cheering.

"Yeah! Fly with us, Neo!"

"Please?!"

"This might be the last time we see you!"

"Would you do it, Neo?" Lin asked. "Just one more time?"

Neo smiled, her tears glistening in her eyes. She nodded. Summoning her wind crystals, she wrapped her winds around herself and the kids then lifted them up into the air. She flew them around for a good, but short, five minutes before placing them all on the deck of the tanker. She hugged and kissed each of the children, holding on the tightest to Lin, before forcing herself to fly away from them. Her heart tightened, her cheeks became warm from her tears as she landed back on the island. She leaned into Law's awaiting chest. She curled her fingers into his coat.  _'Law, how is it possible? How is it possible that I'm happy and sad at the same time?'_

 _'Because you care about the kids. You're happy that they are going home to their families, but you're sad because you formed friendships with them. It's always sad when you leave someone you care about. You'll feel better in a little while.'_  Law rubbed his hand on her back. He slid his hand down to her hip when he felt her relax.  _'Like you told Lin, we'll go see her if we get the chance.'_

 _'Really?'_  Neo pulled back from his chest. When he nodded, she smiled.  _'Thanks, Law. You're the best.'_

The two turned their attention the Straw Hat pirates and the Navy started making a ruckus. The Navy was holding up some kind of banner with the Navy symbol on it. Neo asked, "What are they doing?"

Law studied the scene before him. He replied, "Looks like the Navy is just trying to flex their muscles."

"Hm? Flex their muscles?" Neo blinked at Law before returning her eyes to the Navy. She tilted her head and watched them. The kids were gathered at the side of the tanker, trying to look at the Straw Hats.

"Hey! We want to see them!"

"Where's the orange lady?!"

"I want to see the robot!"

"Chopper!"

"Don't look, kids! Just looking at pirates damages your eyes!" a Navy soldier said.

"Ya know, you G-5 aren't that different from us," Franky pointed out.

"But they got on board safely. That's what matters," Nami said.

The soldiers continued on shouting about how great the Navy was and how bad pirates were.

Neo sighed. She slipped her arms around Law's waist and rested her head on his chest. "They're being annoying. It was pirates who saved these kids,  _not_  the Navy."

Law nodded. "That's the Navy for you. Always twisting the truth around so they look better. But one day everyone will see that they do that. Then the Navy won't have a leg to stand on."

"I suppose you're correct," Neo replied. She settled down into watching the Navy as they continued to cheer and chant about how great the Navy was and how bad pirates were. She let it roll off of her shoulders. At least they weren't calling her a freak and a monster. That she couldn't handle. She sighed again when Law tightened his hold on her, a reminder that he was there and no one was going to treat her bad ever again.

"Don't make eye contact with those trashy pirates! It'll ruin your eyes!"

"We the Navy won't let that happen! We are men of justice!" the Navy shouted.

"Get out of our way!" the kids yelled. "We want to see the pirates!"

A Navy soldier lifted his gun and fired it into the air. The kids shrunk down, tears gathered in their eyes as well as confusion. "Only bad children would want to say goodbye to  _pirates_! If you speak one word to them, we'll leave you behind!"

"Listen! Pirates are bad and the Navy is good!"

"Pirates have been causing so much trouble in the world! They're no good! You should know that even if you're just children!"

"We'll never forgive pirates! Because we should not!"

Anger flared up in Neo's chest. More shouts came from the Navy, but she didn't hear them. All she could hear was Mocha's tear-filled cries. "But we asked them to help us. They didn't even know what was going on with us but they took us with them anyway. They didn't even care about the size of our big bodies."

Neo's anger pounded in her ears. She started to pull away from Law, summoning her crystals and yelling, "Stop it! Leave the kids alone!"

"Hold on, Neo." Law anchored his hand on her arm, stopping her from attacking.

"Law! Let go of me!" Neo demanded. Tears pinched her eyes and clouded her vision. She tugged her arm away from him. "I will  _not_  tolerate them yelling at those children!"

"Just wait." Law hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her back to him. He kept his hold on her strong as she continued to try and escape, but it did no use. His hold was too strong and she was too unfocused to get away. "Just hold on a second."

Neo growled, but stopped struggling. Her crystals faded when the only Navy female shouted out.

"Stop that this instant!" Tashigi screamed. "It's shameful!"

Neo blinked in confusion when the soldiers stopped shouting. Shadows fell over the soldiers' eyes and their shoulders sagged.

"But, Captain Tashigi," a scruffy looking soldier sniffled. "If we don't keep talking mess about them we can't help but admit that we…we love these lawless vagabonds! E-even though they're pirates!"

"Huh?!" Neo gasped and blinked in disbelief at the display of the Navy soldiers. "They're insane. Are they for real?"

Law just smirked.

"Neo!" Lin shouted out. "Don't forget your promise! Remember! Wisteria!"

"I won't forget!" Neo called with a wave of her own. "All of you, behave yourselves now! Eat your veggies so you can grow up strong!"

"We will!" the kids replied. "And when we grow up, we will become pirates just like you all!"

"Don't you dare!" the Navy soldier screamed as their eyes bugged out of their heads.

 _'You going to be okay?'_  Law thought to her as the Straw Hats said their goodbyes to the kids.

 _'Yeah.'_  Neo nodded.

"All right, everybody! Time for us to set sail!" Luffy announced. "We're leaving Punk Hazard!"

"We're leaving Punk Hazard," Neo repeated. She looked back towards the lab. Everything that happened here on this island rolled through her mind. She curled her fingers against Law's when he slid his hand into hers. "We're one step closer to going home."


	86. The Sunny Part One

The Sunny

Part One

"The weather is surprisingly good considering we're in the New World," Brook said as they all walked along the shore.

"Don't count on that to last. I know the sea will be rough at some point," Sanji said as he looked up at the sky.

Neo looked over her shoulder at the Straw Hats. She observed them and their conversation before turning her eyes up to the sky.  _'It'll be clear for a while. We won't have much rough sailing to deal with. At least for a while anyway.'_

 _'That's good.'_  Law nodded.

"Hey, are  _they_  coming with us?" Zoro then asked.

Neo looked over her shoulder again. She carefully ran her eyes over the Straw Hats as their sniper answered the swordsman's question. Usopp's voice faded from her ears as she thought about this new crew. She had only spent a little time with some of them. Some of them didn't know that she didn't like to be touched. She took a nervous step closer to Law.

Law tossed her a glance.  _'Something wrong?'_

_'Not really. I just need a few minutes to adjust to having all the Straw Hats around at once.'_

_'They won't hurt you. I won't let them.'_

_'I know. I guess it just completely sunk in that we're going to be aboard their ship for a while. But I'll be all right. It helped that I've spend some time with a few of them inside that cave and when we went after Caesar. I don't have to adjust to them all at the same time. Plus, it helps that you're here and that Chopper is a reindeer.'_

"Don't get too comfortable, pirates!" the Navy yelled. "We might be letting you go for now, but once we see you again, we're going to arrest you! Every single one of you!"

"So watch your backs!"

"You pirates! You're going down!"

Neo watched with slight interest as the Straw Hat captain didn't seem bothered by their words. He just threw his hands in the air and laughed. He said, "Sure! See you later then!"

' _Straw Hat's an interesting guy. I just hope I can keep myself from starting at Godfather's hat.'_  Neo forced herself to pull her eyes away from the hat.

' _You'll be fine._ ' Law stopped walking, Neo stopped with him, and turned back. A smile formed on his lips.

Neo started to reach for his sleeve when Chopper suddenly called out her name. She looked to see him running up to her. He rounded her left side then jumped into her arms. He said, "Neo! The Navy's going to ask Vegapunk to help cure the kids!"

"Really?" Neo blinked.

"Yeah!" Chopper nodded enthusiastically. "And we get to spend some more time together! I can show you around the Sunny! It's such an amazing ship! Franky designed and built it! You're going to love it! Come on! Let's go ahead and get onboard!"

"Okay." Neo nodded. She summoned a wind crystal and lifted herself, Law and Chopper to the deck of the Sunny.

…

"I think that a certain Straw Hat has a favorite Heart Pirate," Nami said with a bright grin.

"Well, I think that certain Heart Pirate has a favorite Straw Hat," Robin added. The two women smiled at each other before they all climbed upon the Sunny to set sail.

…

It took everything Neo had not to squeal like a giddy, little schoolgirl when they landed on the grass covered deck. She tightened her arms around Chopper and squeaked. "You have grass on your ship?!"

"Yeah." Chopper nodded. "Do you like it?"

"I love it! The only grass we have on the sub is the grass that I can grow with my crystals," Neo said. Her eyes ran over the lush green grass. "It's amazing. The cold weather has damaged the grass a little bit, but once we get into warm weather and it gets watered it should be just fine. I can take off these stupid boots now!"

"Hm?" Chopper tilted his head in curiosity. "Are you a gardener or something?"

"No. Why do you ask?" Neo wondered. She pulled her eyes off the grass and looked at Chopper.

"You just seemed to know what you're talking about," Chopper said, looking down at the grass. Both Neo and Law flinched, but the reindeer didn't notice. He looked back up at Neo with a smile. "Oh, I guess it has something to do with your devil fruit powers, huh?"

"Uh, yeah," Neo drawled with a slow nod. Once again, guilt hammered her for having to lie to him. The desire to tell him the true started to grow inside of her.

_'Neo, you can't tell him.'_

_'I know.'_  Neo nodded slightly.

"Look, we'll just get out of your way for now," Law then said. "I'm sure you Straw Hats have a lot to do to set sail."

Chopper nodded at him then looked back at Neo. "Once we've set sail, I'll give you two a tour of the ship."

"Okay." Neo nodded. She let Chopper jump out of her arms and he scurried off.

"That's not necessary," Law said, but the Straw Hat pirate was already gone.

"Of course it's necessary," Neo said. She linked her arm with Law's and pulled him over to a door. They leaned against the wall. She watched the Straw Hats run around, preforming their assigned tasks at getting their ship ready to set sail. "We need to know where everything is. Surely you want to know where the galley is, the bathroom, the crews' quarters incase we need them, the-"

"Okay, okay. You've made your point. Knowing the lay out of the ship will be a good thing," Law said. He crossed his arms. Letting his hat drop over his eyes, he added, "It'll be good for when we attack them in the future."

" _Law!_ " Neo whipped her sharp eyes to him. Pushing off the wall, she planted her hands on her hips.

 _'Don't give me that look,_ _little_ _girl_ _.'_  Law shot her a smirk.  _'We might be in an alliance now, but that's only until we bring down Kaido. I know you've already have an attachment to the Straw Hat doctor because he's an animal, but I still don't want you to get too attached to him.'_

Neo sighed. Her hands dropped from her hips and she slumped against the wall again. She leaned her head on his shoulder when he shifted closer to her.

_'I'm sorry, love. I just know how you get when it comes to animals. And it's very clear that you've already bonded with the raccoon.'_

_'Reindeer.'_  Neo smirked. She sighed again.  _'I'm just always going to be complicated, aren't I?'_

 _'You're not complicated.'_  Law about snorted in surprise when Neo poked him in the ribs.  _'What?'_

 _'You're cute when you try to lie to me. We both know that isn't true. I am complicated. I completely freaked out when I first woke up on your ship, I tried to stab you with a scalpel, I cried constantly at everything little thing, I hung onto you like a monkey, I still freak out and cry a lot, I'm still clingy to you even thought I know we need to spend time apart, my magic has been action so weird lately, I've yelled and snapped at you for no good reason…'_  Neo's voice trailed off in Law's head. She thought about everything she's said and everything she was going to say.  _'Geez, Law. How is it possible that you don't have a head full of grey hairs from everything I've put you through?'_

 _'You haven't been that bad. You just feel like it because you feel guilty. And that's only because you care so much about people. You adjust a lot easier to new things and people. Look at how you are right now. Before you would be holding on to me and hiding in my shirt. But now you're openly looking around at people and studying their behaviors. You really have gotten a lot better. You hardly ever cry. You still have your moments, but…'_  Law paused. He carefully took her in and studied her feelings.  _'Just take a good look at yourself right now. You've calm right now even though we're on a strange ship with strangers.'_

 _'Am I really better?'_  Neo looked out at the Straw Hats.

 _'You are.'_  Law nodded.

Neo tilted her head as she watched the Straw Hats. She carefully studied each and every one of them while mentally going over how she knew they acted. Her eyes then landed on the dark haired woman of the crew. She hummed.

Law followed her gaze until his eyes landed on the archeologist.  _'What is it, Neo?'_

 _'I'm not really sure. There's something about that woman. I felt it back on Punk Hazard when we split up. She, somehow, put me at ease. She shouldn't have been able to do that. So why did it happen?'_  Neo locked her eyes onto Law. Her eyes confused and begging for an answer.

 _'I felt that too. It still confuses me.'_ Law pondered on her question for a minute before answering her.  _'I don't know. It could be for any number of reasons. You have very good instincts when it comes to people. Perhaps you just knew she won't hurt you and it put you at ease. Or it could be because she's so calm herself. You do handle being around calmer people better than louder ones like Straw Hat.'_

Neo hummed. She thought about Law's words while watching the new crew before her. They unfurled the sails. Franky, who was at the helm, spun the controls and the Sunny pulled away from Punk Hazard. She couldn't help, but look back at the island. A cool breeze washed over her face. The purple gas was still hovering over the landmass. She wished she could have done something to get rid of it, but knew it wasn't possible. It didn't matter now. That part of their mission was over. There was going to be no more Punk Hazard. No more children running around. No more former pirates on patrol. No more building snowmen versions of the crew. No more artificial dragons. It was just over.

Neo felt elated and sad. She pulled her eyes from the shrinking island. Looking out at the ocean, she wondered how long it would take for the Navy to return the kids to their families. She wondered if they would immediately notify the parents or if they would take them to Vegapunk first. A smile tugged on her lips. It didn't matter. Either way, the kids were going home.

It wasn't much longer after that that Chopper came running back over to them. He grabbed Neo's hand, pulling her from her thoughts, and started to pull her away from the wall. He said, "Come on, Neo! I'll show you around now!"

"Okay." Neo nodded. She grabbed Law's arm and pulled him with them despite his reluctant grunt. She tapped into her authority tone and mimicked Law's captain tone.  _'You're coming. Co-captain and your_ _wife's_ _orders.'_

Law smirked at her. He couldn't help but find it cute when she imitated him and expressed her orders.

Chopper, being so excited about having Neo onboard, immediately took the Heart Pirates to the infirmary. The room smelled of antiseptics. He said, "This is the infirmary! It's where I take care of my sick patients. If there's anything you need, medically speaking, don't hesitate to ask. Although, I'm sure Law will take good care of you."

"Thanks, Chopper. You're so sweet," Neo cooed. She bent at her knees and tickled under his chin. She then looked around the room again. It held a bookshelf, a bed, and a desk with a chair. "This room really seems to suit you. It's like it was build with you in mind specifically."

"It was," Chopper replied.

"Huh?" Neo tilted her head in curiosity.

"I told you that Franky designed and built this ship," Chopper explained. "We met him back in Water 7. It's kind of a long story. I can tell you the whole story later, if you want. But when he built this ship, he asked us what we all wanted on it. And he added in just about everything we wanted."

"Wow. I didn't know ships could be built to such specific details," Neo said.  _'You pretty much did that with the sub, didn't you?'_

_'Yes. Since I'm a doctor, I needed certain things to be added on my ship. It wasn't cheap either.'_

Neo giggled at him through their bond. She turned her attention back to Chopper. "Where to next?"

"Since we're on this floor all ready, I'll continue to show you it," Chopper said as he headed for the door.

Neo instantly followed while Law lingered a bit. He glanced around the room, carefully taking the entire medical supplies in.  _At least I'll have access to medical supplies to back up my powers if something goes wrong with Neo._  He then followed after the two. He remained quiet and obediently followed at the Straw Hat doctor showed them around. He kept his typical 'I'm not interested' scowl on his face while Neo was more open with how impressed she was with the ship.

Chopper showed them the dining hall, the kitchen, pantry, the fish tank, the location of the ladder hatch to the observation room above, then told them the women's quarters was on the opposite side of their position before taking them down to the first floor. He gave them a quick glimpse at the men's quarters, apologizing for the musty smell, before taking them to the Aquarium Bar. "Would you two like something to drink?"

"No," Law replied. "I don't drink much. And Neo's forbidden from ever drinking."

"Really?" Chopper looked at Neo. "You're not allowed to drink? I thought just about all pirates drank."

"Law's just being over protective again. But, yes, I'm not allowed to drink. Its kind of hard to explain clearly, but alcohol doesn't mix well with my devil fruit powers," Neo replied, once again feeling guilty for lying.

"Oh." Chopper nodded, accepting her words, which made her feel even worse. "I never knew a devil fruit could be affected by alcohol."

Neo nodded.  _'Law, I_ _hate_ _this.'_

' _I know you do. And I know you trust him, but we can't just tell everyone you trust.'_  Law reached out and brushed his fingers over her back.

Neo nodded again. Pushing the thoughts out of her head, she asked, "So what's next?"

Chopper quickly showed them the energy room and explained how the ship ran on cola, to which both Neo and Law thought was silly. He then took them down the to Soldier Dock System where Law was impressed, but didn't express it out loud, while Neo was more confused about how everything worked yet found the smaller vessels very cute.

The three then made their way back to the deck where Momonosuke was sitting on Nami's lap, she was sitting on the swing with him. A couple Straw Hats, Robin, Brook, Usopp and Zoro, seem to be missing. Neo figured they were inside the ship somewhere, most likely change out of their winter coats since they were getting far enough away from Punk Hazard.

"Come on. I'll show you the rest of the ship," Chopper called to them as he climbed up the stairs. He showed them Nami's orange trees, Robin and Usopp's gardens then pointed up to the crow's nest.

"Wow. You Straw Hats sure have a lot on your ship," Neo said while checking out the flower garden. "These flowers are very lovely. They could use a little water and some warm sunlight though."

"Thank you, Neo," Robin said, causing Neo to jump at the unexpected arrival. The dark haired woman smiled at Neo when the younger pirate looked at her. She was now wearing dark pants and a red shirt. "We have a lot of time on the ship. So I decided to make the garden to keep myself busy. I'll be sure to water them later."

"That makes sense," Neo replied. She stood up and turned fully towards the woman. Robin, like always, was wearing a calm expression. It calmed her own skittish nerves from the unexpected arrival easily. She knitted her eyebrows and wondered why. She then looked over at Law. The man was leaning against the ship's railing, carefully observing both women.

"So what's left on the tour?" Robin then asked.

"Let's see there's the observation room, library and the bathhouse," Chopper replied.

"You have a library?" Neo asked. Excitement swelled up inside of her.

"We sure do. It might not be the biggest in the world, but we have plenty of books," Chopper replied while he led the way.

Neo gasped in excitement when she saw the books in the circled room. She broke away from Law's side and ran her eyes over the titles of the books. She squealed as she happily bounced all over the room, inspecting but not touching anything. "Books! Law they have books! And they're books I can read and actually understand! Oh!" She leaned in closer to the book that was titled 'On the Sea'. "This one looks interesting!"

"She sure is excited, isn't she?" Chopper asked. A pink blush rose on his cheeks as he watched Neo's childlike display. "She's so cute."

"She must really love reading," Robin said. The three were standing near the door of the library. They watched, as Neo continued to bounce around the room, mumbling about which books she found interesting and wanted to read if she had the time.

"She does," Law replied with a nod. "She hasn't had much to read since we've been on Punk Hazard. The books there were nothing but medical and scientific ones. She doesn't understand those types of books. She did get some shipped in but it wasn't many."

"I see," Robin said with a smile that had a hidden meaning behind it, but Law couldn't figure out what it was. She pulled her eyes away from Law and looked at Neo. "Well, you're welcome to read whatever you like while you're on our ship."

"Really?!" Neo gasped, looking up at them. She finally had a book in her hand and was flipping through its pages.

"Of course." Robin nodded.

"Thank you!" Neo closed the book and hugged it against her chest.

"But not right now," Law said. Neo pouted at him, but obediently nodded and put the book back in its spot. He then turned back to the Straw Hats. "Do you have a transponder snail we can borrow?"

"Sure," Chopper replied. He walked over to a shelf where one was sitting. He grabbed it then walked back over and handed it to Law. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Law took the transponder snail and shoved it in his pocket.

Neo thought to him.  _'What's that for? What happened to the transponder snail you had before?'_

_'It's for when Joker finally finds Baby 5 and Buffalo. I left the one I had on the recue raft with their heads. I want to know the second Joker arrives.'_

_'Right.'_  Neo forced the head slicing thoughts out of her mind before her stomach could churn.

Chopper called to them and the small group headed out of the library. That's when Chopper finally took them up to the bathhouse, with Robin following. He opened the door and stepped inside. He said, "And here's the bathhouse."

Neo about lost it. Her eyes grew round with stars sparkling bright at the soft yellow and brown room. The large bathtub set just below a window directly across from the door. She squealed in delight and grabbed onto Law's arm. "Law! It's a  _bathtub_! A  _bathtub_! They have a  _bathtub_!"

Law sighed internally. Their shared bond making him feel her giddiness pounding strongly in his chest and head that, for a split second, he thought it was his own desire. It might as well have been since they're practically one person now. He knew what was going to happen next without thinking about it. A smile formed on his lips. At least he could turn her desired bath into something he really wanted.

"I take it you love baths too?" Chopper asked.

"And I assume it's just as much as you love books," Robin added.

"I do! I do! I love them both!" Neo nodded rapidly, not caring about her outburst. Her eyes were locked onto the massive bathtub before her like she was afraid it would disappear if she looked away. "The lab didn't have bathtubs in the rooms. So I haven't had an actual  _bath_  since we left the sub and crew."

"You poor thing," Chopper said with a little laugh. "Why don't you two take a bath then? I'm sure you all would love to clean up after your battles."

"We really don't-" Law started.

"Don't you dare say 'No', Law!" Neo whipped around to face him. She poked him in the chest. She poked him repetitively on his hard chest while speaking to him. She didn't quite yell at him, but her voice was raised a couple notches higher than she usually used. "You own me a hundred baths! And you promised I could have them whenever  _I_  wanted them! Well, I  _want_  one  _now_! We  _are_  taking a bath! Right!  _Now!_ "

Law stared at her with a wide-eyed expression as she ranted on. Suddenly, her rant shimmer off and her eyes filled with tears. She said, "Please, Law? I'm tired and frustrated. I just want to relax for a while with you. That's not bad, is it? Can't I have that?"

"Of course you can, Neo." Law twitched. He didn't mean to give her that kind of impression. He reached out and rubbed his hand on her arm. He studied her sadness that was spinning in both their bodies. "We need to clean up anyway. I really don't want to walk around for hours with dried blood on my face. And a hot bath will do you some good. You're so wound up."

"That's not  _my_  fault!" Neo snapped. Both Chopper and Law blinked at her in confusion while Robin's expression remained neutral. Her eyes widened in shock at how snappy she was being with him. Again. "Oh, geez. I'm sorry. I really am wound up, aren't I? I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm sorry."

"Okay," Law said, extremely carefully. "You're, uh, we're taking a bath. And I'm rubbing your shoulders."

"Really?!" Her eyes sparkled up at him. Law nodded. She squealed then turned to Chopper. "Would you like to join us?"

"No, thanks. I'm sure you two could use some time alone," Chopper said as he walked over to a closet. He pulled out a couple thick, fluffy towels and two washcloths for them and sat them down on the vanity. "I'll just leave these right here."

"Thanks, Chopper," Neo said. She wrapped her arms around him and picked him up. She rubbed their cheeks together, making them both blush. "You're so cute! Thank you for showing us around."

"It's not problem at all." Chopper snuggled back against her. "You're so cute too!"

…

Robin crossed her left arm over her chest while placing the index finger of her right hand under her chin in thought. She tilted her head slightly and inspected Neo and Chopper. Her eyes roamed over Neo for a while before sensing that Law was looking at her. When she caught the surgeon's eyes, she smiled despite his confused glare at her.

…

"We won't be long," Law said. He forced his eyes off Robin and looked at Chopper and Neo, who were still hugging each other. He rubbed the back of his neck with a grumbled. "That's is…if you two will let go of each other."

"Sorry," Neo and Chopper said at the same time. She finally released the reindeer.

"And don't worry about it. Please, take your time," Robin replied before disappearing out the door with Chopper.

Law watched the two Straw Hats leave before turning his attention back to Neo. She had already stepped over to the tub and had her water crystals out. She formed water around them then stuck her finger into the water to test the temperature. He said, "Don't get the water too hot now. I don't want your skin to get all red."

"Mhmm." Neo nodded. When she got the temperature just right, she plugged the drain and filled the tub within five seconds. She then stripped of her clothes in less time than that. The first thing that came off her was boots. She chucked them across the room with an elated smile, her feet singing at being released from their confinement. She was about to jump into the steaming water when Law's hand planted on her arm and pulled her away. She whimpered. "Law! Why did you do that?!"

He smirked at her whiney nature. "I told you before that I wanted to check you out. And now is the best time to do that."

Neo looked back at the bath with another pathetic whimper before reluctantly turning back to Law. With a sigh, she said, "Fine. But shouldn't you have done this when we were in the infirmary? You could have used Chopper's supplies."

"I don't need them." Law planted his hands on her bare hips then planted a kiss on her lips before he started running his hands over her body, making her tense and shiver. He felt for anything out of place, looked over her bruises -that were fading fast due to her solar crystal- checked her throat and her eyes then ran his hands over her body again. He smirked when she let a pleasurable moan slip past her lips due to his touch. He said, "I  _think_  you're enjoying this."

"I  _know_  you planned this," she replied back. She gestured to his sword, which was leaning against the wall now, despite his eyes being locked on her exposed body. "Well, Doctor Heart Stealer, do I need an x-ray?"

"I don't think that's necessary," Law said before placing a kiss on her left shoulder, right on her scar. He planted kisses over her shoulders and neck while speaking to her. "I think you might just be tired, maybe a touch of the flu or something. Since you've done nothing but play outside in the drastic weather changes of Punk Hazard for days. Your fever's completely gone now. So I'm not too worried. But you are forbidden from using your crystals until we arrive on Dressrosa."

"Fine. But I'm using my solar crystal to heal us completely now. I will not have you setting foot on Dressrosa even slightly injured," Neo said, summoning the crystal. She hummed and tilted her head back when he started moving his lips lower down her chest. She tangled her hands into his wild mane when he latched onto her. She worked her fingers in his hair, almost working him into a trance, before reaching and fumbling for the zipper of his coat. After several seconds, and several moans of pleasure, she managed to finally find it and pull it down. She felt just as reluctant as he was when he had to release her, but it really wasn't fair that she was naked and he was still fully clothed. She unzipped the coat all the way down then pushed it off his arms. She swiped her fingers over his chest, his whole chest, then pressed her lips to his skin, grateful their heart was back where it belonged. She smiled when he shivered at her dragging her fingers down his well tone chest then abs until she got to his jeans. She unbuttoned then unzipped them. When she looked up at him, he leaned down and captured her lips in a deep kiss. Without faltering in their kiss, he managed to pull of his boots and remaining clothing items.

Neo then took his hand and led him over to the bath. They climbed in the hot water. Her eyes catching a glimpse of the transponder snail, which had fallen out of Law's coat pocket when it fell to the floor. She frowned at it and said, "I will not be happy if  _he_  shows up while we're in the bath."

"Don't worry. We have plenty of time before he finds them. Just keep your attention on me," Law said. He placed a finger on her chin and guided her eyes back to him. He kissed her then they proceeded to wash the dirty, grim and blood off each other all the while placing kisses on each other's lips and various places on each other's skin. Feeling Law getting excited, Neo straddled over his legs, both their bodies hotter than the water now. She locked their lips into another passionate kiss then started to bend her knees. Before getting very far, Law suddenly pushed her away.

She protested, "Law, why did you do that?!"

"We can't," Law said, flatly.

"Why not? We've-" Neo cut off her own voice when she realized the reason for his actions, both through their bond and her own realization. She groaned. Running her hand over her forehead, she said, "The condoms are back on Punk Hazard."

Law nodded.

"Can't we borrow one?" Neo asked with a pout. "Surely at least one of the men on this ship has some."

"Do you want to go ask them?" Law raised an eyebrow at her.

Her face flushed. "Well, do we  _have_  to use one? Couldn't we just…not use one? Just this once?"

"Absolutely not," Law said, sternly. He crossed his arms, desperate to force both his and her shared desires out of their minds and bodies. This was very difficult considering the position and place they were currently in. But he grasped onto the one thing that he knew would stop this. "I won't have you getting pregnant. It's not worth the risk."

"I know you're right," Neo said with a sigh. She moved back beside him and hugged her knees to her chest. She frowned at Law when he was relieved she covered herself up. "But still, this flat out sucks."

"Watch your language," Law warned, despite a few choice words running through his own mind over this disruption.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "You know it does. And you just thought of stronger words than I just said."

"I know." Law nodded. "But we don't have time for that anyway."

Neo laughed, her bells ringing out over the room. "Don't have time for sex? Yeah, right! With you, there's always time for it. You've guaranteed that. Besides, you usually carry around a couple in your pocket. Where did they go?"

"We used them," Law replied. A smile pulled across his face in memory of those events.

Neo blushed when he refreshed her memories of those times as well. She twisted a strain of her wet hair. Her mind going over the time Law pushed her down in the snow.  _It was just a couple weeks after arriving on Punk Hazard. They were out exploring the island. Neo was feeling homesick, due to several reasons, when Law suddenly grabbed her and laid her down in the snow. He pressed several kisses over her face while his hands roamed over her coat-covered body in very suggestive strokes. "Law! What are you doing?! It's far too cold out here for this."_

_"Don't worry, love. We won't be cold for long," Law said with a suggestive smirk as he unzipped both their coats then their jeans. Her cheeks flushed at his words as he dug into his pocket for their awaiting protection. He slipped it on then proceeded to back up his words with actions, making their bodies so hot she was surprised they didn't melt the snow around them._

Neo swallowed. Her mind refilling with ever move he performed on her during that time, every moan and groan, every yell or moan of each other's name…Her face flushed as her body grew hotter. She harrumphed at him. "You're suppose to be bringing us down from sexual desires,  _not_  building them up, Law."

"Sorry." Law leaned over and kissed her temple. "I'll make up for this later. At least, that time made up for all the missed romantic encounters back on Kouri Island."

"It sure did." Neo grinned, dreamily. Forcing the encounter out of her mind, she dragged her eyes over the bathroom for a much needed distraction from sexual relations. With each second she looked at this room, the more she loved it. An idea came to her mind. "Hey, Law? Can Cyborg Franky redesign our-"

"No," Law replied quickly. When she opened her mouth to protest, he cut her off again. "No. You love our bathroom just as it is. You're only missing it. That's why you have such a desire to have it redesigned. Now turn around here so I can rub your shoulders."

"Fine." Neo stuck her tongue out at him again, but did as he said. He worked his hands over her shoulders, working her into a completely relaxed state as her solar crystal radiated its glow over them. "Hn…your hands are so incredibly skilled. Sometimes I still can't believe you belong to me."

"Believe it, love." Comfortable silence passed through the room for a few minutes while Neo enjoyed Law's hands working over her shoulders. She felt all of her tension melting away. It caused her mind to wonder back to Punk Hard, right to the moment when Law saw her holding Lin. She nibbled on her bottom lip and blocked those thoughts from him.

Law noticed. How could he not? He asked, "Why are you blocking your thoughts from me, love?"

"No reason," she lied.

"You want to rethink that?" Law asked in a warning tone.

"Okay." She sighed and glanced back at him. "Don't get angry with me, but I was just thinking about how your heart flittered the way it did when you saw me holding Lin."

Law's mood darkened a bit.

"Law, please, I have to ask. You guard your thoughts too much on this subject. I'm just curious. And I know we agreed that not having kids was the best solution for the lives we lead. And you know I'm not going to change your mind about that. I'm not even going to try. I don't want to. I don't know much about kids after all. It scares me thinking about how much responsibility they are," Neo said.

Law took her in. Noticing, once again, at how she didn't recognize how strong her material instincts really were. But he didn't voice it. He couldn't. It was better that she remained unaware of those instincts.

"But I have to asked," Neo continued. "Please don't get angry with me. If we could, if our lives ever allowed it, and you weren't so protective, would you want to have a child?  _Do_  you want to have a child?" When Law didn't answer, she added, "That feeling came from somewhere, my love. There's nothing wrong with wanting to have a child. Right?"

Law sighed. He locked eyes with her for several seconds before opening his feelings up completely to her. He watched as her eyebrows rose on her forehead. He said, "Yes. I have thought about having a child with you. When I've seen you with those kids on Punk Hazard…I don't know. Something stirred inside of me. You just have this ability to change how I feel about anything and everything. But we can't have a child. It's far too dangerous for you to go through a pregnancy. And the kid would have a difficult life being born from pirates."

"I know, Law." Neo cupped his cheek when his eyes lowered from hers. She could also feel a darkened thought in his mind. She could feel that having a child scared him in a different way too. It was because of his parents. He didn't have them to ask advice from. "It's okay. I know how you feel. I don't have my parents either. But we do have Godfather. We have the crew. And we have everyone on Luminous. Besides, you're my baby, my child and so is the crew. You all are my babies. And you always will be. Commitment ceremony says so. And I apply that to the members who have joined after Luminous. Do you understand  _me_?! You all  _are my babies!_ "

"Yes, ma'am." Law chuckled as she leaned back against his chest and fluttered her eyelashes, innocently and possessively, at him. He pecked her shoulder then her lips. Sliding his hands around her sides, over her flat stomach, down her hips and thighs, tantalizing slow. He felt himself growing excited again. He cursed himself for running out and leaving the condoms behind. Reluctantly, he said, "Come on. It's time we got out."

"Aw, Law," Neo protested as he exited the bath.

"No, whining, love," Law said. After wrapping a towel around his hips, he turned back around. Plucking her hand out of the water, he guided her out of the tub. He then wrapped one of the towels around her body. "I've given you thirty minutes. It would be rude of us to stay in here any longer."

"Nico Robin said for us to take our time. I should have put a set time on these baths," Neo grumbled. She summoned a couple fire crystals and wind crystals. She gave Law an innocent look when he tilted his head at her for using her crystals. Within ten seconds, they were completely dry. She banished them, including the solar crystal, and said, "What crystals?"

"Okay. I'll let that one slide.  _This time._ But you better obey me from this point on." Law chuckled. He placed his finger under her chin, tilted her head back and pecked her nose. "I don't want to have to punish you for disobeying me. And don't worry, my love. The next bath we take together will be longer."

"Promise?" Neo turned her eyes up to him. They grew round and puppy like. He nodded. She squealed and hugged him. "Thank you, love!"

…

Neo adjusted her yellow tank top over her stomach. She looked down at her clothes and studied them. She was wearing black shorts that wielded their jolly roger on the left leg. It was fairly small with yellow spots decorating around the entire leg. The jolly roger was also on her shirt, but was much larger, black in color, and placed over her chest. She looked over at Law. She tilted her head and took him in. He was wearing his trademark spotted pants with a dark blue, long sleeve, feather neck shirt that housed their jolly roger on it. She knew he styled this shirt in memory of Corazon. A sigh passed over her lips when she started to miss the absent man. Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. She twisted her shirttail around her finger then rubbed her hand over her stomach.

Feeling her sadness, Law took a step closer to her. He placed his hands on her hips and his lips on her forehead. He said, "I miss him too. But, remember, he's watching over you."

"Us," Neo corrected. "He's watching over  _us_."

Law chuckled. "Yes, love. He's watching over  _us_. Let's go now."

Neo nodded. She let him take her hand and led her out of the impressive bathhouse. She carefully inspected the ship as they made their way back to the deck where the Straw Hats and the samurai and his son were. They both paused at the top of the stairs. She ran her eyes over the Straw Hat crew and two other passengers. Straw Hat was sitting on the head figure, Franky was still at the helm with Brook standing close by, Zoro was laying on the deck, Usopp was moving a small wooden box out onto the deck, Kin'emon was sitting with his arms and legs crossed while Chopper, Sanji, Nami and Robin were standing with Momonosuke. The Straw Hats had changed out of their winter attire and seemed to be fairly relaxed. It made her a bit calmer, but she was still a bit unsure about them and this ship since they were still fairly new to her. She sensed Law calmly waiting for her to be ready to join the Straw Hat crew. She cast her eyes over them once more before feeling secure enough to join them.

When they started down the stairs, Neo broke free from Law's side and ran down the rest of the stairs. She squealed to him through their bond when her bare feet landed on the grass.  _'I can feel grass again! It's still a bit wilted because of the weather on Punk Hazard, but I can fix that easily! It still feels so nice! And I can run barefooted again!'_

Law chuckled, enjoying her childlike nature.  _'You mean, you could fix it if you were permitted to use your crystals. And you're only barefooted until we reach Dressrosa.'_

 _'Oh. Right.'_ Neo's shoulders slumped in disappointment, but only for a second. She still got to be shoe free and still got to feel grass. So she wasn't going to complain about her crystal restriction and her short time being shoeless.

"Wow! So lovely! You're that cutie I met back on Sabaody!" a high pitch voice wailed. The two Heart Pirates looked up to see a black and yellow tornado spinning over to them. When it stopped it revealed the Straw Hat cook. His face was twisted in a strange way and his eyes were heart shaped. "I saw you when we were on Punk Hazard, too! I'm sorry I didn't say hi before now! We were a little busy with running for our lives after all! And, may I say, that you look so lovely in that outfit! So much better than that long, black coat you were wearing before! It was hideous! This outfit is far much better than that coat! It's far more flattering on your lovely, curvy figure!"

Neo's body involuntarily flinched at his actions and how close he was to her. His sudden action accused fear, and cold, to grip her chest. The smoke from his cigarette was thick in the air and on his clothes. It was accompanied with a variety of spices, but she couldn't distinguish what they were. The combinations of the smells hammered her nose, making her stomach spin. She jumped back from the blonde man and tucked herself into Law's chest, barely feeling his anger towards the Straw Hat cook. She buried her face into his shirt, gripping the fabric with her fingers and trying to get her stomach to stop spinning with slow, deep breaths. She then heard the all too familiar sound of Law drawing out his sword. She didn't have to see it. She knew Law was pointing his sharp blade at the Straw Hat's throat.

"Whoa, whoa. Take it easy," Sanji said, holding up his hands in a surrendering fashion.

"Listen up, Straw Hats! You too, samurai!" Law said in a loud enough voice to gain everyone's attention. Everyone paused what they were doing and looked at him. His left arm was tight around Neo's waist, his hand holding his sheath. While his right hand was pointing his lethal blade at Sanji's vulnerable throat.

…

"Hey, hey! Stop that!" Nami cried. She took a step forward, but stopped when Robin held out her arm. "Robin?"

Robin smiled at the orange haired woman. She said, "Just let them be."

Nami blinked a couple times before turning back to the hostile display.

…

Law then said, "No one, with the exception of the raccoon, is allow to  _touch, flirt, or corner_ Neo at any point in time! While she has spent some time with  _some_  of you Straw Hats, she hasn't spent time with  _all of you_! And she certainly hasn't been on your ship before! She needs time to adjust to this new situation! If  _any_  of you, hurt her in any kind of way or make her uncomfortable in any kind of way, I  _will kill you_!"

"Hey! I'm a reindeer!" Chopper snapped.

"Huh? She needs time to adjust?" Zoro asked, but Law didn't reply to him. "What do you mean by that?"

…

Sanji blinked. He stared at Law's harsh glare before dropping his eyes down to Neo. He studied her. Remembering this was how she reacted the first time they met her back on Sabaody, he remembered how she pressed herself into that other Heart Pirate, how her body was trembling like a leave in a wind storm, how she timidly peaked out at him and when Chopper addressed her. He blinked again. He noticed this time she wasn't as scared. She wasn't completely trying to hide like the last time. And he noticed her inhuman feel.

Narrowing his eyebrow, he studied her a bit harder.  _What the heck? She doesn't feel human. Wait a second…I remember now. I have read newspaper reports on how she doesn't feel human. I can't believe they're actually true. So, if she's not human, then what is she? Does this mean all the assumptions on her are true? Is she really not a devil fruit user? If not, where did she get her powers?_

…

"Sanji! You idiot!" Chopper shouted. He jumped up and whacked the cook on the head. "Don't flirt with her!" He then pulled out a syringe three times his size. "I'm going to have to sedate you now!"

"Hey! You don't have to hit me!" Sanji growled. "I forgot that she's shy! And you don't have to sedate me! Put that thing away! Where did you even get a syringe that large?!"

"Yeah! Right! You just want to flirt with her because she's so cute!" Chopper snapped thrusting the needle at the cook. "Well, you can't! So stop it!"

"Fine! I won't flirt with her!" Sanji replied dodging the sharp object. "Now put that away!"

Feeling the tension all over the ship, Neo placed her hand on Law's right wrist. She pressed down on him, lowering his hand and his sword. Softly, she said, "It…it's okay, Law. He didn't know. I'm all right. He just startled me. I forgot that he was like that. I remember him from Sabaody. He reacted like that then as well."

Law lowered his eyes down to Neo. She still had her right side pressed against him, but she was looking up at him. He carefully studied her feelings. Her initial fear had subsided. She had recovered from this a lot quicker than he thought she would. But he really wasn't surprised. She was adjusting to new things a bit faster than before. He nodded and lowered his sword down. He looked back at Sanji and said, "Just don't  _ever_  do that again.  _She_  is my  _wife_. I don't tolerate other  _men_  flirting with her."

"Uh, right." Sanji pulled his cigarette out of his mouth. He gave them a sincere smile. "My apologies. I forgot that you two got married. Usually, I don't flirt with married women. It won't happen again. Please accept my most humble apologizes and my sincerest congratulations on your marriage."

"Huh?" Neo whispered the word so softly that neither of the men heard it. She turned her eyes to Sanji to get a better look at him. She tilted her head a bit, carefully taking the blonde haired man in. Something about him felt oddly familiar. There was a strange air around him that she's felt before, but couldn't place where she's felt it or what it was. It was something closely related to her. She then said, "It's okay. I…I mean, you didn't know. Well, not really anyway. I'm fine. You just startled me. You all just seemed so calm a second ago. I wasn't expecting such a sudden outburst of…affection. I'm not use to people, outside of our crew, being so forward like that. And, uh, thank you for congratulating us. That was nice of you."

"Neo, are you really okay? Do I need to sedate him?" Chopper asked. He jumped up and held onto her shoulder. "I can do that. I said I would."

"I'm okay, Chopper, really," Neo replied. Pulling him around to her front, she wrapped her arms around his small body and smiled. "You don't need to sedate him."

"All right then," Chopper said. He then glared at Sanji. "If he does it again, I'll sedate him then."

…

Sanji grumbled and frowned at his doctor, but said nothing. He couldn't blame the reindeer for acting that way. He just wished he knew  _why_  Chopper was so attached to the blue haired pirate. He pinched his cigarette while his mind wondered back to how Chopper reacted the first time they met Neo. Chopper had accepted her praises and returned them. The reindeer was usually never so open like. And the doctor certainly never accepted a compliment from anyone without hurling an insult back at them. It didn't make any sense. Why was this girl so different from everyone else?

…

"Oh," Brook then said. He had a cup of tea in his right hand while his left hand was behind his back. "I suppose that means I can't ask to see her panties."

"Of course not, you idiot!" Chopper, Nami and Sanji yelled as they whacked the skeleton over the head. "Do you want to die?!"

"Well, I am already dead," Brook replied.

"Just shut up!" the trio yelled.

…

Sanji then turned his eyes back to the two Heart Pirates. He kept his eyes on the two while the warlord sheathed his weapon then said some words to her. Neo spoke back, with a light frown, to him before Law walk off towards the railing. He continued to watch as she tucked her hands behind her back and looked around the ship while following after Law in a slow, lingering place, like she wasn't sure if she should follow Law or stay where she was. He lightly twitched when her eyes locked onto his. He didn't know how long they stared at each other, but he did notice she was staring at him like she was trying to come to a decision about something. He blinked. She had broken eye contact with him at that point.

He continued to watch Neo as she moved over the deck. He watched her natural grace, a familiar grace, as she walked over the grass. He watched as Neo turned her eyes back to him, smiled then turned her attention back to the grass under her feet before she eventually made her way over to Law. He then slipped into his Observation Haki, for what reason he wasn't sure. He just did it without thinking. He wasn't even sure what he was looking for. Observation Haki only showed a person's spirit and their planned attacks. But he still wanted to look. And he about dropped his cigarette when he saw Neo's spirit aura.  _What the heck?!_

He rubbed his eyes, thinking he was imagining things. He blinked a few times before running his haki over the others on the ship just to be sure it was still working correctly before returning his eyes back to Neo. She was no longer looking at him so he didn't have to worry about her seeing his confusion. He examined her closely. Her spirit aura was different from everyone else's. While others had one solid color to their spirits, hers was multiple colors that kept changing. There was only one small section in her spirit that stayed the same light red color.  _Well, I guess that affirms that she's not human. Ever since I've gotten my haki I've never come across a human with a spirit like that. But, if she's not human, then what is she? I know she's not a threat to us. Well, no more than any other opposing pirate crew is, especially with how the way she reacts with Chopper. And she's just so innocent._

"Hm?" Chopper looked up at the cook when he noticed the intense concentrated look. "What's wrong, Sanji? You look confused about something. You're not thinking inappropriate thoughts about Neo, are you? If you are, I'm going to-"

"No, Chopper, I'm not having such thoughts about her," Sanji said, turning his back towards Neo and Law. He shoved his left hand in his pocket while taking a hold of his cigarette in-between his fingers. He took two steps away from the doctor before pausing. "Hey, Chopper?"

"Hm? What is it?" Chopper asked.

"Didn't you say, the first time we met her back on Sabaody, that she smelled like nature?" Sanji asked, without looking at him.

"Yeah. I did say that." Chopper nodded. "And she still does smell like that. She smells a bit different, however, but she still smells like nature."

"She smells different from before?" Sanji looked over his shoulder at that point. His one visible eye slightly widened at the doctor.

"Yeah. But that's because she's been living on Punk Hazard instead of on their ship. Why? Is something wrong?" Chopper asked.

"No. Nothing's wrong." Sanji turned back around. He walked away from the reindeer. Sitting down on the mast bench, he thought about Chopper's words and how Neo's spirit is so different from everyone else's. He couldn't stop his eyes from wondering back over to the blue haired pirate. Law had pulled out the transponder snail and was dialing it in. Neo watched him for a few seconds before letting her eyes wonder around the deck of the Sunny until her eyes were on him. He expected her to turn away, but she didn't. Instead, she looked him in the eye and smiled.

…

"It's okay. You don't have to explain. You two were just following my orders."

Neo flinched when Doflamingo's voice came through the seemingly innocent transponder snail. Her body involuntarily shivered when she remembered hearing his voice for the first time back in the SAD Room. Everything Law told her about him slammed into her brain like a virus. It caused her stomach to spin rapidly. She placed her right hand on her stomach and took a slow, deep breath while clenching a hold of Law's shirttail with her left hand. She reminded herself that they weren't anywhere near this man. He couldn't hurt them. They were safe. But it did little to calm her nerves.

"Well, isn't this a big surprise," Law said. "The big boss himself."

"Is that you, Law?" Doflamingo asked. "I haven't seen you in such a long time. It's a real shame that you're not here. I really would have loved to share a drink with you since you're all grown up now." There was an intense pause before the man added, "And I would have really loved to have met your wife. Does she drink? Is she there with you? She was the last time we spoke. I'd really love to speak with her."

Law looked over his shoulder when he felt Neo's stomach churn uncontrollably. Her face was pale and she had lifted her hand from her stomach and placed it over her mouth. When they locked eyes, she shook her head at him.  _'I'm sorry. I can't do this.'_

She then turned and walked away.


	87. The Sunny Part Two

The Sunny

Part Two

Neo, collapsing her hands behind her back, scanned her eyes over the Sunny and its crew as a distraction from Law's conversation with Doflamingo. The Straw Hats were scattered around the deck. Luffy and Usopp were up by the prow, which seemed to be their favor place to be, especially Luffy who was still sitting on the prow. Robin was up on the garden deck. Nami was by the helm. Brook was drinking tea and Franky was chugging down cola. Zoro was taking a nap against the mast. Sanji was just standing on the deck with his cigarette in hand, occasionally casting a glance her way. And Chopper was tending to Caesar's wounds.

Fresh anger flared up in her chest with the memories of what he did on Punk Hazard when she looked at the scientist. She had to force herself to look away before she created a thunderstorm. But she cracked a small smile when Caesar complained about the pain he was receiving as Chopper bandaged up his wounds. He whined, "Ow, ow, ow…Easy!"

"Be quiet! To be honest, I want to kick you butt for what you did!" Chopper hissed before jumping off Caesar's lap. "But I'm a doctor! So I won't! But if you even think about looking at Neo the wrong way…!" He grabbed some supplies and jumped back onto Caesar's lap. He padded the scientist on the forehead. "You'll be sorry!"

Caesar complained, "Ouch! Ow, ow, ow! Fine! I won't look at her! I won't even  _think_  about her! I want nothing to do with her! I'm finished! I give up! I don't care about her anymore!"

"Good!" Chopper hissed.

Neo smiled at how protective the reindeer was being over her. She loved it. It was sweet. But she wasn't afraid of the scientist. She knew she could handle him. She also knew that she had Law and Chopper backing her up in case she needed them. She also had the rest of the Straw Hat crew, even though she didn't know them well enough yet.

Taking two more steps, she looked around the ship's deck again. She wasn't really sure what she should do with herself at the moment. This was the first time she had been on another pirate ship. She wasn't quite sure how to act or how to interact with anyone yet. She unclasped her hands, tugged on a strand of hair and tapped her toes on the deck while considering the option of going to the library and reading despite being unsure if she was comfortable enough to do that yet. She had no idea how long Law was going to be on the transponder snail with Doflamingo. She highly considered the going to read option until her eyes wondered up with she felt Sanji's eyes on her once again. She noticed a small twitch in the man's body when she caught his eye, but he didn't look away. She tilted her head and took him in once more. She decided she needed to stay and observe this crew. She really needed to learn more about how they acted. It was important for her to learn about them since they were allies and to help her get more comfortable with them. She shifted on her feet as she ran her eyes over the crew again. Her attention was gained by Franky when he started talking to Brook.

"It's not a little lamb, Brook. It's the Mini Merry. And you're the eighth person to ask me about that. Like I told the rest, after I broke out of the cage parting ways with Luffy and the others, I looked over the island and found her not far from where we were," Franky explained. "I got out to the sea through a channel at the lab. I just sailed back to where we left the Mini Merry then sailed back to where you all were. I used the General Franky to protect me from the gas. That's when you all came outside."

"I see, I see. So our little lamb was okay. That's good," Brook said.

"So that's how they got onto the island," Neo mumbled to herself.

"It sure is," Chopper said, joining her side. "I guess I didn't explain that to you when I showed you the Soldier Dock System."

"Excuse me," Kin'emon then said. He and Momonosuke were holding teacups in their hands. Their legs were tucked up under them as they sat on the grass. "Would it be all right if we had some of your tea?"

"Of course," Brook replied. He set his cup down on the bench and picked up the teapot. The skeleton filled their cups then turned to Neo. "Would you like some tea, Mrs. Trafalgar?"

"Oh, no thank you," Neo replied. She glanced at the samurai and his son before turning her eyes back to Brook. "I'm fine. And, please, call me Neo."

"By the way, what are you two doing on our ship?" Zoro asked the samurai.

"Yeah. I haven't thought about that," Usopp said as he walked down the stairs that led up to the prow. "The others went with the Navy."

"We are in the midst of an important trip. It is best that we do not get involved with the Navy and waste our time. You can just drop us off on some island with a harbor," Kin'emon replied. He and Momonosuke then placed their hands on the ground and bowed. "Until then, please let us stay on board your ship."

"Why are they doing that?" Neo asked, without thinking. She flinched at her lack of knowledge and started to recoil from the group. She paused and jumped when one of them answered her.

"It's just a custom from the Land of Wano," Sanji replied. He smiled apologetically when she jumped at his unexpected reply. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Again."

"It's okay," Neo replied. She tucked her hair behind her ear when the wind blew it in her face. The salt from the sea mixed with the smoke from the man's cigarette. It tickled her nose. She forced back a smile when she felt Law's jealousy and guard rise despite still being on the transponder snail with Doflamingo.

"Do you need anything?" Sanji asked. "Something to drink or eat?"

"No, thank you. I'm fine," Neo replied. She then noticed the tray tucked under his arm.

"Yeah! Sure! It's fine!" Luffy then announced to Kin'emon.

"Yeah!" Usopp agreed.

"You can pay us later," Nami said.

"What?! Are you going to charge us?!" Kin'emon shouted. His eyes were wide with panic.

"Huh?" Neo blinked. She looked up, innocently, at Sanji. "Are we suppose to pay you for riding on your ship?"

"Of course not. I would never allow Nami to charge such a lovely young lady for riding on our ship," Sanji said, smiling. He flinched when he felt Law's glower. He chuckled nervously. "Sorry. I wasn't trying to flirt with you. I was just giving you a complement."

"It's okay," Neo replied, shifting on her feet. A smile curled on her lips as Law shifted his focus on her even more. She didn't bother replying to him. She knew Law could feel she wasn't scared.

"Nami is just obsessed with money. She'll charge you left and right, in ridiculous amounts and for ridiculous reasons, if you're not careful," Sanji said.

"Oh." Neo nodded, filing away that piece of information for later. She looked at the orange haired woman. Tilting her head, she wondered if she was going to get charged for anything. Law was the one who typically handled their money. And she knew he wouldn't easily part with it if it was going to be spent on something ridiculous. But that didn't stop Neo from occasionally trying, just for fun. She cracked a smile when her mind drifted back when she and Penguin, in a fit of childish silliness, tried to buy a bunny eared hat for the surgeon. They had placed the hat on his head and told him how 'cute' he was. Law, on the exterior, was rather annoyed, but inside he like the silliness they displayed. Neo, of course, never told anyone of Law's hidden feelings. She never would divulge anything like that to anyone. She sighed, her homesickness returning to her. She really missed her family. At least they were close to heading back to the Polar Tang. All they had to do was survive Dressrosa.

"Hey! Nami, where are we going next?!" Luffy asked, bring Neo out of her thoughts of homesickness and survival.

"Well, let's see," Nami said, looking down at her log pose.

"The next destination is already set," Law said, making Neo's heart flutter. He was finally done with his conversation with Doflamingo and she was relieved. He walked over to Neo and shot a glare at Sanji, which made the cook scurry off faster than a hurricane.

Neo chuckled at him through their bond. Then said, "I'm supposed to be learning about the Straw Hats. I can't do that if you're going to scare them away."

"You can learn about the  _men_  from a distance," Law grumbled back at her. He then purposefully stood between her and Sanji and shot another sharp glare at the blonde man.

Sanji chuckled nervously. He rubbed the back of his head and took another step back.

Chopper climbed upon Neo's shoulder, opposite of Law. Whispering in her ear, he asked, "He can be really possessive of you, huh?"

"Yeah. But don't let that get to you. Remember he really is a big softy on the inside. He just worries about me too much at times. I'm really fine with you all," Neo whispered back. "I still need a few minutes to get use to how often your crew yells, but it's fine. Our crew can get a bit loud at times as well. I'm just more use to them since I've been with them for so long. I know how they act. You all really aren't that much different than our crew."

"That makes sense." Chopper nodded. "I'm glad you're adjusting so well then."

Law then said, "The place we're heading for is Dressrosa."

"Dressrosa?!" the Straw Hat crew shouted.

"Yeah. There's something we have to do there," Law replied.

"D-Dressrosa?!" Kin'emon suddenly stuttered and shouted.

Neo blinked. The man seemed shocked, surprised, and distraught all at the same time.

"Do you know the place?" Luffy asked. He was walking down the stairs, from the prow, to join the rest of them. He looked right at Kin'emon.

"Th-that's exactly where we…I mean, where I want to go!" Kin'emon replied. "You need to go there as well?"

"Yeah. I think so," Luffy said.

Law glanced at the Straw Hat pirate. He asked, "You have no idea what's going on, do you?"

"Nope!" Luffy smiled.

Law's jaw dropped opened. He sighed and let his hat fall over his eyes.

Neo blinked at the Straw Hat captain. She said, "Well, at least he's honest."

"He's a pain. That's what he is," Law grumbled.

Neo tilted her head, her eyes wondering to the man's straw hat. She stared for five seconds before she realized what she was doing. She quickly adverted her eyes from him. She looked up when the ocean began to stir. Whispering, she said, "Law, we're heading for a sea hill."

Law nodded.

"The current is shifting?" Nami asked when she noticed the ship moving differently than it should. She ran to the edge of the ship and looked over when they started picking up sped. "What's going on here?"

"Yeehaw!" Luffy cried. He flung himself back up to the prow of the ship when the ship's speed rose. "It's so fast! The ship is going so fast!"

"Keep an eye out for rock reefs, Franky!" Nami shouted.

"I'm on it!" Franky announced. He took a hold of the helm once more and kept his eyes on the ocean, occasionally moving the ship to the left or right.

"What's going on?!" Usopp demanded, his eyes whipping in all directions.

"It's just a sea hill side," Law replied, calmly. "You see them all the time. They're normal."

"They are not normal!" Usopp snapped.

Neo shifted uncomfortably. She stepped closer to Law. He gave her a quick look over. She smiled at him. When she released a relaxing breath, he said, "We don't have to go against the current. The middle needle on your log pose should be pointing towards Dressrosa. Don't go straight. Take detours."

"Why?" Nami asked.

"It'll work out better for us if we don't follow a straight line," Law replied.

"He's being such a know-it-all smart-" Zoro started. He cut off his own voice when Neo shot him a lightning filled glare. He blinked in confusion. She turned away too quickly before he could assess whether or not he really did see lightning in her eyes.  _Did I really just see lightning in her eyes? I must be seeing things. That's not possible._  He frowned, taking the new female pirate in more closely. He noticed her inhuman feel. "Hey, girl, why do you feel so-"

"Come to think of it," Robin said, cutting Zoro off, "you were talking on the transponder snail a few minutes ago. Who were you talking to?"

"Doflamingo," Law replied.

Neo looked over her shoulder at the woman. Robin was standing right beside Zoro with an unreadable smile on her face. She blinked when Robin looked directly at her. She felt immediately, and completely, calm. At least she was until the Straw Hat sniper screamed.

"Doflamingo?! The warlord?!" Usopp shrieked. Getting closer to the warlord and Elemental, he added, "He's suppose to be the most evil of them all!"

Neo, being distracted by Robin's odd effect on her, jumped again at the outburst. She placed a hand over her racing heart. Without thinking, she said, "You people sure scream a lot. I'd be use to you all by now if you'd stop yelling like that."

"Oh," Usopp then said. "I'm sorry, Neo. I was just shocked. That's all. Doflamingo is a dangerous man. You should know that if you two have been planning this attack for a while."

Law started to move her away from the sniper, but stop when he noticed she was fine and openly inspecting the man. He said, "The plan is already in motion."

"What plan?" Zoro asked.

"That's right! We haven't told you all about the plan! Okay, everybody! Gather around! It's time to explain the plan!" Luffy cheered. He threw his hands in the air and laughed. Obeying their captain's orders, the crew gathered together and sat down on the grassy deck.

Law, with his fingers on Neo's back, guided her over to the bench that went around the large mast. They sat down. He leaned forward and pressed his arms against his legs while Neo crossed her legs and set her right elbow on her knee while resting her chin in her hand.

Luffy then blurted out what was going on and the deal he had made with Law and Neo.

"What?! We've formed an alliance to take down one of the Four Emperors?!" the unsuspecting Straw Hats screamed.

"An emperor, huh? I like it," Zoro said with a huge grin.

"You shouldn't!" Usopp snapped.

"That's a super big deal," Franky said.

"Hold on a second! Everybody, just calm down. Luffy, could you explain everything more clearly to those of us who don't know about the alliance?" Usopp asked.

"Sure. We and Tra's pirate crew have formed an alliance!" Luffy said, collapsing his hand on Law's shoulder. He spoke like pirate alliances were a normal everyday occurrence. Like this whole thing was no big deal. "So let's all get along and be nice to each other."

Neo looked at Luffy's hand on Law's shoulder. She then leaned back a bit until she could see the straw hat. Fighting her instincts to look at the hat was proven to be more difficult than she thought. She figured the more she was around the teenager the less she'd want to look at the hat. Forcing her eyes away, she placed her chin back in her hand.  _I really need to find a distraction before I reveal my magic to them. Maybe I should go read a book until it's time to go to bed. At least that way I won't be tempted to look at Godfather's hat._

"Is anyone else opposed to this?!" Usopp asked.

"Me! I am!" Nami and Chopper announced.

Neo tilted her head a bit. Her thoughts shifted from her godfather and straw hats to this pirate crew.  _They're an interesting bunch. They joined a pirate crew, but don't want to be put into any danger?_

"Will voting make any difference? Luffy already made the decision, didn't he?" Brook asked from his spot on the deck.

"This plan is fine by me. But I should warn you," Sanji said while leaning into towards Law and Neo. He ignored the glare Law was giving him. "Luffy's definition of an alliance is most likely different from yours. Watch out, you two."

' _You're worried.'_ Neo thought to Law when he twitched at the blonde man's words. She smiled when his only reply was to let his hat fall over his eyes.

"I was wondering why Luffy kept going on about kidnapping. It's not his style," Sanji said while walking over to Caesar. He pointed at the scientist. "I was starting to think he wanted me to cook up this strange sheep thing. But, even for a world class chief, there's only so much I can do."

"You jerks! You're not going to get away with this! Extremely powerful people are going to hunt you down now! Idiots!" Caesar shouted. "Do you even realize how stupid you are?! You all can go to hel-"

"Shut up! Watch your mouth! There's a sweet, innocent young woman aboard this ship who doesn't need to hear your filthy language!" Sanji hissed with a kick to Caesar's face. He cast a glance over at Neo.

Neo blinked in surprise at his actions. She looked at Law when he growled. A swell of childlike affection swelled in her chest. She poked him in the ribs and giggled through their bond.  _'You're so cute when you get jealous.'_

Law just released a puff of air through his nose.  _'And you're sure being silly all of a sudden.'_

' _Maybe. But I like playing with you.'_  Neo poked him again. She giggled when he shot her a playful glare.

"Sanji!" Chopper then snapped, gaining the Heart Pirate's attention. "I was in the middle of treating him! Wait until I'm finished to kick him!"

"Seriously?! It's fine to beat him up  _after_  your done?! That doesn't make any sense!" Sanji yelled.

"Chopper's so cute," Neo squealed while forcing back a giggle. Another swell of childlike affection for Law swirled in her chest. She couldn't stop herself from poking him in the ribs a couple more times. He turned to her that time and raised an eyebrow at the feeling and the poking. She shrugged then tucked her hands under her thighs to keep herself from doing it again, despite the strong desire to do it anyway.

"I asked you guys to kidnap Caesar at Punk Hazard while I destroyed the machine that was creating a substance called SAD," Law explained. "Here in the New World, all of the great pirates have their own territory. They lead countless numbers of people and reign like a crime syndicate. It's nothing like you've seen before. One pirate group will never be strong enough to even come close to catching a glimpse of their captains. But it's an underground community, which conducts their business secretly to avoid Naval attention. And Doflamingo is the most the most trusted and powerful man among them. His underground alias is Joker. And his most important business partner now is Kaido, the King of the Beasts. Our target."

"Wh-what?! Kaido?!" Kin'emon shrieked.

Beside the samurai, the young boy's eyes widened. Neo felt a familiar transition in the boy. She looked at him in time to see him transform into a light pink dragon. She sighed.  _'I don't think I'll ever get use to how a Zoan feels, but at least it doesn't bother me as much as it use to. This one feels a bit different somehow.'_

Law nodded.  _'It might be one of the man-made devil fruits.'_

Neo hummed. Her eyes remained on the young dragon.

"What's the matter?" Zoro asked, turning his attention to the disruption.

"Never mind. It's nothing. Please, do continue," Kin'emon insisted. He then looked to his right. He looked at the dragon then shrieked. "Why is there a dragon here?! Where has Momonosuke gone?!"

"Hm? That's him," Luffy replied.

"What?! This…this dragon is Momonosuke?!" Kin'emon pointed at the dragon. Momonosuke nodded. "What?! What happened to you?!"

"Kaido of the Four Emperors. In order to take him down, we have to minimize his forces," Law then continued. "He was buying large amounts of fruit from Joker. It's a Zoan type, man-made, devil fruit called SMILE."

"Man-made?! If such a thing exists, the number of devil fruit eaters would be popping up all over the place!" Usopp screamed. He slammed his hammer onto his thumb.

Neo looked over at him and wondered if he was aware that he smashed his hand with his hammer. He didn't seem to notice. Or maybe he didn't care since he was so shocked. She hummed and wondered how long it was going to take her to figure out this crew.

"That's right," Law said.

"Don't say things like that so casually!" Nami snapped. Her eyes, plus Chopper's were extended. Their mouths were hanging open in disbelief of Law's words.

"But, because it's man-made, there are some risks involved," Law said, ignoring the woman. "But, the fact is, Kaido has over five hundred devil fruit users in his entire crew."

"Who wants to quit right now?!" Usopp asked, bolting up from his spot on the grass. He raised his hand high. "I do! I don't want to do this!"

"I don't!" Nami and Chopper raised their hands with the sniper.

"Just shut up," Zoro said.

"But the devil fruit eaters won't multiply anymore." Law looked over at Caesar.

Neo watched as Usopp, Chopper, Sanji, and Brook walked over to the mad scientist. With a sudden surge of aggression, she was hoping Sanji would kick him again.

"Were you making a substance for the man-made devil fruit?" Chopper asked, a little more excited than Neo thought he should be. Caesar blushed and grinned. "How cool! SAD!"

Law glanced at Neo when he felt her getting jealous and her anger growing. She still had her hands tucked under her thighs. A light frown was playing on her lips, but, despite being confused at her behavior, he didn't say anything to her.

"Don't praise him!" Usopp snapped.

"Is it hard to make this SAD thing?" Luffy asked.

"It's just a lineage factor put into practice. It was Vegapunk who first discovered it," Law replied.

"So Vegapunk is the smart one," Sanji said. "This guy's just a piece of sh-"

"Shut up, you morons! I'd like to see  _you_  all make it!" Caesar hissed.

"Don't ever call us 'morons'!" Sanji snapped with the kick to Caesar's head that Neo was hoping for.

When she cracked a smile, Law cocked a look at her. "You're being oddly aggressive today."

"I can't help it. He deserves it after what he did." Neo huffed. Her aggression was quickly replaced with more childlike affection towards Law. She poked him again in the ribs.

"Keep up the childish acts and I'm going to punish you." Law smirked at her.

"Maybe I want you to punish me. Or maybe I'm just bored. I think I might go read for a while. I haven't done that for a while now." Neo smiled. Her eyes drifted to Chopper at the same time his drifted to her. Both smiled. She pushed off the bench, much to Law's surprise, and ran over to Chopper at the same time the reindeer ran towards her. She held out her hands for him to jump into. She had to swallow down her own laughter when he started laughing. To distract herself, she swung him around in the air like adults usually do with kids.

Law watched her, in complete confusion, for a few seconds before pulling his eyes back to the Straw Hat crew again. He said, "Joker is finished now. We can go on to the next step. There's a factory manufacturing SMILE somewhere in Dressrosa."

"I see. So we're going to find this factory and destroy it? No problem!" Franky announced. He was reclining against the Sunny's railing with a huge grin. "One laser for me and it's gone!"

"That's the plan. Then Kaido's forces won't grow anymore," Law said. "However, he's a professional businessman. He'll retaliate."

Luffy bolted up from the bench and ran closer to the samurai. He said, "Dressrosa, huh? Isn't that where you want to go, Kin?"

"Indeed!" Kin'emon pulled out one of his swords. "They're keeping one of my comrades prisoner there!"

Neo continued swinging Chopper around when she suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky. Dark clouds were gathering. She brought him to her chest and held him like a child. "Huh?"

"What's wrong, Neo?" Chopper asked. His laughter cut off. He looked at her then looked up at the sky. "What?! Where'd that storm come from?! It wasn't there a second ago."

"It's a pop up storm," Neo said.

"The creature is correct," Kin'emon said, looking up.

Neo flinched at the samurai's words before realizing he was talking about Chopper, not her.

"What are those clouds?" Usopp asked.

"It's going to start raining," Robin said. She and Sanji were looking up at the sky. Sanji had the tray he had been carrying around in his hand with Robin's empty teacup on it.

' _If only. It's a hailstorm. And it's going to be a big one. Large hailstones are forming.'_  Neo thought to Law while gnawed on her bottom lip at the dark haired woman's words.

' _Don't say anything, Neo.'_

' _I know. It's hard not to warn them.'_  Neo looked down at the reindeer in her arms. Chopper had his eyes still locked on the dark clouds.

' _I know it is. And I'm sorry. But I'm sure they can handle this.'_

Just then two small pieces of hail pinged onto Sanji's tray. The two Straw Hat pirates looked down at it. Robin said, "It's hail."

"This is," Nami started. She took on a look of determination then quickly bolted from where she stood. She started to climb up to the crow's nest.

"Nami! What's wrong? Is there something wrong with those clouds?" Luffy asked.

"Franky, prepare for a Coup de Burst!" Nami shouted.

"Okay! I'm on it!" Franky replied. He stood up. He then ran over to a hidden door in the deck that Chopper told her about before. He opened it. Before leaping into the hole, he said, "Someone, take the helm!"

"I got it!" Usopp shouted as he bolted for the stairs that lead up to the helm.

"Sorry, Neo," Chopper said, jumping from her arms. He expanded to his Heavy Point form. "I've got to furl the sails!"

"Okay," Neo said, a bit pouty. Her shoulders drooped, but she let him go without complaint.

"Neo, come," Law said. "Stay out of their way."

Neo nodded while walking back over to Law. She reclaimed her spot beside him and waited for things to settle back down. Her eyes drifted over to the skeleton of the Straw Hat crew. He was sitting on the grass. His right arm was wrapped around his bent up legs while his left hand was palm up -if he had a palm-, causing a piece of hail to bounce off of it. He asked, "I wonder what's up with these clouds."

' _Things are going to get wild in a few seconds. There's a large piece of hail about to drop down on the ship.'_  Neo turned her eyes up to the dark clouds.

"Hard aport! Coup De Burst towards nine o'clock!" Nami's voice rang out from their speaker system. "Aim for an area with no clouds!"

The ship then spun in the correct direction just before a large shadow fell over them. More hail fell from the dark clouds. Neo mumbled, "There it is. Are you sure I can't…"

"Absolutely not," Law warned. "The Straw Hats can handle this. You keep resting."

"Fine. But I'm backing them up if they need it." Neo stuck her tongue out at Law. He chuckled at her.

"Ah! No, don't! No, no, don't!" Caesar shrieked. He looked up at the giant ice ball coming at them then over to Neo. "Hey! Neo! Do something about this! You can control nature!"

Neo tossed her head to the side with a defiant huff.

"Don't tell her what to do!" Law snapped, his eyes glinting with a sharp slit of light. No other words were shared as the ship suddenly took off with a startling jolt, just barely missing getting smashed by the large hail ball falling from the dark clouds. Neo grabbed onto Law's arm with a startled gasp. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "I know Chopper told us about that, but I didn't think it would be so startling. I am a bit disappointed that that large hail didn't land on Caesar's head."

Law snickered as Caesar shot her an annoyed glare. They remained silent as the ship glided through the air. It didn't take too long for them to clear the storm and land safely back in the water. The ship rocked before settling back down.

"Oh, that was fun!" Luffy exclaimed. He dropped down from above then put his hands behind his head while Usopp, Chopper, Nami, and Sanji chattered on about their narrow escape. He walked over to Momonosuke and Kin'emon. "Momo, did you like it?! Don't you think the ship is the coolest ever?!"

Momonosuke released a puff of smoke. When it cleared he was back in his human form. With pink cheeks, he said, "I-It is cool!"

The grass hatched opened and Franky popped his head out. "Nothing is impossible for the Thousand Sunny that I built! It's super, isn't it?!"

Franky leaped out of the hole and stuck the same pose he did back on Punk Hazard. Momonosuke and Kin'emon then struck the same pose. And said the exact same thing. "It is cool!"

"Neo!" Chopper cried out. Neo looked at him just in time to catch him as he jumped back into her arms. "What do you think?! Isn't the Sunny just the coolest?!"

"It is pretty cool," Neo agreed. "But I'm use to the Polar Tang."

"Of course you are," Chopper said with a nod. "And, I know you miss it since it's your home, but I want you to feel comfortable here. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask. I'll be happy to get it for you."

"Thanks, Chopper," Neo said. She caught a glimpse of Nami leading Momonosuke away from the group. She assumed the boy was getting a tour of the ship now. Her eyes then drifted over to Usopp. He was sitting back down on the deck, once again hammering away with whatever contraption he was before. A surge of curiosity pushed her to her feet. She felt Law's confusion when she walked away from him, but she didn't speak to him. With Chopper still in her arms, she walked over to the sniper and sat down on her legs.

"Hm? What's up, Neo? I can call you Neo, right?" Usopp asked.

"Yes, you can." Neo nodded.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Usopp asked.

"Well, I was just curious about something," Neo replied. Her eyes wondered down to the bag the sniper had around his shoulders. She assumed his slingshot was inside of it.

"What is it?" Usopp wondered while Chopper looked up at Neo from her lap.

"That slingshot you were using back on Punk Hazard," Neo said. "Where did you get it?"

"Oh, that? I got it when I was training on Boin Archipelago," Usopp replied as he continued tinkering with his toys. "It's actually a redesign of my original Kabuto slingshot. That one was green and a lot smaller."

"Boin Archipelago?" Neo questioned. "I think I've heard Bepo talking about that place before."

"The Boin Archipelago is a series of flower shaped islands in the Grand Line. There are various gigantic bugs and vicious man eating plants. I was sent there after our battle with Bartholomew Kuma two years ago on Sabaody," Usopp replied.

"That's where you all were?" Neo asked. "When you all went missing for two years?"

"That's where I was," Usopp said. "The others got sent to other places."

"I got sent to Birdie Kingdom," Chopper said. Neo looked down at him, her eyes widened with curiosity. "Would you like to hear about our adventures?"

"Yes!" Neo nodded, enthusiastically. "Please! Tell me! I want to know all about these places!"

Usopp laughed. "Well, aren't you just the curious one?"

"I love nature! I want to learn all I can about different types of animals and plants!" Neo said. She shifted her position so just her feet were tucked up under her legs and Chopper still on her lap.

"All right, all right," Usopp said with another laugh. "Let's see...Where should we start?"

Neo settled into listening to their stories. While they decided on where they would actually start, and who would go first, she looked over at Law. She smiled at him then turned her attention back to Usopp and Chopper.

Law had smiled back at her. He knew that she only looked at him out of habit. She was so use to always looking at him to make sure he was still with her, even though she could easily sense where he was with their bond. He figured that was something else with her that would never change. His smile halfway faded away. But some things were changing. Just a short while ago, Neo never would have voluntarily gone off on her own with strangers like she did on Punk Hazard and she never would have gone up to strangers and openly asked questions like she was doing now. Still, he let her do as she pleased despite his worry about her getting overly attached to the animal in her arms. He figured it was far too late with that. She was already unbreakably attached to Chopper. He let his eyes drift to Luffy when the young captain ran over to join Neo and the others in sharing their stories on what they had been doing for the past two years.

Neo was a tiny bit jumpy at the arrival of Straw Hat. She glanced at him, careful not to look at the straw hat. His eyes were round and very child like. His smile was bright and friendly. When he caught her gaze, she couldn't help but smile. He smiled back and inched a little closer to her. She tensed up but it quickly faded when she caught a glimpse of her godfather's hat. A light breeze teased her hair. The familiar scent of her godfather, booze, and his hat settled in her senses. She knew it was just her mind playing with her. This young pirate has had the hat for far too long for it to smell like her godfather anymore. But still, the idea was nice. She felt like her godfather was near her. Her smile grew wider. She glanced around at the remaining Straw Hats. Franky and Brook had joined their group while the others remained where they were. Zoro was now lying down on the deck fast asleep. Sanji was walking up the stairs. Neo assumed he was heading for the kitchen. Robin currently standing around as Kin'emon sat cross-legged on the deck. Nami and Momonosuke weren't anywhere to be seen, as they were inside the ship somewhere.

Neo turned her attention back to the Straw Hats that were gathered near her. Chopper and Usopp were going on about how they were almost eating. Chopper by the humans he met and Usopp by the plants. Franky told her about almost freezing then about his different personalities changes he went through after being fixed, totally confusing the old man and boy who had found him in the snow. Brook told her about being worshiped, became a star, and played a song on his violin for her. Luffy chattered on about how big and strong the animals were on the island he trained on.

The majority of the time Neo was using all of her strength to not laugh. The Straw Hats' stories were so funny. And with the faces they made, to illustrate their stories, almost did her in. There were several times she thought she was going to have to walk away from them. Somehow, she managed to hold in her bell filled laughter. And no one seemed to notice. Well, almost no one. Law was, like always, keeping a close eye on her, but eventually let himself nod off into a nap. But it was Robin that was the one really keeping an eye on her.

Several times Neo would look up because she felt like she was being watched. And each time she notice Robin looking at her, just watching her with peaked curiosity and her typical unreadable smile. Neo hummed to herself.  _This is odd. Normally I would feel alarmed if someone kept looking at me like that. But I still feel completely at ease with Robin doing it. I wonder if Law is correct. I wonder if I'm just calm with her because she's so calm. I think it's safe to say, she notices I'm not human, but I don't think she would care. In fact, I don't think any of the Straw Hats would care._

Neo turned her attention back to the group. Usopp was speaking with very animated moves. It was like he was acting everything out for her. She watched and listened with peaked interest as the Straw Hats continued to tell her of their training. Usopp even explained how Nami's weather staff worked when she asked about it. "Wow. That's all so amazing. I can't believe you all went through stuff like that. I'd really love to go see those islands someday. And I never knew it was possible for someone could control the weather like that. No wonder you all are so strong."

"Hey, you're clearly pretty strong yourself," Usopp said.

"How did you come to have your devil fruit powers?" Brook asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, um…" Neo twitched. She mentally smacked herself. That was one background story that she and Law never worked out. There didn't seem to be any point to having one of those since she never was around anyone, besides the crew, for an extended period of time. She forced herself not to look over at Law. She didn't want to give anything away.

' _Just tell them you ate the fruit one day as a child and didn't know what it was.'_  Law told her.

"I just happen to find a devil fruit one day. I didn't know what it was. I ate it despite how bad it tasted," Neo replied. Despite feeling bad about lying, she continued on with her tale. "I suppose I should have listened to my older sister when she told me not to eat it."

"You have a sister?" Chopper asked. He looked up at her from her lap.

"Yeah." Neo nodded, unable to look at him. "Her name is Topaz. She's on our crew too. Our parents died when we were very young, so we've been on our own since."

"So what made you decide to become a pirate?" Franky asked.

"Well, it really wasn't our choice. It just kind of happened," Neo said, hoping they wouldn't press her for details. She twisted a strand of her hair around her finger and waited. When they didn't say anything, she added, "But it's fine. A lot of good has come from being with the Heart Pirates."

Neo couldn't stop herself from looking over at Law. She smiled at him. Her heart pounded with affection for him and the crew and for everything the have done for her. After he smiled back, she turned her eyes back to the Straw Hats.

"There must be a lot of good since you two married," Usopp said. He kicked his feet out in front of him and leaned back on his hands. "You seem really happy together."

Neo nodded. "We are."

"So when are you two going to have a little pirate of your own?" Franky asked.

"We're not. Considering we're both pirates, we thought it best that we didn't bring a child into this world since…" Neo clamped her hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened with panic as she remembered what happened to Fire Fist Ace. "I'm sorry, Straw Hat! I didn't mean to…I wasn't trying to…I wasn't going…"

"Hey, hey!" Luffy said, cheerfully. Without thinking, he clamped his hand on Neo's shoulder. She flinched but didn't pull away. "Don't worry about it. Ace loved his life as a pirate. And he died with a smile. He wouldn't want me to be sad that he's gone."

"You…you're really okay?" Neo asked, lowering her hand down from her mouth.

"Yeah. That was two years ago anyway," Luffy said. He retracted his hand from her shoulder. "And it's  _Luffy_."

"I think it makes sense that you two are choosing not to have a child," Brook said. "It's a very mature decision. It would be hard on them, after all. But you would make such a wonderful mother, if you don't mine me saying so."

Neo felt her cheeks grow warm as a round of agreements passed through the Straw Hats. She stuttered, "O-oh n-no! No, no, no! I wouldn't! I'm not really good with kids! I haven't been around them that much! And I'm not…I wouldn't be able to handle it!"

"Nonsense," Usopp said. "We saw how easily you handled the kids back on Punk Hazard. It was clear that you loved them. And they loved you."

"It's true." Chopper nodded. "The way Lin defended you, the way the kids spoke of you…you would make a great mother."

"That's, uh, nice of you all to say, but I really wouldn't," Neo said. She shifted uncomfortably as some of the Straw Hats continued to push the idea.

"Of course you would," Usopp insisted. He opened his mouth to continue but stopped when Robin broke in.

"All right that's enough, you all," Robin said, walking over to them. "You've pestered Neo enough about a decision she and Trafalgar have already made."

"She's right," Franky said. He got up from his spot on the deck and wondered off.

Once it was clear that the issue wasn't going to be pushed, Robin said, "Neo, I was getting ready to head for the library to read for a while. Would you like to join me?"

"Uh, sure," Neo said with a quick, unnecessary thought on the offer. She stood up, with Chopper in her arms. "I'd love too. You coming, Chopper?"

"Yeah!" Chopper nodded.

"Let's be off then," Robin said. With a smile, she led the way towards the library.

Neo followed after her. She only stopped for a moment to snatch Law's hat and peck his cheek. She said, "Don't wonder off on me now, pirate boy."

Law chuckled. He let his eyes linger on her form until she was out of his sight.

…

"So what were you doing during these past two years?" Neo asked. She adjusted Law's hat on her head before returning her hand to Chopper's body. "That is, if you don't mind me asking."

"I don't mind at all," Robin replied with a smile. "I was actually a temporary slave at Tequila Wolf."

"Huh?!" Neo whipped her eyes to the tall, black haired woman beside her. Her arms tightened on Chopper's small body. "You were a slave?!"

"It's all right, Neo," Robin said, calmly. They paused walking. "Myself and the other slaves were freed by the Revolutionary Army. After that I spent my time with them before reuniting with my crew."

"I'm so glad you're fine," Neo said, her body relaxing. Chopper looked up at her but didn't say anything. "The Revolutionary Army? I think I've heard of them."

"The Revolutionary Army is a powerful military organization led by a man named Dragon in Baltigo. He's also Luffy's father," Robin explained.

"Oh," Neo drawled.

"They are fighting against the World Government. Most of the army's efforts are focused on liberating individual islands from local governments that are under the World Government," Robin continued.

"So, we're not under any kind of threat from them?" Neo asked.

"Not at all. You don't have to worry about the Revolutionary Army coming after you and your crew. They won't ever do that," Robin said. She paused and took on a thoughtful look.

"Really? Why?" Neo asked when Robin paused. It looked to her that the woman wanted to say more, but stopped herself from doing so.

"It's nothing for you to worry about." Robin smiled. She opened the door to the library, to which Neo didn't even noticed they had arrived at. Holding up her hand, in a gesture that reminded Neo of how the maids acted towards her back on Luminous, she said, "Shall we?"

"Yes. Thank you." Neo nodded. She forced the older woman's hand gesture out of her mind as she stepped into the room.  _Just relax. It's impossible for her to know I'm a princess. I'm sure this is a common gesture among humans. The crew's done it to me before…of course they know the truth, but that's beside the point. She doesn't know. It's not possible._  She relaxed when the smell of the books hit her nose. "A welcome distraction."

"Indeed," Robin said. She walked into the room. Grabbing a book, she sat down on the bench. "Please, feel free to read whatever you wish."

"Thank you," Neo said while Chopper freed himself from her arms. He grabbed a book and jumped up onto the padded bench. She watched him before wondering over to the books. Not remembering what all they had, she looked at them all before picking one. She settled for a book about sky islands. With the book in her hand, she walked over and sat down beside Chopper. The two shared a smile before settling into their reading.

A little over two hours later, Neo felt oddly tired. She flipped to the next page. She covered a yawn before trying to focus on the book in her hands. But she couldn't focus on them when they blurred in her vision. Eventually, her tiredness won her over. She lowered the book to her lap, laid her head on the back of the bench and closed her eyes.

"Hm?" Chopper looked up when he sensed Neo's body posture changed. He closed and sat his book down then got up on his hooves. He placed a hoof on her shoulder and called to her. He said, "Neo? Did you just fall asleep? Neo?"

"It's all right, Chopper. Let's just let her sleep," Robin said. She had sat her own book down and walked over to them. She took the book from Neo's hands, tucking it under her arm, and said, "Why don't you go get a blanket for her?"

"Sure thing." Chopper nodded before bolting for the door.

Robin waited for the reindeer to be out of sight before turning back to the sleeping young woman. Tilting her head, she studied Neo's sleeping form for a few minutes before gently laying her down on the bench. She returned to studying the blue haired woman until Chopper returned. He said, "I got a blanket."

"Thank you, Chopper," Robin said.

Chopper unfolded the blanket and laid it over Neo. They both were smoothing out the fabric and tucking their guest in when someone cleared their throat from the door. They turned around to find Law frowning and confused. The reindeer jumped, startled at the warlord's presence. He said, "Sh-she fell asleep."

"I noticed," Law replied. With his sword resting on his shoulder and his left hand in his pocket, he walked over to the small group. He looked down at Neo, confusion spreading across his face.

"She must be tired from all the fighting on Punk Hazard. She's so cute," Chopper said with a smile. He looked at Law and noticed the man's confusion. "Is something wrong?"

Law thought for a moment then shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong. She usually only takes naps when she's been through some intense emotional stress. With everything that happened back on Punk Hazard, I guess it just finally caught up with her."

"We could move her into our room," Robin offered.

Law squatted down. He tucked the already snug blanket even tighter around her shoulders before adjusting his hat lower over her eyes, knowing it would help her stay calm if she woke up and he was too busy to come to her. "No, this is fine. She'll be okay here as long as no one wakes her up or startles her. Let her sleep for now. I'll come back later and check on her."

"I'll inform the rest of the crew that she's in here," Chopper said, heading back towards the door. "That way they'll know and they won't be so loud if they come in here or pass by."

Law nodded, but didn't look at the two Straw Hats as they made their way out of the library. He stayed a few more minutes just watching her sleep. When he was finally ready to leave her, he brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek, earning a smile from her. He smiled as she snuggled into the blanket then stood up and left the room.


	88. The Sunny Part Three

The Sunny

Part Three

Neo shifted and pulled the cover tighter around her shoulders. She shifted again when she noticed the surface she was laying on wasn't the familiar bed of hers and Law's back on the Polar Tang. This place didn't even smell like their room. She opened her eyes. Confusion filtered into her groggy mind as she stared at the tiled floor laid out before her. She became even more confused when her eyes lifted to the hexagon shaped table in the middle of the floor with four green chairs surrounding it. Panic set in when she realized she was in unfamiliar settings. She sat up with a startled gasp.

"Are you all right, Neo?" a soft, caring voice asked.

Neo whipped her eyes to the person who spoke. She barely registered the owner of the voice as Nico Robin of the Straw Hats. She calmed down a bit when she felt Law wrap his presence around her.  _'It's all right, my love. You're safe. We're aboard the Straw Hats ship. You feel asleep a few hours ago.'_

"Oh, right. Sorry. I'm fine. I just forgot where I was," Neo replied to both Law and Robin. She adjusted Law's hat on her head then became confused again. "I…I fell asleep?"

"You did." Robin nodded. She closed the book she was holding, placed it on her lap and smiled at Neo.

"Huh? I don't usually take naps unless I'm stressed. That must be why," Neo mumbled, though she wasn't sure if she was speaking to Law, Robin, or herself. She bent her knees and tucked her feet underneath her legs while adjusted the blanket over her lap. She went silent for a moment. Locating Law, Chopper and Luffy on the deck of the Sunny, but unsure of where everyone else was. Law was, like always, keeping an eye on her as she came down from her little scare. But he wasn't going to come to her. He was letting her handle this moment on her own, for the most part. She studied his reaction and her own. She was fine. She looked out the nearest window, the sun had already set and the moon was starting to peak over the horizon. She looked over at Robin and asked, "How long did I sleep for?"

"About three hours," Robin replied.

"Huh? Really?" Neo tilted her head.

Robin nodded. "You fell asleep about two hours after you started reading. I asked Chopper to get you a blanket so you wouldn't get cold. Tra said you would be fine sleeping in here so we just let you sleep. You must have been worn out from your battles on Punk Hazard since you slept for so long. Tra also said you take naps after stressful events. And seeing someone you love getting their heart squeezed would be quite stressful for anyone."

"I suppose you are correct. That was not a fun thing to go through," Neo replied. "I hope I didn't cause any trouble."

"Not at all," Robin said. Her smile friendly and warm. "We made sure that everyone kept quiet if they came in here."

"That was nice of you," Neo said with a small smile. Just then her stomach rumbled. A light pink tinted her cheeks as she turned her eyes down to her stomach. She started to summon an earth crystal, to grow her an apple, but stopped upon remembering her promise to Law on not using her crystals until they arrive at Dressrosa. "Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about," Robin said as she stood up and tucked her book back on the shelf. "You probably haven't eaten in a while."

Neo nodded. She stood up and started to fold the blanket. She said, "I am rather hungry. Sea pig meat sounds so good right now. So does onigiri, cheese, pickles, honey…Oh! Cheese and honey really does sound good!"

"Cheese and honey?" Robin asked, slightly amused. "I don't think I've ever had that combination before."

"Neither have I." Neo blinked. "I don't eat honey too much. It's too sweet for me. I can only handle a small amount."

"I see." Robin nodded. She tilted her head slightly as Neo continued to mutter off things that sounded good to her.

"Tomatoes and corn also sounds good. Maybe chocolate and cheese?" Neo tapped her chin in thought.

"Well, we should get you something to eat then if you're that hungry," Robin said, her smile still present. She turned and walked towards the door. "Sanji should be in the kitchen about now. I'm sure he's about to start on dinner since it's late enough. He'll be happy to give you a snack to tie you over until dinner is done. You can just leave the blanket here for now."

"Oh, okay." Neo laid the blanket down on the bench then followed after Robin. The two women walked in comfortable silence as they made their way down to the kitchen. Rounding the corner, Neo's eyes automatically locked onto Law's. She paused and looked around the deck as Robin continued walking ahead of her. Everyone, but Sanji, appeared to be outside. Some of the Straw Hats were dressed in samurai garb that she wasn't very familiar, but has seen the style in some of her books. Chopper and Luffy were sitting on the railing of the ship with fishing poles in their hands.

"Hi, Neo!" Chopper called with a wave.

"Oh, you're awake now, huh?" Luffy said with a smile.

"Yeah. Hi." Neo waved to them before looking back at Robin. The black haired woman was already at the kitchen door, patiently waiting for her. She rushed over. "I'm sorry."

"No need for an apology," Robin said with a warm smile. She gestured to the open door of the kitchen, just like she did when they entered the library. And just like at the library, Neo twitched. "Go on in. I've asked Sanji to give you something to eat. He's waiting for you."

"Oh, thank you very much, Nico," Neo replied. She smiled before stepping inside the kitchen. She looked around, familiarizing herself with this room again. Familiar smells of garlic, onions, tomatoes and olive oil made her mouth water and her stomach rumble a little louder than she was prepared for. Her cheeks flushed red when Sanji noticed just how hungry she was.

Sanji chuckle softly as he stepped away from the pantry. He placed his hands on his hips. "Well, you really are hungry. What can I get for you?"

"Uh…" Neo shifted nervously. She wondered if this man was going to be loud and flirty again like he was before. She brushed her right hand on her left arm as if she were cold. Her heart taking a couple extra beats in realization she was somewhat alone with this man. She looked over her shoulder. The door was still open. It relaxed her a bit that she was close to the exit.

Sanji chuckled again. "You don't have to be shy. I'm not going to bite you or flirt with you or scare you. At least, I don't plan on doing that. I'll apologize in advance if I do something that makes you uncomfortable. How about I ask you this instead? What's your favorite snack to eat?"

"Cheese and crackers with lightly sweeten tea," Neo replied, cautiously. Turning her eyes back to him, she slipped her right hand behind her back and tugged on her hair.

"Well, that I can handle easily." Sanji walked over towards the fridge. He opened the door then paused and looked back over his shoulder. "Is there a particular type of cheese you favor over the others?"

"Uh, I like all cheeses so far. Coby Jack, I think would be my favorite. But I do like mozzarella, swiss, cheddar…," Neo said, listing off the cheeses she had. She tilted her head a bit and looked up at the ceiling. When she brought her eyes back down to the man, he already had a plate of assorted cheese slices, crackers and her tea sitting on the bar counter. She blinked at how fast he had moved. "Uh…"

"Please, sit down, relax and enjoy," Sanji said. He dipped into a bow and held out his hand towards the counter chair she was going to be sitting on.

Neo hesitated. Fingering Law's ring, she forced herself to calm down and reminded herself that the man's movements had nothing to do with her being a princess. She swallowed hard when she hesitated too long and he noticed.

"Is something wrong?" Sanji asked, lifting up from his bow.

"No, nothing's wrong," Neo replied. She shifted on her feet again when she could tell that he wasn't buying it. His eyes lowered to her fingers fiddling with Law's ring before rising back up to her eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just…I really don't like it when people bow to me. It makes me uncomfortable. I'm not use to it."

Sanji stared at her for a few seconds before straightening his body completely. He gave her an understanding and friendly smile. "Oh, I see. Forgive me then. If it makes you uncomfortable, then I won't do it again. Please, go ahead and sit down."

With that, Sanji stepped away from that spot and back over to the pantry where he started gathering up ingredients. Neo watched him for a few seconds before her rumbling stomach won over her uncertainty. She walked over to the bar and sat down. She picked up a slice of cheese and placed it over a cracker. She then picked up the treat and started nibbling on it as she watched Sanji move around the kitchen plucking out ingredients from the spice cabinet. A few minutes later, she was completely relaxed with being alone with this man. She watched him curiously as he pulled out a covered tray from the fridge. She asked, "What type of pizza are you making?"

"You noticed I was making pizza, huh? I'll make any kind that people want. I always make my food to suit each individual needs and make sure it's always nutritional." Sanji tossed her a smile over his shoulder.

"I recognized the ingredients you gathered," Neo replied. She took a drink of her tea then sat the cup back down. "I'm the main cook on the sub."

"Really? That's interesting," Sanji said. He turned to her and pressed his back against the counter. "Honestly, I never would have guessed you would be a cook."

"I really don't find that surprising. I tend to take a lot of people by surprised with a lot of things," Neo said. She crossed her right arm over the counter top then placed her left elbow on the counter while placing her chin in her hand. A momentary pause passed between them before she spouted out, "I would like to help you."

Both their eyes, and Law's, widened in shock at her open offer. Sanji then said, "That's sweet of you, but I wouldn't be a gentleman if I let such a lovely guest help in the kitchen. You just relax and enjoy yourself."

"But I want to help," Neo insisted. She locked her eyes firmly onto his. "It's the least I can do. You all have taken us onto your ship and accepted Law's alliance. I really would like to help you. I'm not the best cook in the world, I've only been doing it for a little over two years, but I do know how to make pizza."

"Well," Sanji said, considering her offer and her electric blue eyes, "if you really want to, I don't see why not. I think it might be nice to have such a lovely assistant helping me for a change." He then shivered from his head to his toes. His face faltered as his eyes slipped to the door of the kitchen, feeling Law's heated glower coming inside. He said, "That is, if Law doesn't come in here and pound me into oblivion for calling you lovely. How did he even know I said that?"

"Uh." Neo twitched. She gave the blonde man a half smile. "He won't hurt you. He's just extremely protective of me."

"I've noticed." Sanji turned his eyes back to her. "But why is he so protective of you?"

Neo twitched again, which Sanji noticed. After a moment of thought, she said, "Well, its kind of complicated. Please, don't let him scare you. He really won't hurt anyone that I like."

"So, you like me now?" Sanji asked, a bit shocked.

"You're…starting to grow on me," Neo replied, honestly with a smile. "I'm still not use to how flirty you are. I'm only use to receiving such affection from Law, the crew, and animals, since they're the only ones who have permission to flirt with me, but I'm starting to see that flirting and giving complements to women is just how you act. I just need a little more time to get use to it. As long as you understand that I am married to Law and love him, I think I can get accustom to the occasional compliments and flirting outbursts that you give. I'm beginning to think it's just an automatic reaction that you can't control."

"I see," Sanji said with a nod. He then rubbed the back of his head with a guilty chuckle. "Well, I do respect your marriage to Law. And I won't do anything to hurt that, I promise. I'll try to tone down the flirting outbursts and compliments. But, for that, I can't make promises. As you've clearly deduced, I really can't control it. Shall we proceed with our pizza making?"

Neo nodded. Standing up from her chair, she pulled Penguin's ribbon out of her pocket and tied her hair back with it.

"That's a very pretty ribbon," Sanji said, taking in the ribbon.

"Thanks. Penguin got it for me," Neo replied.

"Penguin? I assume he's one of your crewmates?"

"He is. But he's also like a big brother to me. In fact, all of the crewmembers are my brothers and sisters. I really miss them." Neo brushed the back of her hand over her eyes when tears started to gather. "I can't wait until we're back home with them. I'm sorry. I don't mean to cry."

"Hey, it's okay," Sanji said, soothingly, as he easily noticed how attached she was to her crew. "I understand that you miss them. You've been away from them for quite a while. You're really fond of them, aren't you?"

"I am." Neo nodded. "They raised me after all."

"They  _raised_  you?" Sanji asked, confused.

Neo swallowed. She focused her attention onto Law when she noticed he was waiting to see what she was going to stay to the Straw Hat cook. She decided she could at least tell him a little bit. Dropping her eyes to the floor and carefully choosing her words, she said, "I didn't have the best life before I came to live with the Heart Pirates. I mean, when my sister and I came to live with them. Our parents died when we were really young. I know it sounds weird saying that my crew raised me, but it's true. I didn't know anything before coming to live with them. They educated me, taught me how to fight, how to use my crystals…I really own them a lot. They're more than my family. They're my light. The reason I'm alive. The reason I  _live_."

"I see." Sanji locked his eyes onto Neo. He noticed something about her story didn't quite ring true, but he could also tell there was a reason for that. That's when his mind couldn't help but lock onto her inhuman feel, how carefully she was choosing her words just now, the rumors he's heard and read about her in the newspapers.  _Hm…I'm getting the feeling there's a lot more to this young woman than we realize. I never put much thought into it before, but after spending some time with her, it's become so hard to deny the truth. She's not human. But she's very sweet, maybe a bit naïve and childlike, but sweet. No wonder Law's so protective of her. I would be too if I was in his shoes. Still, I can't help but wonder who she is exactly._  Mindlessly summoning his haki, Sanji let his eyes drag over her body. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but her spirit was still changing colors except for that one red spot. "Hey, Neo, are you…"

"Am I what?" Neo asked when Sanji didn't finish his question after a couple of seconds.

"Nothing. Never mind." Sanji turned away from her. Grabbing his cigarette from his lips, he smothered it out in his ashtray. He then turned back and pointed at the sink. "Let's get started, shall we?"

Neo stepped over to the sink and washed her hands before walking over to Sanji. By the time she got to him, he already had some of the dough out on the counter, dusted in flour and waiting to be rolled out. She asked, "Uh, where's your rolling pin?"

"In that shelf right there," Sanji said, pointing to the bottom shelf near Neo's left leg. "I apologize for not having it out. Usually, I don't use it."

"Oh?" Neo opened the cabinet door then paused. "Why not?"

"I use my hands," Sanji replied.

"You use your hands?" Neo lifted an eyebrow at him.

"I take it you've never seen other cooks work before," Sanji said. He watched as she shook her head and pulled out the rolling pin. He plucked himself out some of his premade dough he pulled out of the fridge. "Well, let me show you what I mean."

Neo placed the rolling pin on the counter. She watched him dust his hands with flour then placed the dough on the counter. She watched as he flattened out the dough with his hands until it resembled a small pizza. He gently pushed out the edges of the dough until he was satisfied with the size of it. Draping the dough over his fist and palm, he angle his arms then tossed it into the air. She gasped when the dough went flying up towards the ceiling. She summoned her wind crystals to catch it, but stopped when Sanji effortlessly caught the dough. She continued to watch him with peaked interest, letting her crystals disappear, as he finished up with his demonstration. She inspected the seemingly perfect pizza dough now lying on a pizza pan. "Wow! I had no clue people did that! Usually I just roll it out with the rolling pin or use my wind crystals."

"Hm? You use your devil fruit powers to cook?" Sanji asked.

"Yes." Neo nodded, finally lifting her eyes to his. "I'm not supposed to use my crystals for frivolous things. Law doesn't want me to get lazy just because I can do inhuman things with them. But I use them for cook. Taking care of my babies isn't frivolous after all. I'd give you an example, but I promised Law I wouldn't use my crystals until we get to Dressrosa."

"Well, since we're in an alliance now we should have plenty of time for demonstrations. I would love to see how you cook with your crystals. Those things must come in handy," Sanji said. He turned back to the counter and winced when pain shot through his right leg.

"They do come in handle," Neo said with a nod. Her eyes were darting between his face and his leg. "Are you injured?"

"No, I'm…" Sanji's voice trailed off when her eyes lifted to his again. He flinched at her large, innocent eyes starting at him. He suddenly found it extremely difficult to brush off his wound as nothing. "It's just a minor injury. I fought with some guy named Vergo back on Punk Hazard."

"You fought against Vergo?!" Neo's eyes lit up with alarm. She shot her gaze back down to his leg. "Shouldn't you have that looked at then? Is it broken? It shouldn't be if you're walking on it. Do you need me to heal you?"

"No, no! I'm just fine!" Sanji insisted. He held up his hands as if it would prove his point. "It really is just a minor thing. I'll heal in no time. And…Huh? Wait. What did you mean when you asked if I needed  _you_  to heal me?"

"Uh." Neo twitched. Her cheeks grew warm. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that. I just meant that…Law or Chopper could heal you! They're the doctors after all!"

"That's true," Sanji said. He noticed her obvious panic, but didn't bring attention to it. "But you don't have to worry about me. My leg is fine."

Neo settled down from her panic and gave him a skeptical look.

"I promise that I'm fine. My leg doesn't hurt much at all. If it does, I promise that I will go see Chopper. Deal?" Sanji smiled, noticing how she genuinely worried she was.

"Deal." Neo nodded.

"How about I give you a lesson on flipping pizza dough?" Sanji then asked.

"Yes! I'd really, really love that!" Neo nodded enthusiastically.

"Very well then." Sanji laughed. "Let's get started then."

Neo nodded again and stepped closer to him. She watched as he picked up some more dough and went through how he flipped and twirled the dough in with clear, precise, step-by-step instructions. When trying to flip the dough herself, she asked, "So what got you into cooking?"

While they tossed dough, Sanji informed her of his past with cooking at the Baratie, how he came to join the Straw Hat pirates and how he spend his two years of training in the Kamabakka Kingdom. She enjoyed listening to him, especially when he talked about cooking. Eventually, she also got comfortable with tossing the pizza dough in the air, but she wasn't sending it as high as Sanji was. She only tossed it about three feet, he was getting his over twice that.

"You're not bad at all," Sanji complemented her while brushing olive oil over the dough. "You appear to be a fast learner."

Neo hummed. "I suppose so. For some things, at least."

"Looks like we're about ready to start putting on the toppings," Sanji said. He nodded towards the fridge. "Would you mind grabbing the two trays on the top shelf?"

"Sure." Neo nodded. She stepped over to the fridge. She grabbed the handle but paused when she saw the lock on the door. "Huh? Hey, Sanji? Why do you have a lock on the fridge?"

"It's to keep Luffy out of it," Sanji replied. "If I didn't have that, he'd eat everything up in one sitting. This way I can monitor our food supply better. There's one on the pantry as well."

"Does he really eat that much?" Neo opened the door. She scanned her eyes over the items inside the cool box before grabbing the trays filled with pizza toppings, pepperoni, onions, sausage, bacon, black olives, green peppers... "Oh, peppers! Those sound so good!"

Sanji laughed when Neo's stomach rumbled and her eyes remained locked on the green peppers on the tray as she walked it over. He said, "Well, you're more than welcome to have some. We have plenty."

"Are you sure?" Neo asked, setting the trays down.

"I'm positive. Please, help yourself to whatever you think sounds good," Sanji said with a bright smile.

"Thank you!" Neo said, cheerfully.  _I can always secretly grow more for him later with my crystals._  She grabbed one of the peppers and took a bite. "So sweet! I love it!"

Sanji chuckled while watching her eat her treat. He started to apply his sauce onto the pizza dough when she swiped two peppers under the drizzling sauce. He raised an eyebrow at her when she stepped away and over to the honey sitting in the corner of the counter. She asked, "Mind if I have some honey?"

"Go ahead," Sanji replied. He lifted an eyebrow when she topped her pizza sauce peppers with honey. He became even more perplexed when she turned and walked towards the door of the kitchen. Four feet in front of the door, she paused and Law walked in. He watched as she held out one of the peppers for the warlord and they both ate them.  _Huh?! How did she even know he was coming?! And how did she know he would want that honey and pizza sauce covered pepper?! What did they have the same craving at the same time?!_ "Is that even possible?"

"Is what possible?" Neo asked, making Sanji jump.

"N-nothing!" Sanji replied with a nervous laugh. "I'm just talking to myself."

"Oh. Okay." Neo nodded and turned back to Law. "Did you need something?"

"No, I was just checking to make sure you were fine," Law said, despite not needing to. "I knew you came in here for a snack, but I was a bit concerned with how long you were staying in here."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I was just helping Sanji prepare the pizzas for dinner," Neo said.

"I see." Law nodded.  _'But do you really have to share your food cravings with me?'_

 _'Sorry. I didn't mean to.'_  Neo smiled. She held up her half eaten pepper before finishing it.  _'But they taste good.'_

 _'They do. Since you're fine, I'll just leave you to…'_  Law shot a glare at Sanji's back, making the cook shiver despite not seeing the look.

 _'Law, behave. I like Sanji. He taught me a technique on tossing pizza dough with my hands. He's also told me a lot about the place he worked at before joining the Straw Hats. I think he could teach me a lot when it comes to cooking. He's been doing it for so long. And I want to get better. There's only so much I can learn from books after all. I want to be able to cook better for my wonderful husband and my wonderful crew.'_  Neo eyes sparkled at Law. Her eyes then grew round and very puppy like. She placed her hands on his chest and leaned into him.  _'I want to learn from him while I can. Please? Be nice to him. For me?'_

Law immediately caved to her pleading puppy eyes.  _'All right. I'll back off on guarding you if that's what you really want.'_

_'I want you to trust me.'_

_'I do trust you. I don't trust_ _him_ _.'_  Law shot another glare at Sanji's back.

Neo rolled her eyes.  _'If you didn't trust him, you wouldn't have let me be alone with him for this long. And I don't need our bond to be able to tell that. I know you well enough now.'_

Law twitched then grumbled at how well she did know him. "Fine. I'll be leaving you to your cooking now."

"Would you like me to make you something other than pizza?"

"No. I'm not really hungry. I'll just eat some of your toppings. And I'm taking back my hat." Law pecked her lips and plucked his hat off her head before heading back out of the kitchen. "Behave yourself now."

"Don't I always?" She gave Law her most innocent look she could possibly manage when he shot a smirk at her over his shoulder. Both knew that, while it wasn't very often, she still could get into mischief or disobey orders on occasion. Law winked at her before disappearing around the corner. She smothered a chuckle before walking back over to Sanji. "Sorry about that."

"No need to be," Sanji replied. "If I was him, I'd be concerned about you spending time with a good looking guy like me as well."

"You are a very handsome fellow," Neo said.

"Why, thank you, Mrs. Trafalgar Law." Sanji smiled.

…

Law exited the kitchen. As he headed back to his seat on the mast bench, he let his guard on Neo lower. She was clearly comfortable enough with being on this ship and around this new crew that he decided to let her have some space. She knew where he was if she needed him. He looked over the Straw Hat crew as he sat back down and let his hat fall over his eyes.

"All right," Usopp said, tightening his hold on his slingshot as his eyes darted all over the place for enemies. "It's already so late. And no one has come after us."

Chopper marched up to the sniper. He saluted and said, "Yes, sir! I didn't see anybody either!"

"All right! Good job!" Usopp said.

"Thank you, sir!" Chopper chirped before walking away.

Usopp then turned and marched over to Law. He said, "Hey, do you think they can still find us? How many people will be looking for us anyway? Tens of thousands? I seriously haven't had a moment's piece of mind since you blackmailed Doflamingo!"

"Me, neither, you creep!" Chopper added from his fishing spot on the rail beside Luffy.

"Don't worry about it, Chopper. Kin gave us this cool armor and some helmets. Just let it go." Luffy smiled with his typical carefree smile. He felt a twitch on his fishing pole. He jerked it up and found a crab on his line.

"You told him to resign from the warlords or face a fight with one of the emperors," Brook said. "How can anyone choose from options like that? He'll come to kill us without a doubt. Oh, I'm scared!"

…

Back inside the kitchen, the two cooks proceeded to finish up their pizzas. Once they were all filled with toppings, Sanji slipped the first couple of pizzas into the oven. Neo said, "Sorry I can't use my crystals to help. I could have them done in seconds."

"Don't worry about it." Sanji closed the oven. Still without his cigarette, he gathered up the clean dishes and started to put their unused ingredients away. "We can relax a little while we're waiting for them to cook. You go on outside now. I'll be right behind you."

"Right." Neo nodded and headed for the door. Her eyebrows perched up on her forehead when she sensed fire on the deck. Kin'emon's voice then reached her ears.

"You heathen! Fight me squarely!" Kin'emon shouted. His sword was raised with its blade engulfed in flames.

"What's going on?" Neo asked as she stepped outside just in time to see the samurai charging at Zoro. She bit her bottom lip and bit back a giggle when she saw Kin'emon's fire attack almost striking Caesar, multiple times, as he swiped his sword at Zoro. Leaning her elbows on the railing, she placed her chin in her palms while she watched to see if the evil scientist would get hit.

"I said it's a long story!" Zoro snapped as he dodged Kin'emon's attacks.

"Hey! Stop that! It's dangerous to fight on the ship!" Nami said.

"Oh, are you two playing samurai?" Luffy asked, waving his fishing pole in the air, while he and Chopper walked towards the fight.

"You should be ashamed of yourself! The whole country was left heartbroken! The grave of the Wano Kingdom's hero, left plundered by a thief!" Kin'emon said as he kept swiping his flame-engulfed sword at Zoro. "That was you!"

"I said I didn't do it!" Zoro snapped, dodging to his right as the fire blade sliced the air by his ear.

"You must have! You have the legendary swordsman Ryuma's great sword Shusui on your belt!" Kin'emon said. He angled the tip of his sword at Zoro's right hip. He then swiped his sword at Zoro's neck again.

"Come on, come on! Fight, fight! Just cut him already!" Sanji cheered when he joined Neo at the railing.

"Do you really want him to be cut?" Neo asked, turning her eyes to the blonde man beside her.

"I'm just playing, sort of. That swordsman and I have a turbulent relationship," Sanji said. He looked at her and smiled. "Don't worry. We do this all the time."

"Oh," Neo drawled.

"So, who's all eating tonight?" Sanji then asked.

"What are we having?" Luffy asked.

"Pizza," Sanji replied.

"Pida?" Kin'emon asked, finally putting away his sword. He turned and smiled.  
"Another fine meal concocted by that fine fellow no doubt. Where is Momonosuke? Has he retired to bed already?"

"He's in the bath with Robin," Nami replied.

"What?!" Sanji, Brook and Kin'emon shrieked, making Neo jump. The two men and one skeleton then bolted in the direction of the bathhouse.

"Uh." Neo tilted her head as she watched them disappear from her view. "What was that about?"

"You're a bit on the naïve side, aren't you?" Usopp asked, looking up at the blue haired woman from the deck.

"I suppose I am," Neo replied, honestly. She pushed off the railing and headed down the stairs. Nami met her halfway, as she was coming up them. Both women paused when Nami addressed her.

"Just ignore them, Neo. They're being perverted horn dogs," Nami said before continuing up the stairs.

"Perverted horn dogs?" Neo blinked. Thinking of the orange haired woman's words, she continued on down the stairs. She walked over to Law. When he lifted his eyes to her, with a mischievous smirk on his lips and in his eyes, she finally realized Nami's meaning. Her cheeks tinted pink. She placed her left hand on her hip and rubbed the back of her neck with her other hand. "Oh. I guess I should have known that right off."

"And you're married,"Law teased and let his hat fall back down over his eyes while crossing his arms and legs.

"Tease me some more and I'll turn my crystals on you whether I'm under orders or not," Neo growled, slightly annoyed, at him for teasing her. She plopped down beside him. She opened her mouth to protest verbally, but quickly shut it when she noticed the Straw Hats were too close for her comfort involving this conversation.  _'So I still miss certain things. I'm still learning about life after all. Do you_ _want_ _me to have immediate perverted thoughts?'_

 _'Only if they're about me.'_  Law flashed her a grin. She rolled her eyes at him before linking her arm with his and resting her head on his shoulder. "That nap seems to have done you some good. You look more refreshed."

"I feel refreshed," Neo replied. "Although, it might interfere with me sleeping later tonight."

"You know you don't have to worry about that. I'll rub your back for you," Law said.

"You're the best," Neo said, nuzzling against his shoulder before poking him in the ribs.

"Now don't start that again," Law warned, playfully.

Neo stuck her tongue out at him, but didn't poke him again.

"Hey! Neo!" Luffy then cried out.

Neo looked up to find the young captain right in front of her. She jumped, tightened her hold on Law and released a startled cry. "Ah!"

"Careful, Straw Hat!" Law hissed. "Don't get so close to her like that!"

Chopper jumped up and whacked Luffy on the head. He snapped, "Luffy! You idiot! You've already been told that Neo doesn't like it when people get too close!"

"Hey! You don't have to hit me!" Luffy snapped back. He readjusted his hat and pouted at Chopper. "I was just going to ask her a question! There's nothing wrong with that!"

"You can ask all the questions you want, but  _do not_  get so close! You startled her!" Chopper hissed. He then pulled out a needle. "So help me! If you startle her again, I'll sedate you!"

"Hey! That's not fair!" Luffy whined. "She's my friend now! I can ask her questions if I want to!"

"It's okay, Chopper," Neo said. She bent over and slipped her hands under his arms. She picked him up and placed him in her lap. "You can put the needle away. There's no need for sedation."

"You're so sweet," Chopper said, blushing. He put the needle away and settled into her lap. "But don't let Luffy get away with too much. Don't hesitated to just punch him if he gets too close to you."

"Hey!" Luffy protested.

"Chopper's right. We punch Luffy all the time for his stupidity," Usopp said. "And he deserves it every single time."

"I do not!" Luffy screamed. He plopped down on the deck. Crossing his arms and legs, he pouched out his lips. "All I wanted to do was ask her a question! There's nothing wrong with that!"

"What is it then, Straw Hat?" Neo asked. She looked directly at Luffy, willing her eyes not to drift up to his hat.

Luffy turned his attention to her and smiled. He blurted out, "My name's Luffy! And my question is, why do you feel so inhuman?"

Neo and Law flinched. All of the Straw Hats, that were still on the deck, turned their eyes to the couple. Neo dropped her eyes to the deck while Law's hat fell lower over his eyes. Chopper looked up at her, but she wasn't able to return the look.

"Why are you two suddenly so quiet?" Zoro asked. "It's a justified question. I think it's obvious to all of us that she feels different from everyone else."

"That's right. It's always mentioned when she's in the newspapers," Franky said. "What's up with that? There are a whole lot of people who has some huge interest in you. The Navy's probably the biggest one out there. And you know how they are."

"Now that you mention it…" Usopp said. He cupped his chin with his fingers and carefully looked Neo over a few times. "You do seem a bit different. I never noticed before despite having read about you in the newspapers."

"If we're really going to do this alliance thing, then we have a right to know who exactly we're teaming up with," Zoro said.

"Neo?" Chopper asked. "Is there a reason that you feel so different from everyone else? Is there a reason that you smell like nature and smell so sweet?"

Neo's heart pounded in her chest. Her mind spun so fast she felt like she was going to be sick. With her arms loosely around Chopper, she fiddled with Law's ring. She wanted to look over at him, but didn't dare.  _'Law? What do we do? It's obvious they can tell, but…'_

_'We can't tell them.'_

"Neo?" Chopper asked again.

"I'm sorry," Neo replied, softly. Her bangs fell over her eyes to hide her tears. "I…I can't answer that."

"Why not? Just who are you?" Zoro pushed. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Law noticed and unfolded his arms. He took a hold of his sword.

"Yeah! Why can't you answer that?" Luffy asked. He scooted closer to Neo. Bending his neck, he looked up at her eyes. He smiled. "We're friends now. You can tell us anything."

"Straw Hat?" Neo asked.

"Yeah?" Luffy replied.

"If you really mean that we are friends," Neo paused before continuing, "then please don't ask me…don't ask us that. It's kind of…"

"It's personal, Luffy," Robin then said. Everyone looked up as the woman, and the rest of the group who headed for the bathhouse, walked down the stairs. Neo wondered how long they had been there and what all they had heard. "If Neo doesn't want to reveal her past, then you all shouldn't force her to do that. They have a right not to tell us. Remember, not everyone is as comfortable with their past as you all might be."

"She's right. You all are far too pushy," Usopp said. He crossed his arms and nodded philosophically.

"You wanted to know too," Zoro pointed out with a frown.

"Are you all bothering Neo?" Sanji asked. "Shame on you."

"Shut up, you stupid cook," Zoro said. "If you were here, you would have wanted to know too."

"Wanting to know something is completely different than trying to force the truth out of someone," Sanji retorted. He took his cigarette out of his mouth and pointed at each and every one of his crewmates on the deck. "I think it's obvious that we all noticed that there's something different with Neo. But that does not give any of you the right to try and force the truth out of her. She clearly doesn't want to lie to us about it. So don't force her to do that. Robin's right. It's  _personal_. So let it go. If you don't, I'll kick every single one of your butts! Now get back to look out duty or whatever it was you were doing before."

Without another word, the Straw Hats wondered off. Luffy, however, stayed right where he was. He tilted his head to the left then to the right like a curious kitten. He looked at Neo then at Law then back to Neo. He chuckled. "All right! We're friends! So I won't ask again!"

Neo looked up just in time to see his bright smile before he jumped up and ran off. She dropped her eyes down to the reindeer in her lap. He smiled at her, which caught her off guard. She asked, "You…you're not upset with me?"

"Of course not," Chopper replied. "If you can't tell us, then you can't tell us. I trust you, Neo. I know we haven't known each other for every long, but I do trust you."

Neo blinked, unsure of what to think of his words. "Thank you, Chopper."

"No problem," Chopper said with a smile.

"You know, it's such a nice night tonight," Sanji said. He looked up at the bright, full moon. "I think I'll serve the pizza out here."

"That's a great idea," Nami said. Robin nodded in agreement.

"I'll go get them then," Sanji said as he turned and headed for the kitchen.

"Do you want me to help?" Neo asked.

"Naw. You just relax," Sanji said. He smiled over his shoulder at her. "I've got this."

"Okay. And thank you," Neo said. Sanji waved and continued towards the kitchen. She then turned her eyes to Robin. "Thank you too."

Robin just smiled and nodded. She then walked passed Neo and Law with Nami and Momonosuke following.

 _'Law, I think Robin knows.'_  Neo thought to Law while watching the two women walking away. _'Is that possible?'_

 _'I was beginning to think the same thing. And there are Elementals living in among humans. So it is possible that she's met one. Or at least has come across one before.'_  Law watched the archeologist carefully from underneath the brim of his hat.  _'If she did meet one, I wonder what all they told her.'_

…

"So there really is something different about her?" Nami asked as she walked along with Robin. "I thought all those newspaper reports were just rubbish."

"I do not sense anything from the woman," Momonosuke said looking back at Neo. "She is a bit odd, but that is all."

"Do you know something, Robin?" Nami asked. She looked at her friend.

"Let's just see how things play out from here." Robin smiled and continued walking.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Nami hurried after her friend. "Hey! Robin!"

…

While waiting for Sanji to return with the pizzas, Neo couldn't stop herself from tickling Chopper. She started off by tickling him under his chin. He giggled. She bit her bottom lip with a smile then tickled his belly. He laughed and said, "Stop it! That tickles!"

"I'm sorry. You're just so cute," Neo squealed. She tickled him under his chin again. He laughed and fell back against her arm. She tickled him so much that he was crying and laughing. She had to stop doing it before she accidently laughed herself. She pulled him into a hug. "You are just so incredibly cute! If only Bepo was here! Then I'd have two cute animals to cuddle with! You must sleep with us tonight!"

Law shifted. He saw that coming hours ago. He didn't might if the animal joined them while sleeping. It would make Neo happy.

"You're just as cute as I am! And sure!" Chopper nodded. He rubbed his cheek against hers, causing his samurai hat to fall off his head. It thumped on the deck and spun to a stop. "I'd love too! Though I'm on guard duty tonight! So I'll be up watching over you sleeping! But I'd love to sleep with you sometime!"

"Great!" Neo squealed happily. "I can't wait for you all to meet our crew. You all are going to get along so well."

"Some of us might," Chopper said, thinking about his crew. He then glanced over at Zoro. "But some of us might cause fights."

The swordsman was sitting on the deck, leaning against the railing with his hands behind his head. Upon sensing Chopper's glance, he cracked an eye open and frowned. "What?"

"Nothing," Chopper said turning his attention back to Neo.

"Oh, you all will get along just fine. If not, I'll order you all to," Neo said.

"I bet you could do that and everyone would listen," Chopper said. "You're too cute for anyone to deny. All you'd have to do is look at them and they'd cave."

…

"It's so weird seeing Chopper act like that with someone," Nami said. She sat down on the swing and pulled Momonosuke onto her lap. Her eyes locked onto Neo and Chopper.

"It is. But it's nice they get along so well," Robin said. She was standing beside the swing with her arms crossed over her stomach.

"Pizza is served!" Sanji cried out then. He tossed the pizzas out towards the crew and their two guests. "Catch!"

"Yeah!" Luffy cried. He threw his fist in the air and easily caught it then took a big bite. Steaming cheese strung out from the pizza to his mouth. "So yummy! And so h-h-h-hot!"

Neo watched, with a smile, as the Straw Hat crew easily grabbed the flying disks with their hands or devil fruit powers. Kin'emon fumbled when the hot pizza hit his hands but he managed to hold onto it. She clapped at their impressive skills. She said, "Hey, Law, do you think our crew would-"

"No! You're not tossing pizzas around the sub!" Law huffed. He had warped a pizza onto the bench beside her.

"You're being a meanie." Neo pouted. She poked him in the ribs, making him twitch, as Chopper walked back over to her with a pizza in his hooves. He smiled up at her. She smiled back and moved onto the deck so they could use the bench as a table. Shortly after than, Sanji came around with cups and drinks for everyone. They all then settled in and enjoyed the piping hot pizza. Some giving Neo complements on the pizza when Sanji informed them that she helped cook them. She blushed but graciously accepted their praise.

…

Neo sighed and looked up at the star filled sky. She was sitting on the deck, leaning against the railing. Law was sitting beside her with his head down low like he was sleeping. He said, "You don't have to feel guilty."

"And yet I do," Neo said with another sigh. She looked around the deck. Franky was looking out at the ocean with binoculars while Usopp and Chopper was strolling the deck looking rather worried about a possible attack. Her eyes drifted to Caesar. The scientist was sleeping about twenty to thirty yards away from them. She still felt angry with him and uncomfortable with him being so close. She shifted closer to Law. Readjusting the blanket over her lap, that Chopper brought to her when everyone else went to bed, she lowered her voice and said, "I think it's impossible for me not to. And I don't like that I'm on your left side. I'm supposed to be on your right and beside a wall."

"You can always move to my right if it bothers you that much," Law said. He peaked out from underneath his hat and smiled. "We could also move closer to a wall."

She frowned at him. "And be closer to Caesar? No thank you."

"He's not going to hurt you," Law said. "You know I won't let him. He's in sea prism stone anyway."

"I know. I just don't want to be close to  _him_. If I get too close, I know I'll disobey you and use my crystals on him," Neo said.

Law couldn't help but chuckle. "I think that would be one time I wouldn't mind you disobeying me."

"Does that mean I can-"

"No!" Law reached over and tapped her nose, causing her to blink. "Now, go to sleep,  _little girl_."

"I'm not tired. You shouldn't have let me slept so long earlier," Neo said. "And I ate too much. I feel so stuffed. I hope I don't get sick. That would be such a waste of good food."

"I noticed. You practically ate an entire pizza yourself," Law said. He raised an eyebrow at her. "It's not like you to eat so much."

"I know," Neo said thoughtfully. "It didn't help much that Sanji's pizza was so good. He's definitely a better cook than I am. I really hope I can cook again with him."

Law frowned.

"Oh, don't be jealous. You'll always be my favorite guy." Neo leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Good. Now, come here." Law slipped his arm around her. "I'll rub your back."

"You're the best, Law," Neo said. She snuggled into his warm side with a relaxing sigh while he rubbed soothing strokes over her back. A few minutes later, she was on the verge of falling asleep when suddenly she perched back up and narrowed her eyebrows.

"What is it, love?" Law asked.

"Uh." Neo looked around. She turned and peaked through the railing of the Sunny before turning back to Law. "Nothing, I guess. I just thought I sensed something."

"Like what?" Law questioned.

"I think it was some kind of animal," Neo replied, tucking herself back into him. "It felt sad. But I guess it was nothing. I don't sense it anymore."


	89. Breed Part One

Breed

Part One

The ship was calm, resting on the gentle sea. The moon was hanging low and full in the night sky. The majority of the Thousand Sunny's passengers were in their beds, fast asleep. Usopp, Franky, and Chopper were the only ones pacing around on the deck. Usopp and Chopper were trembling in their samurai garb while they looked around for any enemies that might be lurking around.

 _Doflamingo! I know he's going to strike at us in the darkness of the night!_  Usopp thought. He tightened his hold on his slingshot and looked around.  _Just bring it on! I mean, don't! I really don't want to fight you!_

 _I-I don't think I could sleep even if I wanted to,_  Chopper thought to himself. He looked around the ship's deck until his eyes landed on Neo. Relaxing a bit just from the sight of her, he smiled.  _At least she's sleeping peacefully. I'm glad._

Franky, with his binocular against his eyes, yawned. He then reported, "It's all calm all the way to the horizon! Not a soul in sight."

…

Neo sighed in her sleep as she shifted closer into Law's warm embrace; his right arm was loose around her waist. Her peaceful expression faltered and she tucked herself even closer to Law's chest. She opened her eyes when a strong wave of sadness washed over her chest. Clouds were gathering over the moon, blocking out the bright light that lit up the ship. She said, "What is it? What's wrong? Why are you so sad? Who are you?"

She looked over to Usopp when he spoke. He was looking up towards the sky. He said, "What is that?"

Chopper looked back at the sniper. He asked, "What is what?"

"They're so sad," Neo said. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she followed Usopp's gaze and looked up towards the sky. Black images with glowing green rings around them were falling towards the deck of the ship. She placed her hand on Law's chest. "Law!"

Law lifted his chin seconds before the falling images pelted the deck. The ship rocked violently, throwing everyone off balance and waking those who were still asleep. Law locked his arm around Neo's waist when she slammed against him.

"What's going on?!" Caesar demanded when he was jolted from his slumber.

Chopper and Usopp cried out as their bodies were flung backwards. Usopp gasped when his back collided with the Sunny. His arms wrapped around Chopper when the reindeer's smaller body slammed into his.

Neo turned her eyes to Chopper, but it was far too dark for her to see if he was hurt or not. She could only make out their shapes in the darkness. She didn't feel much distress from him, but she was still worried. Before she could call out to him, one of the doors flung opened with a bang. Luffy, flanked by Zoro, Sanji, Brook and Kin'emon, shouted, "What's going on?! Who is it?! Are we under attack?!"

"What's happening?" Law asked. He lifted himself and Neo up to their feet.

"There animals," Neo said. Her eyes locked onto the tall, bulky images standing on the deck.

"Animals?" Law asked her. "What kind of animals?"

"I'm not sure." Neo shook her head. "I've never felt them before. But they're very sad."

"Sad?" Law asked. His attention on her was broke when Usopp and Chopper screamed. Everyone stared out into the darkness at the glowing rings around the tall, dark images that surrounded them. Before anyone could say anything else, one of the glowing rings leaped up and flung itself at the Straw Hats.

Usopp and Chopper screamed again.

Neo searched out for the reindeer and found he was still against the wall where he and Usopp landed. She then looked out at the battling shadows, only able to know who was who from their voices if she couldn't sense them.

"Get off my ship!" Luffy shouted into the darkness. He charged forward just as the rest of the creatures charged at them.

"Where did they come from?" Zoro asked. He pulled out his swords and started swiping them at their attackers.

"There are about thirty of them! Watch out!" Sanji said, dodging and kicking the enemy.

"Thirty?! Really?! I can't see! It's too dark out here!" Luffy shouted.

"Neo?" Law asked.

"He's right. I can't tell what they are without lighting things up with my fire crystals, but there are about thirty of them," Neo replied. She lowered her voice. "Something's wrong. They're very upset. They don't want to do this."

"Huh?" Law looked at her.

"They're quite strong!" Kin'emon said.

"But who are they?!" Law demanded. "What do they want here?!"

Just then a strange squawking sounded out in the darkness. Chopper said, "What? What did you just say?"

Neo's eyebrows perched up at the creature's animalistic words. She pushed past the sounds of the battle and focused on the animals. She tried to connect to them, but they seemed to not hear her.  _What's going on? Why are you attacking us? Why are you so sad? Why are you hurt?_

Another door slammed open, startling Neo's concentration. She jumped when Nami's enraged voice rang out. She said, "Hey, you guys! Keep it down! We're trying to sleep here!"

Nami screamed again when four of their attackers leaped up in front of her.

"Law! We can't fight in the dark! I have to use my crystals." Neo said. Before Law could answer her, a sharp whistle cut through the air. The creatures halted their attack then simultaneously jumped off the ship and into the water.

Law darted his eyes around the darkness in an attempt to locate the source of the whistle, unaware that Neo was moving away from him. She stepped over to the railing. Glancing down into the dark water, she followed the movement of the creatures. Without thinking, she pulled herself up on the railing and dove in.

…

Neo about shivered when the cold water of the ocean brushed over her skin. Sinking lower into the water, she formed a bubble around her head. Once the bubble was in place, she breathed easily and looked around for the animals that she followed. When she found them, they were lining up side by side. She swam up to one. "Hey! What are you doing? Why did you attack us if you didn't want to?"

The creatures turned their sad eyes to her. Their sadness tightened around her chest to the point she felt like she couldn't breath. She mindlessly placed her hand over her chest and rubbed it. "What's wrong? Why are you doing this? Did we upset you or something? What do you mean you have no choice? Who's doing this to you?"

They didn't answer her. They just started swimming in strange patterns that Neo never saw before. She narrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She watched them for a minute before noticing the ocean around them was starting to move. She looked up and gasped. Their strange movements were creating waves on the surface. The ship was bouncing around uncontrollably. She shot her eyes back down to the creatures. "Stop that! Leave them alone!"

…

"Huh? What was that? What's going on?" Luffy asked.

"Nice to meet you, ladies and gentlemen!" a strange voice said from up above everyone.

They all turned in the direction of the voice. Luffy demanded, "Who are you?!"

The clouds cleared away from the moon, revealing someone standing on top of the Crow's Nest. The man was smiling. He was of regular size with broad shoulders, thin arms, and a square jaw. His earlobes were large and pierced with large golden loops. His dark eyebrows were accompanied by a black mustache and black goatee. He was wearing a blue, fur-lined jacket with a blue and white ring-leader outfit with a big red bow at his neck and a green monocle over his left eye. The intruder said, "My name is Breed. I am a Peto Peto eater!"

"Peto Peto?" Zoro asked. He, Luffy, Law, Sanji, and Kin'emon were gathered together. All of their eyes locked onto the intruder standing on the roof of the Crow's Nest.

"What's that?! Are you some kind of slimy man?!" Luffy asked.

"That's not Doflamingo?" Usopp asked. He was still holding onto Chopper.

"I guess not," Chopper said.

Breed grinned. One of the creatures landed beside him with Caesar draped over his shoulder.

"Oh no!" Law gasped when he saw that Caesar was no longer on the ship.

"Caesar!" Franky shouted.

Caesar laughed down at the pirates. He said, "Fools! You can't keep me as a prisoner! Don't ever underestimate Doflamingo!"

"So that guy's working for Doflamingo, huh?" Sanji asked.

"Wait!" Luffy ran forward. He jerked to a stop and turned to his right when something charged towards him. A fist slammed into his cheek. His body flew back. Dust washed up over the ship when his body collided with the wall. He sat up and rubbed his cheek. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

"How is that possible?! Your body is made of rubber! There's no way that could have hurt you!" Sanji said. He, Kin'emon and Law looked at Luffy then turned to the thing that hit the captain. "Unless that thing can use haki!"

"You jerk!" Luffy snapped once he was back on his feet. Blood leaked out of his nose and filled the air with the smell of iron.

They looked up when Breed's laughter rang out over the ship. He said, "I'll be taking Caesar now! Goodbye!"

Law cursed. He held up his left hand to form his Room. His attempt was disrupted when the ship started shaking. He turned to Neo to find she was gone. "What now?! Neo! Use your-Neo? Neo!"

"Where is she?!" Chopper asked, his eyes darting all over the ship as panic set into his voice. He started dashing all over the deck in an attempt to find her. "Where is she?! Did they take her too?!"

"What?! They took Neo?!" Sanji asked. His eyes widened with worry.

"No, they don't have her. She's in the water," Law said, without thinking. His angry burned in his chest as he glanced over the railing of the ship. He located her easily. She was in the water and using her crystals against orders.  _'Neo! You are in so much trouble! What are you doing down there?! You get your butt back up here! Right! Now!'_

He felt Neo flinch.  _'I'm sorry, Law. I can't. These creatures are in trouble.'_

"What do you mean she's in the water?! Why would she be down there?! She's a devil fruit user! Wait a second…" Sanji ran over to the railing and looked over. His eyes scanned the water until his brain finally registered the truth. His eyes widened and turned towards Law. "She's not a devil fruit user, is she? You're not panicking at all knowing that you devil fruit users will drown."

Law gritted his teeth, his hat fell over his eyes. Luckily with the current commotion of Caesar being taken and the ship bouncing around uncontrollably, no one else heard Sanji. He refused to look at the blonde cook even though he felt the man's intense eyes on him. There was no way to fix this. Sanji knew now for sure that Neo wasn't a devil fruit user. Not only did her diving into the ocean without thinking reveal the secret, so did Law's lack of a panic reaction to her still being down there.

…

Franky ran up to the helm when the sea started pushing the ship around with giant waves decorated with faces of rabbits. He grabbed the helm and tried to get control over the ship. "Hold on, everyone!"

…

Law grabbed the railing to stabilize himself. Breaking out of his thoughts of their secret crumbling apart, he noticed the giant wave picking the ship up. He asked, "Is that a Rabbit Wave?!"

…

"This is just great! The ship is bouncing around far too much! I can't control it!" Franky reported. He tugged on the helm again, but it still produced no results.

…

Robin and Nami, still up by their bedroom, grabbed a hold of the rail to keep themselves from being thrown to the lower level of the deck. Nami looked up when her eyes caught sight of a giant structure. She asked, "What's that?! Guys, look!"

The ship continued to bounce around on the waves as it moved closer to the giant shape. The pirates looked up at the structure and tried to figure out what it was. "What is that?! Is it a ship?!"

"Or maybe it's an island?! That thing is huge!"

"There's a flag with a Jolly Roger on it! That means it's a ship!" Sanji shouted, his eyes running over the structure before them as the ship continued to bounce towards it. "That guy is a pirate?!"

"We have to go after him! We can't let Caesar get away!" Law hissed. Then added, without thinking again, "And we have to go after Neo!"

…

"Huh? Go after Neo?" Nami asked. She looked down at the deck in search of the blue haired woman. "Where is she? Did they take her too?"

Robin remained quiet as she looked at Nami then turned her eyes down to Law. The Warlord was refusing to look at anyone. Her eyes then went to Franky when the cyborg spoke. He said, "Luffy! Take the Shark Submerge! It can only carry three people but it can travel underwater!"

"Okay!" Luffy replied. He ran over to the hatch that led to the Soldier Dock system and threw it open. Before he could leap inside, Chopper jumped onto his shoulder.

"Luffy, I'll come with you!" Chopper announced. "There's something I need to check on!"

"All right!" Luffy nodded. He then jumped them both into the opening.

"Hey, Luffy! What about us?!" Usopp asked while clinging to the ship.

"Look after the Sunny!" Luffy called back up.

"Gotcha! Don't worry about the Sunny!" Usopp said. He pointed at himself and took on an air of confidence.

"The Nose, stay alert!" Law said, running towards the open hatch. He knelt down beside it. "Doflamingo may still come and attack! Be careful!"

"Attack?!" Usopp gasped. His lips twisted in fear as Law disappeared into the hatch. "Wait! Who did you call 'The Nose'?! My name is Usopp!"

Clanking and humming sounded, releasing the Shark Submerge. Usopp ran over the side where Nami and Robin had already descended from their room and was looking down to the ocean. Looking over the rail, he asked, "Did they leave already?! That was fast!"

"Are they going to be okay?" Robin asked. She crossed her left arm over her stomach, cupping her elbow, while pressing her right hand to her chin.

"What? Why wouldn't they be?" Nami and Usopp asked. They turned their eyes to her.

"All three of them are Devil Fruit eaters so if the unexpected happens…" Robin pointed out.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Neo's down there with them," Sanji said, walking casually over to them. "She'll be easily able to help them if something goes wrong."

"Well, that's nice to know. She does control the elements," Usopp said, calmly. He started to walk away from the rail then realized something. "What?! What do you mean she'll be able to help?! She never got into the Shark Submerge with them! Did she fall over board or something?! She's drowning!"

"Relax," Sanji said. He pinched his cigarette between his fingers. "She's not drowning. Even if she was, Law could easily bring her into the Shark Submerge with his powers."

"She's not drowning? But she's a devil fruit user," Usopp said, completely and totally confused. Everyone else turned their attention to the cook and sniper at that point. "And so what if he can do that? The Shark Submerge can only hold three people. Franky just said that."

"Well, the Shark Submerge was designed to only hold three people, but it would be fine if she entered into it with them. She's so tiny. She probably weights less than a hundred pounds. Her and Chopper would easily equal to one person. So don't worry about that," Franky said, walking down the stairs. He looked at Sanji. "But what did you mean, bro? How can she not be drowning if she's a devil fruit user?"

Sanji ran his eyes over all of them. Every single one of them wanted an answer to that question, all of them, except for Robin. He couldn't help but noticed she was lacking curiosity considering she was a devil fruit eater herself. He turned away from them and walked towards Robin. "I'm afraid that I can't answer that. You'll just have to wait until she decides she's ready to tell us."

He paused when he was shoulder to shoulder with the black haired woman. Glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, he said, "But you already knew all of that, didn't you? What all  _do_  you know about her?"

Robin smiled her typical calm smile. She said, "I'm afraid I can't answer that. You'll just have to wait until she decides she's ready to tell us."

Sanji chuckled. "I should have known you'd say something like that."

…

Under the water, Chopper guided the mini sub around. Luffy was sitting beside him and Law was sitting behind them, fuming.

Law had his senses locked onto Neo's location like a vice. He took several calming deep breaths. He was so angry. He was so worried. How could she have jumped into the water like that? What was she thinking? What was  _he_  thinking? He gritted his teeth. He knew the answers to all of those questions. She wasn't thinking at all and neither was he. She got like that when animals were in danger. He should have locked his hand around hers and ordered her not to leave his side when she told him their attackers were animals. This wouldn't have happened if he had been paying closer attention. It was partly his fault for not paying attention. His fervor lightened up a bit. Of course that didn't give her the right to just run off like that. His fervor flared up again.

Chopper looked up from the small helm of the Shark Submerge when he located their attackers. "There they are."

Law frowned when he saw Neo swimming after them. She was clearly keeping her distance, but stayed close enough to not lose them.

"And there's Neo! All right, Chopper, go faster!" Luffy ordered. He then thought about what he said and how Neo was out in the ocean. He screamed, "Ah! Neo's out in the ocean! She's going to drown! We have to save her!"

Law pinched the bridge of his nose. He said, "She's not going to drown, Straw Hat. She's fine."

"Hm? What do you mean? She's a devil fruit user." Luffy stopped his shrieking and looked back at Law. He then whipped his eyes back and forth between Law and Neo several times before shrieking again. "What?! How is that possible?! She should be drowning! But she's not! What's going on?!"

Law clenched his sword so hard that the sheath bit into his skin and his knuckles turned white. With his hat over his eyes, he could feel both Luffy and Chopper's eyes on him. He exhaled. "She's not a devil fruit user."

"What?!" Luffy and Chopper screamed. "What do you mean?!"

"There's no time to discuss that right now," Law said. He pointed out the window. "We have to catch up to them."

…

Neo sighed internally as she continued to follow after the sad creatures. She could feel a slight pain in her hand from Law clenching his sword so hard. She could also feel how upset he was with her. She bit her bottom lip.  _I'm sorry, Law. I had to._

A school of silver colored fish swam up to her. They circled around her body, creating bubbles that tickled her skin. One swam up to her face and swam in a couple circles. "I'm sorry. I don't have time to play right now."

She scratched the fish under its chin, if fish had chins, and then looked back up to the surface. The ship had settled back down now that the creatures had swam off. She just hoped everyone was uninjured up there. Forcing that from her mind, she used her water crystals to push herself faster through the water.

…

"Hey, Luffy, don't they look like Lapins?" Chopper asked.

"Lapins?" Luffy turned his eyes to the reindeer.

"The big rabbits you encountered at the Drum Kingdom where I come from." Chopper returned to his right and looked at Luffy.

Luffy turned his eyes up to the ceiling and hummed, trying to recall what Chopper was talking about. When he remembered, he said, "Oh, you mean those big bear-like rabbits!"

"They look a bit different from those in the Drum Kingdom and Lapins can't swim but…" Chopper said.

"I believe they're Sea Lapins," Law said, breaking in to the conversation.

"What?" Chopper turned around and looked at Law. "You know what they are?"

"I saw them once when I was sailing across the North Blue," Law replied. His eyes still locked onto Neo's distant form. "They don't live in the New World normally. Was that why you came with us, Raccoon?"

"Uh-huh," Chopper said. His eyes fell down to helm before realizing what Law had said. Eyes bugging out of his head, he turned back to Law as Luffy, wrapping his arms around his stomach and kicking his feet, laughed at his rant. "Who are you calling a raccoon?! I'm a reindeer! Got that?! I'm a  _reindeer_  not a  _raccoon_! Luffy, it's not funny! Stop laughing!"

"I'm sorry!" Luffy said, but continued laughing.

Chopper turned back to the window. He said, "That's not the only reason I came with you. That animal back on the Sunny…he said that he doesn't want to do this. He didn't want to attack us."

"Raccoon, you can understand what the animals are saying?" Law inquired.

"Yeah. I can understand what they're…Hey! I said I'm not a raccoon!" Chopper snapped. He jumped out of his seat, kicking his legs and flailing his arms wildly. Luffy started laughing again. "Hey, Luffy, stop laughing! Are you even listening to me?!"

Law turned his eyes back to the window.  _That Breed guy who is leading those sea monsters. Is he really working for Doflamingo? I hope were not getting ourselves into a mess. And Neo…_

"Can we talk about Neo now?" Luffy asked. He turned back to Law with his eyes large and round. "Why is she able to swim in the sea like that?"

Law gritted his teeth. "I said we don't have time to talk about that right now!"

"Why not?" Luffy whined. His eyebrows turned up and his lips turned down into a frown.

"Never mind that for now," Chopper said, despite wanting to know the truth himself. He pointed out the window. Luffy and Law looked back out the window to see the Sea Lapins and Neo curving upwards to an opening in the strange ship above them. "The sea lapins are heading inside that thing."

"Follow them," Law said.

Chopper nodded. He guided the Shark Submerge towards the hole the Sea Lapins were entering into to.

…

Neo angled herself upwards as the Sea Lapins disappeared into the opening. She rose up to the opening and stopped. She looked inside. It was too dark for her to see, but she felt the Sea Lapins continue to move through this ship. She looked back down to see that the little sub Law and the others were riding in was coming closer. She didn't want to go inside without them so she waited until they were closer before entering into the structure.

She used her water crystals to push herself out of the water. When she broke the surface, she summoned her wind crystals and wrapped the wind around her. While hovering in the air, she examined her surroundings and dried herself off. Looking around, she found she was in a circular room with large floor to ceiling windows, a staircase and a cave opening that looked to lead to another room since there was light coming from it. The floor was made of stone and there were rock formations everywhere along with some palm trees.

She narrowed her eyebrows at the cave opening. The animals were inside there. They didn't go up the stairs. She turned back to the opening in the floor when the little submarine's engines and the whooshing of what when it surfaced. She chewed on the inside of her cheek and waited.

…

Once the Shark Submerge came to a stop, Law practically flew out of his seat. In one stride, he grabbed the hatch and opened it. He jumped out and was quickly followed by Luffy who ran off immediately when his feet hit the floor. When his own feet landed on the ground, his eyes landed on Neo. She met his eyes and shifted. Knowing now wasn't the time to get into an argument, he turned his eyes away from her and exhaled. He said, "We're in the enemy's territory. Everyone, be really careful."

"Hey! It's brighter over here!" Luffy called cheerfully. He waved his hand wildly. He was standing near the cave opening that Neo saw before.

"Don't shout, you idiot! You need to listen to me!" Law hissed with force control. "We're in the enemy's territory here!"

"He's right, Luffy! Listen to him!" Chopper said. He clung to Law's left pant leg with a terrified expression on his face.

Law looked down at the reindeer with a small sweat drop clinging to his left cheek. He could feel Neo trying to fight her giddiness. She clearly thought that the animal clinging to him was cute before quickly trying to conceal her feelings. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed. "Let's just go."

The three hurried towards the Straw Hat captain. Once they were with Luffy, they all headed down the small tunnel like hallway. Neo walked along side Law quietly. They were only about a foot and a half apart, but it felt like an entire world was separating them. She cast a quick glance at him. His hat was casting dark shadows over his eyes and his thoughts were blocked from her. Still, she knew she had to warn him. ' _Those animals are inside. We're going to get ambushed.'_

Law only nodded in response.

Luffy gasped when they stepped into a large, rounded room similar to the last one. Rocks, moss, and palm trees lined the bottom of the room too. The glass extended all the way up to the ceiling just like the other room, but it was more open, giving them all the feeling of being inside of a fish bowl. "Wow! How awesome! It's like a big fish tank! Feels like we're in the sea! Look, Chopper! The window goes all the way to the ceiling!"

"Hey, Straw Hat, will you knock that off?! We're not here for fun!" Law snapped.

"Look, Chopper! It's sparkling shrimp!" Luffy said, ignoring the Heart Pirate. He pointed to the shrimp that swam by.

"Wow! That is cool!" Chopper said in agreement.

"That aside…" Law started just before Neo's predicted ambush happened. All of the Sea Lapins, an octopus, a penguin, a capybara, and a dugong leaped out from behind the rocks.

"Ah! Ambush!" Chopper shrieked. His eyes bugged out of his head and he flailed his arms.

Luffy chuckled and cracked his knuckles, instantly ready for a fight. He said, "Okay, let's fight!"

The Sea Lapins charged.

"Room!" Law formed his Room and sliced, in half, over eight of the attacking Sea Lapins.

Neo took a step back, unsure of what to do. She didn't want to fight animals. She couldn't fight animals. She looked around the room. The penguin and capybara were engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Chopper in his Kung Fu Point form. The octopus was standing off against Luffy. Luffy shouted, "I can have more arms than you!"

Neo relaxed a bit when Luffy matched the octopus's punches blow for blow. Maybe she didn't have to fight. She turned her eyes back to Chopper just in time to see him defeat the two animals he was fighting. Her eyes went back to Luffy when she saw the octopus flying away from the rubber man. Luffy jumped back beside their group and said, "How did you like that?"

"Neo, are you all right?" Chopper asked. Back in his normal form, he stepped beside her. "You look a bit pale."

"I'm okay," Neo replied. "I was just a bit concerned for a second."

"All right then. It's almost morning. We need to get moving," Law said. They all turned, but only got one step before the dugong slammed a haki engulfed punch into the floor right in front of them. They all jumped back from the attack.

"What?!" Chopper shrieked when the dugong's punch shattered the floor. "Sanji was right! That thing does use haki! Be careful, everyone!"

Law lifted his hand to form his Room, but Luffy shot out his arm to stop him. Luffy said, "Hold it. I have unfinished business with this one."

"Straw Hat?" Neo asked.

"It's all right, Neo. I got this one. If he can use haki, then I'll fight with the gloves off!" Luffy announced. He clenched his fists and took a fighting stance, sizing up his dugong opponent. "Let's do this!"

Luffy and the dugong charged towards each other. Their fists slammed together with a sickening crunch that made Neo's stomach turn. They pushed against each other with what seemed like equal strength until Luffy pushed on through the punch. The dugong went flying. He landed with a cloud of dust kicking up around his body. When the dust settled, it was clear the creature was out. Luffy threw his fists up in the air in victory. "I win!"

"Huh?" Neo looked over at the dugong when he sat up, confused about something other than losing the fight.

Law cast a glance at her but didn't say anything.

The dugong then cried out happily. In an instant, the creature was back across the room. He grabbed onto Luffy and started rubbing their cheeks together while making happy squawks. Neo blinked. The dugong was speaking so fast that she couldn't clearly make out what he was saying. But she did catch enough to know that the creature knew who Luffy was and was chattering on and on about how he missed the Straw Hat captain.

Neo gasped. "Huh? Seriously?"

"What's serious?" Chopper asked, looking up at Neo.

"Uh…" Neo shifted, but didn't answer him. Luckily, the dugong's happy squawks became louder and drew the reindeer's attention.

"Hey?! What's going on?! Let go of me!" Luffy said, trying to pull the excited animal off him.

"He's saying, 'Master, long time so see'." Chopper informed them. He was a bit confused until he realized who the dugong actually was. "Oh, don't tell me you're…you became Luffy's disciple in Alabasta! You're the Kung Fu Dugong!"

"I don't think he heard you," Neo said, pointing at the very affectionate animal still rubbed his cheek against Luffy's.

"I guess not," Chopper said with a small chuckle.

"Oh! I remember you now!" Luffy then shouted. "You're the Kung Fu Seal from Alabasta!"

The dugong squawked, finally releasing Luffy from his hold, then bowed his head. Chopper informed them of his words, even imitating the bow. "'It's been a while, Master!'" He said."

"Wow! It has been a while! It's nice to see you again! I can't believe it! How have you been?!" Luffy asked. He grabbed a hold of the dugong's flippers and started dancing around the room with him.

"You two hit it off already?!" Chopper asked. "That was fast!"

"What is going on here? What's this all about?" Law asked. He and Neo dropped their eyes to Chopper.

"Oh, he is a Kung Fu Dugong who became friends with Luffy in a kingdom called Alabasta," Chopper informed them. "Kung Fu Dugongs like to fight and will challenge anyone to a duel. Usopp fought him, but lost. Luffy, however, won the match against the dugong. When they lose a fight, they have to they have to become a disciple to the one who beat them. That's what this is about."

"I see. And what are they doing now?" Law asked.

"Huh?" Chopper turned his eyes back to Luffy.

"Like this, Seal!" Luffy said. He was throwing out punches in the air. The dugong was right beside him, imitating his moves. "One, two, one, two! Pull your arm back all the way! Like this! And use the lower half of your body! One, two, one, two!"

"They're getting along so well after fighting," Neo said. She tilted her head like it would help her comprehend the scene before her. She reached behind her back and tugged on a strand of her hair while tapping her bare toes on the floor.

"Yeah. That's Luffy for you. He's not one to really hold grudges against people." Chopper sweat dropped. "He can become friends with just about anybody whether they want to be his friend or not."

"Really?" Neo asked and Chopper nodded. She looked back over to Luffy. He was a lot friendlier than anyone else that she's met. And he's a lot more pushy and excitable than anyone.

"You really are that seal. You got so much stronger, didn't you?" Luffy asked. He squatted down to be closer to the height of his friend. The dugong smiled and pumped his arms in the air in agreement. "Oh, what's that on your chest?"

Chopper moved closer to the two and took in the scar. When the dugong started speaking again, he translated for them. "I saw the scar on your chest in the newspaper and copied it."

"You didn't hurt yourself on purpose, did you?" Luffy asked.

Neo took a couple steps closer so she could look at the mark. She felt like asking the same thing, but quickly noticed the scar wasn't real so she kept quiet.

"I painted it on," Chopper quoted when the dugong answered.

"That's funny!" Luffy said while falling backwards in a fit of laughter.

"He's cute," Neo said. A light pink blush dusted across her cheeks when the dugong noticed her and smiled. She looked around at all the animals then. They had gathered around their dugong friend and were waiting patiently.

Law growled, causing her to flinch. He said, "Now I know that you're Straw Hat's disciple, I want to know why you came here to the New World and kidnapped our important hostage."

The dugong freaked and bowed his head. As he squawked out his reply, Chopper translated for everyone. "I'm sorry for attacking your ship. I didn't know it was your ship, Master. But I do have a good reason for that. When I met you in Alabasta, you said that pirates are free. The sea is vast and there's so much fun out there. Those words really inspired me so I set sail out into the sea all alone with just the dream of becoming a free pirate just like you. I came across some very formidable enemies. I made a lot of friends. We overcame so many difficulties and formed a pirate group of sea creatures. Then we finally entered into the New World. That was when me met that guy, Breed. He wanted us to join  _his_  pirate crew. We're all his slaves now. We kidnapped Caesar on his orders."

 _So that's it. That's why they're so sad. These creatures are slaves._  Neo looked over the animals before her. She walked over to the Sea Lapins. Their sad expressions and their guilt were pounding into her eyes and her brain. It was almost over whelming for her. She reached out and stroked one's fur. The Sea Lapin leaned into her touch and apologized for attacking. She shook her head. Softly, she said, "It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

Law wanted to toss her a warning look but didn't since no one but the animals heard her words. He kept his eyes on the dugong. "Breed. So he's the mastermind here. It seems like Doflamingo has nothing to do with this after all."

"I don't get it," Luffy said. He was now on his feet, but still bending over. His elbows rested on his knees while he tilted his head. "I know you're pretty strong. Why do you have to listen to him?"

"Because…" Chopper started to translate the dugong's replied.

"Fall in, all of you!" Breed's voice rang out, cutting Chopper off.

"Huh? What was that?" Chopper asked. He looked around for Breed's voice and for Breed himself.

"What's wrong?" Luffy asked when he noticed a distressed look on his friend's face. The rings around the animal pirates' neck started to glow.

"He wants us to get out of here," Chopper said when the dugong spoke.

"What?" Luffy wondered. He and the others watched in confusion as the animals struggled against the collars.

"What's going on?" Neo asked. She placed both hands on a Sea Lapin. The creature shook his head, informing her to get away. Tears stung her eyes as the creature's pain and fear pounded into her head. "No! Stop it! What's happening to them?!"

"Neo?" Chopper turned his eyes to her when he felt her distress. "What's wrong?"

The animals leaped into the air. When they landed, they formed two lines that lead to the cave opening. A few seconds later, Breed stepping into the light. He said, "How are you doing, pathetic humans?"

Neo, in a fit of anger, almost shouted out that she wasn't human. She bit back her voice before her words could roll off her tongue. She bit back another angry growl when the man slapped a whip onto the floor and snapped at the animals.

He said, "You all are far too slow! Listen up! This is how pets should act! First, be loyal! Second, be loyal! Third and fourth, be loyal! And lastly, be loyal! When I say, 'Fall in,' you have three seconds to obey me! Don't you understand that?!" He snapped the whip again before bending down and grabbing the dugong's face. "Hey, Kung Fu Dugong! You have to bring them together! Why are you being so slow?! If you let me down, you're a failure as a pet! You're no better than those stupid humans!"

Neo growled when the man gripped the dugong's face harder and pulled him closer. She clenched her fist, a low rumble of thunder released from her. Stepping forward she hissed, "Stop that."

"You're Breed, aren't you? Give us back Caesar!" Law demanded. He stepped in front of Neo to keep her from attacking. ' _Neo, I_ _order_ _you to stand down.'_

Neo flinched, but her body automatically obeyed his order. Her thunder faded off before anyone could notice it was there.

"Huh?! Shut up, foul human!" Breed snapped. He then relaxed and took a closer look at the pirates. "Oh yeah, it's you guys. Yes, I am Breed! I am also a pirate!"

"A pirate?" Luffy asked.

"I can't believe a Warlord like Trafalgar Law is here along with Straw Hat Luffy, a pirate with a 400 million bounty!" Breed said. Both Neo and Law flinched. They waited for the man to bring Neo into his conversation and notice her inhuman nature, since it's typically always happened, but it didn't happen. The man just continued on chatting like she wasn't even there. "Thank you for chasing us all the way here, you pain-in-the-butt-, crappy humans!"

' _He must not be strong enough to notice I'm not human. Or he just doesn't care.'_  Neo thought to Law. She looked over at him when he didn't reply. She sighed internally. He was so angry with her. She looked back at Breed when she saw him lifting his hand from the corner of her eye. Her eyes widened a bit when something formed on his hand and started glowing green.

"You won't be able to hit us with that," Luffy said.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you!" Breed said. He flung the green substance at them. "Pet-peto!"

Law, Luffy, and Neo easily leapt out of the way. Chopper wasn't as lucky. He shrieked when the flying substance hit him. He flew backwards and hit the floor. Sitting up, he grabbed onto the green substance, which was now a ring around his neck. He asked, "What?! What is this?!"

"Chopper!" Neo ran over to him. She kneelt down and tried to pull the green ring off him. "What is it?! It won't come off!"

"How does this thing work?!" Chopper demanded. He tried to pull it off again with Neo's help. It didn't work.

"You okay, Chopper?!" Luffy asked.

"Trafalgar! Straw Hat!" Breed called. "You two are strong. Stronger than me. But is that enough to beat me?! Now, you!"

"What?! What do you want?!" Chopper asked when Breed pointed at him.

Neo gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyebrows at the man. She summoned over fifty of each of her crystals. The crystals flickered with their elements, reflexing her desire to attack, but she held her ground since she was under orders.

"Tear Trafalgar Law and Straw Hat limb from limb!" Breed ordered. His face curled into a twisted grin.

"That's crazy! Chopper would never do that!" Neo snapped, not noticing Chopper's eyes started to glow red.

"What? What's going on?" Chopper asked. Neo turned her attention back to him. They both looked down at the now glowing collar around his neck. He then stood up, but not under his own power.

"Chopper?" Neo asked, worried.

"What's wrong, Chopper?" Luffy asked.

"I can't control my body! What's this?! What's going on here?!" Chopper said. He wobbled around, unstable, then pulled out a yellow Rumble Ball. His eyes widened with terror. "Not that! Neo! Get away from me!"

"What?! No! I'm not going to just leave you like that!" Neo shouted. She placed her hands onto Chopper's shoulders.

"Neo! Get away from him!" Law said.

"I won't! Something's wrong!" Neo said. She grabbed a hold of the glowing collar and tried to pull it off again. When it didn't budge, she moved a fire crystal closer to Chopper. She flared it up, but stopped when she realized she could hurt him if she was too careless. And she wasn't thinking clearly right now. She banished the fire crystal.

"Neo, please, get away from me!" Chopper tossed the yellow Rumble Ball into his mouth and chomped down on it. He then shed his samurai outfit. His body grew large as he transformed into his monster self.

Law gasped in shock at how Chopper was changing. He stuttered, "H-hey…"

Breed laughed at the change while exclaiming, "That's amazing!"

Neo's eyes widened. Her hands slid off Chopper's collar and onto his now longer and thicker fur. Her fingers curled around it. She gasped while she lifted up with him as he grew. "Chopper! What's happening to you?! What's going on?!"

"This is just one of my forms that I can use when using the Rumble Ball," Chopper replied. He turned his eyes to her. He was panicking. He didn't want to hurt anyone, especially her. "Please, get away from me."

"I won't!" Neo screamed. Wrapping her winds around herself, she lifted herself up onto Chopper's shoulder. She looked at the glowing collar. "There has to be a way to get that off! Try and fight it!"

"I'm trying!" Chopper said. He pulled back his hand and swung it at Law and Luffy.

"Chopper, what's happening to you?!" Luffy asked just before the over grown reindeer swung at them. He and Law jumped backwards, narrowly missing being smashed, and skidded to a stop. "Why are you attacking us?!"

"That jerk," Law said while Luffy leaped backwards again to avoid another attack from Chopper.

Chopper then raised his right hand and tried to swat Law.

"Chopper! Stop it!" Neo begged. Tears stung her eyes. "Please! Stop!"

Chopper roared. His roar stopped and his red eyes went back to normal. "I'm sorry, Neo! I can't control it! Get away, all of you!"

"What's going on?!" Luffy asked, again.

"It seems he hasn't lost his senses after all," Law said.

"I can't control myself! Please! Get away from me!" Chopper raised his right hand. He struck out against Luffy and Law. The two jumped away from the attack. The whack of Chopper palm colliding with the floor resonated through the room with a loud rumble.

"Stop it!" Neo shouted. She wrapped her winds around Chopper and lifted him up into the air. She brushed her tears away. Now wasn't the time to be a crybaby. "I'm sorry, Chopper. I can't let you do this. I won't hurt you. I'm just going to levitate you like this."

"That's okay," Chopper said. He huffed a couple times, still swinging his hands at Law and Luffy, but relieved that he could no longer reach them. "At least I can't hit anyone up here. Just be sure to stay far enough away from me. I don't want to accidently hit you."

Neo nodded. "I'll stay as far away as I can. Don't worry about me. Getting you freed is far more important." Her eyes dropped to the collar. "If only we knew what this collar was made of."

…

Breed growled when his little toy was suspended in the air. "I forgot about  _her_. She's married to that disgusting Warlord. Just another pathetic human I have to deal with. You! Attack her! I want her knocked out!"

Breed pointed at one of the Sea Lapins. The Sea Lapin ducked his head. It struggled against the order. Breed snapped his whip at the creature. "I said to attack her! Get her away from my pet!"

The Sea Lapin tried to struggle against the order, but lost the fight. It jumped forward. Leaping into the air, it swung its paw towards Neo's head.

…

"I'm going to try one of my fire crystals. I'll be careful as I can. So just hold-" Before Neo could finish her sentence, something whacked her across her head. Her vision blurred, her crystals faded and both her and Chopper plummeted to the floor.

Law grunted at the pain that shot through his head. He hissed when he realized he was too distracted by Chopper to even notice Breed giving one of the Sea Lapins an order to attack Neo. His own vision blurred from the hit she took and from the anger swelling up inside of him. He winced when he felt her body collide with the ground.

"Neo!" Luffy shouted when she hit the ground.

"Neo!" Chopper cried. He helplessly watched her fly away from him. He winced when she collided with the ground and rolled to a stop.

"Restrain her!" Breed ordered Chopper.

"What?! No!" Chopper protested. But his hand reached out and picked Neo up from the ground. She hung limp in his hand.

"Hey! You leave her alone!" Luffy snapped at Breed. He started to run forward.

"I have no choice now. Room!" Law held up his hand.

"Huh?" Luffy turned back to Law. He ran back and plowed into the Warlord and locked his arms around him. "Don't do it! I won't let you hurt Chopper! Neo's with him too!"

"You idiot! I'm not going to hurt either of them!" Law snapped. He struggled to get free of Luffy's iron grip. "I just want to  _control_  him! We can't keep letting him be controlled like this by Breed!"

…

"Huh?" Neo hummed when she started to wake up. Her vision was blurred and her body felt tight. When she tried to move, she found she couldn't. She blinked then noticed a slightly familiar fur brushing across her skin. She blinked again, a bit of the blurriness faded. She saw Law struggling against Luffy. Remembering where she was, she looked to find she was in Chopper's hand then looked towards Breed. The man's hand was filled with that green substance again. She gasped. "No! Law! Look out!"

She called out too late. Breed shot out the substance. The two pirates didn't have a chance to move before it locked onto their necks, forming collars on them too.

Law cursed. He then glared at Breed.

"I ate the Peto Peto fruit!" Breed said. Glowing green substance clung to his out stretched hand.

"Peto Peto? Don't tell me it's…" Law started.

"That's right! I can manipulate any living things as I want with my Peto Peto power!" Breed laughed, manically. "Which means I can make them my  _pet_!"

"Pet? So Peto Peto means pet?" Luffy asked.

"That's right! I can control any living thing and bring out all of its power! Hold her still! I want her under my control too!" Breed turned towards Chopper. "You'll see how deadly it is!"

"No!" Law growled. His eyes sharpened as he rushed forward. "Stop it! Don't you touch her!"

"Trafalgar,  _stop_!" Breed ordered.

Law growled when his body automatically listened to the man's words. Color drained from his face when Breed turned to face Neo and Chopper. His blood ran cold as Breed held up his hand.

"Hm? What's wrong? You look extremely pale," Luffy asked when he noticed Law's terrified expression.

…

"Hold her out to me," Breed said.

Unable to disobey, Chopper held Neo out to him. His eyes filled with panic, his heart about pounded out of his chest when Breed flung the substance towards Neo. It wrapped around her neck. He said, "Neo…I'm so sorry."

Neo didn't hear him. Her body temperature plummeted. Her breaths became shallow and short. Breed's words were the only thing echoing in her ears.  _"I can't control any living thing and bring out all of its power!"_  Those words repeatedly played over and over as painful memories from the past began flashing through her mind. Dark images of people screaming in fear, waves crashing onto the shores, fire flaring up, animals attacking, plants growing rapidly, thunder booming, lightning flashing violently over the island. One single, strangled word escaped her lips, "Mertensia…"


	90. Breed Part Two

Breed

Part Two

 _'Neo, calm down. Just relax. It's going to be all right. You're_ _not_ _going to hurt anyone. You're going to be just fine.'_ Law gritted his teeth and growled when she showed no sight of hearing him. He watched helplessly as Breed inspected Neo's terrified expression.  _Crap! If he takes an interest in her and tries to control her, it's all over. I won't be able to stop her with this collar on. He'll be able to stop me before I can even get the powder out of my pocket to disorient her._

Luffy growled, desperately tugging on his collar. "Darn it! I can't take it off!"

"What's wrong with you, girl? You look so terrified. Do you finally realize the power I have over you?" Breed asked. He chuckled. "No matter. Set her down, Chappy. She won't be a problem for us now."

Chopper struggled to disobey, but sat Neo down on the floor. "Neo?"

Law watched the concern in the reindeer's eyes. The concerned he had over Neo was obvious. Law gulped. If only he knew how the animal and Straw Hat would react if they knew the truth about her. He couldn't decide if it was best they didn't know or not.

"Forget about her, Chappy. Attack Trafalgar Law and Straw Hat," Breed ordered. "Destroy them!"

"No!" Chopper cried, but his body was already charging towards Luffy. He tossed a punch at his captain. "Luffy! Look out!"

Luffy looked up just in time to dodge Chopper's attack. He leaped backwards, just narrowly missing being hit. Both he and Law jumped and dove around the room. Each time their feet hit the floor, Chopper swung at them again.

…

Breed laughed while watching the pirates struggle. He looked at Neo and grinned. She was still on the floor with her eyes widened in terror. He hummed to himself.  _If I remember correctly, she has control over the elements. Playing with her might be fun. But I'll keep her like that for now. Besides, I don't think she could hear me at the moment anyway._ Breed turned his eyes back to the pirates.

…

"I can't control myself!" Chopper said, even though it was obvious and unnecessary.

"Dang it!" Luffy hiss. He tugged at his collar, stretching out his neck.

"Watch out!" Chopper swung his fist. "Get out of the way! I'm going to hit you!"

"Wait!" Breed ordered just before Chopper could hit them. He jumped in front of the punch with his hand held out. Chopper's body froze.

"He stopped!" Luffy said.

"I have a better idea," Breed said. He turned his eyes to Neo.

Law glared and cursed under his breath.

"No! Leave her alone!" Chopper and Luffy snapped.

"Silence!" Breed cracked his whip at them then cracked it several times at Neo, a couple hitting her skin, slicing it open. He growled and stomped over to her when he noticed she didn't even notice he hit her. He raised his hand.

"Hey! Stop that!" Luffy demanded. He rushed forward.

"Breed!" Law hissed, ignoring the stinging of pain from the hits Neo took. He stalked towards the man.

"Trafalgar Law! Straw Hat! Stay!" Breed ordered. When the pirates' bodies froze, he turned back to Neo and struck her face with his hand. Her body collided with the ground. All the animals gasped and flinched. Chopper stared wide-eyed and angry.

"Breed!" Law glared daggers into the man's back. Several murder methods ran through his mind at what he was going to do with this man if he got his hands on him.

…

Neo whimpered. Finally back to her senses, she reached up and touched her now hot cheek. Both it and the cuts on her skin stung.

"You married Trafalgar Law," Breed said with a grin. "All right then. Trafalgar Neo, attack your lover and Straw Hat."

"No!" Neo shrieked. She attempted to dig her nails into the floor to keep herself in place. But there was nothing for her to grab on to. Her nail drug across the floor as her body defied her and stood up. "Please!"

"Attack them with your crystals!" Breed roared. "Attack!"

"No!" Neo cried. Tears rapidly poured down her cheeks. Her breaths came in sharp, short gasps that made her dizzy within seconds. Her crystals flickered into existence. She stepped towards Law and Luffy. Her muscles ached from trying to control her body. The elements gathered around her crystals, flicking and spinning, threating to attack.

"No! Don't! Let her go!" Chopper demanded. He rushed forward. "Leave her alone! She hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Stay!" Breed commanded.

Chopper's body froze.

"Law!" Neo begged through her now hyperventilating breaths. Her winds spreading out into the room making anything that was loose flap uncontrollably. "Stop! Me!"

…

Law gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He had a pouch of disorienting powder inside of his pocket that could do just that. He could stop her, if Breed would let him. His chest tightened. Her justified fears were hammered into his entire being. Her breathing was making him feel lightheaded. If only Breed would just give him the chance to stop her.

…

Neo's winds picked up even more. Luffy and Law raised their arms to block it, uselessly, the winds pushed them back several inches, threatening to blow them away. She closed her eyes and tried to stop herself from attacking. She tried to will her crystals to stop on their own. But they didn't. Fire flared up around the fire crystals, threatening to burn them. Vines grew from the earth crystals, threatening to strangle them. Salt water spun around the water crystals, threatening to drown them.

Her stomach spun and flipped wildly. Visions from Mertensia pounded her head. She was going to kill her friends. She was going to kill Law and herself. She was going to be sick. She lifted Law and Luffy up into the air. Her earth crystals moved towards them. Vine snapped and lashed out while thorns began to grow out of her crystals.

"Ah!" Luffy cried. He flung his body to the right, narrowly missing being impaled by a thorn that shot out at him. He dodged to the left when a ball of fire shot at him. "Careful! I'm a rubberman!"

"Don't shout at her! She can't control it, Straw Hat!" Law snapped. He grabbed a couple vines that snapped at him. He pulled on them until they snapped in half. More vines snapped out and wrapped around him.

Luffy threw his fist out at her. It slammed into her chin, sending her flying. "Ah! I'm sorry, Neo!"

Neo flew backwards from Luffy's punch. Landing on her hand, she sprung herself to her feet then shot fire rings. Luffy and Law dodge some of them, but others burnt their skin. She flinched at the shared pain just before Luffy fired more punches at her while apologizing for each one. She dodged them all then used her winds to slam their bodies to the floor. She then gathered all of the elements and fired them simultaneously. "Stop this! I don't want to hurt them! I won't hurt them! Law! You have to do it!"

"Ah!" Luffy shrieked at the attacks coming towards them.

"Room! Shambles!" Law warped them at the last second. He hoped that Luffy was trying to hold back his punches since the hit she took from him didn't hurt that bad.

Neo's attack shattered the floor. Her body turned to them when they reappeared. When Luffy threw more punches at her, she wrapped vine around his arms. She flung him up to the air then slammed him to the floor. She then fired a stream of seawater at Law. When he ran from it, she guided the stream to follow him. "Law, please! Stop me!"

Breed laughed. "Oh yes! By all means, Trafalgar Law! Do try and stop her! I'd love to see how you handle someone with her abilities! Trafalgar Neo, hold back on your attacks there. I'd say about half will do. Give the others a fair chance to stop you."

A small wave of relief washed through her. She knew she was still fairly strong with only half of her magic, but at least Law now had decent chance to stop her. She saw Law's eyes flashing. That was exactly what he wanted to hear as well. She felt glad when he rushed forward towards her.

…

"What?!" Luffy gasped when Law bolted towards Neo. He shook his arms wildly. "What are you doing?! Don't tell me you're going to fight her!"

…

"Don't do it, Law!" Chopper pleaded. "Please! This is  _his_  doing! Try and fight it!"

…

Law ignored them. He knew what he was doing after all. Once he got within a few yards of her, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the prepared package that could save them all. Keeping the pouch within his fist, he tossed a punch at her. He was hoping to get close enough to release it without Breed noticing. But, they were under orders to fight. He had to make this look good.

Neo dodged his attempt. She pulled back her own fist and nailed him in the jaw. Pain shot through them both. "Law! I'm sorry!"

"Don't worry about it," Law said. He tossed a few punches at her, trying his best not to hit her. Luckily they had their bond so he could give her a heads up on what he was going to do.  _'Right punch! Left hook! Uppercut!'_  He sighed internally as she easily dodged him with his instructions. "Think of this as training. That's all we're doing. We're  _not_  trying to hurt each other."

"Okay. I'll try," Neo replied with a nod.  _'Two punches then a roundhouse kick.'_ She was glad he was able to easily dodge her attempts. Despite not ever fighting each other they still knew each other's moves pretty well. "Fire Flare!"

"Room! Shambles!" Law called out. He warped Neo's fire to the other side of the room. The fire hit the wall and fizzled out.

"Wind Ringlets!" Neo moved her wind crystals closer to Law. She wrapped her winds around him. She then moved her earth crystals to the inside of the wind rings. Her eyes widened when sharp thorns slowly extended from the crystals. "Law!"

"Shambles!" Law called. He warped himself closer to Neo. Wrapping one arm around her, pinning her arms to her sides, he angled her body so Breed couldn't see him break the leaf packet over her eyes. She struggled against him, but both knew she wasn't physically strong enough to escape from his hold.

…

"What?!" Breed snapped when he saw Neo's crystals fade.

…

"What happened?" Chopper asked. He watched as Neo's crystals fade away.

The animal pirates were just as confused as he was.

…

"How was he able to do that?" Luffy wondered. His arms hung limp at his sides as he stared at Law and Neo. "What happened to her crystals?"

…

Law gave her a solemn look when he knew he still had to prevent her from fighting. To keep her from being used by Breed he had to knock her out completely. "I'm sorry, Neo."

"It's okay, Law." Neo nodded in understand of his expression. "Just do it. You know I'd rather be taken out by you than controlled by  _him_."

Law gritted his teeth. Clenching the empty pouch in his hand, he pulled his arm back. Both of their hearts taking a sharp beat that stole their breath. They both closed their eyes. He swung his fist towards her stomach. Suddenly, he couldn't do it. Something inside of him screamed not to hit her there, not to hit her at all. He cursed himself for even thinking about hitting her. He had promised to never hurt her. And he was a doctor after all. There was another way. His fist changed directions. His hand shot up and he hit a pressure point on her neck. She went limp in his hold. He knelt down with her and shot a death glare at Breed. He hissed, " _Breed!_  Leave her out of this! She can no longer fight now!"

"Fine. She's not important anyway," Breed said. He took a step forward. He looked at Law and Luffy. "My real target was you two from the start. Trafalgar Law, move over here to Straw Hat."

Law growled, but had no choice in putting Neo down and walking over to Luffy.

"What did you say?! How dare you do that to Neo! She didn't do anything to you!" Luffy growled. He leaped forward, fist at the ready to pound in Breed's face.

"Wait!" Breed ordered. He threw up his palm at Luffy.

Luffy's body froze in mid-punch. "Ah! Not again!"

Law stood up. He lifted his hand. "Roo-"

"Wait!" Breed said, causing Law's attempt of creating a Room to disappear. "Now that I have you three under my control, you all are going to be eating out of the palm of my hand forever. As long as I hold you three as my slaves, there's nothing to be afraid of!"

The dugong rushed forward, but stopped when Breed snapped his whip. Breed then said, "Straw Hat! Trafalgar Law! Sit!"

Luffy and Law's collars started to glow. They struggled against the control and the command but inevitably their knees bent and they squatted down, Law's sword dropping to the floor with a clank. Luffy shrieked while Law casted his eyes to the side in aggravation. Breed gave his next order. "Shake hands!"

Luffy and Law's left hands lifted up and placed themselves into Breed's extended fingers. Law growled, his hat falling over his eyes. Luffy shrieked in disbelief. "What?!"

Throwing his head back, Breed laughed. "See what I am capable of doing?! This is the power of my Peto Peto fruit! Whether you're a Warlord or a rascal pirate with a 400 million bounty, you are completely powerless against me!" Breed rested his whip on his shoulder. "If you were an animal, you could have become my pet! But stinking humans like you will become my slaves!"

…

Chopper was watching Neo lay motionless on the floor. He wanted to check on her to see if she was okay. He knew Law wouldn't hurt her, but he was still worried about her. She looked so terrified when Breed had control of her. It was like she has been controlled before.

He looked down just before his transformation came to an end. He turned back to his normal self and dropped to the floor. He looked up at Breed who was staring down at him in confusion. He watched as the man's face twitched in confusion before his eyes became round and his cheeks flushed. Chopper gasped before the man grabbed him and squished him in his embrace.

"How cute! I didn't realize you were so cute because you had on that strange outfit before! Your blue nose is so cute, Raccoon! I never had a pet like you before!" Breed swung Chopper around by his horns. "I'll dress you up right away!"

"Don't," Chopper begged, but Breed didn't hear him. "Let me go! I need to check on Neo!"

"Oh, good boy, good boy, good boy!" Breed cooed. He rubbed his cheek against Chopper.

"Get your hands off Chopper!" Luffy snapped, still in his sit position that Breed left him and Law in.

"Shut up! You pathetic humans are going to get locket up!" Breed leaned down to Luffy and growled. He then turned back to the animal pirates. "Put sea prism stone handcuffs on them all! I want them locked up!"

The dugong sighed but carried out his orders. He left the room to get the sea prism stone cuffs.

Breed's lips spread out into the big grin.  _Finally! Soon my dream kingdom will become reality!_

…

A few minutes later, the dugong returned with the cuffs. He and the Sea Lapins placed them on the pirates' wrists. The dugong's shoulders slumped at Neo. She was still laying on the floor, unconscious. He brushed back her bangs before letting them fall back into place. He noticed she had no reaction to his touch. Pushing her bangs back again, he cocked his head and inspected her. He noticed that she wasn't human.

A crack of the whip made him jump. Breed said, "Don't play with her! Put her with the rest!"

The dugong sighed. He signaled for one of the Sea Lapins. The Sea Lapin moved over to them. He bent down and picked Neo up. He started to follow after the others when Breed stopped him. He said, "Wait! I have a better plan for her."

"What are you going to do to her?!" Luffy demanded. He tried to run back over to Breed and Neo, but the Sea Lapin was holding his too tight.

"She is none of your concern anymore, Straw Hat," Breed said with a wave of his hand. "Leave now. Go get locked up."

Law struggled pointlessly against the Sea Lapin leading him away. His neck was aching from cranking his head around to keep his eyes on Neo. There was nothing he could do for her now. And it killed him. He had no clue what Breed was planning on doing to her. And with her magic disrupted, when she woke up, they wouldn't be able to contact each other. He gritted his teeth against the pain spinning in his stomach. While watching her, he noticed the Sea Lapin holding her was taking obvious notice of Neo inhuman nature. It was a small spark of hope, but maybe they could help her.

…

"Hn." Neo groan as she started to wake up. She opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred. She blinked and they cleared up a bit.

"Neo?" a familiar voice called. "Neo?"

She turned her head to the voice. Chopper was lying beside her with a worried expression on his face. He asked, "Are you okay?"

"No, not really," she replied honestly. Her head was throbbing and her stomach spun uncontrollably. Her body hurt from both the fight and from the hard floor she was laying on. "Where's Law?"

"I'm not sure. I'm not sure where we are. It looks like we're in some kind of dressing room," Chopper replied. He continued to stare at her. He noticed her electric blue eyes had turned grey and her body was slightly trembling. She looked sick to him. He placed his hoof on her shoulder, before he could speak, Breed walked into the room.

"Ah, you're finally awake," Breed said. "Good. Now, get up, Trafalgar Neo."

Neo, not bothering to try and fight it, pushed up on her weak arms. She wished she didn't have to move. Her stomach lurched. She leaned over, away from Chopper, and heaved up everything in her stomach.

"Leave her alone! Can't you see she's not feeling well?!" Chopper snapped.

"She'll be fine," Breed said, looking disgusted at Neo vomiting up on his floor. "It matters not. We have more important things to do. And I thought that you would be happy I decided to keep her."

"Keep her?" Chopper asked.

"She's going to be my slave. She's going to take care of you, Chappy," Breed said. He looked at Neo then turned away. He looked at some clothes that where hanging on the racks before plucking one off its hanger. He tossed it at her. "Get dress, girl."

Neo did. She knew it was pointless to try and fight him. Looked at the black and white dress he tossed at her before slipping it on over her clothes. It reminded her of Topaz. It was a maid outfit. Her brain barely registered Chopper's words. He said this room looked like a dressing room, but she was too upset before to even notice all the outfits around them. Now she did. There were tons of clothes around them, hanging on racks or piled in boxes. She wondered if he's used these before. And why he had them in the first place.

"And this one is for Chappy!" Breed then cooed, holding a pink dress in his hands. He tossed it at Neo. "Put this on, Chappy!"

A blur of pink landed in her arms. She knelt down and pulled Chopper into her lap. "I'm sorry, Chopper."

"It's okay, Neo," Chopper replied. "It's not your fault."

Neo nodded then started to dress Chopper in the pink dress and bloomers. She tied a pink ribbon to each horn and placed a crown on his hat that was attached to some fabric that went around his hat. It was something she didn't have a name for. Once she had him in the outfit, a bit of her senses came back to her. If she felt like herself, she could have squealed happily at the outfit the reindeer was now wearing. He looked incredibly cute.

…

"Hey! Peto Peto guy! Let us out of here! Give us back Chopper and Neo! Darn it!" Luffy growled. He grabbed onto the bars, unaware that they were made of sea prism stone. It drained his energy. "You…I'm losing my strength…"

"I guess this cage is made of sea prism stone as well," Law said as Luffy's body slumped to the floor. He turned his eyes from the Straw Hat pirate and looked around the small, square, stone room they were being held in. He noticed there was only one cell door to escape from, but it was locked and two Sea Lapins were standing on guard outside it, and loud speakers hanging from the ceiling. He continued to look around the room until his eyes landed on a familiar figure in the room with them.

"You guys are so pathetic," Caesar said with a laugh.

"Caesar?" Law asked.

Luffy jumped up at the mention of the scientist name and ran to the other side of the cage. "Caesar?! Let us out!"

"Shut up, you moron! Why does everybody always order me around?!" Caesar snapped.

"Did he take control over you too?" Law asked.

"Of course he did! Don't you see this collar and  _leash_  on me?!" Caesar said. He lifted his chin so the pirates could get a good look at his collar and strangled a leash in his hands. "I feel like I'm a stupid pet! But I'm a great scientist! This is an outrage!"

"He said that he's a Peto Peto fruit eater. And with that power, he can make people obey whatever order he feels like giving them. Caesar, is he one of Doflamingo's associates?" Law asked.

"Are you stupid or something? If he work for Joker, why would I still be held captive like this?" Caesar asked. He shook his leash for emphases and pointed at his collar. "As far as I know, Doflamingo doesn't have any subordinates like him in his crew. That guy told me he wants to create some kind of dream kingdom or something."

"What kingdom?" Luffy asked.

"How should I know?!" Caesar growled. "It's so humiliating for me to take that whip fool's orders! Screw him!"

"Caesar! Lie down!" Breed's voice echoed out of three loudspeakers hanging down from the ceiling. Caesar didn't move. "Hey, Caesar! I told you to lie down! Can't you hear me?!"

With his collar glowing, Caesar's body then fell forward onto the floor. "Darn it! That jerk! I can't take it!"

Light glinted over Law's eyes when he noticed Caesar didn't immediately obey Breed's orders. He looked up at the three loudspeakers then around the room. His brain working over a plan to get them out of this.

…

Neo, with Chopper in her arms, stared at the screens that displayed the room Law and Luffy was is. She was relieved that they were okay.

"Let's go!" Breed ordered. He stood up from his chair and headed for the door.

Neo followed him quietly as he led them down the hall to the room Law and Luffy were in, flanked by some of the animal pirates. She jumped when the door to the room hit the wall, she then heard Breed say, "This is a really good look for you pathetic humans. It just backs up the fact that you guys can't get away from me! Now, it's all ready! I wonder what should I make you do for me?"

Neo looked up, but Breed was blocking her view of the cage. She heard Luffy's voice, accompanied by a thump, cry out then fade a bit. "Peto-guy! Give us back Chopper and Neo!"

Neo figured it was sea prism stone that made the Straw Hat pirate's voice fade like that.

"You crappy humans never learn," Breed said, walking over to the cage. "Don't worry. Chappy's here."

"Chappy?" Luffy asked, confused. The pirates turned their eyes down from Breed when the man stepped aside and revealed Chopper and Neo.

"Chappy!" Breed grinned and blushed at the display. "Girl, sit Chappy down on the floor!"

Neo did, but against her will. She felt a jolt of joy at seeing Chopper dressed in such a cute outfit and making a sparkling cute expression. But that faded quickly. She looked up at Law. Her heart ached to be with him. She watched as his eyes roamed over her maid-clad outfit with a frown before settling on her eyes. Her attention was brought back to Chopper when he screamed, "I'm not  _Chappy_!"

"Chopper!" Luffy shot to his feet and looked at his doctor and crewmate in disbelief.

"Chappy!" Breed crooned again.

"Stop calling me that! I'm  _Chopper_!" Chopper growled.

Luffy threw his head back and laughed. "Chopper, what are you and Neo wearing?!"

"Hey, Luffy! Stop laughing! This isn't funny!" Chopper snapped before suddenly becoming dizzy. He wobbled around. "Oh…I'm exhausted because of the Rumble Ball."

Neo grabbed him and pulled him back into her arms. "Chopper."

"Are you being shy because you're all dressed up?!" Breed asked. He stepped over to them and held out his hands.

Neo gritted her teeth and growled. She tightened her hold. "Don't touch him."

"Hand him over," Breed demanded.

Neo gritted her teeth even harder as her hands betrayed her and handed her friend over to the deranged man.

"No," Chopper said, once again in Breed's hold. "Let go."

"Oh, somebody's in a bad mood!" Breed squealed. He rubbed Chopper against his cheek in an attempt to be affectionate.

"Stop it!" Chopper demanded. He struggled to get away from Breed. Waving his hooves around he sliced the man's cheek with his sharp hoof. He dropped from the man's hands when the grip on him loosened. Landing on the floor, he stood up and walked towards the cage. "Luffy!"

Breed growled at the stinging pain in his cheek and the warm blood running down his skin, the smell of iron wafting into his nose, fueling his anger. Pulling out his whip, he snapped it across Chopper's back causing the reindeer to fall to the ground.

Luffy stopped laughing at the same time Neo growled, "Leave him alone!"

"Trafalgar Neo, stop! Don't push your luck, you two! You must be happy when I pet you, Chappy!" Breed said. His hands trembled with anger. "Submit to my demands!"

"Are you okay, Chopper?!" Luffy asked.

Chopper pushed up to his hooves, turned and face Breed with a glare in his eyes. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Chappy, get on your knees! Get lower to the ground! Now, it's time for your punishment!" Breed ordered. Unable to stop it, Chopper dropped to his knees, glaring up at Breed as the man tugged on the whip in his hands before whacking Chopper multiple times with it.

"Leave him alone!" Neo growled, frozen in place.

"Stop it!" Luffy screamed. When Breed didn't, he grabbed the bars again, not carrying about the sea prism stone. "I said to stop! What are you doing to my friend?!"

Breed suddenly stopped. "Friend? Friend? Friend?! Friend! Cut the friend crap! I don't believe in friendship! It doesn't mean a thing! Listen!" His hat fell from his head from the angry jerks of his body. His eyes widened with enraged fury. "All I need is loyal followers, tools, who just work for me! I have no need for insubordinates! Everyone should just do as I say without complaint! Worthless humans always stand against me! That's why I have no need for their  _friendship_! I don't need them. But animals…pets are different from humans! They just follow my orders quietly and submissively! Animals! Pets! They're the best! They're better than humans!" Breed paused. His breath was labored. Continuing, he said, "That's why I need you! Caesar! To make this!"

"Is that…SMILE?! Where did you get that?!" Caesar asked when Breed held up a red and yellow spotted fruit.

"I have a connection with the underground. I'm going to use this Zoan type, man-made Devil Fruit to turn humans into animals by force! Then there will be no more detestable, pathetic humans in the world!" Breed said.

"You creep! What are you really up to?" Caesar demanded.

"A kingdom. I will create an animal-only kingdom-without a single stinking human! And I will conquer all the animals using my Peto Peto power!" Breed answered. "I will turn them into loyal pets! That's my dream kingdom!"

"Fine! You can do whatever you want! But you can't make me follow you!" Luffy stated.

"What are you talking about?!" Breed demanded. "Didn't you see what I'm capable of with the Peto Peto power?!"

"That means nothing to me!" Luffy snapped.

"You silly human!" Breed snapped his whip through the bars. When the whip wrapped around Luffy's shoulders, he jerked the young pirate forward, slamming him against the bars. "Worthless humans like you should just shut your mouths and follow my orders! Stop resisting me!"

"I'm a  _pirate_! I'm not going to follow anybody's orders!" Luffy declared. "Pirates should be free!"

"Pirates?! Free?!" Breed's eyes became wild with hatred. "I hate humans like you the most! All right! I was going to spare your life and enslave you! But all you cursed humans deserve death after all!" He snapped his fingers, grabbed Caesar then stormed out of the room. "Girl, grab Chappy and follow!"

Neo did. She picked up Chopper, gave Law a desperate look then followed Breed out of the room. She remained silent as Breed led them to a room that was filled with a lot unfamiliar and familiar objects. Ropes were hanging down from the ceiling. Some of the ropes were attached together with a bar on the ends of them. There were several other strange structures in the room. Some of them resembled towers. They were made of bars, shaped in squares and held a large ball on the top of them. Directly in front of them was another strange structure that was circled at the top and bottom. It dipped in at the middle like someone had squeezed it.

"Line up!" Breed ordered.

Neo walked to one side of the strange platform with Chopper in her arms and the dugong at her side. The Sea Lapins lined up on the other side of the structure. Feeling a loss of energy, she slumped down to the ground. Chopper looked up at her from her lap. "Neo?"

"I'll be fine. I'm just tired," Neo said, but she didn't sound convincing to any of them, including herself. Her eyes lifted up when she heard humming and clanking of some kind of machinery. The cage holding Law and Luffy rose up from an opening in the floor.

…

Luffy asked, "What is this place?"

The bars on their cage suddenly broke apart. The cuffs on their wrists fell off, confusing them all. Several spotlights turned on, lighting up the room. Luffy asked, "Where are we?!"

"It's show time! I'll show you the terror of my Peto Peto power! All right, Trafalgar Law, here is my order to you!" Breed said. He drug his thumb over his neck like he was slicing himself. "Kill Straw Hat!"

…

Neo's heart dropped. Her body turned cold. She squeaked, "No. Don't."

…

Law grabbed his collar and stumbled backwards.

"Tra!" Luffy screamed.

"Straw Hat, I want you to kill Trafalgar Law!" Breed added.

Luffy gasped. His eyes flashed red and his collar started to glow. He pulled on it to no avail. He cursed out loud. "Stop it!"

"Go ahead and kill each other! You can't use your Devil Fruit power though! Breed clarified. "Put each other to death like idiots! Just as you pathetic humans are! Now, let the bloody show begin!"

Luffy and Law faced each other, both struggling against their collars and their orders.

…

"Luffy! Law!" Chopper called out. He struggled to get out of Neo's hold, to get his body to move. It was useless. "I can't believe this is happening!"

Beside him, the dugong was just as shocked and helpless to do anything.

Neo looked at them then looked at Law. There had to be someway to get out of this. Breed's power had a weakness. It had too. And Law had to have figured it out. He was smart. She knew that. She knew he  _had_  to have come up with a plan by now.

…

"Tra! It's no good! I can't control my body!" Luffy said. His head snapped up seconds before he charged at Law. He pulled back his right fist at the same time Law swung his. Their fists collided. They exchanged a couple punches and kicks before Luffy tried to stop himself again. Unable to, he charged back at Law.

Law jumped over Luffy. When he looked up, Luffy's foot slammed into his head. He went flying away from Luffy. He righted himself. Once his boots tapped the floor, he kicked off and landed a punch on Luffy's left cheek. The two locked into a round of punches before Luffy landed another punch on Law's cheek at the same time Law landed one on Luffy's stomach. Blood spewed from both their mouths.

…

Neo gritted her teeth at the pain shooting through her body and the nausea in her stomach. She was glad Breed wasn't paying attention to her. She really didn't want him to notice her connection to Law.

At the sight of Luffy and Law's blood, she wrapped an arm around her spinning stomach and forced back a gag. When she gagged, out loud, both Chopper and the dugong looked at her. Chopper asked, "Are you going to get sick again?"

"I don't think so. Even if I did, there's nothing left in my stomach," Neo replied. She took a couple deep breaths then looked at her animal companions. "It's nothing. I just really don't like watching Law fight."

"All right then," Chopper said. "But let me know if it continues. I can give you something when we get back to the Sunny."

Neo nodded with a light smile. "Thanks."

…

"Yes! This is the greatest show ever!" Breed declared. He watched as Luffy and Law exchanged more punches, more blood coming from them both.

…

Luffy slammed another punch onto Law's body, sending him crashing into the platform that Breed and Caesar were on.

Law recovered and kicked at Luffy's head, stretching the rubber man's neck out. Luffy jumped away from Law. He cursed, "I can't stop myself!"

Luffy charged forward. He rammed into Law, causing them both to crashing into one of the circus structures and then into another one. They slammed their fists together then their foreheads. Blood leaked down Luffy's forehead as he said, "I don't want to fight you like this!"

Luffy shoved Law away from him. Law flew through the air and landed on his back. Lying there, he huffed, trying to catch his breath. Before he could, Luffy threw a rapid round of punches at him. Law leaped up, narrowly avoiding the pummeling. He grabbed onto one of the trapeze bars and swung himself away from Luffy, who was following him. Law jumped and blocked Luffy's hits, but one hit him. He flew back towards the platform that Breed was on.

…

 _What?_  Neo asked herself. She narrowed her eyebrows as she studied Law's fighting. Something wasn't right. The way Law was getting hit by Luffy, the way Law was glancing around with inconspicuous moves than anyone else would have missed. Her breath hiccupped when Luffy smashed a punch into Law's head. She flinched at the pain, but kept her eyes locked on Law. He jumped up and grabbed a hold of one of the bars hanging from the ropes then swung himself towards Breed and Caesar.  _He's up to something! He must have figured a way to get us out of this! Law's letting Luffy beat him! He's letting Luffy drive him towards Breed and Caesar!_

…

"Ah! Get away from me!" Caesar wailed when Luffy headed for them with a readied punch. He turned and tried to escape. "I don't want involved in this fight! Go away!"

Breed jerked Caesar back to his side. "Destroy each other! You foul humans!"

Law ricochet off the platform floor just before Luffy's punch hit it, shattering it to pieces, causing them all to fall from it.

Caesar cried out as he fell. He then realized he was free from Breed's hold. "The leash!"

…

Law glanced around when he landed on the floor. He located Neo. When his eyes locked onto hers, he could instantly tell she figured out what he was doing. He nodded then noticed Caesar trying to slip out of the room.

…

"Keep fighting!" Breed said, picking himself up off the floor. He straightened his hat as the dust settled around him. He noticed Caesar sneaking off.

"Tiptoe, stealthy steps…Goodbye!" Caesar said before disappearing into the dust.

"What a fool. He still doesn't understand that nobody can get away from me. Well, I'll let him go for now." Breed smiled and turned back to the battle. "I'm enjoying this bloody show!"

…

Neo started when Luffy landed hard in front of them. She panted from the pain and exhaustion coming from Law's body. Feeling nauseous again, she turned her eyes away from the battle. The sudden cry of the dugong made her turned back. She gasped when the dugong leaped right into the middle of the fight.

…

"Seal, watch out!" Luffy cried, both his and Law's punches just barely missing the animal. The dugong grabbed onto Law. Luffy swung another punch, this time it clipped the animal. The dugong crashed to the floor.

"Hey you, stay out of this!" Breed demanded. "Do you want to get whipped?!"

The dugong pushed up on his flippers and squawked.

"What?! Stop that barking!" Breed hissed.

But he didn't. The dugong continued squawking. Then he bowed down in front of Breed.

"You fool! Don't tell me you're speaking out against me!" Breed said with a frown. The dugong looked up in confirmation. "Curse you!"

The dugong squawked and bowed multiple times.

Breed reared back and slapped the animal with his whip several times while cursing at him. Despite the hits, the dugong grabbed onto Breed's leg, pleading with the man. Breed pulled the animal off his leg then threw him onto the floor. "You idiot!"

The dugong grabbed onto Breed's leg again. He looked up at the man with tears in his eyes.

Breed ignored him. Slapping the whip more times than anyone could count until the dugong was back on the floor.

…

"Stop it!" Chopper cried out. Breed didn't. He hit the dugong again. "Dugong!"

"Stop! Just stay down!" Neo said when the dugong picked himself up.

…

"Do you want to help them so bad?" Breed asked through his pants. The dugong nodded. "All right, if you insist, I will stop them. Straw Hat, Trafalgar Law, wait!"

Luffy jerked to a stop. Panting hard, he said, "I stopped."

Law also stopped. He too was panting hard. Blood dripped from their faces.

The dugong cheered.

"Instead, you do it," Breed said. He laughed when the dugong looked at him. "Since you like them so much, it'll be far more interesting to see you beating them up! Kill those two, Dugong! Now, go!"

The dugong moved towards Luffy and Law.

…

"That guy's terrible!" Chopper said, tears in his eyes.

"He says he loves animals, but treats them so cruelly. It's sickening," Neo said. She touched her fingers to the corner of her eyes.  _It almost makes me wish this powder wasn't on my face. If I wasn't being controlled by this stupid collar…_

…

Breed laughed as the dugong continued to try and stop himself. When close enough, the dugong looked up at Luffy, crying.

"Seal, I'll be all right!" Luffy said.

The dugong lifted his flipper. Engulfing it in haki, he punched Luffy in the chest. Luffy still slid back a few feet. The dugong whacked Law with his tail before throw several tear-filled, haki infused punches. It was obvious the dugong was holding back.

"Do you realize what happens if you disobey me?!" Breed demanded. "Now, throw them into the sea!"

The dugong pulled back his fist and shook his head.

"Seal! I told you to use the lower half of your body and pull your arm back all the way!" Luffy smiled when the dugong looked at him confused. "But you sure got stronger!"

Pulling back his haki infused fist, the dugong charged forward and knocked Luffy and Law out the window. He rushed to the window and cried at the ripples in the ocean.

…

Neo clenched her fists. Her fingernails dug into her palms so hard that she broke the skin. Warm blood seeped out of the wounds. She knew Law had to have a plan. She trusted him. The look he gave her before confirmed her suspicions. But she was still worried when his body went sailing out the window.

…

The dugong pressed his forehead to the broken window, tears dripping from his eyes. He hung his head. They all turned and looked when Breed started laughing and clapping. The deranged man said, "That was quite a punch, Kung Fu Dugong! How do you feel now? You sent some crappy humans to hell with your own hands."

The dugong clenched his eyes shut tight. His body trembled. When Breed started laughing again, he lunged forward with his fist pulled back in rage. Just before the punch could slam into Breed's face, the man said, "Lie down."

The dugong's body paused in midair before slamming to the floor. Breed tugged on his whip with both of his hands. He said, "Now I have to discipline you because you disappointed me!"

Breed stepped on the dugong's head when the animal looked up at him.

…

"Stop!" Chopper shouted. He tried to get off Neo's lap.

"Chopper, please, stop trying to move," Neo pleaded. She tightened her hold on him. "You're going to hurt yourself."

"But Luffy…"

"They're going to be fine," Neo whispered. Chopper glanced up at her. "Trust me. Law figured away out of this."

"But how do you…"

"I know how Law fights. Despite all the punches Straw Hat gave him, Law was actually in control," Neo replied. "Trust me."

Chopper swallowed then nodded. They both jumped when Breed spoke.

"Oh, Chappy!" Breed cooed. He stretched out his arms to his sides. He then walked towards the reindeer. He bent down and reached for Chopper. "What's the matter? You must forget about Straw Hat now! He's gone!"

"No!" Neo shouted when the man started to reach for Chopper. She pulled him to her chest. "Don't touch him!"

Breed frowned. "You crappy human! Give him to me!"

"No!" Neo cried again. She held Chopper tighter.

"I told you to give him to me!" Breed said again.

Neo struggled to keep her arms from stretching out. Her heart clenched in her chest. She felt like she couldn't breath as her hands betrayed her and she handed Chopper over to the madman in front of her. "No…"

"That's better," Breed said once Chopper was in his hold. "Now, you will live in a kingdom that I will create as my loyal pet for the rest of your life!"

Chopper glared at the man holding him. He reached up and slapped him.

Breed turned his confused eyes back to Chopper. His eyebrows narrowed. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm a pirate!" Chopper screamed. He grabbed the crown from his head and tossed it to the floor. The crown clanked, bounced and rolled to a stop. He glared up at the man holding him. "Pirates should be free! I'm not going to become your pet even if it means death!"

"Are you going to betray me?!" Breed asked.

"Betray  _you_?! Luffy is my only captain!" Chopper snapped. He winced when pain shot through his small body.

"Are you stupid?! Straw Hat has been swallowed by the sea along with Trafalgar Law! You know what happens to Devil Fruit eaters when they fall into water-" Breed started.

"Luffy will never be defeated by a guy like you!" Chopper growled. "He's going to become the King of the Pirates!"

"The King of the Pirates?!" Breed pulled Chopper back over his shoulder and flung him to the ground. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"Chopper!" Neo screamed.

"You say you're going to create a kingdom of submissive animals?!" Chopper struggled to push up on his hooves. "There's no chance for you to create such a thing! You never try to understand the people around you! No one's going to follow someone like you!"

Breed's eyes took on a look of pure hatred. His body shook uncontrollably. Cracking his whip on Chopper, he shouted, "Shut up!"

The whip collided with Chopper's already injured body. He bounced across the floor, rolling to a painful stop. Both the dugong and Neo pushed themselves to their feet. They rushed over to Chopper. Neo placed her hand on his back. "Chopper!"

"I'm okay," Chopper replied through gritted teeth.

Neo shook her head, but remained silent. She looked over at Breed, ever fiber in her being wanted to turn every single one of her crystals on him.

Breed, hunched over, panted hard. He straightened himself up and said to the Sea Lapins, "I'll leave the rest up to you guys!"

The Sea Lapins didn't move.

"Hey, didn't you hear me?!" Breed snapped his harsh eyes to them. The Sea Lapins ducked their heads and cringed. "I want you to finish them off! Kill them!"

The Sea Lapins collars started to glow. They straightened their bodies, eyes flashing red.

 _What? Maybe, the Peto Peto fruit is…_ Chopper squinted through one open eye when he noticed the Sea Lapins didn't immediately react to the command given to them.

"Now, do it!" Breed commanded. The Sea Lapins leaped into the air. They angled their bodies towards the small group of three.

 _Law! Help! Do something!_  Neo pleaded. She wanted to shut her eyes, but she remained staring up at the attacking Sea Lapins.

Suddenly, the Sea Lapins attack was disrupted. Their bodies dropped to the floor.

"What's going on?!" Breed demanded as the unconscious Sea Lapins crashed to the ground around him. "What?!"

…

Neo shot her eyes to Law and Luffy as they walked towards them. She rubbed the heel of her right hand in her teary eyes. "Law…Straw Hat…"

She smiled. She read Law correctly. He did figure it out. Or he figured something out at least. Beside her, Chopper's eyes and smile grew large. He cried, "Luffy!"

…

Luffy placed his hand on a Sea Lapin and patted him. "Excuse us for awhile, you guys." He looked up and glared at Breed. He said, "I'm here to get Chopper  _and_  Neo back! And to give you a good, solid punch!"

"What?! How is it possible that you two are here?! I saw you get thrown into the sea!" Breed shouted.

"Your little power won't work on us anymore," Law said.

"Huh?! What are you talking about?!" Breed demanded. He gritted his teeth before shouting out a command. "Trafalgar! Straw Hat! Sit down!"

They didn't. They remained standing with a defiant air around them.

"Hey! I said to sit down!" Breed shouted again. "Don't you hear me?!"

"I thought so." Law smiled. He lifted his left hand and pointed to his ear. "If we can't hear your command, your special power won't affect us. Am I right?"

Breed gasped in shock as Law pulled out an earplug from his ear.

"I can't hear your orders like this. With these earplugs, I can shut out your voice," Law said. "You have transponder snails and loudspeakers everywhere so you can give the animals commands all at once, don't you?"

"What?! When did you figure it out?!" Breed demanded.

"It occurred to me when you had us locked up. That one time you gave Caesar a command. He didn't listen because he didn't hear you. After I figured it out, I was only pretending to be controlled by you and looked for a chance to take Caesar back," Law said.

"Even the fight against Straw Hat, you…" Breed's voice trailed off.

"Yes, during that entire fight, I was pretending to be controlled by you. He, however…" Law jerked his thumb at Luffy. "…was really being controlled."

"Huh? Did you say something?" Luffy asked, turning his eyes to Law. He pouched out his lips. "I can't hear what you're saying with these earplugs in."

"It wasn't too hard for me to break our fall because I could use my Devil Fruit power," Law said turning back to Breed. "I just switched ourselves with two rocks so it still looked like we fell into the ocean. We entered back inside where we parked the submersible. Luckily, Caesar was right there. I was able to capture him again."

"I wasn't lucky at all! It couldn't have been worse!" Caesar complained. He looked like he wanted to strangle Law's neck.

"Huh? What did you say?" Luffy asked. He put his hand up to his ear and leaned closer to Law.

"If you want to join the conversation, then take out your earplugs!" Caesar said.

"What did you say?!" Luffy asked.

"I said to take out your earplugs!" Caesar hissed.

Law tucked his earplug back into his ear. The lights then went out, causing everyone to look up.

"Pets are useless! Humans are worthless! Everyone is a piece of trash!" Purple lights turned on around the room. They angled up towards the ceiling, highlighting Breed's body. He was standing on a piece of wrecked circus equipment. "Earplugs?! What a stupid gimmick! Do you think you're outsmarting me?! Let me show you the true, formidable power of the Peto Peto fruit!"

"What?" Luffy asked. He pushed up his hat so he could get a better look at Breed.

"Now, "me"!" Breed held out his hands. The green substance burbled out of his palms. He slapped the substance around his neck, giving himself a collar. "Kill all those stinking humans!"

"What is he doing? He put a collar on himself!" Luffy said.

"He is…No way!" Law gasped.

Breed laughed manically as his glowing green collar turned red. His muscles bulged out to impossible size, ripping his clothes, his hair grew long and spiky. "That's right! Once you have been giving an order through the Peto Peto power, it will bring forth all of your power even that is normally impossible!" His transformation was completed with a loud roar. He looked down towards the floor. "Fall in, my cursed pets!"

"What's going on?!" Luffy demanded.

"Now, guys, those lousy humans are not following my orders! Kill them!" Breed ordered. He flung his hands forward as if he was throwing the Sea Lapins. Following his movements, the Sea Lapins shot forward. They crashed into the floor.

Luffy, Law and Caesar jumped, dodged and ran around in an attempted to keep from getting hit.

…

"Stop!" Chopper cried. He pushed upon his hooves.

Neo watched the Sea Lapins until one came flying towards them. She grabbed Chopper and leaped out of the way. She ran until her foot caught on a piece of debris. She tripped and fell onto her shoulder. Looking up to see another Sea Lapin falling towards him. They both clenched their eyes shut and clung to each other. Suddenly a familiar hand placed itself on her shoulder. "You're safe now."

Neo looked up. Law had saved them from getting hit. "Law."

"Thank you! You saved us!" Chopper cried, tears running down his face.

Law nodded. He then took Neo's hand and helped her to her feet before leading her away from that spot.

Neo looked out into the floating dust when she heard another crash of the floor breaking. She then hear Luffy say, "How could you do that to your own crew?!"

They stepped out of the dust just in time to see Breed holding the tail of an unconscious Sea Lapin and the dugong leaping in front of Luffy.

…

Luffy pulled back his fist, readying to punch Breed. He paused when the dugong leaped in front of him. "Huh? Seal?"

"What do you want?!" Breed asked when the dugong started squawking.

"We're not your tools!" Chopper said, translating for the dugong. "We might be your crew but we won't be your tools! We're no longer your pets! We're not going to give in to your power! We're pirates!"

Breed opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when the Sea Lapins started to stand up. He then said, "You traitors! What do you think you're doing?!"

The animals growled and bared their teeth at them. Clearly showing that they agreed with their friend. They were no longer going to be used as tools.

Luffy slammed his fist into his palm. "Seal! Let's knock him on his butt!"

The dugong squawked in agreement.

Breed cursed. "How dare you all go against me?! Fine! I'll destroy everything! Come on, Sea Lapin!"

One Sea Lapin's collar started glowing. He turned around and dug his nails into the floor, trying not to obey the command. Other Sea Lapins tried to pounce on their friend, but his body flew over to Breed. His tail landed in Breed's hand and the man started spinning him around. The movement created a tornado, pulling the rest of the animals into the spinning funnel. "How do you like my overwhelming power?! I'll let you all be swallowed by the sea!"

…

Neo anchored her feet to the floor in an attempt to not get pulled into the funnel. She tightened her hold on Chopper and clenched her eyes. Her feet slid a couple inches on the floor, until Law's strong arm wrapped around her waist. She glanced up at him. He didn't look at her. She followed his gaze and found Luffy and the dugong were standing strong and in place against the funnel.

…

"There's nothing you can do!" Breed said from inside the funnel.

"Let's do it, Seal!" Luffy said. The dugong barked in agreement.

"Those of you who disobey me are all worthless! All of you deserve death! Straight to hell with you all…" Breed suddenly stopped spinning. The animals clung to him with determination in their eyes. "What's wrong with you guys?! Hey! Let go of me!" They held on tighter. "Hey! I said to let go!"

"Gum Gum…" Luffy swung his fist backwards. He and the dugong moved forward at the same time. "…Fore-fist…" They slammed their fists into Breed's stomach. "…Punch!"

They pushed through their punch. Breed went flying backwards. He shot through the wall and sailed into the distant darkened sky. They all smiled when their collars shattered and fell off of them. The dugong cheered happily while Luffy chuckled with a huge grin.


	91. Telling the Straw Hats

Telling the Straw Hats

"We did it! We did it!" Luffy and the dugong cheered. Releasing the dugong's flippers, he spun around and ran over to Neo and Chopper. Neo tensed when it looked like he was about to grab onto them both, but he stopped short. "We did it! We won!"

"Yeah!" Chopper nodded. Tears streamed down his face. "It's over!"

Neo nodded. She was smiling until she felt Law's mood turn sour. Her smile faded. He was upset with her.

"Let's go," Law said, frowning. Hat falling over his eyes, he turned around and headed back in the direction that he and Luffy had come from when they reentered into this particular room.

"This is so ridiculous. Being led around like a dog. I'm not a pet. I'm a great scientist. I deserve respect," Caesar grumbled as Law led him out of the room by the leash that was still around his neck.

"Is Law all right?" Chopper asked. "He seemed like he was upset."

"Naw! He's just relieved the fight is over," Luffy said with a huge grin. He then looked at Neo. "He was really worried about you when Breed took over your powers. I was a bit concerned myself."

"Yeah. We should go," Neo said. She turned and headed after Law. Her eyes were locked onto Law, but she turned from him when Luffy appeared beside her. His hands were behind his head, his smile still presence on his face.

When she looked at him, he gave her a toothy grin then said, "Oh! You look kind of tired. Let me carry Chopper for you."

"I'm not-" Neo started.

"He's right, Neo," Chopper said, cutting her off. "Let Luffy carrying me. You do look tired. Besides, I'm sure you want to get out of that maid outfit."

Neo looked at Chopper then at Luffy. She was going to argue with them, but the looks they were giving her told her that she would lose if she tried. She nodded. "All right."

Luffy nodded.

Neo handed Chopper over to him then started taking off the maid outfit. She was glad to have left her clothes on underneath it. Once free of the dress she tossed it aside and continued walking. She flinched when his hand slipped into hers. She glanced at him but didn't pull away. Tugging her forward, he said, "Come on! I bet the others are worried about you."

"Uh." Neo blinked. Her eyes dropped down to their connected hands. His hand wasn't as large as Law's but it was still a bit bigger than hers. His hand was also a bit rough with small callouses. Comforting warmth came from his skin. His skin, she thought, would feel like rubber. But it didn't really. It still felt like skin. She then looked up at Luffy's profile. Her eyes lifted up to this hat. Before she could start glowing, she glanced back at the animals following them. They all were a lot happier now that they were freed from Breed's control. All of their sadness and depression was completely gone. She no longer was weight down by their feelings. She was only weight down by her own and Law's. She pulled her eyes from the creatures, took another glance at her and Luffy's connected hands, and then looked up at Law. He was walking several feet in front of them with a shadow hanging over him. She sighed. This fight with Breed might have been over, but theirs had yet to begin.

They arrived at the Shark Submersible and all froze. Chopper hummed, "What do we do? This thing was designed to hold only three people. We are way over that limit with everyone here."

The dugong squawked at him.

"Hm?" Luffy asked. "What's he saying?"

"He saying that we'll be fine," Chopper said. "They carry us back to the Sunny so the number of people won't matter."

"Neo," Law said. "Get into the sub.  _Now._ "

"Right," Neo said in a low voice. She started to summon her wind crystals but stopped. Instead, she climbed up like a regular person would do and slid inside.

"Is something wrong?" Chopper asked. He and Luffy blinked at the same time.

Law didn't answer them. He just shoved Caesar forward and said, "Inside."

"Hey, hey! Don't push me!" Caesar snapped. "I get it! I have no choice! It's either get in there or stay here! I'm certainly not staying here by myself!"

"Then get in," Law said with another shove on Caesar.

"Oh, you are so going to pay for this, Law!" Caesar grumbled as he climbed up the small sub.

"And don't corner Neo," Law ordered.

"Yeah, yeah! I won't hurt your precious, delicate, little flower," Caesar muttered.

Once Caesar was inside, Law followed after him. The sea creatures then dove into the water before Luffy climbed in with Chopper. Inside, Neo was sitting where Luffy was on their way here and Law was beside her. Caesar was sitting in the third seat, looking really annoyed. Luffy dropped down onto the floor with Chopper in his hold. Just then the Shark Submersible sunk into the water.

The Sea Lapins grabbed onto the little sub and guided it back out into the open ocean. Once they were clear of the massive ship, they lifted the sub up to the surface where they created another Rabbit Wave. The sub settled onto the wave and headed back for the Sunny.

"Cool!" Luffy exclaimed. He bolted for the hatch of the sub. Opening it, he and Chopper climbed upon the roof. The dugong joined them and happily enjoyed the ride back to the Sunny.

Inside the Shark Submergible, things were gloomy as the pirates sat in silence. Neo had her hands resting in her lap. Her eyes remained on her lap as well. She dared a look at Law. He was sitting, silent as ever. His hat lower over his eyes and his arms and legs were crossed.

Behind them Caesar was evaluating the scene and coldness between the two for a few minutes before realizing what was going on. He chuckled. "Are you two seriously having a fight? I thought the only thing you two knew how to do with each other was suck the other's face."

"Shut up, Caesar," Law hissed through gritted teeth.

"I'm just surprised. It seems you two did nothing but get along back on Punk Hazard," Caesar said with another chuckle. "I never would have guessed with how close you two obviously are that you are still a normal human, well sort of human, couple."

Law lifted his hand. His Room circled underneath his palm.

"All right, all right. Take it easy," Caesar said. "I mean no harm. I should have known better than to assume you two didn't fight. It's obvious that you two do have a lot to fight about. And I'm sure it has a lot to do with how Neo doesn't feel human."

"Room."

"Sorry, sorry," Caesar said. He held up his hands in surrender but was wearing a grin on his face.  _Joker is really going to love getting his hands on you two. Be prepared, Law._

…

Franky scanned his binoculars over the ocean. When he saw a giant wave coming towards them, he said, "Hey! There's something coming this way!"

"What's that?" Usopp asked, noticing the same wave.

"What's wrong?" Sanji asked, walking up beside the sniper.

"There's giant wave coming towards us," Usopp replied. He pointed out to the wave and looked at the cook. "It kind of looks like the wave that bounced us to this place."

"Not exactly the same," Sanji said. "Look who's on top of the wave."

"Huh?" Usopp turned his eyes back to the wave. "What?!"

"It looks like they're all right after all," Robin said with a smile.

Sure enough, Luffy, Chopper, and the dugong waved at them from the top of the Shark Submerge. They all called out, "Hey!"

"It's Luffy, Chopper, and…a dugong and…giant rabbits?" Usopp said. He watched as the Shark Submersible pulled into the Soldier Dock system, almost falling off the ship in the process. He spun his arms wildly, trying to catch his balance. When he was back on the deck, he turned and waited for their friends, and Caesar, to climb back up onto the deck.

…

Neo sighed to herself when they pulled back into the Sunny. She didn't move until Law got up and walked passed her. She heard Caesar shuffling from getting up from his own seat. With a click and a clunk, the hatch of the little sub was open. She stood up herself then. Once Caesar and Law were up the small ladder, she climbed up it herself. She climbed down the side of the Shark Submersible. Her foot slipped and she fell backwards with a startled gasp. Before she could summon her crystals, she landed in Law's arms. She mumbled, "Thanks."

Law nodded and sat her back on her feet.

"I'm glad we're finally back," Chopper said. He was now back on his hooves looking around the Soldier Dock System.

"Yeah!" Luffy nodded. He ran for the ladder that took them up to the deck. He started climbing it. "Let's go! We have a lot to tell the others!"

Chopper nodded and followed after his captain. The rest soon followed. They heard Luffy say, "Hey! You all aren't going to believe what happened to us!"

"Yeah! And you're not going to believe who we met!" Chopper added.

Once on the deck, Law guided Caesar over to a spot on the grass and forced him to sit down while Luffy and Chopper chatted with their crew about what happened with Breed. Neo reached the top of the ladder. She looked up when she saw a hand extended to her. She blinked at it and glanced up to find it was Sanji. He was smiling at her with Robin standing beside him. She hesitated, but placed her hand in his. His hand was warm in hers and, much to her surprise, a lot smoother than she would have guest considering he washed dishes all the time. She wondered what kind of lotion he used.

She was expecting him to just be a lever for her to climb out, but he easily lifted her up out of the hole and sat her down on her feet. She said, "Thank you."

"It was my pleasure. Are you all right? You didn't get hurt, did you?" Sanji asked, his eyes roaming over her body for injuries. He ran them once over her body without haki then ran them over her body again with haki. He relaxed when he saw everything was still fine.

"We were so worried about you," Robin said. She too ran her eyes over Neo's body, looking for injuries just like Sanji was. But she only did it once then let her eyes rest on Neo's eyes. She smiled.

"I'm fine," Neo replied. "I'm sorry I worried you. I didn't mean to."

Law walked over at that point. With his hat still hanging over his eyes and his sword resting on his shoulder, he grabbed Neo's wrist. Without looking at anyone, he said, "Excuse us. We have to talk."

"Sure thing," Robin said. "Feel free to use whatever room you need. We don't disturb you."

Law nodded his thanks then proceeded to tug Neo with him as he headed up the stairs.

Sanji watched them go. He puffed on his cigarette. "I hope he's not too harsh on her."

"I doubt he will be," Robin replied. She crossed her arms and watched Neo and Law disappeared. "He's obviously deeply in love with her. He just worries about her. And, considering  _everything_ , he has a right to be."

"Considering  _everything_ ," Sanji repeated. He glanced at the dark haired woman beside him. "What, exactly, is  _everything_? I'm getting the feeling that we should compare notes on  _everything_."

"Perhaps we should," Robin said. "But, for now, let's wait and see what all they decide to reveal to us."

"Reveal?" Sanji chuckled. "You clearly know everything already."

"Perhaps." Robin's smile grew as she looked at the cook.

…

Law pulled Neo into the library. He released her wrist and turned to her. He said, "What the heck were you thinking?!"

She opened her mouth to reply, but he didn't give her a chance. He continued, "No! Don't answer that! You clearly weren't thinking at all! I can't believe you jumped into the water like that!"

"Nothing happen," Neo said, her voice low. She wrapped her arms around herself and turned her eyes away from him. "Besides, my magic is fine. I'm sorry I disobeyed your orders, but I couldn't just let those animals go through that knowing that they were so upset."

"Nothing happened?" Law asked, slightly in disbelief. "What are you talking about?"

"What?" Neo brought her eyes back to him. "What do you mean? What are you talking about? I disobeyed you. Isn't that what this fight is over?"

"Disobey? Never mind that. Neo, do you even realize what you  _did_?" Law asked. His eyes were confused as they searched hers.

Neo narrowed her eyebrows and frowned. "Of course I do. I disobeyed your orders. I used my crystals when I wasn't suppose to."

Law sighed and pitched the bridge of his nose. "Neo, you just revealed the truth about yourself to the Straw Hats."

"I didn't…" Neo's voice trailed off. She thought about his words for several seconds before it dawned on her that she did reveal the truth, even if the Straw Hats didn't know the whole truth. Her arms fell to her sides. She opened her mouth then closed it. A moment later she finally spoke. She said, "It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't matter?! Of course it matters!" Law said. He paused when he noticed a certain look in her eyes. "No! No, Neo! You can't tell them!"

"I…we have too, Law," Neo said.

"No, we don't!" Law said through clenched teeth. "We are not telling them  _anything_."

"Why not? It's clear that they, at least some of them, already know I'm not human." Neo crossed her arms again and glared at him. "And with what happened back on Punk Hazard, it is clear they know that we are connected to the point of feeling each other's pain. They pretty much already know about our bond."

"They are only making guesses," Law pointed out. "They don't know  _everything_. And they're not going to know  _everything_."

Neo lowered her eyes. Mumbling, she said, "I'm telling them."

"What?" Law asked, flatly.

Neo gritted her teeth. She took a deep breath. With a louder voice, she repeated, "I'm telling them."

"You can't be serious," Law said. He looked at her. His eyes filled with disbelief. "Please, tell me you're really not going to tell them. They're the  _enemy_ , Neo."

"Enemy?" Neo gave Law a pointed look. "They are not the enemy, Law. We're in an  _alliance_. I might not be as smart as you and I know I'm still lacking in knowledge and how to deal with people, but I do know that we are in an alliance. And I know what an alliance means. Right now, we're  _not_  enemies with the Straw Hats."

"Fine," Law conceded. "We're not technically enemies right now. But that doesn't mean we go and tell them  _everything_  about us. And we're not telling them anything."

"Law, they practically know  _everything_  already!" Neo snapped. "And I am telling them the whole truth!"

"Neo," Law warned. His eyebrows narrowed. "You're  _not_  telling them. Don't make me order you to be quiet."

Neo gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. Tears stung her eyes. "We have too, Law."

"No. We. Don't," Law said, pointedly.

"Law." Neo hung her head. Her bangs fell over her eyes. "I could have killed everyone today, including us."

Law flinched.

"When Breed took control of me…" Neo started trembling. "I was so scared, Law. I thought that I was going to…"

Law's anger released. He stepped forward to pull her into his arms, but she held up her hands to his chest and stepped backwards. Shaking her head, she said, "I'm sorry, Law. But I can't do this. I can't set foot in Dressrosa knowing that there are people in this world that can control me. I can't do it. What if Breed did have an interest in me? What if Breed noticed I wasn't human? What if Breed noticed I have a connection with animals? What if Breed ordered me to flat out kill you and Straw Hat? What if Breed didn't give you the option to stop me? What if you didn't have the disoriented powder? What if you didn't figure out how his powers worked?"

"Neo…" Law started to reach for her, but stopped. He let his hand lower back to his side. His chest clenched tight at the sight of her tears rolling out of her still slightly grey eyes.

"I'm sorry, Law. I can't keep this a secret from them anymore," Neo said. She wrapped her arms around herself. "It's obvious this secret is getting harder and harder to keep."

"Is this because of Tony?" Law asked.

"Because of them all. Probably, mostly because of Chopper, but it's more than that. I…" She bit her bottom lip as she thought about her next words. "I  _trust_  them, Law."

Law's eyes widened slightly. He clenched his sword and tried to deny it. But he couldn't. It was obvious that Neo did trust the Straw Hats. Of course, it was mostly because of Chopper. Animals always put her at ease, but it was also something more. And he figured a lot of that  _something more_  had to do with Luffy. Neo's godfather knew and trusted the Straw Hat captain. And if Red Hair Shanks trusted someone, it was obvious that Neo would trust them too at some point. She had also connected with a couple others of the Straw Hats, Robin and Sanji. Robin was just so calm and relaxing. And Sanji…Well, he wasn't sure why she would be comfortable around  _him_ , but she was, even after he startled her with his excitable flirting bit. Before she never would have stayed alone in a room with a strange man like she did with Sanji.

"Law, I'm scared!" Neo then said, pulling his attention back to her. She started pacing around the small room, her voice growing louder with each sentence she spoke as she brushed the powder off her face. "We're getting ready to go into Doflamingo's territory!  _His home!_  I know what that man has done to you! I know what he  _does_ to you! You always get so angry when you're just  _thinking_  about him! I don't like it! Don't you understand that?! I hate what he does to you! And it scares me that we're waltzing right up to him like this! And I'm just feeling so vulnerable right now!"

Law lifted an eyebrow when she said she was feeling vulnerable. He hasn't felt that from her at all. And she's never told him before. He felt a bit guilty. Maybe he just over looked it. Maybe he was just too focused on taking down Doflamingo that he didn't noticed how she was really feeling.

With a stomp of her foot, which didn't have her desired effect considering she was barefooted, she stopped her pacing. Placing her hands on her hips, she continued, "And I'm just…I'm just…Ah! I don't know! But I do know that I can't set foot on Dressrosa knowing I  _can_  lose control, either on my own or by the hands of someone else! This isn't just  _my secret_  to tell, Law! It's  _ours_! When we bonded, when we got married, we became one person! Your secrets are my secrets! And my secrets are your secrets! But I can't and won't walk into Dressrosa knowing that someone can use me to kill  _us_  and everyone else on the planet! I can't do it, Law! I really, really need you beside me right now! But, if you really can't stand beside me with this decision, then I'll just…I'll just have to do it by myself! Either way, they  _will know_ before we set foot on Dressrosa!"

Before Law could reply, Neo spun on her heels and left the room. He wanted to immediately follow after her, but he didn't.

" _Captain, you're coddling her."_  Law flinched when Penguin's words, for whatever reason, popped into his mind. He ran his hand over his face, realizing he, while he wasn't actually  _coddling_  her, he  _was_  being  _overprotective_  of her. Again. Rubbing his neck, he chuckled. "That _child_. I'm still not use to her being her own person and making her own decisions. Sometimes I think I raised her far too well."

He sighed. He looked up at the ceiling and thought about everything that happened since Breed attacked the ship. Sighing again, he said, "I guess we both made mistakes today."

He lowered his eyes to the exit.  _But she's right. I have no right to keep her from revealing this secret if she really feels like she needs to. And I do believe in the Straw Hats. Once they know the entire truth, I'm sure they won't do anything to hurt her._

Law then located Neo's position. She wasn't rushing back to the Straw Hats. He knew she was taking her time, considering their fight, how she was going to tell them and wondering if he would have her back on this. He was about to follow after her, but held his ground when he felt her pause. He waited about a minute before following after her.

…

Neo wasn't stomping across the Sunny, despite wanting to. She was just walking in an aggravated huff. She felt like her emotions were really mixed up right now. She felt guilty for yelling at Law, then she didn't feel guilty about it. She felt she was right in her decision to tell the Straw Hats, then she felt like she was wrong in her decision to tell the Straw Hats. The only thing she knew for sure was that she hated fighting with Law. She knew it was just a natural part of being in a relationship. But, for some reason and some how, it also felt unnatural to fight with him. Especially when their fights got so heated like this one just did.

She paused when she heard Chopper's voice. He said, "He said if we keep going straight, we'll get to Dressrosa in no time."

Neo peaked over the railing and looked to the deck. Chopper was draped over the railing, dressed in clean cloths and obviously feeling better. She tucked back around the corner. She wasn't ready to face them just yet. Instead, she pressed her back against the Sunny's wall and searched for Law. She always knew he would follow her. But this time, there was a little doubt lingering inside of her. Law was oh so protective of her. And now was no different. But he had raised her to make her own decisions. And that's what she had done. She felt right about it. She felt guilty about it.

She wished Penguin were here. She really could use her old brother's advice on this. He was always her support when she had a fight with Law or couldn't talk to Law about something just yet. Now, she felt like she was all on her own. She also felt a twinge of homesickness. She wanted to be back in the Polar Tang, back with her family, her books…their bed, their room, their usual routine. Tears ran down her cheeks and she brushed them away. She took a deep breath and released it. Now wasn't the time for crying. She pushed off the wall when she felt Law finally leaving the library. She walked down to the deck and stood away from the Straw Hats. She didn't even notice when Robin stepped beside her. She looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Robin asked.

Neo was planning on saying 'Yes' but found her voice saying, "No. Law and I…we had a fight."

"I see," Robin replied with a friendly smile. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"I don't know." Neo dropped her eyes from Robin when she sensed Law. She turned her eyes to him. He walked down the stairs and stopped. Even though his eyes were covered with his hat, she could tell he was looking at her. She looked away and wondered what she should do. They could probably use a little time apart right now. She turned her eyes to Luffy. He and Chopper were saying goodbye to their friends.

"Thank you for carrying the Sunny!" Luffy said.

"Thank you!" Chopper waved to the smiling Sea Lapins floating in the water below them.

Neo turned her eyes back to Robin. She said, "Maybe we could talk a little bit. I'm confused about something and I can't talk to Law about it."

"All right then." Robin waved her hand to the opposite side of the deck. Once to on other side, Robin pressed her back to the railing while Neo crossed her arms over it and stared down at the water. "What's on your mind?"

Neo didn't answer right away. She continued to stare down at the water for a moment before exhaling. She then said, "I'm not really sure how to say this, but I'm keeping a secret from you all that I really want to tell you."

"And Tra doesn't want you to share this secret?" Robin asked.

"Yes." Neo nodded. "Technically, it's  _our_  secret. So telling you all about it without him standing with me…it makes me feel like I'm making the wrong decision while, at the same time, I still feel like I'm making the right decision. But I feel like I'm in the wrong if I don't tell you all. And if I don't tell you…it could end up really hurting you all. I'm just so confused."

"I see," Robin said. "That is a tough decision."

"So what would you do? What would you do if you were in my position?" Neo asked in a hushed tone. "You probably can't answer that without knowing what our secret is, huh?"

"Actually, I've been in a similar situation," Robin said. Neo lifted her confused eyes to her. "See, I possess knowledge on how to make a weapon that could really devastate the world if it was built. And because of this knowledge, the Navy has chased me for many years. When I joined the Straw Hats, I really had no intentions of staying with them forever. But I did. I found that I had made friends with them and came to really care about them. Then, one day, my past caught up with me. CP9 had found me when we docked at Water 7 for ship repairs and to find a shipwright. I left the Straw Hat crew in exchange for their safety. My plan was just to walk away and severe all ties with them, but it didn't happen. They were determined to keep me as their friend and their crewmate."

"So what happened?" Neo asked.

"They followed me to Enies Lobby. They took on the entire Navy there and recued me despite me saying several time that I didn't want them to save me," Robin said. "I just wanted to die."

"You wanted to die?" Neo asked. She stood up straight and turned to the woman.

"I did." Robin nodded. "I thought I was better off dead. I didn't believe I had the right to live. But they showed me that I did. They showed me I had the right to live. And that they would always be there for me."

Neo gritted her teeth. Her bangs fell over her eyes as tears trickled down her cheeks. Her voice trembled as she spoke. "Law…and the crew…they did that for me. I wanted to die before I met them. Everyone hated me because I was different."

"It seems like we have a lot in common then. People hated me because I was different," Robin said. She placed a hand on Neo's shoulder, smiling sympathetically when the younger woman twitched at her touch. "Neo, I can't make this decision for you. But if you really feel like you need to tell them your secret then you've already made the decision and it's the right one. But it's your decision. And, if Law really loves you like I believe he does, he'll back you up despite it feeling like he won't right now."

"Law did raise me to make my own decisions," Neo said.

"Then there's no way he can actually be upset with you for wanting to tell them. I bet he's just worried about you and is being overprotective," Robin said. She started to walk away. "You have my support."

"Thanks, Robin. I…" Neo paused. Narrowing her eyebrows, she said, "Wait a second. You said 'if you really feel like you need to tell  _them_  your secret', don't you mean, 'if you really feel like you need to tell  _us_  your secret'?"

"Did I?" Robin smiled back at her from over her shoulder. "My mistake."

"Uh." Neo tilted her head as she watched Robin walk back over to the group. Her feet automatically followed after her, still confused about the woman's words. When she joined the others, she stood beside Robin then looked over at Law. He was still standing at the bottom of the stairs. This time, he wasn't looking at her. Sighing, and still confused, she turned her attention to the dugong and Luffy.

The dugong had his flipper held out to the Straw Hat captain. Luffy smiled and tapped his fist against his friend's. They shared a grin before Luffy said, "Take care, Seal!"

"All right, everybody, time to go," Chopper said, translating again. The dugong paused and looked back at Neo. "Take care of yourself. I hope we get to meet again someday. You're a very interesting girl."

"Uh, thanks," Neo said. "You take care too."

The dugong smiled and waved at her before jumped into the ocean. She heard the dugong's squawk once more before he and his friends set off for their own journeys.

"See you later!" Luffy called with a wave.

Neo swallowed. Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest. This was it. It was time for her to tell the Straw Hats everything. Her stomach spun. She was somewhat glad that she threw up earlier. If she didn't, she surely would have now. She didn't like having to address the Straw Hats like this. The only time she's ever addressed a crowd, outside of her crew, was back on Luminous. And during that time, she was scared and hysterical. She actually screamed out at the Elementals. But she was able to do it. She was able to tell them how she really felt. Of course, she had Law standing right beside her during that time. He had given her the strength to stand up to them. Tears gathered in her eyes. Now, she felt so cold. She felt so alone. She felt…abandon.

Her heart sped up even more when the Straw Hats started to walk off. She felt herself deciding against tell them just as her voice called out, "Wait!"

"Hm?" Luffy, with his hands behind his head, turned back to her. They all turned back to her. "What is it, Neo?"

"There's, uh, something…" Neo choked out through her dry throat. Her hands trembled at her sides. "I-I w-wanted to, um…"

"If you have something to say, then just say it," Zoro said.

"Don't be a jerk!" Sanji snapped. "Can't you see she's nervous?!"

"What's up, Neo?" Nami asked. "Is there a problem?"

"No, there's no problem." Neo brushed her hand on her left arm. Her body temperature dropped. She shivered and rubbed her hand harder on her arm. She looked over at Law. He still hadn't moved from his spot at the bottom of the stairs. His hat was still over his eyes and his head was now hanging. His thoughts were blocked from her so she had no idea what he was thinking. She sighed and addressed the Straw Hats again. "There's just something that I need to tell you all. I'm not-"

"Wait!" Law suddenly said. They all looked at him. He walked towards Neo.

"Law, please, I don't want to-" Neo was silenced when Law placed his finger over her lips. She gave him a confused look before he retracted his hand.

"Just hold on for a second," Law said. Hat still over his eyes, he turned in Caesar's direction.

Neo's eyebrows lifted. She almost spilled their secret in front of Caesar. Law still had her back.

When the scientist noticed Law looking at him, he said, "What are you looking at me for? I'm still here. Still-"

Law held up his hand. "Room."

Caesar's eyes widened when he realized what Law was going to do. He waved his hands. "Hey! Wait a second! What the heck do you thin-"

"Shambles."

…

"-k you're doing?!" Caesar finished. He looked around. He was now down in the farthest reaches of the Sunny. He was in the anchor room. "What the heck was that for?! Law! You are so going to pay for this!"

…

"Huh? What'd you do that for?" Luffy asked, his arms hanging loose by his sides. His crew was just as confused. They all turned to him at the same time. "What's up?"

"He was in the way," Law replied. He turned to Neo and took her hand in his. He pressed his forehead to hers, pushing his hat up on his head.  _'I'm so sorry, my love. I didn't mean to make you feel like I abandon you. You know that I will never do that. I'm just worried about you. I guess I'm still looking at you like that scared little girl you use to be. I'm sorry. But you're right. We need to tell the Straw Hats.'_

Warmth spread through her body when Law took her hand and said those words to her. It made her feel a whole lot better.  _'Law…I'm sorry we fought. I'm sorry I dove in the water without thinking. I'm sorry I disobeyed you. I'm just so sorry. It's just that, despite not wanting to tell everyone our secret, I know it's not possible to keep it hidden forever. This whole thing on Punk Hazard and with Breed proves that we're not going to be able to keep this hidden. We, mostly me, need to be prepared for it. Because we have no clue what's going to happen when we get to Dressrosa. You already guided the Navy to Green Bit. If something happens…'_

_'I know. I should be preparing you incase the world comes to know about you instead of trying to hide you from it. It seems like we both were wrong and right today.'_

_'What do you mean?'_  Neo gave him a quizzical look.  _'How could we both be right and wrong?'_

…

"Uh, what exactly are they doing?" Usopp asked. He pointed at Neo and Law. "Why are they just standing there staring at each other with their foreheads pressed together?"

"I dunno," Nami said. She tilted her head. "It kind of looks like their having a private conversation, without words."

"Maybe they are?" Chopper stated and asked at the same time.

"Uh? That's not possible," Luffy said. He crossed his arms with a skeptical look on his face.

"Well, they say that when two people known each other for so long that it becomes possible for them to have silent conversations like that," Franky said. He scratched his head in a manor that suggested he wasn't buying his own explanation.

"If you're not sure then don't suggest anything!" Usopp shouted at the cyborg.

"Who cares what they're doing?" Zoro said with a frown. "Neo said she had something she want to tell us. This is just rude."

"Shut up!" Sanji snapped. He whacked Zoro over the head. "Just give them a minute! They obviously need it!"

"Don't hit me, you stupid cook!" Zoro growled.

"Will you two just relax for a moment?" Brook said. He brought his teacup up to his mouth. "It's not like we have anything better to do."

"Fine," Zoro and Sanji grumbled. They turned from each other and huffed.

…

_'You were wrong for jumping into the water without thinking. But you were right about following those animals. I was wrong for trying to keep you from telling the Straw Hats about our secret. But I was right on the fact that you acted without thinking.'_

_'Today's just been really messed up, huh?'_

_'It has.'_ Law nodded. He rubbed circles over her hand with his thumb.  _'Are you ready to tell them now?'_

 _'Yes.'_  Neo nodded.  _'As long as you are with me.'_

 _'I am. Always.'_  Law lifted his forehead from Neo's. They turned back to the Straw Hats and twitched. Most of the Straw Hats were staring with confused looks while others were wearing more patient, but curious, expressions. Heat rose upon the lovers' cheeks.

"What were you two just doing?" Usopp asked. He lifted an eyebrow at them.

Neo shifted nervously. "I'm sorry."

"We really need to work on not using our bond for casual talks,"Law grumbled, adjusting his hat back down.

"I suppose you are correct." Neo nodded.

"Bond? Casual talks?" Usopp asked. "What are you talking about? You wanna clue us in on what's happening here?"

' _We can just use it for more personal conversations like this…'_ Law shared with her a very suggestive sexual thought, making her face flush even more.

"Oh my gosh!" Chopper gasped. He leaped up into Neo's arms, which she automatically held out for him. "Neo! Are you all right?! You just got really, really red all of a sudden! Are you sick?! Do you need to lay down?!"

"I'm fine," Neo squeaked. She cleared her throat. Speaking normally, she said, "No, I'm not sick. I don't need to lie down. But there is something we have to talk to you all about."

"You've already said that," Brook said.

"What is it, Neo?" Chopper asked.

Neo swallowed and looked down at the reindeer. She looked at Law. With an encouraging nod from him, she turned back to the Straw Hat crew. She said, "Well, I'm not really sure where to start. I guess I could just start with the obvious. Or what should be obvious."

"What's going on?" Zoro asked.

"I'm sure some of you by now have noticed that I feel different and I'm not a Devil Fruit user," Neo said. Most of them nodded. "Well, that's because I'm not…human."

The Straw Hats just stared at her. Suddenly, Usopp busted up laughing. He leaned over and lapped his knee. "Ha ha! That's a good one! You almost had us there for a second! Not  _human_!"

"Usopp's right. That is a good one." Nami sighed. She placed her hands on her hips and smiled. Her smile faded when she noticed Neo and Law weren't laughing. "You…you can't be serious."

"We are serious," Law said. "Neo's not human."

"But how?" Luffy stepped closer to Neo and inspected her. Bending down with his fingers cupping his chin, he carefully drug his eyes over Neo's body, much to Law's annoyance. "You look like everyone else. You have legs, skin, knees, thighs, hips, stomach, boob-"

Law whacked Luffy over the head with his sheathed sword. The young captain rolled backwards several times. When he stopped, he had a large, red bump on his forehead. He rubbed it and whined. "Ouch! What the heck was that for?!"

"I don't feel anything different from you," Usopp said, carefully taking Neo in.

"I don't either," Nami said.

"I do not sense anything different from the woman, either," Momonosuke said.

Neo held out her arm over Law's chest when he tried to step forward. She said, "I just  _look_  human. But I'm really an Elemental."

"An Elemental?" Brook asked. "What's that, if I may inquire? For the record, I do not notice anything different from you either."

"It's fine. I'm sure you all will notice it sooner or later. An Elemental is a creature that can control the elements through these crystals," Neo said. She summoned her crystals. "We can also talk to animals."

"You can't be serious," Zoro said, a look of disbelief on his face.

"Don't call her a liar, you idiot!" Sanji shouted. He whacked Zoro over the head.

"Don't hit me, you stupid cook!" Zoro growled. He pulled out his swords. "Do you want me to slice you?! I didn't call her a liar! I just don't believe her story!"

"It's not a story!" Sanji snapped. "She's not lying!"

"And how do you know this?" Franky asked.

"Because I can see that her spirit is different from humans with my haki," Sanji replied. He shoved one hand in his pocket while pulling his cigarette out of his mouth. "I wasn't sure what it was at first, but her not being human would explain it. Besides, like she already said, some of us can tell that she's different. She has no reason to lie to us about it. I, for one, believe her."

"Thank you, Sanji," Neo said. "But I can understand everyone's disbelief in this. There is another way of showing you that I'm not human."

"And what's that?" Chopper asked.

"These," Neo replied. She sat Chopper down on the deck before turning around and summoned her wings. She flinched when she heard the Straw Hats gasp.

"That's not possible!" Zoro said.

"That's insane!" Usopp shrieked. "She has…you have wings! How is that possible?!"

"So cool!" Luffy and Chopper exclaimed. They moved forward, Chopper on Luffy's shoulder, and inspected her blue ombre wings.

When Luffy pinched her wing, she flinched but didn't pull away from him. She sent Law a small smile when he growl. "It's okay, Law. I'm fine."

"How is it possible that these wings are coming out from your clothes? And why do they just disappear before reaching your back?" Luffy asked. He gave her wing a tug, causing her to twitch.

"Careful, Luffy!" Chopper snapped. He slapped Luffy on the cheek. "You're going to hurt her!"

"Sorry," Luffy whined, still tugging on her wing.

"It's okay, Chopper. It doesn't hurt. My wings are like hair," Neo explained. "They can be damaged, but can grow back. And they're magic so they can go through my clothes like that. I'm not really sure why they fade away. It's just the style, I guess."

"Can you really fly with them?" Nami asked, inching closer for a better look with Momonosuke right beside her.

Neo flittered her wings. She lifted herself off the deck of the Sunny. Turning to face them, she pulled her knees up to her chest to show that she was completely off the floor.

"That's so cool! She's actually flying!" Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy said with stars in their eyes.

"I knew something was wrong with the wenc-" Kin'emon started, but paused when Law glared at him. "I mean, I knew something was wrong with the lady when I first saw her. But never would I have guess such a thing was possible."

"So all of your people have these crystals and can control the elements?" Franky asked.

"Sort of." Neo swallowed. "The truth is Elementals typically only control one of the elements through their crystals. A few rare occasions some Elementals have two element crystals and even more rare, some can have three element crystals."

"But you have all four elements," Brook said.

Neo nodded. "There's only one Elemental, at a time, that has all four of the element crystals and the solar crystal."

"Solar crystal?" Chopper tilted his head. "You have another crystal?"

Neo nodded again. She summoned her solar crystal and spread it's glow over everyone on the deck. Their eyes widened when all their tiredness and injuries from Punk Hazard healed. When they all looked at her, she took in a deep breath then exhaled. She then told them everything about her past, except for Shanks being her godfather, while she summoned her earth crystals. Law, understanding her intentions, sat down on the deck. He laid his sword down as she threaded out the ingredients for him to make the disoriented powder.

"What?! You're a princess?!" Chopper gasped.

"What?!" Luffy screamed. "You know Shanks?!"

"Out of everything she said  _that's_  what surprises you the most?!" Usopp, Nami, and Zoro shouted.

"That's…" Sanji said. His eyes were widened with disbelief while examining her faded scars on her arms and legs. "That's insane. It was obvious that you were scared of people, but…I never would have guessed you went through something like  _that_. So that's why you said that the Heart Pirates raised you. It all makes sense now."

"Yeah." Neo nodded. She looked down at Law. Both smiled when they made eye contact. He noticed her eyes were back to their electric blue. "I know it might sound weird, but they  _did_  raise me. I didn't know anything before I came to live with them. They taught me everything I know."

"Now that I think of it," Chopper said. "You didn't really know what hallucinating was when we were dealing with the kids back on Punk Hazard. And you were able to speak to me somehow when Vergo had you all captured."

"My education is still lacking a bit. I often forget things or words I don't use very much," Neo confirmed. "But I'm still learning. And, yes, since you're an animal I can talk to you like I did."

"So what are you doing?" Chopper then asked Law.

"I'm making a disorienting powder for all of us," Law replied, grinding up the ingredients with the rocks Neo provided for him. "It's to stop Neo if she loses control."

"Stop her?" Chopper blinked. His face contorted with worry. "We're going to have to hurt her?"

"No, Chopper." Neo bend down and wrapped her arms around her knees. "It won't hurt me. It'll just disconnect me from my crystals if I start to lose control of them. I want you all to carry a couple pouches with you just incase."

"You know, it's not very smart of you to reveal your weakness to us," Zoro said. Neo looked at him. "We could use it against you in the future."

"You stupid jerk! How dare you even think about such a thing?!" Sanji roared.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Neo said. She stood back up and looked directly at the swordsman. She tilted her head and smiled at him. "Beside, I believe that you all will keep our secrets."

Zoro scoffed and tossed his head to the side. "Whatever."

"Of course we will, Neo," Sanji said with a smile. He then glared at Zoro. "This guy is just an uncouth jerk. Don't listen to him at all."

"He does bring up a good point," Franky pointed out. "After this alliance is over, we'll go back to being rival pirates."

"I know. But there is something else that will most likely prevent you all from attacking us, or at least me…" Neo chewed on her lip in thought while threading a small vine through the powder pouches. Then, with her vines, she held out the patches to the Straw Hats, samurai, and the boy.

"And what's that?" Nami asked, taking the four pouches and sticking them in her pockets. Everyone else took them and stuffed them in their pockets or kimono.

"It actually concerns you most of all, Straw Hat." Neo looked at Luffy. She held out the pouches to him, but he didn't take them.

"Hm? How so?" Luffy tilted his head.

"It's about Red Hair Shanks. He's more than just a friend to my people," Neo said. She then paused. "The truth is…Shanks is my godfather."

"What?!" the Straw Hats shrieked. "Shanks is your godfather?!"

Neo nodded.

"That's insane!" Nami said. "Does that mean that you are under the protection of an emperor?!"

"I am." Neo nodded. "Technically, our entire crew is. Godfather has told his entire crew about my people and me."

"We don't need their protection," Law grumbled.

"So that explains why you were expressing concern about Shanks when Luffy mentioned taking down all four emperors," Nami said and Neo nodded.

"Is that also why you were glowing inside of the ruins?" Robin asked.

"Yeah. While being bonded with Law, I'm also bonded with my godfather. When I stared at his hat for too long I started to glow. I'm hope that will stop now that you all know the truth," Neo replied. Her voice trailed off as she stared at the black haired woman. Slowly, all of the pieces connected in her mind when she noticed Robin didn't seem all that surprised about any of this. Her eyebrows rose on her forehead. "You knew, didn't you?"

Everyone turned their eyes to Robin. The woman crossed her arms and smiled. "I did."

"What?!" the Straw Hats shrieked. "You knew?!"

"I didn't know  _everything_. I didn't know about the bonding process or about how much abuse you had suffered. But everything else I pretty much knew," Robin admitted.

"And I knew you knew," Neo mumbled, rubbing her fingers on her forehead.

"How could you have known that?" Brook asked.

"I'm not sure. I just knew." Neo shook her head. "Or I suspected it."

"I'm not surprised you suspected Nico knew the truth. You've always had really good instincts," Law said. He pushed on his sword and stood up. "It's just the majority of the time your neophobia just over rides them."

"Neophobia?" Luffy asked. "What the heck is that?"

"It means she's afraid of new things. While growing up, Neo faced a lot of discrimination," Chopper explained. "Every where she went she was met with more hatred and fear because she was different. That causes her to have automatic reactions of fear when meeting new people and places."

"Oh." Luffy nodded. "Right."

"But how did you know about me?" Neo asked Robin.

"Because I've met one of your people before," Robin replied. "I met her when I spent these past two years with the Revolutionary Army. She works for them."

"There's an Elemental working for the Revolutionary Army?!" Law's eyebrow twitched.

"I take it you didn't know," Robin said.

"No. Since I didn't grow up around the Elementals, I don't know  _everything_  about them," Neo said. "We do know that some of them occasionally travel with my godfather. So what happened between you two? How did you come to know what she was?"

"When I first met her, I noticed something was different about her, but I wasn't sure what it was. During the first year, I also noticed that she would stare at newspapers a lot. I thought she just like keeping up with what was going on in the world, but then I noticed it was only certain articles she was paying attention to. And those articles were about you all," Robin explained. She looked at Neo and Law. "She only followed and kept close attention to the newspapers when your crew was mentioned. It wasn't until the beginning of my second year with them that there was a little accident. She ended up revealing her crystals to me. After that she came clean and told me who she really was and who you really were. She also told me she has a wind Elemental friend who travels with Red Hair occasionally. The only thing she didn't tell me was the location of Luminous."

"Yeah," Neo drawled. Her head was spinning with this new information. "Elementals are really protective of Luminous. I'm not really sure I want to reveal the location either, at least not right now."

"This is insane. You mean one of these Elementals are working for Luffy's dad?" Nami asked. "How long have your people lived among humans?"

"I'm not sure," Neo replied. "For years some Elementals have left Luminous to live among humans. So there's no way of telling how many left Luminous and how many have had kids by now."

"Does that mean Elementals can have kids with humans?" Brook asked. "I know you said before that you two decided not to have kids, but with this new information of you being an Elemental…"

"That's kind of a personal question," Nami said with a glare.

"It's all right. I understand that you all are going to be curious," Neo replied. "While there are some difference between Elementals and humans there are also some similarities. Humans and Elementals can have kids together."

"So you two are going to have a baby?" Luffy asked.

"She already answered that question, Luffy!" Chopper, Usopp, and Nami screamed while whacking their captain over the head. "They're not having kids!"

"Will you people stop hitting me?!" Luffy growled. "I just asked a simple question!"

Neo laughed. She couldn't stop it.

"So cute!" Chopper squealed with blushing cheeks at her bells.

"Wow! Your laughter is so beautiful! You were already beautiful before, but now you're just extremely beautiful!" Sanji said while spinning like a tornado.

"You have bells in your laughter?" Brook asked. "It's very pretty."

"Thank you. It's also a part of my royal heritage," Neo replied while Law crossed his arms in an annoyed huff. She elbowed him. "We don't mind a question like that. Like I said before, we're not going to have kids, Straw Hat."

Sanji twitched, his eyes dropping down to her stomach. "You're really not planning on having kids?"

"No. Law doesn't want me to go through the pains of childbirth and the complications that can come with being pregnant," Neo replied. She lifted an eyebrow at Sanji. "Why? Is there something wrong with that?"

"No," Sanji drawled. He pinched his cigarette between his fingers. His eyes roamed over to Robin, who was also glancing at Neo's stomach. "There's nothing wrong with that decision."

"You've gone through so much pain. No wonder Mr. Tra is so protective of you," Brook said. He took Neo's hand in his. "I guess that means I can never ask to see your panties."

"Of course not, you idiot!" Nami, Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper whacked the skeleton over the head.

"Don't you dare even think about asking Neo that perverted question!" Sanji added.

"Says the one who flirts with everything in a skirt," Zoro said.

"What did you say?!" Sanji demanded.

"Anyway," Neo said, regaining their attention. She was still holding out the pouches to Luffy, who was still refusing to take them. "It's really important that you all carry around these pouches."

"No," Luffy said. "And I'm  _Luffy_."

"Straw Hat, it's important," Neo insisted. "You saw how Breed easily controlled us. If that happens in Dressrosa, this powder is the only way you all will be able to stop me."

"No!" Luffy said stubbornly. He crossed his arms. "I said my name is  _Luffy_! And I'm not using something against you that can put you in a weakened state!"

"But…Straw Hat, it-"

"No!" Luffy cut Neo off. He stepped forward. Standing toe to toe with her, he stared into her eyes, determined and formidable.

Neo flinched and swallowed at his closeness, but didn't pull away. She felt Law tense up and grab the hilt of his sword.  _'Easy, Law.'_  Her eyes widened when Luffy took off his straw hat and placed it on her head.

"You're my friend now," Luffy said. He took her hands in his and smiled. "I'm not going to use that powder on you. It isn't necessary. We don't need it."

"But, Stra-" She flinched when Luffy glared at her. "Luffy…I don't want to hurt you all. That's why I'm telling you all of this and giving you these pouches."

Luffy smiled again. "I don't need it. I know you're not going to hurt me. It's okay if the others want to carry them around, but I refuse. I refuse to use something that will weaken Shanks' goddaughter. I won't do it."

"But I…" Neo lowered her eyes.

"Don't bother trying to fight him, Neo," Sanji said. "Once he's made up his mind, there's no changing it. Our little stint on Punk Hazard should have shown you that already."

"I suppose so," Neo conceded. "All right, St-Luffy. If you really don't want to carry them…"

"It'll be fine. You'll see. Shanks loves you. You both are my friends. And I always protect my friends." Luffy placed his hand on the hat and pushed it down over her eyes. When he lifted his hand off her head, she was able to look at him again. He had his hand held out to her. "Trust me."

Neo blinked a couple times at his extended hand. She then looked over at the other Straw Hats. They all were smiling. A confirming smile that they agreed with their captain's declaration. She then turned her eyes to Law. He nodded at her. She nodded back at him then turned to Luffy. She took his hand in hers.


	92. Eight Hours Part One

Eight Hours

Part One

"I can't believe Shanks has a goddaughter!" Luffy cried for about the hundredth time in the past five minutes. Stars were shining in his eyes as he bounced around Neo. "This is so great!"

Neo felt like Luffy was taking her in from all angles, like he was trying to burn her image into his brain so he wouldn't ever forget what she looked like. "Uh, yeah."

"How old are you?! How long have you known Shanks?! When was the last time you saw him?! Is he doing okay?!" Luffy asked. He bounced to her left side, then her right, then in front of her, then behind her where he took her hair in his hands. "Your hair is so blue. Does Shanks like your hair? I think I do!"

"I'm twenty two. Well, he's known me, or about me, my whole life. I only found out about him shortly after we met back on Sabaody, like I explained before. We've met a couple times," Neo replied. She pulled her hair from Luffy's hands. He bounced in front of her and got so close that their noses were almost touching. She leaned back away from him so far she almost fell over. Luckily, Law put his arm out and caught her while shooting Luffy a sharp glare, which he didn't see since he was so excited. "We've only met a couple of times in person. And one of those times I was a new born. We meet more often in our dream world that we create through our bond. It's easier that way. And he was doing fine the last time I checked. I guess he likes my hair. I'm, uh, glad you like it."

"This is so cool!" Luffy exclaimed. "It's like I have a little sister now!"

"She's not your sister, Straw Hat!" Law snapped as he tilted Neo back in the correct position on her feet. "Weren't you listening?! She's twenty two years old! That means she's older than you!"

"That makes her only a year older than us," Sanji said casting a glance at Zoro. The swordsman shrugged, uncaring either way.

"Huh?!" Luffy pulled away from her. He crossed his arms and looked her up and down. "But she looks so young!"

"I look young because my people age differently than humans," Neo replied. "We age a bit slower. I think it's because we're more in tuned with nature."

"I guess that explains why everyone always calls you a kid," Nami said. She rubbed her finger over her chin in thought. "It all make sense now."

Neo shrugged. She really didn't know what to say about that.

"So magic is the reason Chopper acts so differently with you?" Franky asked. His eyes roamed over her body. "Because you're basically nature yourself?"

"That's right. Animals can easily tell that I'm different. They just automatically know right away. They just sense it and smell that I'm different. According to Bepo, I smell sweet and like nature to them. My people are more in tuned with nature than humans are," Neo replied. "I think the animals can also tell that about us."

The Straw Hats look at Chopper. He nodded in conformation. "That's right. She does smell very sweet and like nature."

"I remember you said that when we first met her back on Sabaody," Nami said. She looked at the doctor then at Neo. "I guess I had a little doubt in my mind about it."

"More in tuned with nature?" Usopp asked. He crossed his arms. "Does that mean when you eat meat it's like cannibalism or something?"

"No, Neo's people are not animals. They're just not human either," Law said. "She only eats meat because she was raised by humans. Most likely, if she were raised among her people, she wouldn't eat meat at all. They have a stricter diet of vegetables and fruits than most humans do."

"That makes sense," Brook said. "I don't think I'd be able to eat meat either if I was so connected to nature."

"It does feel a bit odd at times," Neo said, "but like Law said, I was raised among humans."

"What all can you do with your power, uh, magic?" Nami asked.

"Well, I can use the elements like you've all seen me do, I can turn into the elements," Neo said.

"What?!" Luffy, Usopp and Chopper screamed. "You can turn into the elements?!"

"Yes." Neo nodded. "But I don't usually do that because it uses up a lot of my magic. I can also sense all of the elements in nature."

"Sense the elements?" Robin asked. "That means that any element found in nature, you can sense it? Even if it comes from a Devil Fruit user?"

"That's right." Neo nodded again. "I can sense them too."

"Rubber is an element," Nami said. She grabbed Luffy's cheek and tugged it towards her. "Does that mean you can sense him?"

"I can. I can also sense Caesar," Neo replied. "They're elements of nature. I can also sense the animals in Zoan types."

"Does that mean you can sense me as well?" Momonosuke asked. He was pointing at himself. "I am a dragon now."

"No." Neo shook her head. "For some reason, I can't sense manmade animals. I couldn't sense the dragons on Punk Hazard either."

"You couldn't sense them?" Chopper asked. "I wonder why. They're still animals."

"But they are artificial," Law said. "So, technically, they didn't come from nature."

"Possibly," Chopper said while rubbing his chin. "I wonder what was used to make them. Surely there was some elements of animals involved somewhere."

"Are you saying that I might be able to sense them after all?" Neo asked.

"I can't really answer that without knowing what the process was," Chopper replied. "It's just a theory, but you might be able to. Maybe you can, but you just think you can't because they are so different. Surely they used animals DNA for making those dragons. I'm sorry. I don't mean to confuse you."

"I think what Chopper is trying to say is, you might be able to sense them once you get stronger," Sanji said. He took a puff on his cigarette. "If scientists really do use the DNA of animals to create dragons then the elements are there. You just don't notice them because they didn't come from the birthing process."

"I see. But it's fine," Neo said with a smile. "I don't really understand all that scientific stuff and I probably never will. I'm sure this won't effect me in anyway. I can still fight against people using manmade Devil Fruits."

"You're probably right." Chopper nodded.

Before anyone else could say anything, a bird flew over the deck and tossed a newspaper down to them. Brook saw it first and walked over to it. He picked it up then turned back to the group. "Oh, look here. The morning paper has arrived. I wonder if Doflamingo's announcement is in it."

"Really?!" Luffy ran over to the skeleton and grabbed the paper.

Neo flinched and grabbed onto Law's arm. He kissed her temple before guiding her over to the gathering pirates where Luffy had the newspaper already spread open on the deck. He guided her down to the deck before kneeling behind her. He rested his chin on her shoulder while they dropped their eyes to the newspaper in front of them. She turned her eyes to Chopper when the reindeer climbed in her lap. She couldn't help but smile when the Straw Hat pirate smiled up at her so innocently. She looped her arms around his waist and turned her attention to the newspaper.

When Sanji started reading, she drew in her breath and held it. He said, "Don Quixote Doflamingo…"

"…withdraws from…" Chopper said.

"…the Seven Warlords!" Everyone gasped.

"And abdicates the throne of Dressrosa?! What the heck?!" Sanji asked.

"Throne means he was a king?!" Brook wondered out loud.

"A king?!" Luffy asked. "Then it must be a birds' kingdom!"

"This whole thing worked out so well. It's kind of scary," Franky said. "I didn't think it would be so easy."

"It's good. He didn't have any choice," Law said with a pleased smile.

Neo shifted. She didn't feel right about this. It did seem far too easy. But it didn't matter now. It was already done. Still it made her feel dizzy. Her body grew warm as the morning sun beat down on her. She swayed a bit before stabilizing herself. It took Law brushing his fingers over her ribs for her to realize she was still holding her breath. Exhaling, the dizziness faded and she felt better.

"By the way, why are  _our_  faces here in the paper?" Luffy asked, tossing a glance at Law.

Everyone gathered closer and looked down to see Luffy and Law's pictures were in the paper. Brook was reading off the article that accompanied Doflamingo's resignation, "The Warlord, Trafalgar Law forms an unusual alliance with the Straw Hat pirates. It's still unknown what the Government's response to Law will be."

Neo sighed internally and smiled. The picture of Law was his wanted poster. She always loved that picture. Not only because Bepo was in it, but also because Law looked incredibly sexy. That smirk he held on his face in the picture, always made her heart flutter wildly in her chest, just like it was doing now. She settled her chin on Chopper's hat.  _'I so love that picture of you. You look so incredibly sexy and hot in it.'_

' _I thought I always look sexy and hot to you.'_  Law grinned.

' _You do. In fact, you look so incredibly sexy right now that I want to…'_ Law felt his face grew hot when she passed her silent suggestion to him. She bit her lip, in an attempt not to giggle when she felt his heartbeat speed up.  _'What's wrong, Law? Nothing to say?'_

' _Oh, I have plenty to say on that.'_  Law replied as he used all the stealth in his body to slip his hand up under her shirt and to her breast without anyone noticing.  _'Now just isn't the time or place for those words or actions. But, rest assured, I'll be saving them for later when I can get you alone again.'_

' _So you'll ask for a condom?'_

' _Shut up.'_  Law teased her again before extracting his hand.

"Hey! There's something else!" Nami gasped. She pointed at the newspaper. There on the next page was three of the other Super Nova captains, Kid, Basil, and Apoo. "I can't believe other pirates are forming alliances, as well!"

"Really? They're forming an alliance too?" Luffy asked. "I wonder if they're thinking the same thing as us."

Neo narrowed her eyebrows. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of those pirates possibly going after her godfather. She mumbled, "They could be going after Godfather."

"Neo, are you okay with this?" Sanji's voice was distant when he spoke to her.

"Huh?" Neo looked up. Everyone was looking at her with some concern in their eyes. "Yeah…well, not really. But I understand that this the life that my godfather chose to live. There's nothing I can really do about it. So I try not to think about it."

"You should contact him soon," Law said. "You haven't talk to him in a while."

Neo nodded. "It has been a while."

"How exactly does this bond of yours work?" Nami asked. "I'm still a bit confused on it."

"Never mind that for right now. You'll have time to discuss that in detail on the way to Dressrosa. We're going on with the plan no matter what those other crews are doing. Just focus on Doflamingo for now," Law said. He lifted up his hand and formed his Room. "Room. Shambles."

"About time! I was getting hot down there!" Caesar snapped when he reappeared on the deck.

Law stood up and walked over to Caesar. Grabbing the scientist's hair, he added, "Now you know how important yesterday's negotiation was for him. All we did was kidnap Caesar. In contrast, seemingly overnight, he gave up his throne that he's had for ten years and the carte blanche given to him as a privilege of being a Warlord. He did it just to get this guy back and that says a lot."

"So what now?" Nami asked.

"Now, we contact Doflamingo again," Law said. He released his hold on Caesar and walked over to the transponder snail. He picked it up, pausing to glance at Neo. When she nodded at him that she was fine with this and stable, he turned back to the transponder snail and dialed in the number.

It seemed like the transponder snail rang for years before it clicked and Doflamingo's voice came from the other side. "It's me. I quit the Seven Warlords."

"Ack! He picked up!" Usopp shrieked, quietly. A few of the Straw Hats remained sitting on the deck while the others remained standing. All of their eyes were locked onto the transponder snail.

…

A shiver ran up Neo's spine at the sound of the man's voice. Feeling twitchy, she stood up. Her hands started trembling from just the few words the Warlord had spoke. She rubbed her palms on her shorts. Her stomach and head started to spin. She felt like she was going to be sick. She about jumped out of her skin when Law looked back at her with concern. She smiled and waved at him, a signal she was fine. When he turned back to the transponder snail, her smiled vanished. She took a slow, deep breath and released it. She took two more slow relaxing breaths then reminded herself that Doflamingo wasn't really here. The man couldn't hurt them. They were safe, for now.

She jumped again when Luffy shouted.

"Doflamingo?!" Luffy screamed.

Neo turned her eyes to Usopp when he started to bounce from foot to foot and shushed his captain. "Shh! He will hear you!"

She watched as Luffy ignored the sniper and rushed towards the transponder snail. She hoped Law didn't get too annoyed when Luffy grabbed his wrist and pulled the receiver to his lips. Still screaming, Luffy said, "Hello?! I'm Monkey D. Luffy! I'm going to become the King of the Pirates!"

Usopp reached out and smacked Luffy over the head. He hissed, "I told you to shut up!"

"Hey, Mingo! You are this dingdong Caesar's boss, right?!" Luffy continued, seemingly to be unaware of Usopp wrapping his arms and legs around his rubber body in a desperate attempt to silence him. Luffy pointed back towards Caesar. "He gave Brownbread and the children a really hard time! We'll give him back to you as we promised, but if you ever do something like that again, I will beat the stuffing out of you!"

"Straw Hat Luffy. You've been away for two years after your brother's tragic death. Where were you and what were you doing?" Doflamingo asked.

"I'm…I'm not suppose to tell anyone," Luffy said, Usopp still desperately pulling on him.

"I want to see you," Doflamingo said. Luffy and Usopp stopped struggling. "I have something that I think you'll want very badly now."

"Something that I want?" Luffy asked. He and Usopp blinked simultaneously. Usopp finally jumped off Luffy's back. "Very badly?" Luffy's eyebrow twitched. His lips curled into a grin and a drop of drool rolled out of his mouth. "H-hey! How delicious is that meat you're talking about?!"

Law smacked Luffy on the cheek. He hissed, "Straw Hat! Don't get drawn into his pace!"

"One chunk of meat! Two chunks of meat!" Hearts popped into Luffy eyes.

"Luffy! Keep it together!" Usopp grabbed the front of Luffy's shirt and shook him. "This is a special attack called "His Pace"!"

"One hundred chunks of meat! Two hundred chunks of meat!" Luffy continued to drool.

"Stop! Don't get drawn into it!" Usopp shrieked with his teeth gnashing together while he continued to shake Luffy in desperation. "Snap out of it!"

"Joker! Cut the crap! We'll hand Caesar over to you as we promised," Law said.

"Well, that's for your own good. If you try to run away with him, you know what will happen to you guys." Doflamingo chuckled. "Now, can I hear my precious business partner's voice?"

Law turned the receiver towards Caesar. The man scooted closer and, reaching for the receiver, said, "Joker! I'm sorry! You resigned from the Warlords for me!"

Law pulled it away from Caesar before he could grab the receiver. "Did you hear him?"

"Yeah, he sounded fine," Doflamingo said.

"Eight hours from now, at the beach on the southeast side of Green Bit, the solitary island north of Dressrosa. We'll leave Caesar there at three in the afternoon. Go ahead and pick him up. And this will all be finished," Law said.

"That's too bad. I wish I could have a drink with you now that you're all grown up," Doflamingo said. "And, of course, I would love you see your lovely wife. How is she doing?"

…

Neo shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. She turned away from the conversation-taking place. She really didn't want to hear Doflamingo's voice anymore. She scanned her eyes everywhere in an attempt to distract herself. She looked at the grass, the features of the Sunny's deck, the sky, the ocean, Usopp frantically smacking Luffy in a desperate attempt to snap him out of his meat trance while Chopper and Nami watched then Sanji when he stepped closer to her.

He took his cigarette out of his mouth and held it away from her. He then asked, "Are you okay? You look a bit upset and pale."

"I'm fine." She smiled, or tried to.

Sanji gave her a skeptical look. "I'm getting the feeling you're the type that doesn't like to immediately tell the truth because you don't want to be a burden to anyone."

Neo twitched. "Well, aren't you the observant one?"

Sanji laughed. "Yeah. I guess I am. So what's on your mind?"

Neo glanced back over at Luffy. He still had Usopp hovering over him and slapping him repetitively. She then looked at Law. He was busying being annoyed by the Straw Hat captain and finishing up his conversation with Doflamingo. Her eyes lingered on Law before she pulled them back to Sanji. She knew Law wouldn't want her to reveal the truth about why he was so fixed on taking Doflamingo down, but she didn't want to lie either. Plus, she was thankful that Sanji had opened a line of communication with her. It was a nice distraction. So she carefully chose her words before replying. "I just get a bit nervous when Law is thinking about Doflamingo. Sometimes…he just gets a bit obsessed with his plans. And, sometimes, well a lot of the time, it just scares me."

Sanji watched her intently. While she spoke to him, she let her eyes drift back over to Law. Somehow he knew she was check to make sure Law was still with her. He chuckled. "You really are in love with him."

Neo blushed, but smiled.

"It'll be fine," Sanji said. "You have us all backing you two up on this. We won't let anything happen to you or Law. Luffy has already guaranteed that."

"I guess he has," Neo said. "Your captain is so goofy. I can't believe how excited he is because I'm Shanks' goddaughter."

"He certainly is a goofball. But it's not surprising that he's going to be protective of you now. Shanks is a good friend of his and the one who inspired him to be a pirate," Sanji said. He looked over at his captain then back at Neo. "So don't worry about it. Everything will work out just fine."

"I hope so," Neo whispered.

"I know so," Sanji said. "Now, stop worrying about it. It's not healthy for you to worry so much in this condition."

"Condition?" Neo lifted an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing. I just meant it's not healthy to worry so much. You're going to make yourself sick if you do," Sanji said. He smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "But, since we're talking, there is something I'd like to ask you about. It's just a hypothetical question and out of curiosity."

"What is it?"

"I know you've said you and Law aren't going to have kids, but, if you did," Sanji paused for a moment before continuing. He felt tense and wondered if Neo noticed that he was. "If you did have kids, how would you handle being in fights? I mean you two are pirates after all. So fights are inevitable. And I highly down Law could or would lock you in his ship for your entire pregnancy, if you were of course."

"Oh, that." Neo smiled. "It wouldn't matter. Like I said before, Elementals have differences from humans. I don't know everything about Elemental pregnancies, because I haven't studied on them, but a friend back on Luminous informed us that Elemental women have been hit during all stages of a pregnancy. Our crystals create a shield around the baby to protect it. So, technically, I could still engage in close combat and nothing would happen. It would take several, seriously strong hits, directly on the stomach, to cause any damage to an unborn Elemental baby."

"I see," Sanji said with a sigh. "That's a relief."

Neo narrowed her eyebrows while considering him. She couldn't help but noticed that he did look relieved. "Besides, I'm not pregnant. So it doesn't matter, right?"

"You're right. It doesn't matter." Sanji nodded. Turning his head from her, he noticed Robin had over heard their conversation. Sticking his cigarette back between his lips, he walked over to her. He stood beside her and crossed his arms. "I see you heard everything."

Robin nodded.

…

"Just hang up!" Luffy cried. He dove forward and hung up the transponder snail. He breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close. You almost got pulled into his pace."

"Your eyes! Your eyes!" Usopp shrieked while pointing out Luffy's meat shaped eyes.

"Hey, wait! We didn't tell him how many men he can bring!" Sanji said, uncrossing his arms.

"How many men?" Usopp and Chopper asked.

"That's right." Sanji nodded. "What are we going to do if he brings his entire crew?"

"What?!" Usopp and Chopper screamed.

"It doesn't matter," Law said, glancing over his shoulder. "The handover of Caesar is a part of our plan. It's just a distraction to lure them."

"You mean, destroying the SMILE manufacturing factory while it's unguarded is our main purpose?" Usopp asked.

"Yeah. But the only problem is we don't know where it is." Law walked passed the sniper and doctor.

"You're kidding!" Usopp and Chopper said, their eyes following Law as he walked by them.

"Don't worry. Factories are big. It will be impossible to miss," Franky said. "Once we get there, we'll super find it! With one shot from my laser beam it'll be toast!"

"Oh, yeah!" Usopp, Chopper, and Franky threw their hands in the air and struck a pose.

"You all are so silly," Neo said, swallowing back a giggle since Caesar was on the deck with them.

"We have intelligence on everything but the factory," Law said. He walked up to Neo. Running his eyes over her face while tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. He brushed his thumb over her cheek before slipping his fingers into hers and turning halfway back to the Straw Hats. "For some reason, we just couldn't get any information on it."

"No wonder. It's an important asset for them, isn't it? They wouldn't want just anyone easily locating it." Nami stood up from her spot on the deck. She brushed off her shorts. "There has to be some sort of secret behind it."

"Sir Law!" Kin'emon popped up in front of Nami. He bounced around Law and Neo while talking to him, unaware his actions were making Neo twitch. "Sir Law! You said you're going to go to Green Bit earlier!"

"Earlier!" Momonosuke, in his dragon form, echoed.

"We'll be docking this ship at Dressrosa. So don't worry about it," Law told them. He squeezed Neo's hands when she inched closer to him, a simple reminder that these two weren't the enemy.

"Is that so? Thank you!" Kin'emon said with relief as he and his son shrunk down.

"Thank you!" Momonosuke said.

"Tra, have you and Neo been to that island before?" Luffy then asked. "Dress-roba?"

"It's 'rosa'!" Law hissed. "And no, we've never been there. It's  _his_  kingdom."

"Then, let's figure everything out once we get there!" Luffy started rocking himself side to side with his hands behind his head. He then put his arm around Neo's shoulders. "It's going to be an adventure! Can't wait to see Dressrosa! I want to go to the Wano Kingdom soon, too! Doesn't that sound like so much fun, Neo?!"

"Uh, I suppose so," Neo replied, completely unsure.

"Don't be stupid! You can't just show up there without a plan!" Law said.

"Sanji, I'm hungry! Come on, Neo! Let's eat!" Luffy shouted as if he didn't hear Law at all. He grabbed Neo's hand and pulled her away from the Warlord. With Neo following, he ran past Law and headed up the stairs. "What do we have for breakfast?"

"Sandwiches," Sanji replied, following Luffy and Neo.

"Yeah! I want a cotton-candy sandwich!" Chopper exclaimed while dashing for the stairs.

"Just a cup of tea for me, please," Robin said.

"I'll have some cola!" Franky announced as the Straw Hats headed for the kitchen.

Neo glanced back down at the deck just before Luffy pulled her to the top of the stairs. Law was watching in disbelief at the Straw Hats being so carefree in all of this. She felt a bit sorry for him. He was so use to the more serious pace of their own crew and they actually listening to him. She wondered how he was going to survive being in an alliance with the Straw Hats.

"A glass of milk for me," Brook said as he passed the Heart Pirate.

"I think the best breakfast in the world is Sanji's sandwiches," Nami said.

"What is a sandwich?" Momonosuke asked.

"No bread on mine! I don't like bread!" Law said before gasping in realization of falling into pace with the Straw Hats.

Neo bit her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing at Law's expression. She managed to extract herself from Luffy's grip just before he could pull her into the kitchen. She walked over to the railing and glanced down at Law. "Come on, pirate boy. I'm starving. And I know you are too. I'll ask Sanji if I can borrow his kitchen to make you some onigiri or something else."

"Fine," Law grumbled. He reluctantly shoved his hands into his pockets and stalked up the stairs. Neo waited for him. When he got close enough she wrapped her arm around his and pulled him into the small kitchen where the Straw Hats were waiting while Sanji spread out his already made breakfast on the table. Luffy was at the head of the table with Nami on his right. Momonosuke, Kin'emon, and Zoro on his left. Robin and Franky were behind them at the bar that she had sat at before while Brook and Usopp were sitting on a couch on the opposite side of the room.

"Neo!" Chopper waved from the far side of the table. He pointed to two empty seats to his left. "I saved you a seat! You'll sit with me, won't you?!"

"Of course I will. Just give me a minute," Neo said. She waved at Chopper then released her hold on Law and stepped over to Sanji. "Hey, mind if I borrow your kitchen? Law really doesn't like bread. If you have enough rice, I'd like to make him some onigiri. It's one of his favorites."

"You can use my kitchen any time you want," Sanji said. He tossed the two trays he was holding up into the air. They landed perfectly on the table without spilling.

"That was impressive." Neo clapped, impressed at his performance while Law rolled his eyes. Her stomach then grumbled for the lack of food that was inside of it.

Sanji chuckled. "You're clearly very hungry. Please, go ahead and sit down. I'll make him some onigiri."

"Well, if it won't be that much trouble," Neo said, feeling a bit bothersome by letting him cook for her husband.

"It's no trouble at all," Sanji replied. "I'll have them ready in just a few short minutes. Please, you've had a long, stressful night. Just sit down and relax now."

"All right then. But Law doesn't like sour plums," Neo said. "Any other flavor will be fine."

"No sour plums." Sanji nodded. "I got it."

"Thank you, Sanji," Neo said. She flashed him a smile before talking Law's arm again. She pulled him over to the table and they sat down. With the food already spread out on the table, the Straw Hats dug in. She held back for a while. She wanted to wait for Law to eat with her. So she ran her eyes over the spread while Law removed his hat and waited patiently. There were several sandwiches cut in triangles, meats, some vegetables, eggs, and a couple different types of seasons and condiments. It all looked so good that she didn't know what she really wanted.

"Here! You really should try this one!" Chopper said as he started filling her plate. "And this one! This one! This one! Oh! And definitely this one! You'll love it!"

"Uh." Neo blinked at the amount of food the reindeer was piling on her plate. She now had four egg halves, some vegetables, and three sandwiches. She didn't even noticed that Sanji had completely Law's onigiri and had them already sitting on the table. Law had to elbow her to get her to snap out of her daze. "Sorry. I don't really eat this much."

"Don't worry about it," Sanji said. He eyed the plate Chopper had filled for her then eyed her. To him, she really didn't look like she ever ate very much. "Just eat what you feel like. If you can't finish something, I'm know my knucklehead captain will finish it for you. Besides, that is a lot Chopper gave you."

"Thank you, Sanji," Neo said with a smile. She picked up one of the sandwich triangles and took a bite. Her cheeks tinted pink as her eyes sparkled. "It's so good!"

Sanji chuckled. "I'm glad you like it. Maybe I can give you some pointers on sandwich making, if you want?"

"Yeah!" Neo nodded. "I'd like that!"

"Yeah! Then we'll have two world class chiefs onboard!" Luffy cheered with a mouthful of food.

"You make it sound like they're a part of our crew now," Brook said before taking a sip of his tea.

"They are!" Luffy cheered again.

"No, we are not!" Law hissed.

"Anyway," Nami said, breaking in before a fight broke out. She looked at Kin'emon and Momonosuke. "Why were you two on Punk Hazard? We know how the other kids ended up there, but their story doesn't match up with you two being there."

"That's because we were being chased. I cannot tell you  _why_  we were being chased," Kin'emon said with a mouth full of food. "But, originally, we had set sail for a place called Zou."

"Zou?" Law and Neo asked. Both their eyebrows perched up at the name.

"Do you two know of it?" Kin'emon asked.

"That's quite a coincidence. After handing over Caesar and destroying the SMILE factory, we were going to head for Zou," Law said. Luffy leaned over the table to grab some more sandwiches, temporarily blocking Law's view on the samurai.

"Really?!" Kin'emon slammed his hands on the table and stood up.

"Yeah, our crew is there already," Law replied. Neo lowered her sandwich from her mouth at the mention of their crew. Her homesickness passed through to Law. He brushed his knee against her, causing a small smile to pull over her lips.

"I-if so, may we go along with you there?" Kin'emon asked.

"Yes, you can! I want to go there too! And then let's go to the Wano Kingdom!" Luffy pumped his fist into the air.

"Hey! Wait a second!" Law protested.

Kin'emon dropped his forehead to the table. "Thank you!"

"W-well…" Law relaxed, reluctantly, in his seat. There was nothing else he could do.

"Sir Luffy, thank you for everything!" Kin'emon said, turning to the Straw Hat man.

"Everything!" Momonosuke repeated.

"Don't mention it!" Luffy smiled. He turned to Law. "Right, Tra?"

Neo smile when all Law did was placed his chin in his hand and look away from the silly captain in an annoyed huff. Biting back a giggle, she reached over and placed her hand on his thigh. "It'll be fine, Law. We're already heading there anyway. It won't bother anything taking two extra passengers with us."

"Yeah, whatever," Law grumbled. He let his eyes rest on hers, his aggravation instantly melting away upon seeing her sweet, innocent eyes. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He placed his hand over hers while she turned back to her breakfast. His eyes automatically dropped to her plate. His eyebrows lifted when he noticed she had eaten just about everything the reindeer had giving her. The only thing left was two small cherry tomatoes and half of a sandwich. He studied the plate while she picked up a tomato and popped it into her mouth before picking up the remaining sandwich. He shook it off. After her vomiting session early he figured her hunger was justified. There was no other reason for her to eat so much.

"That was great!" Luffy declared. He sat back in his seat, his stomach rounded and full. They all mumbled their agreements.

"Another wonderful meal, Sanji," Nami said. "Thank you."

"It was good," Neo said. She looked at Law. "How was the onigiri?"

"They were good," Law replied. He shot her a secret grin.  _'But yours are better.'_

Neo giggled.  _'Only because you love me more than Sanji.'_  She picked up both their plates and stood up.

"Oh, no," Sanji protested. He waved his hands. "I couldn't let you help me clean up. You're a guest."

"But I want to help. You've done so much for us," Neo said. Her bottom lip pouched out while her eyes turned more round and childlike. She, innocently, fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Please?"

"Oh! You're just so cute!" Sanji squealed, his eyes turning into hearts.

Law felt torn between being jealous of the attention she was giving Sanji and being amused at how easily she was undoing the Straw Hat cook. He chuckled.  _He has no defense against her. She wins this one._

"Women are going to be the reason for your death," Zoro stated. He had his hands behind his head and was frowning while leaning back in his chair.

"Shut up, moss head!" Sanji snapped. He then sighed and turned back to Neo. "All right. If you really want to help that badly, you can dry the dishes."

" _Without_  your crystals," Law said.

Neo stuck her tongue out at him and wrinkled her nose, but didn't protest to the order. She then followed the blonde cook over to the sink. While she helped him, they listened to Kin'emon tell them of how they ended up on Punk Hazard.

"Three samurais including me, and Momonosuke, were all heading for Zou, but our ship wrecked," Kin'emon said, "and two of us samurais and Momonosuke drifted to the island of Dressrosa."

Momonosuke then said, "But we had been chased by Doflamingo and the others there. I was looking for a place to hide and ran onto an unknown ship. There, I met the children who were looking to get treated. And unfortunately, the ship left the port before I knew it and headed for that island."

"I started to follow after him in a smaller boat. That's when my fellow samurai, Kanjuro got caught. He was trying to cover for me so I could get away." Tears began to leak out of the samurai's eyes upon remembering what had happened to them. "He let me sail out to the sea so I could save my son! Now, I have to go back and save him! I have to go back!"

"What a man, Kanjuro!" Franky cried, tears and snot hanging from his nose.

"Kanjuro!" Chopper cried just as dramatically as Franky.

"All right! I'm gonna go save him with you!" Luffy declared. He tossed his arms into the air.

"Hey! Don't forget our original intention for going there!" Law shouted, but they didn't hear him. They were too busy chanting the heroic samurai's name.

"Kanjuro! Kanjuro! Kanjuro!"

…

"Law's not really into silliness, is he?" Sanji asked. He looked at the grumpy Warlord before looking at Neo.

"Not really. Our crew has their silly moments as well, but they are a bit more serious than your crew," Neo replied. She ran her towel over the plate in her hand then sat it down on the already dried stack she had. "Actually, being around your crew, it seems to be making me miss them a bit less. It's a nice distraction from thinking about how we're about to face off against Doflamingo in a few hours."

"I suppose I'd be nervous too if I was in your shoes," Sanji said. He dropped his eyes to her bare feet. "Well, so to speak. You don't really like wearing shoes, do you?"

"I don't. I didn't wear them growing up. I only wear them when I have to," Neo replied. She dried another plate and sat it down. "Under Law's orders, of course. If it was my decision, I'd never wear them despite how practical they can be at times."

Sanji nodded in understanding. "Well, since we have a few hours, we'll be happy to keep you distracted. I'm sure my crew still has a lot of questions about your magic. And I'm sure they'll love to play with you once all of their questions have been answered. Some might even spare with you."

"At least I won't be bored." Neo giggled.

"That is highly guaranteed," Sanji said while finishing up the last of the dishes. Once Neo had finished drying them, he put them away then pulled out a small, white bottle from one of the cabinets. He turned its label to her. "Lotion. You want some?"

"Sure." Neo nodded. She held out her hand and let his squeeze a small amount into her palm. She rubbed it into her hands then noticed its smell. "Thank you. It smells like citrus. I like it."

"It's my favorite scent," Sanji replied. He squeezed some in his own hand and rubbed it into his skin before walking over to the fridge.

Neo watched him as he pulled out a couple sandwiches on a plate. Confused, she tilted her head and asked, "You eating again?"

"No," Sanji replied, shutting the fridge. "This is for Caesar."

Neo twitched with a frown. "You're feeding  _him_?"

"Just a little bit. No point in letting him go hungry," Sanji said. He then noticed the annoyed look on her face. "You don't like him very much, do you?"

"He was hurting those kids," Neo practically hissed. She calmed down a bit when Law noticed her fury and wrapped his presence around her as a warning to calm down. She forced herself to take a deep breath, but crossed her arm in a huff.

"I understand how you feel," Sanji said. He placed his free hand on her shoulder. "But it would be wrong of us to deny him food just because he did something we don't like."

Neo's mood lightened up a bit more at his words. She sighed. "I suppose you are correct."

"Don't worry about it. The kids are safe now. He can't hurt them anymore," Sanji said and she nodded. He then chuckled.

"What?" Neo asked.

"Nothing." Sanji shook his head.

"What is it?" Neo insisted. "Tell me."

"With how protective you are of those kids, kids that don't belong to you, I just realized that you are going to make one  _very_  protective mother," Sanji said. He quickly added, "I mean, if you were to have a child!"

"I don't know about that," Neo said. "I'd be more terrified of the child than anything else."

"I doubt that," Sanji said. "A parent's instincts can over ride any other type of feeling."

"Do they really?" Neo asked.

"Well, not all of them, but a lot of them do," Sanji replied. "And I know you'll be one of them."

"He's right," Robin said. The two cooks turned their attention to the dark haired woman. She had overheard their conversation while some of the other pirates were still going on about how great Kanjuro was, some were just sitting calmly at the table and Law was still looking annoyed at the silliness of the Straw Hats. She hand her left elbow on the bar and her chin resting in her palm. A smile was present on her lips. "You're protective instincts over children are really strong. You might be scared at first, but all first time parents are. But once you've held your child in your arms, all those fears will melt away."

Neo tilted her head. Considering Robin and Sanji's words, she didn't notice that she had lifted her left hand to her stomach. She mindlessly rubbed her abdomen while thinking about their words. "Well, if you two say so. I really wouldn't know. I've only been around babies twice. I really have no clue what to do with them. I've ever actually taken care of one. Someone else always did it. But if you two believe that I would make a fine parent then I guess that's okay. I'm sure you two have more experience with kids than I do."

…

Penguin rushed through the jungle that had been his home for the past two years. He was having trouble sleeping, yet again. So he has been taking a lot of runs since they arrived on Zou. He knew the reason was because he was really missing Neo and the captain, but mostly Neo. Bepo was the one who missed the captain the most since he's known him longer than the rest of the crew.

But here lately, something just felt off to him. And he knew that that  _something_  had to do with Neo. He just wished he knew why he was being so concerned over her. Penguin sighed. He looked up through the cracks in the leaves. Part of him thought that waking up early meant that another day would soon pass by. But he knew, realistically, it only made his days last longer. He did his best to try and keep himself busy. He had started going for long runs, then would return to the crew, and busy himself all day long with whatever tasks he could manage to grab a hold of.

Well, technically, his  _days_  were really nights do to the agreement made between the two rulers of this country. It was an odd arrangement for him and his crewmates, but after a couple weeks, they adjusted to the difference and settled in nicely to their  _temporary_   _home_. But there was an emptiness that had descended upon them all. Even for the newer members of the crew, there was a hollowness that engulfed them. And it was a hollowness that they all knew wouldn't go away until their beloved little sister and captain returned to them.

Penguin was about to continue with his run, but paused when he heard Topaz calling out for him. "Hey! Penguin!"

"What's up, Topaz?" Penguin asked when the fire Elemental rushed up to him. He ran his eyes over her hair. She had started letting to grow longer since Neo and the captain left them. His only reasoning, despite her denying it, was that she was growing it out because she really missed her princess. Her orange tresses hung loosely around her shoulders as she bent over to catch her breath.

"I've been looking all over for you!" She looked up at him with an annoyed glare. "I really wish you wouldn't go running off like that all the time!"

"You know why I do," Penguin replied, frowning.

Topaz twitched. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. Straightening up, she said, "I know, Penguin. I really miss her too. They'll be home soon."

"You and the rest of the crew have been saying that for weeks!" Penguin snapped. "We don't even know if they're  _alive_! They've been gone for  _months_! They could be dead by now and we'd never know!"

"Penguin, calm down," Topaz said, in a tolerant tone. "I know you're just being snappy because we haven't heard anything about them since they left. But that's changed."

"What do you mean?" Penguin asked, his anger vanishing.

"That's why I've come to find you. Wanda brought us the newspaper a few minutes ago," Topaz said. "There's an article in it about the captain. She figured we'd want to see it as soon as possible."

"What?! Why didn't you say so?!" Penguin shrieked. He bolted back towards the village before Topaz could say anything more.

"I was trying to," Topaz huffed. She planted her hands on her hips and glared at the retreating man's back. With a sigh, she followed after him. Chasing him all the way back since he was running far to fast for her to catch up.

"Where is it?!" Penguin demanded. The rest of the Heart Pirates were gathered in a group outside of the house they were using. They were clearly waiting for him before they read the article.

"About time!" Shachi said. He waved the newspaper that was in his hand. Before he could say anything else, Penguin snatched the paper from his hand and had it opened to the article. All their eyes ran over the black ink.

"What?!" the pirates shrieked, causing minks to jump and birds to scatter from the trees they were sleeping in. "We're in an alliance with the Straw Hats?!"

"Does that mean the Straw Hats arrived on Punk Hazard at some point?" Bepo asked.

"They had to if we're in an alliance with them," Shachi said, his eyes glued to the newspaper.

Ikkaku scoffed. She crossed her arms over her chest. "That's a worthless alliance. What's the captain thinking?"

"I agree." Uni nodded.

"Yeah," Clione said. "They're just a worthless crew. How could they possible help us?"

"They had to have gotten stronger if they entered into the New World and helped the captain take down Caesar," Jean Bart said. "Remember, they have been missing for the past two years. We don't know what their strength is now."

"But they're a crew of only eight," Ikkaku pointed out. "No way they can make much difference."

"Guess we'll see," Shachi said with a shrug. He turned from her and looked at Penguin. His best friend was still reading the article like he was trying to devour it.

"It doesn't mention Neo," Penguin said. His shoulders slumped. "I hope she's okay."

"Of course she is," Shachi said. He placed his hand on Penguin's shoulder. "You know the captain will protect her no matter what."

"Maybe this alliance is the reason you're so concerned about her," Bepo suggested. "They will be with a new crew. And Neo still gets nervous around new people."

"That could be the reason," Topaz said. "Maybe your protective big brother instincts just sensed this."

"Maybe," Penguin mumbled.

"Relax, Pen." Shachi squeezed his friend's shoulder. "At least we know that they are alive and doing well. Surely this also means that they will be coming here soon. We'll all get to see our little sister and our captain."

"I hope so," Penguin said with a sigh. "I really, really miss her."


	93. Eight Hours Part Two

Eight Hours

Part Two

"Hey! Neo!" Luffy called.

Neo looked up from the sink when Luffy spoke. He ran over to her, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her towards the door.

"Let's go back outside now!" Luffy said with a big grin.

"Uh, okay," Neo said, despite having no say in the matter.

"Careful, Luffy," Sanji scolded. He picked up Caesar's breakfast plate and a cup of water before following them out. "She's not use to being jerked around like that by you."

Luffy just laughed and continued to pull her out the door.

Neo shot a smile back at Sanji before disappearing around the doorframe.

"That guy," Sanji grumbled. He followed after them at a leisurely pace. He paused when he stepped out the door. Luffy had pulled Neo over the slide. The captain was positioning Neo in front of him in preparation to slide down to the deck. Sanji shook his head and turned in the opposite direction. He trudged down the stairs while Luffy slid down the slide with Neo sitting in front of him. He watched as the two slid down and were launched into the air a bit while walking over to Caesar. He handed the scientist the plate and cup he was holding as Luffy, holding Neo in his arms, landed on the deck. He huffed in agitation. "If you hurt her I'll personally throw you into the ocean."

"Wow!" Neo said, holding back her giggles. "That was so fun. A bit scary, though. It was a bit different than flying with my wind crystals. I thought I was going to lose my breakfast."

"Hee, hee!" Luffy chuckled.

"You knuckle head!" Sanji snapped. He whacked Luffy over the head with his fist. "Be careful with her! She doesn't digest food as fast as you do! Why don't you relax for a while before you start jerking her around like that?!"

"Aw," Luffy whined. He tightened his hold on Neo and pouted. "I want to play with her now!"

"He's right Luffy," Chopper said as he and the rest of the group started wondering back outside. "I'm sure we all don't want Neo to get sick."

"We could just sit around and talk for a while," Nami said. "There's some stuff I'd like to ask you about. Like the bon-"

"Room!" Law suddenly called out. His blue sphere expanded over the deck. "Shambles!"

"Oh no! Not aga-" Caesar called out before disappearing from the deck.

…

"-in!" Caesar popped into the anchor room once more. He looked around and growled. "Law! You are so going to pay for this! Mark my words! I'm going to make sure Doflamingo pounds you into the ground!"

Caesar picked up half of his sandwich and took an aggravated bite out of it while plotting multiple ways he could make Law pay for treating him this way.

…

"Oops! I'm so sorry!" Nami covered her mouth with her hands. "I forgot about him!"

Law frowned and walked over to the mast bench. He sat down and let his hat fall over his eyes.

Neo watched him before turning to the navigator. She said, "It's okay. There have been plenty of times when I've almost blown my own secret. I've always been one for laughing easily. Living on Punk Hazard and going out in public always has its challenges."

"I'm sure it does. I don't know what I'd do if I had to keep it a secret that I had bells in my laughter," Nami said. "Since we're Caesar free now, I'd really like to hear more about these bonds you have with Tra and Shanks."

"I'd like to hear more on the Elementals culture," Robin said with a calm smile.

"Sure. I'll tell you what all I know." Neo nodded while Luffy finally sat her back down on her feet. "Or what all I remember. I brought plenty of books back from Luminous, but they're back on the sub. Since we're going to be with each other for a while, you can borrow them if you want once we reconnect with our crew."

"That would be lovely," Robin said. "I'd really like that."

"Do you also have medical books?" Chopper asked. His eyes sparkled as he swung his arms by his sides.

"Of course. Since I decided to stay with the Heart Pirates, Law needed to know how to properly take care of me. So he was required to study with one of the best healers on Luminous." Neo nodded at him. She then looked at Sanji. "I have a lot of cookbooks too of Luminous delicacies. You might find something you like in them."

"Great! I'd love to take a look at them when we get the chance to!" Sanji smiled. He turned and headed away from them. "Since we're going to be talking for a while, I'll get some chairs."

"Thanks, Sanji," Nami said.

"I'd really like to take a look at those medical books, if you don't mind," Chopper said. "I'd like to have some basic information on how to care for you too. You know, just incase."

"That makes sense." Neo nodded.

"So what exactly do we call you now?" Nami asked. "Should we refer to you as Princess Neo?"

Neo's eyes widened. She held up her hands and waved them frantically. She said, "Please! No! I-I really don't like being called Princess! Just continue to call me Neo!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Nami replied.

"It's not that," Neo said. She rubbed her hand on her arm. She tapped her toes on the deck in thought. "It's just…I never liked it when Elementals called me that. For some reason, it just bugs me. I didn't like it when they bowed to me either. I never really got use to either of those. I mean, despite declining the throne to Luminous, I still retain my royal heritage. It just didn't feel right to deny that I'm a royal. I just don't like it when people treat me like one. It took forever to get Topaz to stop referring to me as her princess."

"That makes sense," Nami said with a nod. "You didn't grow up being treated like a royal."

"Right. So, please, just call me Neo," Neo said with a small smile.

"Here you go, my lovely ladies," Sanji said once he returned with four white chairs and a matching fold up white table. He sat them out for them and bowed a bit at his waist. "Is there anything else I could get for you?"

"No, we're good," Nami answered. "Thank you, Sanji."

"Yes, thank you," Robin said with a smile. The women then took their places at the small table.

Neo sat between Robin and Chopper while Nami sat across from her. Luffy stood beside Neo with his arms crossed over his chest like he was guarding her. Kin'emon and Momonosuke sat down on the desk and had their eyes closed. Brook and Franky stood near the father and son while Zoro stretched out on the grass and closed his eyes.

"Thank you," Neo mumbled while shifting awkwardly at his bow.

"Sorry," Sanji said, noticing Neo's discomfort. "If forgot, you don't like being bowed to."

"Neo was just explaining to us why," Robin said, breaking the tension that build up between them. She then relayed what Neo had said to Sanji.

"I see. That makes sense," Sanji said. "I'll try not to do it in the future. But I might not be able to stop it. It's a bit of a habit of mine."

"It's okay. I'll just try to adjust to it more," Neo said. She tucked her hair behind her ear when the wind began to blow it. "I know you're not bowing to me because I'm a princess."

"So, will you explain this bond of yours in more detail now?" Nami asked. She crossed her arms over the table and leaned towards Neo in anticipation.

"I'll try. It might not make much sense since it's something that apparently just happens," Neo replied. She tapped her finger on her chin. "Well, I bonded with Godfather shortly after I was born. It's believed that I bonded with him because he was trying to save my family and me. We have the ability to sense each other when we're close enough. We can also send messages to each other and meet in this dream like world that we create."

"Dream world?" Robin asked.

"Yes. It's kind of like a dream, but I'm still awake, sort of. My body stays in place, but my spirit travels to our dream world where we can spend time together," Neo explained.

"That sounds so cool," Chopper said. He laid his chin on the tables and held a dreamy expression on his face.

"So can you take me into this dream bond world place of yours?!" Luffy asked. He draped his arm over Neo's shoulder. "You know if I ever wanted to see Shanks?"

"Probably not. I don't even know if I can take Law in there. We never tried before," Neo replied. "He probably can go since we're bonded, but I doubt I can take anyone else."

"Ah, bummer," Luffy whined. He straightened back up and crossed his arms again.

"You still have your agreement with Shanks," Chopper pointed out. "Do you really want to see him now? You haven't become a great pirate yet."

"Yeah. I'd like to see him, but I'd rather wait until I fulfill our agreement," Luffy said with a smile as he looked up at the sky. The wind picked up again. It teased his hair and clothes. He watched some cloud lazily float by with a smile on his face.

"And what about your bond with Tra?" Nami asked.

"That one seems a bit more complicated. We've bonded three times," Neo explained. She pulled her feet up and tucked them under her thighs. "The first time we bonded was kind of an accident. It was when I revealed my past to him. And it was the bond that caused us to feel each other's pain. But we really didn't notice it at the time. The second time we bonded was after the Dark Elementals tried to drown me. That gave us the ability to sense where the other was. And the third time we bonded was when Law gave me this ring." Neo held up her hand so they could see the ring that was always on her finger.

Nami gasped, "Wow! It's so beautiful! And it looks very expensive! It's custom made, isn't it?"

"It is." Neo nodded. Pink brushed across her cheeks. "Law got this for me for my one year anniversary with the crew. Despite having desires for this ring to come with romantic intentions, he held back on those since I wasn't ready for it. So he was using this to keep men away from me that would try to get me into situations I wasn't ready for and didn't understand."

"Did something else happen with this bond like it did with the others?" Robin asked.

"Yeah. I can project myself, or my spirit, to him or I can pull his spirit to me," Neo said. "We discovered this when the Elementals had separated us. I guess I was just so scared at the time that I did it automatically. We tested this while we were on Luminous and discovered that, while we're being projected, our bodies are vulnerable. So we try to avoid using it unless we know that our bodies are safe and protected. Law doesn't want me to do anything that will put me into danger."

"That's so sweet." Nami chuckled. Cupping her hand to her mouth, she lowered her voice and whispered, "Despite his grumpy exterior, Tra seems like he can be very romantic when it comes to you."

"I suppose so," Neo replied. She placed her hands in her lap and fidgeted nervously with Law's ring while her already pink cheeks grew a couple shades darker.

"You're blushing," Nami teased.

"She's so cute when she's embarrassed," Sanji said with a chuckle.

"So what was your wedding like?" Robin asked. She glanced up at Luffy when he suddenly fell asleep. He was still standing up beside Neo. His head just rolled over onto his shoulder and he started snoring. She laughed at her captain before turning her attention back to Neo. "If I may give a guess, I'd say it was small. Most likely just with you two and your crew."

"You're right." Neo nodded. "I wouldn't have been able to handle a large wedding. I got sick multiple times just discussing the wedding plans with the crew. Luckily, Law took over the planning and I was able to keep my food down again."

"I dunno if I could handle having my future husband plan our wedding," Nami said. She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms and legs. "I like having control, especially over the money spent on a wedding."

"Law only took control because I kept getting sick. I was still in on the planning. It was just in more moderate, controlled fashion. He really didn't like that I kept getting sick. Apparently, I get nervous when planning or dealing with such big occasions. I also got sick on Luminous when preparing for the commitment ceremonies we went through," Neo replied.

"Commitment ceremonies?" Chopper asked.

Neo explained, "Once the Elementals learned of our bond they couldn't separated us because we would die. So they asked for assurance from Law and the crew that they were going to be true to their word in taking care of me. So we all went through commitment ceremonies. The crew, the first fifteen of them, received these pendants to seal the deal. They also serve as proof to other Elementals that it was my decision to be with pirates and that they didn't kidnapped me. Law and I also when through another commitment ceremony that was kind of like a mock wedding."

"Wow," Sanji said. His eyes dropped down to the faded scars on her arms. "You've really gone through a lot, haven't you?"

Catching him looking at her scars, she said, "You don't have to worry. I've long since stopped hurting myself."

"I'm sorry," Sanji said, bringing his eyes back to hers. "I didn't mean to stare."

"It's fine. I really don't mind having these scars. Most of them will fade away," Neo replied. She touched the spots on her body where the scars were that wouldn't disappear completely. "A couple of them I didn't do. This one on my left shoulder came from a mercenary that tried to kidnap me. He and his crew were hired by the Dark Elementals to test me. And this one on my stomach actually came from an Elemental. She was hired to try and take down our crew. She was a dual element. I was able to beat her, but she ended up shooting me."

"What?!" Luffy said, snapping out of his nap. "Someone shot you?!"

"That's terrible!" Chopper cried, tears dripping down his furry cheeks. "How could anyone shoot someone as sweet as you?!"

"Yeah." Neo nodded. Then gave them a quick version of what had happened in the fight between herself and Ren. By the time she was finished, Luffy's ears were steaming and his face contorted with anger. "It's all right, Luffy. That happened a long time ago. I survived the fight and the surgery. Law really is a wonderful doctor and a teacher."

Neo wasn't sure if Luffy heard her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, in a very protective way, and scanned the area for threats. He said, "No one is going to hurt you again!"

"So you and Law will die if you are separated, right?" Nami asked.

"Only if we believe that we won't be reunited," Neo said. She glanced over at Law. He was still on the bench with his arms and legs crossed. He flashed her a smile before letting his hat fall back over his eyes.

"Is that why you keep looking to make sure he's still with you?" Sanji asked.

"I suppose that's part of the reason. Law became my life in so many ways, and not just because we bonded. He saved me. He and the crew gave me a life and loved me when no one else would. It's also just out of habit," Neo replied while rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish grin. She then patted Luffy's arm when he tightened his hold on her. "I can't stop myself. I just want to know that he's near me even though I can sense him. He also helps me with my nightmares. They can be pretty intense at times. Luckily, I don't have them as much as I use to."

"So what all did Law teach you?" Sanji asked. He attempted to pry Luffy's arms off Neo, but failed. "You said that he taught you how to use your crystals. Will you let go of her, Luffy?! If you tighten your hold anymore you'll cut off her oxygen supply!"

Neo nodded. "He started me off with self defense. Bepo was the one who actually taught me that. It was for my confidence. After I grew comfortable with that, we moved on to my crystals. Eventually, I combined my elements with my fighting style and learned that I was more comfortable fighting in a more playful way since I really didn't want to hurt anyone. Law also taught me how to use his sword, but I'm nowhere near as good as him. I can at least hold my own if it's ever needed. And I have my crystals to back me up."

"You fight with swords?" Zoro asked, perching up from his nap. He pushed up on his elbows and looked at her.

"Oh great. You've woken up the moss head," Sanji grumbled. He glared at Zoro. "Don't you dare even think about fighting with her. I won't allow it."

"Why not? I'm curious to see how well she fights with swords," Zoro said. He stood up and pulled out one of his swords. "Nothing wrong with a little sparing. We have plenty of time before we arrive at Dressrosa. It would be good to be more familiar with her fighting style."

"He does make a good point," Franky said. The cyborg was currently sitting on the deck, leaning against the wall by the men's bedroom door with his hands behind his head. "I think I'd like to spar with her as well."

Sanji sighed. He looked at Neo. "I don't think they're going to take no for an answer. You don't have to do this if you really don't want to."

"I don't mind," Neo replied with a shrug. She looked over at Law. He shrugged at her, meaning she could do what she wished. She stood up, or she tried. Luffy still had a hold of her. "Luffy, can you let me go now?"

"Okay," Luffy said, reluctantly. He unwound his arms from her shoulders. "I suppose it'll be fine for you to spar with my crew. I know they won't hurt you."

Neo then took a couple steps towards Zoro. Law stood up and walked his sword over to her. She took it from him with a smile then looked at Zoro and said, "Let's do this then."

Zoro smirked. He pointed his blade at Law and Neo. "No cheating now. He remains sitting down and your bond and your crystals remain out of it."

"Don't worry," Neo said. She unsheathed Law's sword. Law took the sheath and walked back over to the mast bench. Sitting down, he crossed his arms and smirked. "Law won't interfere, unless you try to hurt or kill me. And I'm still under orders not to use my crystals."

"Zoro," Sanji said in a dark, warning tone. His eyes were sharp with light glinting in them. He pointed his cigarette at the swordsman as everyone turned their eyes to him, all but Robin wearing questioning gazes. "I'm only giving you one warning. Don't you dare use your full strength on her."

"Shut up. I know all that. She's clearly no where near my level," Zoro replied. He took his stance and Neo followed suit. "I would pulverize her if I used my full strength. This is just a simple, friendly match."

Neo slowly ran her eyes over her opponent. Breathing slowly, she kept her nerves at bay despite a small amount of trembling inside of her. She was still nervous about fighting him, but knew that she would be fine. There were plenty of people who would step in and stop the fight if it got out of hand. Another slow breath, she thought over what all she knew about this guy. He was bigger than her, obliviously, but she could easily handle someone bigger than her. She thought about the training equipment that Chopper had showed her when giving her a tour of the Sunny. She knew Zoro was very strong and had fast reflexes. She might not be as strong as he was, but she was fast enough. She quickly came to the conclusion that her size was going to be her best defense and offense against him. And, if he was like everyone else, he would underestimate her because of her size. She released a breath and said, "I'm ready whenever you are. Let's do this."

"A bit impatient, aren't you?" Zoro asked. He studied her for a moment. He knew that she wouldn't be able to beat him. He was twice her size and have been studying to be a swordsman his entire life. This was just for fun and curiosity. He bolted forward. His lips twitched into a smirk when their swords clashed, the sound ringing in their ears. He easily held his sword against hers. "Not bad. I was expecting you to dodge."

Neo smiled. She watched carefully as Zoro swiped his sword at her a couple times. She continued to easily block his attempts. Once she had studied his movements for a few minutes, she switched from defense to offense when she saw an opening. She charged forward and swiped Law's sword at Zoro as few times. Of course, being the skilled swordsman he was, Zoro easily blocked her attempts.

"Well, that's interesting," Zoro said pushing his sword against hers.

"What is?" Neo asked.

"That sword is cursed yet you're handling it without any problem," Zoro said.

"Well, I'm not human after all. Apparently the sword only sees me as part of nature," Neo said.

"Makes sense I guess. I have to admit that you're not half bad," Zoro complemented. "But you're leaving your left side open a bit too much." He pushed his sword against her, knocking her off balance, and swiped his sword at her left side.

Neo gasped at the attack. She shot her foot out to stabilize herself then tried to get Law's sword up to block Zoro's attack. She swung the blade towards his, but didn't move fast enough. Zoro already had the blade of his sword less than an inch from her side. She blinked while he retracted his sword. She sighed. "Right. I need to work more on that."

"Let's proceed then." Zoro nodded. "We're going to pick it up another notch now. Are you ready?"

"Yup." Neo took her stance and waited for him to charge. She watched him closely until he got close enough to leap over him. She jumped up, flipped over his head, and then swiped Law's sword at Zoro.

Zoro was taken a bit by surprised by her leaping over him, but being the seasoned swordsman he easily recovered. He turned just in time to block her swipe. Their blades clashed with a loud clank.

Neo smiled at being able to take him by surprise before going back in for another attack. She sliced at him four times before blocked six of his attacks. The repetitive clanking of their blades resonated over the deck while the crew watched the swordplay before them.

…

"She's impressive," Robin said. She smiled while watching the sword sparing session. "Despite only having a few years of fighting experience, she's quite the little swordswoman."

"Yeah." Nami nodded. "She's a lot better than I expected her to be."

"I think this is a bit dangerous," Chopper said, his eyes carefully watching the fight. "But we all trust Zoro. We know he won't do anything to hurt her since she's not as skilled as he is."

"It's still fun to watch," Luffy said. He planted his hands on his hips and kept his eyes on Neo. "I want to play with her too. I wonder if she can use her crystals on me. Maybe we could come up with a combo attack or something. I'd also like to fly with her. Do you think she could fly me with her wings?"

"I don't see why not," Chopper said. "She trained with her own crew after all. I'm sure they have lots of practice fighting together."

"Flying you with her wind crystals would be less stressful on her," Robin said. "Her wings might only be able to hold herself and someone lighter."

"I still want to fly," Luffy said.

"She's also still under orders not to use her crystals any-Hey!" Chopper cried when Luffy ran past him. "I wasn't done talking to you!"

"Hey, Tra!" Luffy shouted as he ran past Chopper. He ran right over to Law and got in his face. "I want to play with Neo and her crystals! Lift your orders off of her!"

"No," Law replied, flatly.

"Aw, come on!" Luffy grabbed Law's hat and pushed it off his eyes. "We want to see what she can do!"

"You've already seen what she can do," Law said. He slapped Luffy's hand away from his hat. "I'm not retracting my orders."

"But she was having issues with her crystal back on Punk Hazard," Luffy whined. "We didn't get to see what all she can do."

"And that's precisely why she's not using them right now," Law replied.

…

Zoro smirked as he sliced his sword towards her. Neo moved Law's sword in front of her to block his attack, but switched her moves at the last second and leaped into the air with lightning fast reflexes. Zoro blinked. "Huh? What the…"

"Did I move too fast for you again?" Neo asked.

…

"Incredible moves!" Kin'emon gasped. "The woman is quite fast!"

"Indeed she is father," Momonosuke said. Both had their hands tucked inside their kimono sleeves. Their eyes were locked onto the sword battle before them.

…

Zoro looked to his right to find Neo's hand on his shoulder. He looked up to she see was doing a handstand on him while extended Law's sword out to the side so she wouldn't poke him with it. She smiled at him before bending her arm. She pushed off of him. Doing several spins, she sliced Law's sword at Zoro. The swordsman easily blocked the attack.

Neo planted her hand on the deck then flipped back onto her feet. Blocking Zoro's next attack before ducking past his sword. She slipped behind Zoro. When the swordsman turned around, Neo already had the sword's blade pointing at his neck. She smiled, panting slightly at the workout while Zoro wasn't winded at all.

"What the…How did you…" Zoro stared at the blade then at Neo. He then shot a glare at Sanji when the cook started to laugh at his unexpected defeat.

Neo shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I only won because you're holding back the majority of your strength. If you were even using a fourth of your strength, I know I wouldn't have won."

"True," Zoro said. He sheathed his sword. "I am better than you."

"And so modest," Neo said with a smirk. "Maybe someday I'll get better. Then we can really face off against each other."

"Usually it's not my thing to fight people who are weaker than I am," Zoro said. He crossed his arms and turned away from her in a bit of a huff. "It's a waste of my time. I was just curious to see how well you would do against me since you're so small."

"Well, how about if I add my crystals into the mix?" Neo asked, still panting a bit. Still holding Law's sword in her right hand, she planted her left hand on her hip. "Would that make it more tempting?"

"A sword fight backed up with the elements?" Zoro asked, rubbing his chin while considering the offer. "That might be worth while. If you can get strong enough with a sword that is."

"I'll work on that then," Neo said. She gave him a smile then turned towards Law. She tilted her head when she saw Luffy holding Law's wrist with his left hand while trying to grab Law's hat with his right hand. Law had his free hand pushing on Luffy's face, his sheath now lying on the deck. "What's going on?"

"Luffy's trying to get Law to let you use your crystals," Sanji said walking up to her. "While I agree with Law on having you rest since you've been having issues with your crystals, Luffy's not going to let this go. He can be such a pain."

"Yeah. I don't know if there's anything I can do to get Luffy to stop. Maybe I can convince Law to let me use my crystals for a short while then rest the remainder of the time we're sailing to Dressrosa," Neo said thoughtfully. "At least that way we can maintain some peace."

"Will Law go for that since he's so protective of you?" Sanji asked. "I mean we all don't want you to get hurt if your magic is messing up."

"It'll be fine. My crystals are back to normal. Law's just being over protective. Besides, he has a really hard time saying no to me when I really want something. Plus, I don't want tension between our crews," Neo said. She winked at Sanji before she walked over to Law and Luffy.

"Ah! She winked at me! She's so cute!" Sanji cooed with hearts in his eyes before coming back to his senses. He then chuckled. "Other than that, what you said is true. The less stress you're under the better things will be for you."

"Huh?" Zoro asked, turning to the cook. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing. It's something you wouldn't understand. This type of situation calls for a more delicate touch," Sanji said. He glared at Zoro. "And you have none."

"What's that suppose to mean?!" Zoro snapped. He pulled out his swords and pointed them at Sanji.

"Just shut up! I said Neo doesn't need to be under so much stress! So stop yelling and being such a jerk!" Sanji growled. He then turned and walked away. He headed back over to the railing. He leaned his back against it and placed his eyes on Neo, Law, and Luffy. Usopp had run over at that point and was trying to pull Luffy off Law. Neo was calmly trying to get Luffy to release Law before he decided to slice up the younger captain.

Robin stood up and walked over to Sanji. She scanned her eyes over her crew to make sure they weren't close enough to hear their conversation. She asked, "Do you think we should tell them?"

"Which ones? Law and Neo? Or our crew?" Sanji questioned.

"Perhaps all of them," Robin said.

"I'm not sure. On one hand, I want to tell them all so they know and can be prepared for whatever may happen while we're in Dressrosa," Sanji said. He took a puff on his cigarette and released it. "But then, on the other hand, it might be best if they didn't know. Law is clearly very protective of her and he's extremely focused on this mission that I'm not really surprised that he hasn't noticed. However, I'm sure he'll notice soon enough. And Neo's just so fragile that I'm worried that this will shock her far too much. We really don't need a hysterical woman on our hands. Besides, you heard her explanation on this subject earlier. Physically, she'll be fine if she's pulled into fights. Well, to a degree anyway."

"This is really a tricky situation we're in," Robin said. She crossed her arms over her chest while Sanji nodded.

"At the very least, we'll just make sure Neo is never alone at any point in time," Sanji said.

"It's a good thing then that our crew has already grown very fond of her," Robin said with a smile. "Perhaps we should consider telling at least a few of them."

…

"Will you stop trying to fight him?!" Usopp demanded while trying to pull Luffy away from Law. "You're going to get yourself cut in half!"

"So what?! I want Neo to use her crystals!" Luffy whined. His hands were still holding tightly on to Law as his body stretched out while Usopp pulled on his waist.

"Will you let go of me?! She's not using her crystals right now!" Law demanded. He did his best to hold out his hand towards Neo. "Neo, give me my sword!"

"Not until you settle back down," Neo said. She stood back four feet from them, holding his sword behind her so he couldn't snatch it out of her hands. "All right, you three, that's enough. How about a compromise?"

"Compromise?" Luffy and Usopp asked. They stopped struggling and looked at her.

"Don't you dare," Law said. He looked at Neo and frowned.

"Law, do you want some peace before we reach Dressrosa? Or do you want Luffy to drive you crazy?" Neo asked. She gave him a sweet smile. Her eyes sparkled at him and she could see him starting to immediately cave to her desires. "I can use my crystals for a couple hours to satisfy Luffy's curiosity and then rest the rest of the way. That's a decent compromise, isn't it?"

Law sighed. He considered her words and how Luffy was still holding onto his wrist then caved. He said, "Fine. You can use your crystals, but only for one hour."

"Four!" Luffy said.

"One!" Law replied.

"One hour isn't enough! I want to see her turn into the elements!" Luffy insisted. He tugged on Law's arm again.

"Luffy! Stop that!" Usopp demanded. He pulled on his captain again. "You have your compromise! Don't mess it up!"

"Three hours," Neo said, tapping into her royal tone. She regained their attention by using that tone. When they looked at her, she added, "That will give the Straw Hats enough time to explore my magic and fighting style. And that'll give me about four hours to rest afterwards. Can you all agree to that?"

"All right! Three hours it is!" Luffy cheered. He threw his hands up into the air, causing Usopp to fall backwards onto the deck.

Law gave a reluctant sigh. He said, "Fine. Three hours, but Neo is  _not_  going to turn into the elements. And she  _will_  take a two hour nap before we get to Dressrosa."

"A nap," Neo said. She pouched out her lips. "I should have seen that coming."

"Aw, but I want to see her as the elements," Luffy whine. He dropped his arms to his sides unaware of the glare that Usopp was giving him. "It sounds like such a cool move!"

"Luffy, listen, she's already told us that turning into the elements like that drains her magic," Usopp said. He stood back up and rubbed his now sore bottom. He held out his hand to Luffy like it would help reason with the dense captain "You don't want her to be weakened before we head into Dressrosa, right?"

"I think three hours plus a nap is a good deal," Chopper said. He walked over to the group. He looked up at his captain. "That's two doctors orders, Luffy."

"Aw, fine," Luffy conceded with a frown. His gloomy expression quickly vanished. A smile pulled across his lips. "Three hours. Let's get started then."

"Hold it, Luffy," Franky said. They all looked up at the cyborg when he walked over to them. "I still want to spar with her. And I want to do it without her crystals."

"Fine. But make it quick," Luffy said. He crossed his arms and pouted.

Neo nodded in agreement to everything that had just been said. She stepped closer to Law. She handed Law his sword back. She pecked his cheek then said, "You're so sweet for letting me do this."

"Yeah, yeah," Law grumbled. He sheathed his sword then crossed his arms with a pout on his lips. "You should have just let me slice him into multiple little pieces. It would have been a lot simpler."

"Well, look on the bright side of this, my love" Neo said. "At least Luffy will stop bothering you now. Well, for a while anyway." She chuckled and pecked his pouty lips, earning a sweet smile from him, before walking over to Franky.

The cyborg smiled. He said, "This'll just be a short sparing session. I just want to see how you move."

"Fine with me." Neo nodded. She ran her eyes over Franky's body.  _He's not as big a Jean Bart, but he's still going to be a bit difficult to take down without my crystals. I'll have to use our sizes to my advantage._

"Are you ready?" Franky asked.

"Mhmm." Neo nodded. She took her battle stance before Franky charged at her.

"Here I come!" Franky shouted. He pulled back his right fist. He swung it at her, but not with his full strength. She back flipped away from him. His fist making a small thump when it collided with the deck floor before he bounced off the deck and followed her. She easily jumped, flipped, and spun away from his punches and kicks. "You are fast."

"So are you," Neo replied. She jerked to the left to dodge another punch from him. "You can go a little faster if you want."

"Well, if you insist," Franky said before speeding up his attacks.

Neo dodged about six more punches and five more kicked before retaliating. She punched Franky's hand a couple times before leaping up and kicking at his head. Her shin collided with the back of his wrist. She winced a bit when her skin collided with his armored body then smirked at him. When he gave her a questioning loo, she stepped upon his fist. She pushed off of him and launched herself into the air. She was going to slam her heel into him, but remember she wasn't wearing her shoes and she wasn't using her crystals at the moment. So she just fell back towards him like she was going to punch him. When he readied himself to block her attempt by crossing his arms over his face, she flipped her body. Her foot landed on his hand and she pushed off of him again.

"Dang! I was right in fighting you without your crystals!" Franky said. "You would most likely flatten me! You're super!"

"Thanks! You're not so bad yourself! Though I'm not really sure if I could win against you. I don't know all of your moves after all." Neo pushed off the deck and charged forward. Franky charged at her at the same time. When he threw a punch at her, she ducked under his punch. She grabbed onto his wrist and, using him momentum, flipped him over her shoulder and onto his back.

…

"Wow!" Usopp gasped. "Did you see that?! She just flattened Franky! And he's got to be, what, ten times as big as she is!"

"She's amazing! That was incredible!" Luffy laughed as he clapped.

"And she's not even using her crystals!" Chopper said. "She must be super strong when she does!"

Law grinned a satisfied and proud grin. He said, "Of course she can take him down. I knew from the beginning that she would be facing several opponents who were going to be bigger than she is. I made sure she knew how to use both hers and their sizes again an enemy. She wouldn't be allowed into battles if she didn't master this technique."

"Her people must be crazy strong," Usopp said. He looked at Neo then back at Law.

"Magically speaking, they are. But, physically speaking, they're not as strong as you might think," Law said. "They're bodies are stronger than humans, but they never had a reason to battle in hand to hand combat. They only relied on their magic. While we were on Luminous, my crew trained them for a while. They taught the Elementals different hand to hand combat techniques. So, if they continued with what they were taught, they should be better at fighting hand to hand than they use to be. Despite their magical advantage over us, our crew still gave them a hard time when we went to rescue Neo from them."

"That's crazy," Usopp said. He let his eyes drift back over to Neo and Franky. "I intend no offense when I say this, but I'm glad Neo is the way she is. It makes me tremble just thinking about what she could or would to the world if she had a mean, aggressive streak to her."

"Yeah! Go Neo!" Luffy cheered. "You're the best!"

Usopp glared at his captain. He then mumbled, "Then again…it makes me beyond terrified at what someone like Luffy would do with her magic abilities."

Law glanced at the sniper before his eyes drifted over to the Straw Hat captain. Against his will, his mind went over what all Luffy might do if he did have Neo's abilities. A thick sweat drop formed on his head from all of the devastating scenarios running through his mind. He wasn't sure which would be worse, a person with aggressive tendencies like Doflamingo or a brainless moron like Luffy wielding Neo's abilities. He shifted uncomfortably. He was never so glad that Neo was the one who held this magic. If she didn't, then the entire world would be in some serious trouble.

…

"Wow! I never would have guess such a small thing could flatten me like that," Franky said with a laugh. "I guess I underestimated you. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. A lot of people underestimate me for multiple reason," Neo replied while Franky stood back up. "I'm use to it. It gives me an even bigger advantage over them."

"It sure does. Let's proceed," Frank said. He charged back at Neo. He threw several punches, faster than before, and then kicked at her a few times.

Neo kept her eyes locked onto her opponent. She noticed that he was slowly speeding up him punches and kicks ever few minutes. And he wasn't giving her much of a chance to go on the offensive. Then she saw her chance. She ducked under a punch and propelled herself towards his face. She pushed off her feet and pulled back her fist. Slipping between his arms. She landed a punch on Franky's nose with a little more force than she had intended. She felt his nose give underneath her fist and heard a click. She gasped, not registering that the click wasn't the sound of a bone being broken, as he fell backwards onto his back with a loud thump. "Oh my gosh! I am so sorry, Franky! I didn't mean to…"

Neo's voice trailed off. The panic left her eyes as she examined Franky's hair. What use to be a short, buzz cut was now a greyish blue, bear shape hairstyle on the cyborg's head. Franky laughed. "Got caught off guard again!"

"I didn't break your nose," Neo said. She reached out and tugged on one of the ears. "What happened to your hair? It's different now."

"Huh? Oh, that! It's a feature I added into myself when I did all of my upgrades," Franky said. He looked at the young woman sitting on his chest. She hand her left hand planted on his chest for balance while her right hand was still tugging on his hair.

"How did…I hit your nose," Neo said. She curiously tilted her head to the left then to the right. "I thought I broke your nose. Your hair looks like a bear. It reminds me of Bepo. It's so cute."

"Naw! You didn't break anything," Franky replied. He pointed to his nose. "Go ahead and push it again."

Neo tugged on his hair once more before lowering her hand to his face. She reached for his nose, but hesitated before pressing it. She heard the click again then Franky's hair changed once more. She squealed with delight then giggled when his bear shaped hair changed again. His hair was now in four tall spikes. "That's so cool!"

"It's super!" Franky shouted with a laugh.

Neo laughed and pressed his nose again.

"Yeah! I want to play too!" Luffy shouted as he ran over to them. He pretty much tackled Neo before pressing Franky's nose himself. All three laughed at the constant hair changes they were causing. The cyborg's hair became like wings, a beetle's pinchers, a cannon, two braids, a Mohawk, and an Afro, causing more laughter from the childlike pirates.

"I'm coming too!" Chopper said. He ran over to them and jumped upon Franky's chest.

"Hey now! Not too many!" Franky protested to the added weight. He then wrapped his arms around the three sitting on his chest and jumped back to his feet. "If you all want to sit on me, then we're going to do it the right way! With Franky Tank!"

"Yeah! Franky Tank!" Luffy and Chopper cheered.

"Franky Tank?" Neo asked.

"Yeah!" Chopper nodded. "He was using that when we ran into you and Law for the first time back on Punk Hazard!"

"So that's what that was," Neo said.

"Would you like to see it?" Franky asked.

"Yeah!" Neo nodded with a bright smile.

"Then let's go! Franky Tank!" Franky cheered.

"Yeah!" Luffy and Chopper shouted.

Neo laughed at their silliness then watched as Franky changed into his Franky Tank mode. She remained smiling while he picked her up and sat her on his shoulder. He kept his hand over her thighs so he wouldn't throw her off while he roamed over the deck.

"Hey! Watch it!" Zoro shouted when Franky almost ran over him.

"Sorry!" Neo called back to him while the others just laughed at the angry swordsman.

…

Law leaned back against the mast. He was watching his love enjoying herself with a smile on his face. He was glad she was getting along so well with this crew. It would help her not be so homesick and she won't miss their crew as much until they could reunite with them. Law found his smile faded a bit. He knew that it was still a huge gamble. There was a huge chance that they wouldn't make it out of Dressrosa alive. He shook his head. He didn't want to think like that. And he certainly didn't want to let those thoughts pass to Neo. He wanted to reunite her with their crew. And he was hoping he could do that. He forced himself to push those thoughts of out his mind. Instead, he focused on Neo, on how she was enjoying herself and how cute she looked sitting on top of the cyborg's shoulder.

Law twitched. His eyes landed on Franky's hand that was on  _his love's legs_. He grumbled. No one was suppose to be touching her legs like that, at all. Only he could touch her. And he wanted to touch her, in so many ways. He felt his body grow warm when he remembered the suggestion she passed to his earlier that morning. But the condom dilemma was still an issue. He wanted her, but he didn't have protection.

He glanced around at the Straw Hat crew, wondering which one most likely had what he needed and who he'd be comfortable asking for one. He really didn't feel like asking any of them. He didn't want them to know if they did have romantic intimacies. He might just have to steal one.

Another thought came to Law's mind then. Even if he did acquire protection, he had no clue where they could go to actually be alone. This ship only had two bedrooms, the men's and the women's. The men's room was certainty out of the question. He wasn't going to share her with anyone in any kind of way. He could feel his desires starting to slip away from him. He really didn't want to use the women's bedroom either. Maybe he could take her to one room and say he was going to take a nap with her. He knew, for Neo, they wouldn't come disturb them. He then could warp her to another part of the ship where they could spend some time alone before entering into Dressrosa. Law's lips curled back into a smile. He had his plan. All he had to do now was be patient.


	94. Eight Hours Part Three

Eight Hours

Part Three

"All right! Now it's time to fly!" Luffy screamed. He threw his arms up into the air. "Who's coming with us?!"

"I want to fly!" Chopper said with his hooves raised high. He ran over to Neo and jumped into her arms. "I want to fly!"

"Okay, okay. We're going to fly now," Neo said, hugging the reindeer to her chest.

"I think I'd like to as well," Franky said. "It sounds like it will be super."

"I'm in," Sanji said. He walked over to Neo and the group gathering around her. "Mostly because I don't trust you idiots to behave while in the air with her."

Neo laughed. "It'll be fine."

"I'm still coming," Sanji said with a smile.

"Hey, Momo! You should come with us!" Luffy said. He ran over to the boy. "What do ya say?"

"We shall pass on that, Sir Luffy," Kin'emon answered.

"Aw, why?" Luffy asked. "Don't you trust Neo?"

"It is not a matter of trust," Kin'emon replied. "I believe that Lady Neo would be gentle with my son. I just prefer him to remain on the ground."

"Oh, all right," Luffy said. He spun away from them and grabbed on to Brook's arm. "You're coming!"

"Wait! I don't want to!" Brook screamed. His boney limbs waving like flags as Luffy pulled him over to Neo. Once at their destination, Brook fell on his face when Luffy dropped him on the deck. "I think you broke my face."

"Why not?" Neo asked. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do," Brook replied, picking himself up off the floor. He stepped closer to Neo and leaned over to her. "It's just that, I spent enough time with Luffy back on Sabaody. We road all of those roller coasters they had there at the amusement part. I hated it. I'm afraid I'm just not suited to such extreme movements."

"I see," Neo said. Chopper climbed over her shoulder to her back and she collapsed her hands behind her with a sweet smile. "I've never road roller coasters before. But I promise I won't go that fast. You really should come with us."

"Well," Brook said. He started into her childlike eyes. With each passing second, he felt himself caving to her against his will. "…"

"Please?" Neo blinked innocently at him. She summoned her wind crystals and pulled a gentle breeze around them. The wind lifted up the smell of sun-warmed wood to their noses.

"Uh, well, I…" Brook's shoulders slumped.

Sanji laughed at the skeleton's defeated expression. "Give it up, Brook. She's got your number. There's no way you can say no to her now."

"All right then," Brook said with a sigh.

"Yes! Let's go! It's time to fly!" Luffy screamed while he jumped into the air. Before he could land, Neo caught him in her winds. He waved his arms and legs. "Wow! I'm flying!"

"Here we go," Neo said. She extended her winds around the rest of the crew who decided to fly with her. Chopper and Franky examined their now vertical bodies while Brook carefully looked around and Sanji just remained in a relaxed position with his hands in his pockets. She flew them around gently for a while, before picking up speed. She guided their group around the Sunny, weaving in and out of places before taking them up to the clouds above them.

"This is so cool!" Chopper exclaimed as Neo weaved him in and out of a cloud.

"This is so much fun! It's just like swimming in the water! But without having to hold your breath!" Luffy shouted. He rolled over onto his back and preformed the backstroke. "Go faster!"

"No! Not me!" Brook screamed. His facial bone structure twisted into pure fear.

Neo couldn't help but laugh at the face the skeleton was making. She said, "Don't worry, Brook. I won't let you go any faster than you already are."

"Thank you," Brook sighed.

Neo ordered her wind crystals to picked up speed on Luffy and Chopper while maintaining her steady pace on Brook. She looked over at Franky. The cyborg was spinning in circles like a ballet dance. She giggled and left him at the steady speed he already was at.

"I think I'll just hoover here beside you for a while," Sanji said.

"Actually, hovering sounds really nice right now," Brook said.

"Okay," Neo replied. She pulled them to her side while turning her eyes back to Brook. She studied his seemingly unmovable face. "You know, I never would have guessed a skeleton could have so many facial expression as he does."

"Then I guess we're even then because I never would have guessed a creature like yourself ever existed," Brook said.

"How is it possible you can have so many expressions without skin and eyes?" Neo asked, seeming to not have heard what Brook had said. She lifted herself up close to Brook's face. Her eyes darted over his facial bones before she started poking him with her finger and with pure curiosity.

"Uh," Brook drawled while he patiently allowed her to poke and inspect him.

Sanji laughed. He said, "Well, isn't she just the curious one?"

"Indeed," Brook said. He smiled as Neo ran the tip of her fingers from his chin to his forehead. Her curious expressed gave him the impression that she pretty much forgot that he and Sanji were right there. "It seems that she is no longer scared of us at all."

"I think you might be right," Sanji said.

"Is this because of your Devil Fruit power?" Neo asked.

"I suppose it's possible," Brook replied.

"Wow." Neo finally pulled back from Brook. She collapsed her hands behind her and smiled at the two Straw Hats. "I never would have guessed someone would have a skeleton for a crewmate."

Sanji nodded. "I never expect we'd have a skeleton as a crewmate either. But it's not really that surprising considering Luffy always tried to recruit every single freaky creature we come across."

"Really?" Neo asked. She looked over her shoulder to check on Franky, Luffy and Chopper. They were still happily flying around so she returned her attention to Sanji.

"Yup." Sanji nodded. "He even tried to recruit zombies back on Thriller Bark."

"Zombies?" Neo eyes widened. "I can't imagine having zombies on our crew anymore than I can a skeleton."

"I suppose it is a bit hard to believe. You know you're multitasking skills are impressive," Sanji said as he watched his crewmates flying in different directions without Neo watching them. "How are you able to do that without watching where they are?"

"Thanks. The credit goes to Law and the crew since they were the ones who trained me," Neo replied. "Besides that, I can feel them with my wind currents. It's a lot easier to fly them up here since there are no obstacles up here except for the occasional bird. If we were down on an island or inside of a forest, flying them around would be a bit more difficult. I'd have to feel out for trees and rocks. But it would still be fairly easy for me to do."

"Your crew must be very proud of you," Sanji said. "I can tell that you've grown up quite a lot. They've done very well in taking care of you."

"Thanks, Sanji." Neo rubbed the heel in the hand of her eye when tears came to her electric blue orbs. "They're the ones who taught me all of this. I would still be a crying, suicidal mess if it wasn't for them."

"Sorry," Sanji said sympathetically. "I didn't mean to make you feel sad."

"It's okay. It's not your fault. It seems like any little thing makes me feel so emotional anymore. I don't know why," Neo replied. She brushed the tears from her eyes with the back of her arm, unaware of Sanji's involuntary flinch. "I just really miss them a lot. I've been away from them for far too long. And I know they miss us. Bepo is probably a crying, depressed mess. And Penguin…he's probably even worse than Bepo. They're probably driving the rest of the crew crazy by now."

"Yeah," Sanji agreed. He let his eyes drop to her stomach before pulling them away from her.

"You know, this is actually the very first time that I've been away from them and the sub," Neo said. "And I hate every single second of it."

"Try not to think about it," Sanji said. He placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "You'll be back with them before you know it. All we have to do is destroy the factory here and we're gone."

"Yeah." Neo nodded with a smile. She turned her attention to Brook when the skeleton called out to her.

"Hey, hey!" Brook said. He put a boney finger under her chin and tilted her eyes to him. "What's with the tears? This is a fun time! Not a time for crying!"

"You're right." Neo nodded. "I'm sorry. I was just feeling a bit homesick."

"How about a song to lighten the mood up again?" Brook offered. He pulled out his violin and bow. "Would you like that, Neo?"  
"Yes!" Neo nodded with excitement. Her eyes lit up with sparkles. Beside her, Sanji was chuckling at her sudden mood change. "I haven't heard you play yet! Play something we can dance to!"

"Yeah! Play us something, Brook!" Luffy said while cartwheeling through the air. "Captain's orders!"

"Yo ho ho! All right! Here we go!" Brook pulled his bow across the strings. A soft, but upbeat melody rang out from the violin.

"You dance?" Chopper asked, his head already bobbing back and forth to the music.

"No, not really," Neo replied. She shifted her winds again and pulled the Straw Hats closer to them. "I've only done it a couple of times. But it was a fun thing to do when I have done it."

"Then allow me to show you some dance steps," Sanji said. He placed his left hand behind his back and held out his right hand to her. He glanced down at Law. They were only about a hundred yards in the air, but he was sure the captain could clearly see them. He took a nervous gulp then chuckled. "That is…if Law won't kill me for dancing with you."

"He wont," Neo replied with a giggle. She could feel Law glowering up at Sanji already. "He'll just get jealous and glare at you."

"Then shall we?" Sanji asked.

"Okay." Neo nodded. She placed her hand in his and allowed him to pull her towards him.

"I'm not going to scare you if I place my hand on your hip, will I?" Sanji asked. "It won't make you feel cornered, will it?"

"I'm fine with it. Go ahead," Neo replied.

Sanji nodded. He placed his left hand on her hip and pulled her even closer to him. He studied her eyes. A small amount of uncertainty was in her beautiful blue orbs, but it faded after a few seconds and was replaced with pure innocence and trust. He said, "Ready? Here we go. Just relax and follow my lead. We'll start off slow. And…one, two, three…one, two, three…"

Neo kept her eyes on his for a few second before they dropped down to their feet. She lifted her eyes back to Sanji when he chuckled. "What?"

"Don't look down. Just keep your eyes on me," Sanji instructed.

"Why?" Neo asked.

"You'll mess up more if you look down," Sanji replied.

"Oh," Neo drawled.

…

"What are they doing up there?" Nami asked, looking up to at sky. She was still sitting with Robin at the small white table Sanji had brought out to them. She shielded her eyes from the bright sun with her hand.

"It looks like Sanji is dancing with Neo," Robin replied. She smiled as she watched Sanji and Neo glide around in the air. Luffy and Chopper had started dancing with each other. Luffy was holding Chopper's hooves, swinging him around while Franky danced in his typical loud style where he struck several silly poses.

"Is that a good idea?" Nami questioned. She glanced over to Law. He was still on the mast bench with his arms and legs crossed. A dark aura was surrounding him while his foot bobbed erratically. A low growl from him caused Nami to jump. She turned away from the glowering captain. "Well, he hasn't formed his Room yet. And Sanji is still in his own body. So I guess it's all right."

Robin smiled. She placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her palm.

…

"One, two, three. One, two, three," Sanji said as he guided Neo around. "That's it. Very good. Remember to keep looking at your dance partner. I must say, you're a very beautiful dancer. It's a bit hard to believe that you've never had a formal lesson before. But, then again, you do have a very natural grace about you. And you seem to pick up on things rather easily."

"Uh, thank you," Neo replied. A light pink dusted across her cheeks.

"If you don't mind me saying, I find it a bit difficult to believe that you grew up the way you have," Sanji said. He guided Neo away from him before spinning her back into him. "If we never met you back on Sabaody, I would have assumed you were raised like anyone else. It's like you've had lessons on how to be a proper lady instead of being abused then being raised by pirates."

"Penguin has said something similar," Neo recalled. She hummed in thought. "I wonder if it has something to do with me being a royal and having magic."

"It might be possible that you Elemental royals are just naturally gifted with such grace," Sanji said with a smile. His smile faded a bit when he noticed Neo staring at him with intense concentration. "What is it?"

"Nothing. Sorry. I don't mean to stare. It's just that…" Neo's voice trailed off. She studied Sanji for a few minutes longer before speaking again. "There's something that strikes me as familiar with you."

"Something familiar?" Sanji asked. He thought for a second then added, "I can't think of anything that we have in common. I mean, nothing huge. We have small similarities. For an example, we both love cooking. And we both want to take good care of our crew's healthy through food. And we're both pretty protective of our crews."

"I suppose you might be right," Neo replied. "But I still feel like there's something else. I know you told me you grew up working on Zeff's ship and then for him at the Baratie, but there's seems to be something else there."

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean," Sanji said.

"You seem to have a natural grace of your own," Neo replied. A moment of silence passed between them before she smiled. "I guess it's because of your training. I've seen your moves in the kitchen. You can't be ungraceful and pull off moves like that."

"Perhaps your right," Sanji said with a half smile.

"Anyway, this music is very lovely," Neo said. She turned her eyes to Brook. "How long have you been playing for?"

"Several years," Brook replied. "I played for my first crew."

"You were on a different crew before the Straw Hats?" Neo asked.

"Indeed I was. Before that, I was the leader of a battle convoy in a kingdom where I learned how to fence and where many of my attacks received their names. Then I met up with the Rumbar Pirates," Brook explained while he continued to play his song. "One day our ship was followed by a baby whale. The poor thing was really upset. We played music for him and he settled down. We named him Laboon. He became one of my best friends. But, unfortunately, we had to leave him behind when we entered into the Grand Line since he was still a baby. But he followed us anyway. We then left him under the care of Crocus who lived at a lighthouse. We promised to come back for him after sailing around the world, but as fate would have it, our crew was destroyed. My former life had been taken and I was giving this one thanks to my Devil Fruit."

"That's so sad," Neo said. Tears leaked down her cheeks. She brushed them away. "Geez. I'm crying again."

"It's all right. I have come to terms with how that part of my life ended," Brook said. He finished his song and started another one. "I have the Straw Hats now. And I haven't been lonely since. They are really fun and entertaining to be around."

"Yeah." Neo nodded with a smile. She looked over at Luffy, Chopper, and Franky. The three were still dancing and didn't appear to hear their conversation. "They sure are."

"This is so much fun!" Chopper exclaimed while Luffy spun him around.

"Woohoo! Go faster!" Luffy laughed. He suddenly stopped and looked down. He noticed there were several dolphins down in the water that was starting up at them. "Huh? What's that?"

"What are they doing?" Brook asked when the dolphins started jumping up towards them like they were trying to fly. He lowered his violin and bow from his chin.

"They might be wondering about me," Neo replied.

"What do you mean?" Chopper asked.

"Like I said before, animals instantly know that I'm different," Neo replied. "They just wonder about me. These dolphins are just curious. They sense the nature inside of me and came to see what I was. They're also wondering what we're all doing up here in the sky. They're a bit confused."

"Hey! Let's play with them!" Luffy said. He pointed down to the dolphins. "Tell them I want to play with them! We can play with your water crystals for a while now."

"All right." Neo nodded. She slowed down the wind speed on her wind crystals then lowered them down to the water. She was careful to not let the Devil Fruit users dangle in the water at all. She stretched out their bodies like they would be lying on their stomachs. One of the dolphins lifted up out of the water and kissed her cheek. She giggled. "You're so sweet."

"What did he say?" Luffy asked. He had both his hands on one of the dolphins.

"He said that Neo smells very nice," Chopper replied. He pulled his eyes from Neo when one of the dolphins chirped at him. "Sorry, but we can't breath underwater. Besides, three of us are Devil Fruit users. If we were to go underwater without protection, we'll drown."

"Actually, I can take you all under the water," Neo said. They all looked at her. "I can combine my wind and water crystals to create an air bubble around us."

"Really?!" Chopper and Luffy screamed with excitement.

"I was just thinking that you would show us some water tricks or something!" Luffy added. "But this is way better!"

"Yeah. Would you like me to take you underwater?" Neo asked.

"Do it!" Chopper and Luffy screamed.

"How about you three?" Neo asked, looking at Sanji, Franky, and Brook.

"I'm in," Sanji said.

"I suppose I would like to see this as well," Brook added. "Your wind control was very impressive."

"I'm in too," Franky said.

Neo nodded. She summoned her water crystals. Pushing the wind around them, she created a shield then slowly lowered them into the water while pushing the water away from them. The boys gasped as Neo lowered them into the water. She said, "Here we go!"

"Wow! This is so cool!" Luffy exclaimed. His eyes darted everywhere. The dolphins had dove down and was swimming around them in a beautiful water ballet. Other fish darted away at the unexpected intrusion, but quickly came back when they sensed the nature in Neo. Seaweed flowed lazily in the currents, clown fish darted in and out of sea anemones, a couple of eels swam by, and some fish poked their heads into their bubble before darting away.

"They're not going to pop this thing, are they?" Franky asked. He watched another fish poke its grey head into the bubble then swim away.

"No. We're completely and perfectly safe in here," Neo replied. "I have my water and wind crystals backing each other up."

"Even if I do this?" Luffy asked. He pulled back his fist and threw a punch outside of Neo's shield. He laughed, but then dropped down when the sea drained his energy. "I fo-go i- da sea."

"Ah! Luffy!" Chopper shrieked. He and Franky grabbed their captain's arm and started to reel him back inside.

"He's really reckless, isn't he?" Neo blinked. She watched until Luffy's arm was back inside the bubble.

"He sure is. You should be careful around him," Sanji said. He turned to Neo at the same time she turned to him. He ran his eyes over her facial features. "Well, you actually might be a lot safer with him than the rest of us since you're Shanks' goddaughter. I don't think Luffy will be that stupid around you. But still, be careful. And, if at any point in time you feel uneasy about something he's doing, just come find one of us."

"All right." Neo nodded. "But I think I'll be fine with him."

"You probably will be," Sanji said. He then huffed. "But, Zoro, I absolutely do not want you to be alone with him at all."

"Why not?" Neo tilted her head.

"Because he does nothing but get lost all the time," Sanji warned. "I'm serious. If you go off alone with him, there's no telling where you'll end up."

"Oh, okay then." Neo collapsed her hands behind her back. She smiled sweetly at him. "But you don't have to worry about me ever getting lost. Remember, I can easily sense where Law is, as long as we're not too far away from each other. And I can always ask animals for direction or even people."

"Ah, you're so cute!" Sanji gushed. Hearts popped up in his eyes. "I trust you far more than I trust that moss head!"

"Enough talk! More fun!" Luffy then cried, snapping out of having his energy drained.

"Well, what all would you like me to do now?" Neo asked.

"Hm." Luffy cupped his chin. He then snapped his fingers. "I know! Make some really wild water slides!"

"Yeah! Water slides!" Chopper and Franky cheered.

"Make them weave around the deck!" Luffy added. He moved his hand around like he was demonstrating what he wanted Neo to do. "And up into the sky! And down into the ocean!"

Neo nodded. She summoned a few more water and wind crystals. She then manipulated the water into a slide that Luffy had asked for. Summoning her earth crystals, she created them large and sturdy leaves to sit on while riding around in the water slide. The Straw Hats laughed and waved to their friends as they passed over the deck before ducking back down into the water.

With some probing from Luffy, Neo sped them up faster than Brook really wanted. Forty five minutes of sliding around, Neo finally dropped them back onto the deck. They all, but Brook, laughed at how much fun they were having. Brook wobbled around the deck before crashing into a pile of bones.

Neo giggled and said, "I'm sorry, Brook."

"It's fine. It's Luffy's fault anyway," Brook moaned. "The Sunny will eventually stop spinning."

"That was so much fun!" Luffy shouted.

"What should we do next?" Chopper asked.

"Whatever it is, leave me out of it," Brook said. He pushed himself up to his feet and walked away from the group with a bit of a stagger in his gate. "It was fun, but I've had enough excitement for now. I'm just going to go sit down and relax for a while."

"Okay. Thanks for playing songs for us. They were very pretty," Neo said. She glanced over at Law. She smiled and waved at him. He returned the gestures.

"I know!" Luffy pounded his fist into his hand. "Lets have you and Usopp do some sniper shots for us!"

"Sorry, Luffy," Usopp replied. He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not wasting my seeds on a game."

"Aw, come on," Luffy whined.

"Not going to happen." Usopp shook his head.

"You can use rocks," Neo said. She put her hands behind her back and tugged her long hair while tapped her toes on the deck when they looked at her. She summoned her earth crystals and created a pile of rocks at her feet.

"I suppose that would do. Thanks, Neo," Usopp said. He walked over to the pile and squatted down to inspect them. "We can have the crew throw targets up into the air for us. That way the targets will travel at different speeds."

"Sounds good to me," Neo replied. "What would you like to use as targets?"

"Good question," Usopp mumbled. He rubbed his chin in thought while looking around their surroundings. "I'd want to use something that won't hurt the environment and the animals since our targets will fall into the ocean."

"I can create ice balls," Neo suggested. "That way they will melt and nothing will get hurt."

"Sounds good to me," Usopp said. He stood back up and placed his hands on his hips. He looked up at the sun. Sweat rolled down his forehead. He brushed it away with the back of his hand. "Why didn't I think of that? But won't they melt in this heat?"

"I can keep them cool," Neo replied. She pulled out her water and wind crystals again. She swirled the wind around the water she created. "I'll also create a nice, cool breeze for everyone. What kind of sizes would you like?"

"Make some of all sizes," Usopp said. "That way we can really test our skills. Although, you might have a leg up on me since you're born with the elements to assist you."

"Well, how about I limit myself to just my fire crystals?" Neo asked. While continuing to create their ammunition, she summoned a fire crystal. "I can use just one of them."

"I suppose that would be fair enough," Usopp said. He smiled and pulled out his slingshot. "This is just a friendly game after all. All right. Let's do this."

"Let's go!" Luffy cried. He scooped up an ice ball in his hand. He wound up, multiple times, then let the ball fly into the air.

"Hey! Wait! I wasn't ready!" Usopp shrieked.

Neo shot a blast of fire at the ice ball, completely melting it. She giggled. "Come on. We can start now. Ready?"

"Yeah." Usopp nodded.

"Here we go!" Luffy cried. He scooped up several ice balls in his arms. He then grabbed one and threw it into the air. Another followed after it, then another one, another one, and another one, until he had about thirty ice balls sailing through the air.

Neo and Usopp lined up their shots. Usopp took out half of them while Neo took out the other half. They stood ready as Luffy refilled his arms again. Chopper, in his human form, grabbed Luffy's sides. The reindeer then stretched out Luffy's torso while Luffy shot his arms and hands out to the deck. Once the rubber man had his limbs stable, Chopper pulled him back like a human slingshot. Letting go, the ice balls flew into the air. The two snipers easily took out that round of targets.

…

Robin chuckled while she, Nami and Sanji watched the snipers. She said, "I bet she's going to be hungry once our crew decides to let her take a break from all of this playing."

"Looks like it's a good thing that they settled on a time limit," Nami said. Her chin was rested in the palms of her hands while her elbows were on the table. Her eyes were locked onto Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, and Neo. The group of four was laughing since Neo had switched from being a sniper to creating different types of targets for Usopp to hit. Luffy was clearly giving Neo instructions on what to make. He had her create several ice sculptures of the crew. "Otherwise, I don't think Luffy would let her stop playing until he ran her into the ground."

…

"That's hilarious!" Luffy cried out. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and laughed at the current ice sculpture that Neo had suspended in the air. He had her make one of Franky wearing a tutu and a Mohawk while doing a ballet pose with water coming out of his mouth.

"It's super!" Franky said with a heartily laugh. He then struck the pose she had created of him in ice.

Usopp fired his rocks at the Franky ice sculpture. He chipped off ice Franky's nose, a couple of fingers, a couple of toes and part of his hair. He laughed. "Now that's an improvement!"

"Me next!" Chopper said. He transformed into his Horn Point. "Can you do this one?"

"Sure." Neo nodded. She studied Chopper's form for a moment before guiding her crystals and created the ice sculpture of him. She then lifted the sculpture into the air for Usopp to hit.

Usopp reloaded his slingshot. He aimed towards the sculpture and fired.

…

"I think we all could use a little snack before we arrive at Dressrosa," Sanji said. "Something nutritional with an energy boast."

"A fruit parfait sounds really good," Nami suggested.

"That does sound good. I'll get right on that," Sanji said. He walked away from the women and headed for the kitchen. He paused when he noticed Law's eyes were not only locked onto Neo, but was trailing over her body. He chuckled to himself before he walked over to the distracted captain. "Hey, Law."

Law pulled his gaze away from Neo. "What?"

"I'm going to make some parfaits. Would you like one?" Sanji asked.

"No," Law replied. His eyes wondered back over to Neo. He about growled when the cook stepped closer to him.

"How about something a little smaller then?" Sanji asked. Though he didn't look at Law, he could still feel the captain looking back up at him. "That look on your face says it all."

"Fine," Law mumbled.

"I'll be discreet," Sanji replied. He then headed off towards the men's quarters. He entered into their shared room and moved over towards the lockers. He opened his and dug around for a few seconds before finding what he was looking for. He pocketed the item, closed his locker, and headed out of the room. He walked over to Law and pulled the item back out of his pocket then tossed it at the distracted captain.

Law easily, and quickly, snatched the little package out of the air. He glanced up at the blonde haired man. The cook had his eyes looking up at the sky and his cigarette in-between his fingers. He cast Law a sideways glance and grinned. Before walking away, he said, "I've helped you as much as I could. Finding a place is up to you."

Law let his hat drop over his eyes. He pocketed the protection with a nod of understanding. He then turned his hidden eyes back to Neo. He sat patiently while waiting for the right moment to pull her away from the Straw Hats. He knew that was going to be when she took a nap. Now he just had to decide if he wanted her before or after her nap.

…

"Do some combined attacks now!" Luffy said.

"Combined attacks?" Neo asked. She blinked a few times. "Like what? By myself?"

"No, I want you to combine attacks with us. There's got to be some way to do that." Luffy cupped his chin in thought.

"Well, Neo could sped up our punches and kicks with her winds," Chopper said.

"I can do that." Neo nodded. She summoned a wind crystal and wrapped it around her fist. "I always create a wind barrier around myself before I hit or kick someone. Even then I don't like people touching me. The barrier helps me not freak out in battle."

"That makes sense," Chopper said.

"Whatever we decide to do we really shouldn't get too wild," Franky said. "I really don't feel like doing any in route ship repairs. And I certainly won't be happy if you all destroy the ship."

"Then maybe it will be best if we work on that some other time," Neo suggested.

"What?! No way!" Luffy protested. "We still have time right now to play! I want you to wrap your winds around me! And put some spikes on me!"

"Spikes?" Neo asked.

"I think he means thorns," Chopper said.

"Hm." Neo tapped her chin. She summoned an earth crystal. She threaded out a thorny vine and wrapped it around Luffy's knuckles. "Something like that?"

"Yeah!" Luffy nodded enthusiastically. He punched the air a few times, testing his spikey fist. "This is great!"

"I really don't know what all we can do," Neo said. She looked around at the four Straw Hats that were standing with her. "I really don't want to use my fire crystals on any of you. And my water crystals are definitely out on you Devil Fruit users. I'll be fine with my earth and wind crystals."

"Don't worry about it, Neo. We don't have to worry about it right now," Chopper said.

"You can use your fire crystals on us," Luffy said. He held up his right wrist. "I want you to create a fire ring around my wrist."

"But, Luffy…" Neo's voice trailed off.

"Come on. There's no reason to fear doing this," Luffy said. He patted her shoulder. "I trust you. You're not going to hurt me. And you have plenty of control over your crystals. Besides, you've trained with your crew while using your crystals."

Neo took a deep breath and slowly released it. She glanced over at Law. He was watching her closely like always, but clearly was letting her decide if she wanted to do this. She chewed on her bottom lip in thought before nodding at Luffy. "All right. Let's do it."

"Great!" Luffy nodded.

Neo summoned two small fire crystals. She placed them near Luffy's wrist and engulfed them in fire. She carefully made sure the hottest part of the fire was away from his skin. She watched him move his arm around and had her crystals follow him.

"I'm going to speed up now," Luffy said.

"All right." Neo nodded. She continued to watch Luffy's moves carefully. She found it was easier than she expected.

"You're doing good, Neo," Chopper said, encouragingly.

"Totally super," Franky added.

"Probably because she can sense Luffy," Usopp said. "I'm not sure she would be doing this this easily if she was doing it with someone else that she couldn't sense."

"You think so?" Chopper asked.

"Of course. She can sense Luffy so she wouldn't have to be actually looking at him to do a move like this," Usopp explained. "It should be the same with you, Chopper. She can sense you after all."

"That makes sense," Chopper said. "But she can use her winds to feel out for people. So she can combine attacks that way. It would require a bit more concentration for her."

"I think I'll pass on that," Usopp said.

"Go ahead and throw a punch, Luffy," Neo said.

"Are you sure?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "I've got the hang of this now."

"All right! Here I go!" Luffy shot out his fist into the air.

Neo easily followed with her crystals. She quickly summoned her wind and water crystals again and shot an ice ball into the air. Luffy's fist shattered it while Neo's fire melted the pieces. The Straw Hats cheered and clapped at the display. Luffy and Neo exchanged smiles then spend the next forty minutes working on that particular move until Sanji wondered back out onto the deck with several parfaits on a silver tray.

"Hey! You children stop goofing around now!" Sanji called to them. He walked the tray over to the table Nami and Robin were still sitting at. "I got parfaits for everyone!"

"Great!" Chopper said. His eyes sparkled as he headed over for the treat.

"Great. I'm pretty hungry," Usopp said, following after Chopper. "And parfaits sound really good right now."

"I'm all for it," Franky said.

"Come on, Neo!" Luffy grabbed Neo's hand as she banished her fire crystals. He led her over to the table and guided her down to her seat. He then grabbed himself a parfait and spooned a large bite into his mouth.

"Here you go, Neo," Sanji said. He sat down a parfait in front of her.

"It looks so good. Thank you, Sanji," Neo said. She ran her eyes over the fruit laced treat. It was multiple layers with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, granola, and vanilla yogurt. She picked up the spoon and took a bite. Her cheeks and eyes lit up. "It so yummy! You have to teach me this recipe!"

Sanji laughed. "Sure thing."

Neo leaned back in her chair. She crossed her legs then spooned another bite of her parfait. She remained quietly listening to the Straw Hats talked about some more of their adventures they have had while everyone ate their parfaits.

…

"Mmm!" Neo hummed when she finished her parfait. She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her hand over her stomach. "That parfait was so good!"

"Apparently so. You inhaled that thing," Nami said with a blink. She stared at Neo's empty glass. "You must have been really hungry."

"I guess I worked up an appetite with all that sparring and playing I did with the guys," Neo replied. She sunk into her chair, feeling a bit exhausted.

"Come on! Let's go play some more!" Luffy said. He wrapped his arms around Neo's neck.

"Not so fast," Sanji said. He whacked Luffy on the head. "She's sitting right there for a while."

"Aw," Luffy whined, shoulders slumping in disappointment.

"You can go play with yourself. She clearly tired," Sanji said. He picked up the dishes and placed them on his tray before walking off to go wash them.

"Hm?" Luffy looked down at the young woman in his arms.

Neo glanced up at him and watched him study her face.

"I guess you're right," Luffy said. "You do look tired."

Neo nodded.

"Yeah. That give us more time to talk," Nami said. "You know, we never did ask you about your honeymoon. What did you two do?"

"Nothing," Neo replied. She yawned before speaking again. "We were traveling after all. There really wasn't time for one. I don't mind though. I was just so happy that Law and I were finally married."

"Well, maybe someday you two can do something for a late honeymoon," Robin suggested.

"Hm," Neo hummed. She glanced over at Law. She smiled when he looked at her. "Maybe someday. Right now, I'm too tired to think about it."

"Perhaps you should take your nap earlier then," Robin said.

"Looks like she might already be working on that," Chopper said.

"Mhmm," Neo hummed again. She stretched out her arms and legs before releasing a tired sigh. She then crossing her arms over the table and rested her head on them. Her eyes lids drifted closed to the light rocking of the ship that the waves were causing. Her head spun at the rocking of the ship. She closed her eyes, but the spinning didn't stop.

Suddenly, her stomach took an unexpected, wild turn inside of her. She bolted up from her seat and ran over to the railing.

…

Law uncrossed his arms and legs. He was going to insist that Neo go ahead and take her nap now since she was clearly tired. He started to push up on his feet when he felt Neo's stomach suddenly take a violent turn. He jumped up to his feet at the time Neo bolted from the table and dash for the edge of the Sunny. He ran over to her. Dropping his sword onto the deck, he took her hair in his hands before placing his left hand on her lower back. He gently rubbed her back while she emptied her stomach.

…

"Oh my gosh! Neo!" Chopper gasped. He frantically ran over to her at the same time Law did. He jumped upon the rail and placed one hoof on her back while placing the other on her shoulder. "Neo, are you all right? What's wrong?!"

Neo waved her hand. She retched a few more times before gasping for air. When she was able to find her voice, she said, "I'm…I'm okay."

"Did you get food poison or something?" Chopper asked.

"Great going, stupid cook," Zoro said with a frown. "You killed her."

"Hey! I didn't kill her!" Sanji growled at Zoro. He popped up right beside the swordsman before popping up behind the three standing by the railing. His teeth gnashing together as fire burned around him. "If she was allergic to any type of food, she or Law would have said so!"

"I'm fine." Neo slowly turned around, unsure if her stomach had finally settled down or not. Feeling a little dizzy, she leaned into Law's chest. "Just a little sea sick."

"You don't get sea sick," Law said, confused. He put his arm around her and examined her face while placing the back of his free hand on her forehead. "You feel a bit warm."

"Well, I guess today I do get sea sick," Neo replied with a tired sigh.

"You really don't look that well," Chopper said. He ran his worried eyes over her tired form. "I have some medicine that will help sea sickness. Would you like some?"

"No, thank you, Chopper." Neo reached over and cupped his worried face. "I'm fine. Really."

"Perhaps you just over did it today," Robin said. She walked over to the group and took Neo in. "Maybe you should take that nap now. The time limit's almost up anyway. It's best if you don't push getting sick."

"That's really not-" Neo started. She flinched when Law cut her off.

"Neo," Law warned. "You know the agreement we made. You're taking a nap now."

"Fine," Neo huffed. She pouched her lips out at Law. "But you have to come with me. You know I'll need you to help me fall asleep."

Law nodded.

"You can use our room," Robin said.

"That's nice of you, but we could just sleep out here on the deck," Neo said. "Or in the library."

"Our room will be a lot more comfortable for you," Robin said. She waved her hand up to her and Nami's shared room. "It will be a lot quieter in there as well."

"Well, if you really don't mind," Neo said. She looked between Robin and Nami, who was walking over to them at that point.

"We don't mind at all," Nami said. She stopped walking and placed her hand on her hip. "We'll be sure to keep everyone quiet for you two. And I'm sure you'd like to freshen up a bit before heading to our room. There are some spare toothbrushes in the bathroom cabinet. Feel free to borrow our toothpaste as well."

"Oh, well, thank you," Neo said. "This is very nice of you two."

"Think nothing of it," Robin said with a smile.

"Come on," Law said. He picked up his discarded sword then slipped his arm around Neo's waist and guided her towards the bathroom.

Once inside the bathroom, Neo opened the small cabinet that was mounted on the wall. She pulled out one of the spare toothbrushes then grabbed one of the toothpaste tubes. She barely noticed Law was carefully watching her with serious concern. Running the toothbrush over her teeth, she muttered to him, "Sorry. I guess I ruined your plans of love making."

"I thought I kept that hidden from you," Law grumbled. "I was going to surprise you."

Neo giggled. She spit out the toothpaste then rinsed her mouth. Laying the toothbrush down, she turned to him. She examined his slightly disappointed expression before walking over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pecked his lips. "You know it's hard for you to hide your sexual intentions from me, even when you think I'm distracted. You think far too much about them. We can still have sex. We could do it right here and now. I know you got a hold of a condom."

Law chuckled. He pecked her lips and squeezed her hip with his free hand. "Not right now. You're going to take a nap first."

"Aw, Law." Neo pouted. She pooched out her lips and let her eyes become innocent and round. She slipped a hand under his shirt and rubbed his wonderfully toned abs before teasing his skin that was just above his jeans waistline. "But I want you."

"I know you do. But you really need to sleep for a while," Law said despite struggling to not be over taken by her cute pout or his own fleshly desires. He pulled her hand away from his body and kissed it. "I promise there will be plenty of time for some intimacy before we set foot on Dressrosa."

"But we have less chance of getting interrupted if we do it  _before_  I take a nap," Neo said. She pulled Law down to her and took his earlobe into his mouth. She sucked on it for a minute before kissing his cheek. "If we wait, there's a good chance that Luffy will come barging into the room."

"Neo," Law said. He felt himself get lightheaded as she trailed kisses over his cheekbone and down to his lips.

"Come on, my love," Neo whispered against his lips. She trailed her hand over the button on his jeans before dropping her hand lower. Her tone changed to a very seductive one as she continued to work her lips and hands over him. "You know you want this."

Law felt himself become even more lightheaded. A small part of his brain was registering this as something that's never happened before. He felt like Neo was trying to take over his body completely instead of just putting him into a trance like she usually did. But her hands weren't anywhere near his hair. And he wasn't even breathing in her scent. This was definitely something different. He tried to figure it out, but his brain stopped working when she spoke again.

"Please, Law? You know you don't really want to wait. We can rest afterwards," Neo purred. She placed a light kiss on his lips, sucking him into her. She could feel his entire body pulse with heated desire while their tongues tangled together in a heated battle for dominance. Lack of air and burning lungs forced them to pull apart a minute later. Their tattered breaths mixing together, making both their pulses increase. "We're doing this."

Law, unable to find his voice, nodded.

"That's a good pirate boy," Neo cooed. She placed a kiss on his forehead before leading him out of the bathroom.

"Hm? Is he okay?" Zoro asked when he saw Law's dazed expression.

"He's fine," Neo replied. "Just a bit tired himself. We're just going to go take our nap now."

"Okay," Zoro said, completely unconvinced. But he didn't question them as they passed by him.

Neo waved at the Straw Hat crew while guiding a slightly dazed Law across the deck and up to Nami and Robin's room. She opened the door and pulled him inside. She ran her eyes around the room. She examined the large, king size bed, the light purple vanity and matching chair, the white and gold trimmed closet, the two lamps mounted on the wall and the table with two chairs. She sighed internally. She thought that the room was very nice, but didn't allow for her to move the furniture around so she could be by the wall and Law. "Hmm."

"Uh." Law blinked and looked around the room. "Weren't we just in the bathroom?"

Neo turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? We left that room about a minute ago."

"We did?" Law asked. Confusion rose up on his face.

"You're not trying to back out of sex before our nap are you?" Neo asked. She planted her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyebrows at him.

"No, of course not," Law replied. He pecked her forehead. "I know we decided to do that before we slept. I just don't remember leaving the bathroom."

"I guess you're just excited about spending some time alone," Neo replied. She slipped her hands under his shirt and rubbed his skin. "It's been almost two weeks since we've had sexual relations. That's far too long."

Law glanced around the room and tossed his sword to the foot of the bed. He said, "I suppose you're correct. Are you going to be all right with this room?"

"Yeah. As long as you're with me, I can live with a short nap without sleeping by the wall." Neo nodded. She scanned her eyes over the room again before wrapping her arms back around Law. "Can I have you now?"

"You absolutely can," Law mumbled against her lips. He ran his hands over her sides and down to the edges of her shirt. "But things are going to be a little different this time."

"How so?" Neo asked. She pecked his lips.

"You are going to lay down and do nothing while I take care of you," Law said. He pulled her shirt off then nipped at her neck until he hit her soft spot, causing her to moan in pleasure.

"Is this some ploy for you to keep control over me?" Neo teased. She grabbed Law's shirt and pulled it off. She placed kisses over his chest. Her lips vibrating against his skin when he chuckled.

"Of course not, my love. This is all about  _you_ ," Law said. He fiddled with the button on her shorts before undoing them and pushing them off her body. He swept his lips over her exposed skin, across her stomach, her shoulders, her face, then back to her shoulders. "Lay some large leaves over the bed. I don't want to leave any traces of what's going to take place here. Then I'll show you want I mean."

"Oh? I know one Straw Hat will know," Neo said. She ran her fingertips over his back before undoing his jeans.

"Don't speak about  _them_  anymore," Law said in a half warning tone. He pulled her hips closer to him. "I only want you."

Neo tilted her neck to give him better access to her while obeying his command. Once the leaves were in place, he pulled off his boots then swept her off her feet. He laid her down and straddled over her. He kissed over her bare stomach while she ran her hands through his black tresses. His lips, goatee, and warm breath tickled her soft skin as he worked his lips over her stomach and up to her chest. He slipped his hand behind her back and easily undid the clasp before pulling off her bra and flicking it away with mild disgust for the item. He went back to kissing and sucking across her skin. Taking her in his mouth, she groaned and arched her back while Law continued to work her body with his lips. She started to pant while tugging on a strand of his hair. When he lifted up from her mounds, she guided his lips to hers and slipped her tongue into his mouth. She wrapped her arms and legs around him.

"Whoa, whoa," Law said, pulling back from her. He chuckled when she pouted at him. "Don't worry, love. We're doing this. It's just, you are going to lay back and relax while I take care of you."

"Then take care of me," Neo said in the same seductive tone she used in the bathroom. "Show me how this kind of activity can be relaxing. Show me  _now_."

Once again Law felt like Neo was taking control over him as he became lightheaded again. All he could do was nod at her command. He slipped his hand into his pocket and took out their borrowed protection. Hurriedly, he pulled off his remaining clothing then sheathed himself with the protection before leaning back down and capturing her body with his. His mouth swallowing up her moans while he slowly rocked his hips against her.


	95. Pregnant

Pregnant

Neo hummed at Law's fingers trailing through her long blue, slightly damp hair. Her breath fanned over his bare chest when she sighed. She tilted her eyes to him, resting her chin on his chest and smiled while he continued to dance his fingers through her hair with a relaxed smile of his own. She said, "You're right. That was very relaxing."

"I'm glad you approve," Law said. He put his free hand behind his head and just watched her. He ran his fingertips from the tip of her roots to the very ends of her strands, noticing for the first time that her hair had grown longer over the past months that they've been away from the sub. It now fell to her hips and was fanned out over her back and draped over both their sides. He wondered when that had happened. He didn't feel surprised at the length, he just felt a bit surprised that he didn't notice it before. He was usually more attentive to her than that.

Pulling his fingers from her hair, he brushed them across her arm. He noticed that both of their bodies were completely relaxed and humming with soft warmth from their recent relation and the close contact of their skin. Their skin also shared a light sheen of sweat that made her skin feel silky smooth while he trailed his fingers across it. His fingers brushed across a small bulge of her beast that was peaking out from her hair. He gave her a sheepish grin and continued to stroke her softly, earning a pulse-increasing groan from her.

His eyes drifted away from hers when he heard a distant scream from two of the Straw Hats followed by another scream and a muffled string of curses that could have been from anyone on the ship. A frown caused the corner of his lips to dip down. Despite the Straw Hats saying they would stay away, there was still a chance that they could come busting into this room for any given reason. Jealousy and heat bubbled up in his chest at the mere thought of another man catching a glimpse of his naked lover. Whether intentional or not, he knew that he would kill them without a second thought if they did see her.

Neo giggled when Law returned his hand to her hair and clutch it in that possessive way that he has done so many times before, even when they weren't in a romantic relationship. It was that possessive touch that meant she belonged to him and  _only_  him. She reached up and tenderly stroked his cheek in an attempt to bring his attention back to her, but his eyes remained glaring harshly at the door. Her heart skittered inside of her chest at his actions. She knew he felt it too with how close they were laying and with their bond. But he was far too distractive of what might possibly happen to even notice. With another giggle, she said, "You are so insanely cute when you get jealous and possessive of me. I really love it."

Another moment passed before Law finally returned his attention to her. He said, "We should get up now."

Neo frowned. "What for? What about our nap?"

"We're still taking it. I just want us both clothed while we do," Law said. He lifted a strand of her hair to his lips and kissed it. He let himself breath in her familiar sweet, intoxicating scent. He lowered her hair from his nose and just stared at it. His brain working on the differences of becoming intoxicating from her scent and from whatever it was that happened before, twice. He lowered her hair from his face even more and looked at her. "How were you able to control me like you did?"

"Control you?" Neo tilted her head. "What are you talking about? Do you mean when I work your hair? Or when you breathe in my scent?"

"No, it wasn't either of those," Law replied. He studied her eyes. Her sweet, innocent eyes that clearly had no clue what he was talking about.

"Then what is it?" Neo asked. She kneaded her eyebrows when she noticed Law's thoughts were distant from her. "Is something wrong? You're not really blocking your thoughts from me, but your not really sharing them either."

"Sorry, love. There's nothing wrong," Law replied. He leaned up and kissed her forehead before sitting up with her. "Come on. Let's get our clothes back on then sleep. I think we could both use some rest."

"Law?" Neo asked. Her electric orbs filling with concern as she looked at him. "Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"I'm sure. Everything's just fine," Law said. He pecked her lips then guided her off the bed. He picked up her clothes and handed them to her, his eyes catching a glimpse of the slightly torn leaves and discarded protection. "We really need to burn those too."

Neo nodded. Summoning her crystals, she used her winds to dry their bodies off before they pulled on their clothes. She then carefully rolled up the leaves, keeping the tied up protection inside of it, and flaring up a fire crystal to completely incinerate the items. She sucked the smoke back into her fire crystal then used a wind crystal to disperse any smoke that might be still in the room. She sniffed the air. "Think it's gone?"

"Yes. You did great." Law pecked her temple before grabbing the covers. He slid in first then held up the covers for her. "Come on."

Neo crawled onto the bed. Instead of lying down, she knelt next to Law and pressed her hands onto his shoulders and pushed him down to the bed with a mischievous smile. She reclaimed her spot on his chest. "I'm not done with laying on your body like this."

"You know you can lay on me however you want," Law said.

"I know. I just love hearing you say I can," Neo replied.

Law chuckled. He kissed her forehead. "Sleep now, my love."

"Okay." Neo laid her cheek against his chest and shifted until she was comfortable. "But you know I'm not going to be able to sleep."

Law waited patently while she adjusted herself until she was comfortable enough. Once she settled down, he placed his right hand on her back and started rubbing soothing strokes over her. He chuckled when he felt her body relax completely with just a half a minute of rubbing. "Sure you weren't going to fall asleep easily."

Law kept his right hand on her back while placing his left hand behind his head. He closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep himself. But sleep wouldn't come so easily for him as it did for her. His mind refused to stop thinking about how she, somehow, was able to control him like she did. He reopened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. His fingers clenched and unclenched the fabric of her shirt.

He continued with that repetitive motion until his hand started to cramp up. He then realized he had been doing that for twenty minutes. Not wanting to wake her up for his lack of concentration, he forced himself to release her shirt. He wrapped his arms around her, supporting her back and head, before carefully rolled them over onto their sides, making sure Neo was on her right side. He propped up on his elbow and let her snuggle back into his chest. Resting his head in his left hand, he started fiddling with her hair in his other hand. His mind started going over every strange event that's been happening with his love.  _I know I didn't imagine what she did. Is it possible that this is a new type of magic she's developing? Maybe a new skill? Or is her magic still messing up? Is that why she got sick today? It couldn't have been because she was playing with the Straw Hats. She's played and trained a lot harder with the crew than that. And on hotter days than today. It was also strange that she threw up like she did. She has no food allergies and never gets sea sick. And there's also that strange food craving she had yesterday. She's never eaten peppers, pizza sauce, and honey together like that._

Law pinched the bridge of his nose and chuckled. "Unexplained sickness, strange food cravings…it sounds like a human pregnant-"

Law shot his eyes back down to Neo. His eyes dropping right to her stomach. With an unsure, shaky hand, he reached out and stroked her stomach. "It…it can't be. No. It's not possible. I've been careful to monitor her cycle and each time we've used protection. It's just a coincident, a false alarm."

Law looked down to the foot of the bed at his discarded sword. Doing an x-ray with his powers was tempting, but he quickly shot it down. He turned his attention back to her and tucked her hair behind her ear. He brushed his thumb over her cheek, earning a smile from her. He smiled back then slipped his arms back around her and laid down. He pressed his lips to her forehead before nuzzling his nose in her hair. Drifting off, he whispered, "You're not pregnant. It's not possible. I don't know what's actually going on with you, but I'm sure you are not pregnant. This just has to be an Elemental sickness. Once we're back on the sub, I'll figure out what's going on with you. Just wait a little longer, my love. I'll get you back home. I promise."

…

"You really should relax, Chopper," Nami said. Her eyes, plus Robin and Sanji were locked onto the small animal. Their small group was gathered around the table and chairs while the rest of their crew had disappeared into various parts of the Sunny to find something to entertain themselves with. The only other ones on the deck were Kin'emon and Momonosuke. Those two were still sitting in the same exact spot they sat down at when they finished breakfast. Both had fallen asleep. Momonosuke was laying on his dad's leg while Kin'emon was sitting up with his arms crossed over his chest.

Chopper had his chin propped up on the table and his face held a very depressed and worried expression. He sighed then said, "I'm sorry. I just can't help but worry about her. She just got sick all of a sudden for no reason at all."

"Well, you all were playing pretty hard today," Nami offered. "And it is pretty warm today too."

"But she's nature." Chopper turned his eyes to the orange haired woman. "The weather doesn't bother her like that."

Sanji pinched his cigarette and exchanged a glance with Robin.

Nami thought for a minute before speaking again. "Well, she's been having trouble with her crystals. Maybe this is just part of that. It might just be an Elemental type flu or something."

"That's something else that I'm worried about. I don't know anything about Elemental medicine or crystals or biology," Chopper said. He grabbed his hat and pulled it lower over his eyes. Tears pooled in his worried orbs. "I can't do anything to help her. I know that Law has studied on this subject when they were back on her home island, but he seems a bit confused over everything. I get the feeling that whatever's happening to her, he doesn't know anything about it. I'm just so worried."

Sanji sighed. He pulled his cigarette from his mouth. He breathed out the smoke before saying, "There's no need for you to worry about her like that. She's fine."

"But Sanji," Chopper said. He turned his eyes to the cook.

"Sanji?" Robin asked.

"We might as well tell them," Sanji said. He looked at the raven haired woman. "If we don't, Chopper's going to worry himself sick."

"I suppose you are correct. Out of us all, he is the most attached to her," Robin replied. "And it would be good to have our own doctor aware of her condition."

"Condition?" Nami asked. "What are you two talking about?"

Sanji looked behind him. He scanned his eyes over the deck. No one else had come back out onto the deck yet. He leaned over the table to Nami and Chopper. As he whispered to them, a strong gust of wind blew across the sea. The salty flavor of the wind vanished as each word Sanji spoke penetrated their ears and their brains.

Nami and Chopper's eyes widened in shock with each word Sanji spoke. Once the blonde haired man stopped speaking, their voices bubbled to the surface with a sharp, "What?!"

"Are you serious?!" Chopper asked.

"Yeah." Sanji nodded.

"Why haven't you said anything to them?!" Nami asked. She leaped up to her feet and slammed her hands on the table, rattling the ice in their glasses.

"We're not sure that's the best idea right now," Robin said. She closed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"But we can't just keep this from them. They have a right to know," Nami said.

"Are you going to tell them?" Sanji asked. Nami opened her mouth to reply, but shut it instead. "Law is far too concerned about his plans. And Neo…well, you've all seen how she is. This could really shock her. We don't want to put either of them under a stressor like this before heading into Dressrosa."

"Does anyone else know?" Chopper asked.

"No. Robin and I are the only ones who have figured it out so far," Sanji said. "We really weren't planning on telling anyone else, but since you were so worried, I figured letting you know would be fine."

"I see." Chopper nodded. "I think Luffy and Zoro should know. They're two of our strongest fighters. They'll be able to help."

"We're not telling Luffy," Sanji said, flatly. "He'd go and blab to every single person on the ship. Probably even the whole entire planet."

"Well, that's true," Nami said with a nod. She sat back down and crossed her arms over the table. "It would be best if we didn't tell him."

"Tell who what?" Luffy asked.

"What?!" Nami screamed. She punched Luffy in the face. "Don't sneak up on us like that!"

Luffy's body shot across the deck. He slammed into the wall, startling the sleeping samurai and his son. He picked himself up from the dust and rubbed his sore cheek. "Hey! What the heck was that for?!"

"We've told you a million times, Luffy! Don't sneak up on us like that!" Nami growled. "It's rude! We're having a private conversation here!"

"Hey! I'm the captain! I should be in on these conversations then!" Luffy protested.

"No, you should not!" Nami marched over to Luffy. She grabbed his ear and started griping at him about butting in to conversations that were none of his business.

"Sanji, are you sure about not telling them?" Chopper asked. "I mean, I can understand not telling Neo, but surely it would be best if Law knew."

"Perhaps," Sanji replied. "But, for now, we're not telling him. He doesn't even notice. At least, he doesn't notice yet. If he starts noticing, I'll talk to him about it. Will you be all right with that?"

"Yeah. I guess that will be fine, at least for the moment." Chopper rested his chin back down on the table. He stared at his refection in his glass. "I still can't believe it."

…

_Law shifted the box he was holding in his arms. He was walking down the halls of the sub with Bepo beside him. Both smiled when they heard Neo's sweet chiming laughter ring out from a room they passed. She flew out of that room and kissed them before flying down the halls of the sub and disappearing around a corner._

" _She so cute," Bepo said with a chuckle._

_Law smiled and entered into his and Neo's room. He walked over to some other boxes full of books that had already been brought in here. He sat the box he was holding down and opened it._

" _Hey, Captain?" Bepo asked._

" _What is it?" Law asked._

" _Are you and Neo planning on having kids?" Bepo asked._

" _No. Why would you even ask that?" Law narrowed his eyebrows at the bear._

" _You have a whole box here on Elemental pregnancies, health care, child care and such." Bepo waved the book in his paw. He was squatting down over the open box before him._

_Law shoved the book he was holding into the bookshelf then walked over to his navigator. He took the book from the bear and opened it. The pages landed on a list of pregnancy symptoms Elemental women went through. Being the doctor he was, he couldn't stop his eyes from running over the list._

_**Early pregnancy signs:** _

_Desire for more affection from husband, family and friends._

_Wind Elementals or royals will have the addiction of flying upside down: sometimes for hours and to the point of making themselves sick due to all the blood rushing to their head._

_Spontaneous outbursts of emotions: Some of which can be extreme and last for hours._

_Low-grade fever._

_Shivers._

_Playfulness._

_Fatigue to the point of being unable to use crystals properly._

_Sleeplessness. Sometimes for days, if this occurs seek help from a healer for some sleeping powder to relax the expectant mother._

_Law closed the book with an annoyed huff. "That healer woman. I told her we were not having kids. She must have snuck them in here without my knowledge."_

" _Law?" Neo asked._

_Law looked up from his desk. His gaze crossed the room and his face contorted with confusion. Over in the corner, directly across from their bed, was a crib. Walking away from the crib, was Neo. She was wearing one of her white dresses she brought back from Luminous. He rubbed his eyes and took another look. No. It wasn't one of her Luminous dresses. This one was different. This one was a bit snug around her chest and flowed loosely over her stomach. He narrowed his eyes in on her stomach. The fabric around her stomach was rounded. It didn't flow straight down like it normally did. In fact, this looked very similar to how his mother looked when she was pregnant with his sister. His eyes shot to Neo's. "Neo…are you…you can't be…we weren't trying to…"_

" _Law," Neo called softly. She walked over to him and took his hands in hers. "It's going to be okay."_

" _But this can't be happening. How could it happen? I was being so careful with you," Law said._

" _We're not perfect, Law," Neo said. "But you have to realize that this is happening."_

" _It can't be," Law said._

" _It is. You know it is, my love. All the clues are there. You've known for a while now. You've just been far too distracted with your plans." Neo took his hands and placed them on her rounded stomach. "And you're in denial. It's time you faced the truth. I'm going to need you more than ever now."_

" _I don't know if I can do this," Law whispered. He stroked his thumb over stomach._

" _I know, Law." Neo reached up and brushed the back of her fingers over his cheek. "I'm scared too. But we still have each other. We have the crew, we have Godfather, and we have the Straw Hats."_

_Tears shimmered in his eyes. He said, "I'm not ready for this."_

" _I know." Neo nodded. "But it's already here."_

_Law blinked. The room around him changed again. Neo was sitting in a rocking chair beside the baby crib. She had a blanket over her lap and was sleeping. Soft cries floated into the room from the crib. His heart pounded wildly in his chest as his feet somehow managed to carry him over closer to the soft cries. He glanced down into the crib. His chest flooded with warmth at the beautiful, small eyes that were staring back at him. The small eyes that looked exactly like…_

Law opened his eyes. Light panic settled into his mind when he noticed they were in an unfamiliar room. Before he could sound any alarms, his brain cleared and he remembered they were on the Straw Hat's ship and in the women's bedroom. He settled back down in the bed and pulled Neo closer to him. He buried his nose in her hair and breathed in her scent. He fiddled with her hair while his eyelids fell closed.

The image of Neo pressing his hands to her rounded stomach caused him to reopen his eyes. He pulled away from her a bit. His eyes locked onto her stomach. It was still flat as it always was. Just to be sure, Law ran his fingertips over her stomach, once over the fabric then once under the fabric. He retracted his hand from her shirt and pitched the bridge of his nose. "Dream. It was just a stupid dream. She's not pregnant. I've been careful with her. She's not pregnant. She's not."

Law sighed. He laid his head back down on the pillow and snuggled back into her. He closed his eyes and tried to let himself drift back off to sleep. But he couldn't. His dream wouldn't leave his mind. He then realized that part of his dream actually happened. Part of it wasn't a dream at all. He scratched his head in confusion. "Why in the world would I dream about that? That healer sent those books with us. I read part of one of them, but what did it say?"

Law closed his eyes and simultaneously tried to remember what the book had said and fall asleep.

_"Pregnant women are often tired."_

…

_Iron. Blood. Sounds of a battle. These scents and sounds swirled around in the darkness. Neo stood alone in the darkness. Or she thought it was darkness. It was dark, but she could still see. There was just nothing for her to see. A bunch of nothing surrounded her, but for the smell of blood and the sounds of battle. She shifted on her feet and felt something under her skin. She looked down to find there was something else in the darkness. There was a stone pathway beneath her feet. "Huh? Where am I? What's going on?"_

_A light fell down upon her. She looked up, but couldn't find where the light was coming from. The light stretched out ahead of her, lighting up more of the stone path. Without thinking, she followed the light. With each step she took the stronger to smell of blood and sounds of battle became stronger. Her eyes dropped to the path when she spotted a small drop of blood on it. She continued walking and noticed another drop of blood about four feet from the last one. Six more feet was two drops of blood._

_"What's going on?" Neo asked. Her right arm began to ache. She rubbed her hand on it and walked passed the two drops of blood. Two more drops of blood passed by. Then three drops of blood, then six drops, and then the blood drops started to get bigger at the same time Neo's arm started to hurt more. She paused and stared down at a small pool of blood. As she stared into it, sharp stabs of pain shot through her arm. "It hurts. Where's my solar crystal?"_

_Neo tried to summon her solar crystal, but it wouldn't come. She narrowed her eyebrows in confusion and tried again to summon her crystals. None of them would come out at her command. She cried out when an unbearable sharp pain shot through her upper arm. Her heart skipped a beat when her arm when limp at her side. Her knees buckled under her and she dropped to the ground. "What…what's happening?! I'm scared! Law! Law, where are you?!"_

_Neo then sensed Law nearby. She pushed herself back up to her feet and, holding her lifelessly arm to her side, she ran down the stone path towards him. "Law!"_

_Neo's eyes dropped back down to the stone path. The blood drops kept growing. Her heart pounded in her head while worry grew inside of her as realization dawned on her. "No…Law's hurt! Law!"_

_Neo started to run faster. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she frantically searched for Law. The darkness passed by her, but she felt like she was getting nowhere. Soon Neo felt Law's presence finally growing closer to her. She felt relief when she finally saw him. His body was mostly covered in shadows, but he was there. "Law! Law! Something's wrong! My arm hurts! I can't move it! And my crystals won't come out!" Neo ran up to him. She paused when he didn't move or respond to her. "Law? Law, what's wrong? Why won't you talk to me?"_

_Neo took a step around to his right side. The light followed her movements and lit his body up. She gasped. Covering her mouth with her one workable hand, she gagged and took a step back from him. Law's right arm was missing. Blood was pouring out of the wound. Her eyes followed the blood flowing from his wound. The blood was on the stone pathway. The blood was on the stone pathway that she had walked down. She was following Law's blood._

_Suddenly, a distant familiar laugh rang out from the darkness. It was followed by a voice that Neo has heard before, but couldn't place where. "You can't save him! He's dead! And he's not coming back!"_

_"No! He's not dead! I would know if he was!" Neo shouted back. She jumped when three shots rang out from the darkness and three different stinging hot, familiar, pain burned through her torso. Stumbling back to Law, she pressed into his body. She looked up at him. His expression was blank and his eyes were whited out. Using her working left hand, she grabbed his shirt. Pressing against him, she could feel something warm and wet seeping onto her shirt, but didn't both to look and see what it was. "Law, wake up. I'm scared. I want to go home. Please, take me home. Law?"_

_"He can't hear you!" the voice said. "He's dead! I killed him!"_

_"No! He's not!" Neo shouted. Tears spilled down her cheeks. "He's not dead! Please, Law! Let's just go!"_

_"Look at him, Princess!" the voice said. "Take a close look at him! I killed him!"_

_Neo tried to not let herself look. But her eyes turned down to Law's chest. She screamed and took a step back from him. There were three holes in his torso. Her eyes then dropped down to her own body. Her own torso held three bullet wounds in it just like Law did. Her blood was spilling out and mixing with Law's blood that was on her shirt. "No…No! No! Law!"_

"No…" Neo whimpered in her sleep. She curled into herself to try and get away from her nightmare before shooting up in bed. She screamed. "No! No! Stop it! Leave him alone! Law!"

Law's eyes snapped open. He sat up and instantly pulled her into his arms. He tightened his hold when she tried to pull away from him. He said, "Neo, it's okay. You're safe. It's just a nightmare. Wake up now."

"No! Law! Where are you?!" Neo screamed.

"I'm right here. Neo, I order you to wake up," Law said. "Wake up now."

Neo stopped struggling against him. Now awake, she darted her eyes around the slightly unfamiliar room. Through her pants, she asked, "Where…where are we?"

"We're on the Straw Hat's ship," Law replied.

She turned her eyes back to him. Her nightmare pounded her head again. She grabbed onto the front of his shirt. Her breaths came in sharp, short gasps, causing her the inability to speak clearly. "Law…arm…hurt…blood…"

Unable to make sense of her words, Law cupped her cheek and pressed his forehead to hers. "I order you to calm down, my love. Show me what you dreamed. Take a deep breath and let me see."

Obeying his commands, she drew in a deep breath. Slowly letting it out while she passed her nightmare to him.

…

"I wonder how long they're going to sleep for," Nami murmured. She turned her eyes to her and Robin's shared room. "They've been in there for hours. We'll arrive at Dressrosa before too much longer."

"We should let them sleep as long as they can," Sanji said.

"Neo will probably be hungry when she wakes up," Chopper said. He looked up at Sanji. "We should make her something light to eat. Maybe something like broth? Later on we can get her something else if we think she can handle it."

"That's a good idea. Something with lots of protein would be beneficial for her. And it'll be quick to make. I'll do that whe-" Sanji's voice was cut off when Neo's scream filtered out through the women's bedroom. "What the heck?"

"Something happened! Neo!" Chopper cried out. He jumped from his chair and ran towards the women's bedroom.

"Chopper! Wait for me!" Nami shouted, following after him.

"Wait a second!" Sanji said. He followed after them, leaving Robin the only one left at the table.

Calmly, Robin just watched Nami, Chopper, and Sanji run up the stairs and bust into the bedroom. She looked up when Zoro poked his head out of the Crow's Nest. He asked, "Did someone scream?"  
"It was just Neo. I believe she might have had a nightmare," Robin replied.

"Oh. All right," Zoro said before disappearing back into the Crow's Nest.

…

"What is it?! What's going on?!" Chopper asked once he busted through the bedroom door of the women's bedroom.

"Did something happen?! Are we under attack?!" Nami asked. She had her staff already out and in her hands. She looked around the room for a possible threat.

"Sorry. They jumped before I could stop them," Sanji said. He looked right at Neo and Law.

Law still had his forehead to Neo's when the Straw Hats came busting in. He pulled back from Neo. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest, and looked at the other pirate crew.

"Neo! Neo, what happened?!" Chopper asked. He jumped up on the bed and placed his hooves on her arm. His eyes were filled with concerned tears. "Why are you crying?! Please, talk to me!"

"She's all right, Tony," Law said. He moved his left arm to her shoulders while his right hand rubbed soothing circles over her back. "She just had a nightmare."

"It must have been serious if she screamed that loud," Nami replied. She relaxed and put up her staff. "I about jumped out of my skin."

"Well, they did tell us that she can have severe nightmares," Sanji said. He took a puff on his cigarette then blew the smoke back out the door. He then let his cigarette hang by his side.

Law nodded. From the corner of his eye he caught the cook's odd movements, but didn't say anything.

" _Pregnant women should not smoke and should not be around second hand smoke."_

"What was she dreaming about?" Chopper asked. "You look worried about something."

"She was dreaming about me. I apparently lost my right arm and had three bullet holes in my torso," Law replied. He glanced back down at Neo when she shifted her position. She was now resting her head on his shoulder, she had released his shirt, but she wasn't looking at anyone yet. His eyes drifted down to her stomach. Somehow, at some point, his hand had placed itself on her stomach.

" _Parents can be fiercely protective of their child even when the child has not yet been born."_

" _Shut up. Neo's not pregnant."_

Sanji carefully watched the Warlord's face. His eyebrows lifted high upon his forehead as he watched a silent battle waging in Law's eyes. He watched as Law's confusion shift into a determination that bordered on denial then switched to concern about something different. His eyes followed Law's hand quickly slide from Neo's stomach to her hip.  _Looks like he's figuring it out, but is in denial. Looks like I might have to tell him after all. It really won't be good if his focus is divided._

"And that's what's got you so worried? It was just a bad dream after all," Chopper said. He looked from Neo to Law. He kneaded his own eyebrows at Law's seriously concerned expression.

"Neo's dreams on occasion have come true," Law mumbled.

"What?" Chopper asked.

"I believe she's mentioned her nightmares before," Nami said thoughtfully. "Do you think that this one will come true?"

"I don't know," Law mumbled quietly. "She could just be stressed. Going into Dressrosa and facing Doflamingo like we're doing could have just influenced her dreams."

"We'll I hope that's all this is then," Nami said. "Does she need anything? Water?"

"No. She just needs a minute to come back to reality," Law replied. "She's still a bit out of it."

"Neo?" Chopper asked. He laid his fuzzy cheek on her arm and glanced up at her with a sweet expression.

Neo looked down at him. A small, tired smile pulled across her lips. She said, "Hey."

"Are you feeling better now?" Chopper asked, still worried.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. She stroked the reindeer's cheek a couple of times. Her stomach rumbled. She then looked back at Law. "Law, I'm hungry."

Law nodded, feeling her hunger. "We'll get you something to eat then."

"I'll get right on that," Sanji said. He turned towards the door. "Since you got sick earlier, I'm going to make you some broth. That'll be easy on your stomach. Later on if you feel like something stronger, you can eat something else. Would that be fine?"

"That would be just fine," Law answered for her.

"Thank you, Sanji," Neo said in a low tone.

"You're very welcome," Sanji said. He flashed her a warm smile before leaving the room. Nami followed after him without a word to anyone.

"What are you going to do now?" Chopper asked. "We should be getting close to Dressrosa by now."

"I don't feel like sleeping anymore," Neo said. She turned her pleading eyes to Law. "Can we just go sit out on the deck? I promise I'll relax. I won't get excited or play or-"

"Neo, it's fine," Law said, cutting her off. He gave her hip a squeeze. "You don't have to go back to sleep now."

"Thank you," Neo murmured. She laid her head back on his shoulder with a tired sigh.

A rush of silence fell over them. Chopper looked from Neo to Law then back to Neo then back to Law. Neo still looked a bit dazed from her nightmare and Law was watching her intently. Chopper suddenly got the feeling he should leave them alone. Slowly, he backed off the bed. "I'll just go see if Sanji needs any help. Just come on back outside when you're ready."

"Right." Law nodded. He watched the reindeer leave and closed the door behind him on the way out before turning his full attention back to the woman in his arms. "Neo, talk to me."

Neo's mood darkened. Her left hand reached up and clenched the front of his shirt. He instantly knew she was scared. He didn't need their bond to tell him that. But he still needed her to talk about it. It would help her.

"What is it, love?" Law asked. He cupped her cheek and brought her eyes back to his. "Talk to me."

"Law, I'm scared. And I'm worried. We're getting ready to set foot into  _his_  kingdom. I just want you to be safe. And keep a cool, clear head," Neo whispered. She leaned into his touch. Her eyes were pleading with him. A tear dripped from the corner of her eyes. "I know what that man can do to you. And that's when you're miles apart from each other. Now, we're going to be in the same country as  _him_. We're going to be right in front of him. You've already angered him. I just…I just don't want anything to happen to us here. I want us both to return home safely. I want to go home."

"Don't worry, my love. Everything is going to be all right," Law said. He brushed away her tears then placed his forehead against hers. When he lowered his hand back down, it went right to her stomach. "You know we're just handing over Caesar as a distraction. I have no plans of fighting Doflamingo."

Neo gave him a pointed look accompanied with an "I know you're lying" frown.

Law flinched. Clearing his throat, he said, "Okay, I want to fight him. But I promise that I'll do everything that I can to avoid it. Deal?"

"Fine," Neo said. "Though I'm not happy about this whole thing. And I won't be happy if we die here. I want to see our crew again."

"I know, love." Law nodded.

"Good. Now that that is settled, I want some cheese and crackers. Pizza sounds good too." Neo turned her eyes to the door. "I wonder if Sanji has any chocolate. Pickles sound nice as well. So do some green peppers."

Law started to chuckle, but stopped when her cravings passed to him. They were intense. He felt like if he didn't get them he would rip someone's head off. His eyes then dropped down to her stomach, again. A quizzical look spread over his face as he stared at his hand. He wondered when he put his hand there.  _It's not possible. She's not pregnant. She's not. She's only hungry. It makes sense considering she got sick earlier. Food cravings are part of life. It's not because she's…_

" _Pregnant women have food cravings, Law."_

" _Shut up! She's not pregnant! Who the heck are you anyway?"_

" _Someone who cares about all_ _three_ _of you."_

"Law?" Neo asked.

"Yes?" Law forced himself to pull his eyes and his hand from her stomach. "What is it?"

"I was going to ask you that." Neo tilted her head. "You had this really weird, quizzical look on your face."

"It's nothing. I was just caught of guard a bit by your food cravings. Despite that, you're not getting any of it," Law said.

"Aw, Law." Neo pouted.

"Don't give me that look,  _little girl_." Law tapped her nose with his finger. "You got sick earlier. You're eating the broth for now. Later, if you can handle it, then you can eat something a little strong. And that's an order."

"Oh! Fine!" Neo stuck her tongue out at him. She crossed her arms in a huffed then started to crawl away from him. But that was stopped when an unstoppable urge to poke him in the ribs over took her. She giggled and poked her finger into his ribs.

"Hey. What was that for?" Law protested with a smirk.

"I felt like it." Neo poked him two more times. "What are  _you_  going to do about it, pirate boy?"

"Just this." Law grabbed her and pushed her down on the bed. He then poked his own fingers into her sides and tickled her.

"Ah! Ha! Ha ha! S-stop!" Neo laughed. Her bells rang out as she tried to pry Law's hands off of her.

"You started it. You've been poking me a lot like that here lately," Law said as he continued with his assault. "You should have known that I would retaliate at some point if you kept that up. You've been a bad little girl. This is your punishment."

"Ah ha! Ha ha! O-okay! Ok-ay!" Neo kicked her feet and tried to crawl away from him. She didn't get very far. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back to him, pinning her wrists to the bed above her head with one hand while returning his free hand to her stomach and resumed tickling her. Her cheeks and sides ached as she sucked in multiple breaths to try and get herself under control. "I…I'll b-behave!"

"Promise?" Law asked. His hand stopped.

"P-promise!" Neo smiled up at him. She sucked in a deep breath and released it. "Promise. Now kiss me."

Law chuckled. He released his hold on her hand. Pressing the majority of his weight onto his left arm, he pressed a kiss to her forehead then trailed kisses down the bridge of her nose until he placed a light kiss on her lips. He placed another light kiss on her before sucking her bottom lip into his mouth. He smirked when she moaned and tugged on a strand of his hair impatiently. He drug his tongue over her lip before slipping it into her mouth. He elicited a pleasurable groan from her and deepened their kiss. She wrapped her left arm around his neck and trailed her fingers through his black mane while he ran his hand up and down her side. He broke the kiss a minute later to let her breath. "If Blackleg wasn't already making you something to eat, I would take you again."

"You still can," Neo breathed. She placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him onto his back. Her long hair fell over her shoulders. She raked her fingers through her hair, pulling it back behind her shoulders before leaning down and capturing his lips. In an attempt to entice him in another round of sexual intimacy, she grinded herself into his body, making his breath hitch in his chest and his pulse thump wildly under his skin. She smirked at making  _him_  writhe beneath  _her_  for a change.

"Mmm. It's not like you to be so sexually aggressive," Law murmured against her lips.

"You are the one making me like this. I just want you so bad right now," Neo replied, grinding herself into his body again to prove her point.

" _Sex drive increases in some pregnant women."_

" _She's not pregnant! Shut up!"_

"Okay, okay. I get it. And I really want you again now too. But we really can't do this right now," Law said as she trailed kisses away from his lips to his neck. He about caved to her when she lightly bit down on his soft spot. He bit back a groan only to release it a second later when she sucked hard on his neck. "Geez, Neo. You really are aggressive right now."

Neo pulled back from him. She stared down into his eyes, a light touch of worry she had some something wrong. The worry vanished when he fed her his thoughts on how much he really like what she was doing. She sighed when he also fed her his thoughts on how they really couldn't do this right now.

"I'm sorry, love." Law rubbed his hands on her arms. "If we were back on the sub, we could do this at any point and time we wanted. But we're not. We're guests on another ship."

"This sucks."

"Neo," Law warned.

"I'm sorry." Neo fluttered her eyelashes at him.

"It's fine. I know you're just frustrated." Law sat up, causing her to slide down to his thighs. He pecked her lips. "I promise, once we get back to the sub we can do that whenever you wish."

"You're such a good boy." Neo wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled his nose.

"Let's get up now," Law said.

"Okay! But I'm taking your hat!" Neo reached over to where his hat was abandoned, and almost forgotten, on the bed. She snatched it up, placed it on her head, and then jumped off the bed. She spun on her toes a couple times before striking a cute pose with her hands behind her head, her right knee was bent slightly and she wore a wink. "I love your hat! It looks so much cuter on me than you, don't you think?! But I really, really miss your hoodies! I should have brought one with me!"

"Yes, you are far more cuter than I am in my hat. And you'll dive back into wearing my wardrobe when we get back to the sub." Law chuckled and shook his head at her childlike nature before crawling off the bed himself. An out of place surge of playfulness over took him. He rushed over to her and scooped her into his arms. They both laughed as he spun them around a couple times.

_"Elemental women become playful when pregnant."_

_"It's just a coincident. She's always had a playful side to her."_

"Well, you're certainly out of character," Neo noted when he stopped spinning.

"It's your fault. You're sharing your playfulness," Law said. He pecked her nose.

"Sorry. I just feel really good right now." Neo tightened her arms around his neck.

"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better," Law said. He sat her feet down on the floor and slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her towards the door. "I was worried that nightmare was going to bother you."

"It does. I just also feel really good too," Neo replied. "I'm hoping it was just a dream. Like you said, you're going to try and avoid fighting. And I'm there to back you up. I won't let him hurt you. I'll use every single one of my crystals and every single animal I can call upon to attack him if I have to."

_"A pregnant Elemental's crystals protects the child so she can fight."_

_"Will you just stop it already? She's not pregnant. We were careful."_

"And you say I'm protective," Law said, feeling Neo's anger burbling inside of her. He walked back over to the bed, grabbed his sword, then stepped back over to Neo. With his arm around her waist, she grabbed the handle and pushed the door open for them.

"Hey, Neo!" Luffy greeted when the two Heart Pirates stepped out of the bedroom. He swung down from the mast and landed on the railing right in front of them with a bright grin. "How are you feeling? Are you feeling better?"

"I am," Neo replied with a nod.

"That's great!" Luffy said. He reached out and patted Neo on her shoulder. "I wouldn't like it if my favorite blue haired girl was getting sick! We have a lot of fun ahead of us in Dressrosa!"

Neo giggled when Law growled at Luffy touching her. She said, "Thanks, Luffy. But I doubt we're going to have time for fun. We have a mission to complete there after all."

"Of course we're going to have some fun! You'll see! We're going to explore Dressrosa together!" Luffy threw his arms up into the air.

"She is not going anywhere with you, Straw Hat!" Law snapped. He glared at the young man with sharp eyes.

"What?! Of course she will! How can we have fun if we're not together?!" Luffy said. "She's going with me!"

"No! She's! Not!" Law growled. A strong, overwhelming possessive desire caused him to tighten his hold on her so hard that she squeaked in pain. Feeling her pain and hearing her whimper, he quickly loosened his hold on her. He cursed under his breath. "I'm so sorry, Neo. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay, Law." Neo rubbed her side where Law's arm bit into her. She examined Law's terrified and confused face before taking his cheeks in her hands. "Law, really, it's okay. You just get possessive like that."

"But I've never hurt you before," Law muttered. His eyes dropped from her eyes to her stomach.

_"She's pregnant, Law."_

_"No, she's not. We were careful."_

_"You're human, Law. You made a mistake. Just think back to Punk Hazard."_

"Hey!" Sanji's voice broke into Law's thoughts. Both the Warlord and Neo looked down at the cook. He was standing by the small table with a bowl of streaming broth and two glasses of what Neo assumed was filled with her favorite drink for her and Law. "Your meals are prepared! Come on down!"

"Thanks, Sanji. We'll be right down," Neo replied just as Luffy jumped down to the deck. The straw hatted man ran over to Sanji and tried to steal some of the food. Sanji pushed him away, but Neo turned her eyes back to Law so she didn't see what else happened. "Law, you have nothing to feel guilty about. It was an accident. I'm fine. Okay?"

"Accident or not I shouldn't have hurt you," Law said. "I'm sorry."

"Law, you're already forgiven. Now stop this," Neo said in a warning tone. She poked him in the ribs as a warning to let this go instead of being playful. "Do you understand me? I order you to let this go."

"Yes, ma'am." Law nodded.

"Good. Now, I don't want to hear anymore about this," Neo said. She grabbed Law's hand and pulled him down the stairs. When they reached the table, Sanji pulled out a chair for Neo, she smiled, thanked him, and sat down. She watched as Law sat down, propping his sword upon the table, beside her before picking up her spoon and taking a sip of her broth. "Mmm. So good! I love the ginger!"

"Well, it looks like you're feeling better," Robin said as she and Nami walked over to them. The two women sat down in the two empty chairs and smiled at Neo.

"I am," Neo replied before going back to her broth. She took a couple more sips while listening to Robin and Nami talk.

Law half listened to the three women discuss whatever topic popped into their heads. Mostly, Neo was asking more questioned of the Straw Hats past adventures. At the moment, Nami was talking about her sister. He tried to focus his thoughts on what the women were saying, but his mind and eyes kept drifting down to Neo's stomach. He tried to distract himself by looking around the deck. Some of the Straw Hats were still missing, but most remained on the deck. Along with the two women, Luffy, Sanji, Chopper and Brook were still on the deck. The Straw Hat captain was talking with Kin'emon and Momonosuke while Sanji and Chopper stood near the table with him and the women while the skeleton was off by himself filling the air with a relaxing melody from his violin.

Law crossed his arms and legs. He sighed when he found that his eyes were once again locked on Neo's stomach. He mentally growled at himself and forced his eyes closed. He took a deep breath and slowly released it. He let the song that the Straw Hat musician was playing lull him into a very relax state. The world around him faded and was replaced with another world.

_Law blinked and looked around the field he was in. The grass was bright green and was mixed with many colorful flowers. Hills rolled over the far side of the field while the area he was in was flat. "What's going on?"_

_"That's exactly what I want to know," a familiar voice said._

_Law's eyes widened at the voice. He slowly turned around. His eyes grew even more at the tall blonde man standing before him. "C-Cora?"_

_"You know, it's really getting old that I have to keep interfering in your life like this," Corazon said. He was leaning against a tree with a cigarette hanging lazily, and unlit, in his mouth. His hands were in his pockets and his body held a very relaxed position. "I'm supposed to be relaxing now. Not still babysitting you."_

_"But why are you here?" Law asked._

_"Because you are in some serious denial," Corazon replied. "I can't willingly let you go into Dressrosa and face my brother without you accepting the truth."_

_"Accepting what truth?" Law asked._

_"Come on, Law. You're smarter than this," Corazon said. "You know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about Neo. I'm talking about the child she's carrying."_

_"Cora, she's not pregnant," Law said, annoyed._

_"You know she is. You just have to come to terms with it," Corazon said. "You know what that book said back on the sub when you all left her home island."_

_"Book?" Law narrowed his eyebrows._

_"You keep trying to suppress the memories, but they're still there," Corazon said. He walked over to Law and placed his hand on the young man's shoulder. "It'll be all right, Law. Or it will be when you finally admit and accept the truth."_

_"But she's not. She can't be," Law whispered. "I was so careful."_

_"Best laid plans, Law. No matter how hard we try, humans are not perfect and they never will be," Corazon said. "And that clearly includes Elementals."_

_"But she can't handle this." Law rubbed hand on his face. "I didn't prepare her for it."_

_"You can still do that now."_

_"She's going to be so scared."_

_"She's going to be fine. You both are going to be just fine. Trust me, Law."_

_"No! She's not!" Law snapped. He narrowed his eyes at Corazon and pushed the man's hand off his shoulder._

_"Law, stop being so stubborn! You know she is! And it's time you woke up!" Corazon grabbed the front of Law's shirt. "Now, wake up!"_

"No! She's not pre-" Law snapped. He jumped to his feet and slammed his hands on the table, startling everyone. His sword rattled and slid off the table and onto the floor. His voice cut off when his eyes landed on Neo's confused and concerned face.

"Is everything all right, Law?" Neo asked.

Sanji took a slow puff on his cigarette. His brain instantly finished the sentence that Law didn't. His eyes drifted from the Warlord to the archeologist. He could see that Robin came to the same conclusion he did. When she looked at him, he nodded at her.

"I'm sorry. It's nothing," Law said. He picked up his sword. He rested it on his shoulder, shoved his other hand in his pocket, and walked away.

"Law." Neo stood up. She paused when he stopped walking and turned his head towards her. Shadows were cast over his eyes. It made her more concerned for him.

"I'm all right, Neo. I just need a minute," Law replied. He started walking again.

"Well, okay then," Neo said. She reluctantly lowered herself back down into her chair. Her eyes remained locked onto Law until he disappeared into the bathroom underneath the stairs.

"Hey, Neo," Robin said, drawing the younger woman's attention. "I was about to head up to the Crow's Nest. There's a really nice view from up there. I think you'll like it. Why don't you join me?"

"Uh." Neo looked back over to the room where Law had retreated too. She started at it for a while before looking back at Robin. "I guess so."

"Great." Robin smiled. "Let's go."

…

Law cupped his hands underneath the running water. Filling his hands, he splashed the cold water onto his face multiple times as if it would erase the truth from him. Panting slightly, he placed his hands on the sides of the sink and started at himself in the mirror. Everything was hammering his head. His dream about Neo back in the sub, the list he read in that stupid book after leaving Luminous, Neo's behavior, everything that Corazon had said to him, his own behavior. "It can't be true. She can't be."

With a heavy sigh, Law turned off the water. He grabbed the towel off the rack and dabbed his face before returning it. He snatched his sword and turned to the door. He paused before finally forcing himself to leave the small room. He opened the door. His eyebrows lifted when he found Sanji standing there, clearly waiting for him.

"We need to talk," Sanji said. "Don't worry about Neo. She's up in the Crow's Nest with Robin."

Law's eyes wondered up to the round room hovering over the deck. He sensed her there. Safe. And…

"Come on," Sanji said.

Law didn't argue. He didn't protest. He didn't even want to follow the blonde haired man, but his feet didn't listen to him. He followed. Quietly, he followed the cook all the way to the library. Once in the room, he allowed himself to fall onto the couch and let his sword slide from his hands. The clank of his sword on the floor didn't even reach his ears. He ran his hands through his hair with aggravation. "Please, don't say it."

"You don't want me to say it yet you followed me in here anyway," Sanji stated bluntly. "You know what the truth is, Law. You just need to finally admit it."

"I can't. It's not possible. She's not," Law growled. He glared harshly at the cook. "Now back off."

Sanji wasn't going to back down. He knew this needed to happen. He knew Law needed to acknowledge the truth. "Say it, Law. You can't keep denying it. You already know it's true."

Law turned his eyes to the floor. He pressed his elbows to his knees and closed his eyes.

"Say it, Law," Sanji said.

Law growled. He closed his eyes while clenching his teeth and his fists.

"Say it," Sanji pushed.

Law rubbed his hands over his face before dragging them through his hair again. His mouth went dry. His throat tightened around his voice. He wasn't sure what was pounding harder, his head or his heart. His stomach and head spun. It took everything he had to keep Neo from reading his thoughts, from sensing his feelings, from learning the truth.

"Say. It." Sanji stressed.

Law flinched. He knew he couldn't deny it any longer. The signs were there. The truth was there. Despite wanting to fight them, despite wanting to keep the words inside forever, the words rolled effortlessly off his tongue. "Neo's pregnant."


	96. Arrival: Dressrosa

Arrival:

Dressrosa

Neo stood up from her chair. She followed Robin over to one group of ropes that they were going to use to climb up to the Crow's Nest. Pausing, she turned and looked at the door that was between herself and Law. She was bothered by his strange outburst a minute ago. It wasn't normal for him to yell out like he did.

"Neo?" Robin called.

Neo turned from the door and looked at the older woman. "I'm sorry. What?"

"Are you okay with climbing?" Robin asked, grabbing a hold of one of the ropes.

"Yes, I'm okay with it," Neo replied with a nod. "Despite using my crystals and wings to fly, Law still wanted me to be a good climber. He was very thorough in my training."

"And he seems to have trained you well," Robin said.

"He has," Neo said, her cheeks tinting a light pink with giddiness and affection for the man.

"Let's go," Robin beckoned. She pulled herself upon the railing of the Sunny and started to climb up the ropes.

Neo watched her for a few seconds before her eyes drew back over to where Law was. She wanted to go see him, but knew it was best to let him have his space right now. Sighing, she pulled herself up and started climbing the ropes. She made her way up and over to the ladder that lead into the Crow's Nest. She smiled when her eyes met Robin's.

The call of a seagull drew both their attention out to the sea. Two seagulls swooped around in the sky before diving into the water. The sun glinted off their wet wings as they swooped back up and took off with their prize of silver colored fish.

"Looks like we're close to an island," Robin said.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. She scanned her eyes over the horizon. "We should be about thirty minutes or so away from Dressrosa. Or I assume its Dressrosa. It could be another island or just a rock formation with no one living on it."

"Most likely it is Dressrosa," Robin said. She pulled her eyes away from the ocean. Her dark eyes landed on Neo. She noticed that Neo was staring out at the water with love for the environment she saw, but Robin could easily see the concern in Neo's eyes. She tapped the blue haired girl on the shoulder to regain her attention. "Let's go."

Neo nodded. She climbed up the ladder first when Robin gestured for her to. Soft grunts met her ears and the musky smell of sweat met her nose the farther she got up the ladder. Once inside the dome shaped room, she looked around and spotted Zoro. The swordsman was standing in the middle of the room with an extremely large barbell in his hand. She watched him pump the barbell once, twice, three times before her head tilted in curiosity. Her eyes ran over his sculptured features of his arms and torso. She thought he looked nice, but not as nice as Law. To her, Law's body was perfect. It perfectly fit against hers like no other man would ever do. She loved his body. She wanted his body. She wanted to climb back down to the deck, grab Law, and disappear into a room for another round of sweet lovemaking.

"What's up?" Zoro grunted while curling the barbell up towards his shoulders again.

Neo's thoughts were broken by the man's words. She was disappointed, but it was probably for the best.

"I'm on look out," Robin replied.

"I see," Zoro replied. He curled the barbell three more times before stopping. He set the object back into its secure place before draping a towel over his shoulders. "I'll just get out of your way then."

"You don't have to go," Neo said. She slipped her right hand behind her and tugged on her hair. "We're the one's disturbing you."

"It's fine. I was done anyway," Zoro replied. He wiped off his chest and face before tossing the towel into a nearby bin. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head while walking towards the exit. He climbed down the ladder and disappeared from their view. "Later."

"I'll open a few windows for us," Robin said once the swordsman was gone. "The room will smell better in a minute."

"I really don't mind the smell." Neo glanced around the room again while Robin started opening the windows. Despite being dome shaped, the room seemed to be about the same size of their own training room back on the sub, maybe a little smaller. Tears gathered in her eyes as images of the crew training started coming into her mind. The tears dripped down her cheeks while she envisioned images of her crew sparing, lifting weights, joking around, Bepo besting Shachi and Penguin in martial arts at the same time, and even Tero training her as harshly as he did. She had a sudden strong desire to hug the man who constantly stated Elementals were a pain. She wanted to hug all of her crewmembers, to cook for them again, to laugh with them, to train with them, to play with them. "To be honest, I'm kind of liking the way this room smells. It makes me think of my crew. And I'm crying again. Is this weird? I like the way this room smells, it making me thing of the crew and now I'm crying because of it?"

"It's not weird at all," Robin replied. She pushed opened the last window then walked back over to Neo. She placed her hands on the young woman's shoulders, noticing she didn't flinch at all. "Smell can have a powerful impact on a person since the perception of smell consists not only of the sensation of the odors themselves but of the experiences and emotion associated with these sensations. To put it more simply, smells can trigger memories and memories can make us feel emotional. So it's normal that you feel this way right now. But I suspect that there's also something else on your mind."

Neo brushed her tears off her cheeks before asking, "Is that why you brought me up here? To talk?"

"Only if you want to talk. I get the feeling that you are a bit worried about something. And I do think part of it is because of what happened with Trafalgar back on the deck. But I also did think that you would like the view from up here," Robin said. She glanced over at one of the windows. "I know you see a view like this all the time when you're flying, but I thought it might be nice if you could just sit down and enjoy the view without having to use up your magic and energy flying."

"That's very nice of you, Robin," Neo said. She glanced out the window. It was the same exact view as they saw when they were still outside of this room, but it was still nice. "I…I think it would be nice to talk."

"Shall we sit down then?" Robin asked. She led the way over to the cushioned bench that went around the room. She sat down and patiently waited for Neo to speak.

Neo remained standing for a while longer before finally walking over to the bench. She sat down, crossed her arms over the back of their seat, and rested her chin on her arms. She started out the window while the salty ocean air teased her hair and tickled her nose. "I'm worried about Law."

"I figured as much," Robin said.

"He just gets so wrapped up in his plans at times. And this particular time is…" Neo paused.

"Yes?" Robin prompted.

"I just wonder if this particular plan is getting to him," Neo said. She looked at Robin with her eyebrows narrowed.  _I mean because Doflamingo is the man that killed Corazon. The man who gave Law his life. The man who, somehow, brought us together. Law is obsessed with wanting to take the Warlord down. I'm afraid he'll do something stupid to make that happen_ , she thought to herself. She really wanted to tell Robin that that was her main concern, but knew she couldn't and wouldn't. So she settled for something else that was also bothering her. She said,"I mean, we've been away from the crew for so long. I know he can act like he doesn't care at some points, but he really does care about our crew. He sent them to Zou to protect them instead of taking them to Punk Hazard with us. But he's never done anything like he just did down on the deck. It's not like him to jump like that. He's typically more in control of himself. Usually, he doesn't hide things from me, but I'm wondering if this time he is."

Robin blinked. She forced herself not to look down at Neo's stomach.

"I'm also worried about my nightmare," Neo continued. She turned her eyes back out the window. "I'm trying not to think about it, but I can't help it. I don't like when Law gets hurt in my dreams anymore than when he gets hurt in real life. Sorry. I feel like I keep saying the same thing over and over again."

"There's no need for you to apologize," Robin said. "If you're upset, then you need to talk about it. And the number of times shouldn't matter. It's only natural that you're worried."

"I suppose you're correct," Neo said. She giggled. "I seem to always worry a lot."

"How about a change to a more happier tone?" Robin asked. "What's the first thing you're going to do when you get back to your ship?"

"The first thing?" Neo asked. She hummed in thought while tapping her finger on her elbow. "Well, I think the very first thing that I'll do is hug and kiss every single one of my family. And then, I'll probably fly around the sub to make sure everything is still where it's suppose to be like I did when we left Luminous. Then, I'll probably stare at my Luminous corner for at least an hour."

"Your Luminous corner?" Robin questioned. "What's that?"

"Yeah. It's what I call this one corner of our room. It's where I keep my large stuffed teddy bear that Law, er,  _won_  for me back on Sabaody. There's also a crystal shelf there we brought back from Luminous. Only Topaz and me can open the shelf. It holds a couple pictures of my parents, my brother, Kailen when he was younger, my godfather and a journal of other Elemental royal that was bonded with another Elemental. He kept the journal when he and his bonded were separated. It was given to me as a gift by a descendant of the royal. We thought the journal might hold some kind of clue to the point of our bond, but it didn't really reveal anything. I still want to keep it safe. So I keep it in that shelf."

"I see. Do you like historical stuff then?" Robin asked. "Do you read many history books?"

"I read as many as I can. Since I didn't get to read growing up I read what I can when I can. I like learning whatever I can since I never had the chance to learn until I came to live with the Heart Pirates. As long as I can understand it that is," Neo said. She then giggled. "I was so bored back on Punk Hazard. The only books I could understand were the ones that the kids had and some I had brought in by ship. I read them so many times that I memorized them. Although he'll never admit it, I think I actually annoyed Law a couple of times when I was complaining about not having many books to read."

"He sounds like a very patient man," Robin said with a small giggle of her own.

"He is. He had to be considering how-Ouch!" Neo winced. She shook out her hands then looked at them.

"What's wrong?" Robin asked.

"Law just got upset. He clenched his hands so hard his nails perched his skin," Neo replied. Her eyes remained locked on her palms. She watched them as the pain faded away.

"Do you want to go to him?" Robin asked.

Neo lowered her hands to her lap and thought about the woman's words. A minute later, she shook her head. "No, I'm fine. He probably just got annoyed by one of your crewmates or something. He's not angry or anything. What was I saying before?"

"We were talking about Trafalgar's patience," Robin said.

"That's right. He had to be patient with me when he first found me. I was so scared I didn't really talk much to anyone. I just kept trying to get away. Then he had to be even more patient while I worked through getting use to using my crystals again." Neo leaned against the back of the bench with a tired sigh. She laid her head down on it and let her eyelids fall half lidded. "But I think the most patient he's ever been was with his feelings. For so long, he had romantic feelings for me and I never knew it. It must have been so hard on him to have to hide his feelings and not react on them because of my naivety. Sometimes I still feel a bit guilty for having putting him through all of that."

"You look a bit tired. Would you like to rest?" Robin asked.

"No, I'm fine." Neo sat back up straight. "I'm not really tired. It's just…it's really nice and relaxing up here. I like talking to you. I love my brothers, but sometimes I do wish that me, Topaz, and Ikkaku had some more girl time together."

"I can understand that. And, if you'd like, we can consider this some quality girl time," Robin said.

"Thanks. I'd like that. I'd like to know more about you too, if that's all right," Neo said. A sudden wave of shyness washed over her. She did want to know more about Robin, but felt like she shouldn't ask. Robin just seems so secretive at times. "I mean, I know a little about you from what we've already talked about…"

"It's all right, Neo. I don't mind talking to you about my past. We have quite a lot in common," Robin replied.

"Can I ask what you're mother was like?" Neo asked.

Robin nodded. "Of course. We actually have a lot of similarities with each other. I've been told I look exactly like her. But she had white hair. She could also read the Poneglyphs. She was strong. Like me, she also wanted to sail the world and learn of what happened in the Void Century."

Neo shifted herself into a more comfortable position and settled back down to listen with interest at Robin's words.

…

" _Neo's pregnant."_

The words echoed, bouncing around in Law's mind as his vision distorted before him. He wanted to reach out, grab those words, and shove them back down his throat. But he couldn't do that. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. Now that the words were out there, nothing could make them go away, nothing could take them back. It was happening. Neo is pregnant. They were less than an hour away from Dressrosa. Dressrosa, the kingdom, and home of the one man that he despised most in the world.

Law's heart took a sharp jolt. He felt like he was going to be sick. He felt like his body had turned cold and hundreds of thousands of needles were stabbing his icy flesh. Those needles ripped through his flesh and punctured his lungs sending tiny ice crystals falling into the dark abyss below him. The burning of his damaged lungs was the only thing that kept his body from completely freezing over.

He dropped his head into his hands and gasped desperately for air. Or he thought he did. He really wasn't sure anymore.

"Law, take a deep breath," a familiar, distant voice said, breaking into the panic filled darkness that had taken over Law's mind. "Breathe! If you don't take a breath right now, you're going to pass out! I really don't want to have to explain to Neo why you're laying unconscious on the floor! So, for her sake, take a blasted breath!"

Law's lungs drew in a breath, then another, then another until the dizziness and the darkness had dissipated from his mind. He pulled his face from his hands. His skin was slightly cool, but it was flaking off ice crystals. His lungs were still burning slightly from holding his breath. Looking up, he saw Sanji was slightly bent over, looking at him with some concern. He watched as the concern faded from the blonde man's eyes before saying, "Sorry."

"No worries," Sanji said, straighten up. "You've suffered quite a bit of a shock. It's understandable."

"How could this have happened?" Law asked.

"I'll take that as a hypothetical question since you're a doctor and not answer," Sanji said.

"No, I mean,  _how_  did it happen?" Law asked. He scratched his head. "We were careful. I explained everything to her. I monitored her cycle like a hawk. We always used protection. I  _always_  checked the protection for rips af…ter…"

Sanji lifted an eyebrow when Law let off a string of curses. He blew out a puff of smoke then said, "I take it you weren't as careful as you thought you were?"

"Cora was right," Law said. He dropped his face in his hands again and groaned. "Stupid! I did make a mistake! There was one time we weren't…I didn't check! I'm such an idiot!"

"You want to elaborate on that?" Sanji asked.

"Back on Punk Hazard." Law dropped his hands between his knees. "One of Caesar's men tried to…to take advantage of Neo. I killed him then we…well, let's just say things got a bit rough. That was the first time we done it like that. We both were upset about what almost had happened. I didn't check the condom afterwards. That was the only time I didn't check." Law growled. "I was so stupid! How could I not have checked?!"

"Don't blame yourself," Sanji said, taking another puff of his cigarette. "It was an accident. You both were upset over an event that could have been really damaging."

"Could have? This possibly might do just that," Law said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't prepare her for this at all. Even thought I knew that it could still happen. I got over confident in thinking I could prevent this from happening. How could I have been so stupid? I know better than this."

"You made a mistake. There's no point in beating yourself up over this now," Sanji said. He went to open his mouth to ask an important question, but paused in considering before actually voicing it. "How far along is she?"

"If that really was when it happened," Law said. He clenched his teeth before finishing. "She's two and a half months. Or may three? I'm not sure. My brain is so clouded right now."

"Two and a half months to three months?" Sanji asked. "How could you have not notice until now? Did she not have any signs?"

Law nodded. "She did. She's been tired, having mood swings, food cravings, being abnormally playful, been more sexually aggressive. I just didn't…I wasn't paying close enough attention to her. I was far too focused on destroying the SAD equipment on Punk Hazard. Plus, those signs were far apart enough a part I didn't connect them. I never even considered them to be signs she was pregnant. I pushed those signs aside and just contributed them to her being away from the crew and sub for the first time."

"Two and a half months, huh? That's almost three months," Sanji mumbled. "And she doesn't have her baby bump yet?"

"She might not get it yet," Law said.

"When do Elementals get their baby bumps?" Sanji asked.

"I don't know," Law replied.

"You don't know? But you know the signs of an Elemental pregnancy," Sanji said, his eyes widened in shock.

"No." Law shook his head. "I only know a small handful of their signs."

"What do you mean?" Sanji asked.

"Like Neo has already said, we decided long ago, because of our lifestyle, that a child was out of the question. Also, because I didn't want her to go through the pains and risks of childbirth because of all of the pain she's already been through," Law explained. "So I never studied up on Elemental pregnancies."

"But you said you know some of the signs," Sanji said.

"That's because of that healer woman back on Luminous," Law said. "She snuck some books on Elemental pregnancies into all of the books Neo brought with her. I just happened to open one up when my navigator pointed it out. I only read that one part. I was so stupidly over confident that this wouldn't happen that I shoved the book back into the box and stored them in one of the storage rooms."

Sanji considered Law's words and the man's expression for a minute before realizing something. He said, "She doesn't know about the books, does she?"

"No, she doesn't. Most likely she wouldn't have given them a second thought if she did know about them, but I still didn't want her to think that a child was possible in our future," Law said. "So I never mentioned them to her. And, even though she knows she can go anywhere she wants on the sub, she still doesn't snoop into unfamiliar boxes."

Sanji couldn't help but chuckle at that last part. "Why am I not surprised? But if you two are bonded, how was it possible that you kept this from her? Wouldn't she have noticed you hiding your thoughts? Don't you think the exact same thing, at the same time or something?"

"No, it doesn't work like that. We have to  _want_  to know or read what the other is thinking. It's not really a constant flow of our thoughts passing between each other. And since I forgot about the books, she never came to know about them by searching my thoughts during the times that she has looked," Law explained.

"I see. This bond this is rather complicated," Sanji said.

A stiff silence passed between the two, only being broke by the calls of a seagull or the distance thudding of someone's feet in another room once. Law's mind was still muddled with everything, but things were starting to clear up for him while they just sat there in the silence. That's when he asked, "How did you know? You haven't even been around her for an entire day. I've known her for over two years."

"That's probably a lot of the reason why I noticed before you did. I'm not as close to her as you are. I easily saw the signs. Despite her being an Elemental, I just assumed that the signs were the same. But what really confirmed it was my Observation Haki," Sanji said. "As I'm sure you already know, when using Observation Haki I can see her spirit is multicolored."

"Yeah." Law nodded. "That's because of her magic. Those colors are actually representations of the elements with in her."

"Well, there's one spot that doesn't change with the rest of her." Sanji pointed to his stomach. "There's a small red dot right here. That's how I knew for sure."

"Does anyone else on your crew know?" Law asked.

"Robin was the only other one who figured it out. I told Chopper a little while ago because he was so worried about Neo. I didn't want him to make himself sick over this. Also, I thought it might be best if our own doctor knew about her condition, just in case. Nami was sitting there when I told him so she knows now too," Sanji said. "But that's it. We haven't told anyone else. And no one else has figured it out. There's a small chance that Momonosuke could figure it out since he's a dragon, but he's still so young if he does happen to smell the baby, he most likely won't even know what is it. Other than that, we thought that it might be best if everyone didn't know, especially Luffy. He would undoubtedly go running around shrieking about it. We especially didn't want Neo to find out and freak out on us with us being this close to Dressrosa. We're also sorry for keep this a secret from you. We probably should have at least told you what we figured it out. We just weren't sure how you would handle it."

"Not telling Neo was the correct decision. And, if you had told me, I probably wouldn't have believed you," Law said. "I still don't feel like I really believe it."

"So I take it you're not going to tell Neo?" Sanji asked.

"Subconsciously, she might already know," Law replied.

"Subconsciously? Why would you say that?" Sanji asked.

"Because of another event that happened back on Punk Hazard," Law said. "Neo got into a conversation with Caesar's secretary, Monet, about having children."

"And how would that make Neo subconsciously aware of being pregnant?" Sanji asked.

"Because during that conversation, Neo's crystals came out on their own and she shot her hands up to her stomach like she was guarding our child," Law explained. "An Elemental's crystals will protect their host and their child when the Elemental can't protect themselves. That's happened to Neo before."

"But subconsciously aware isn't the same as consciously aware," Sanji reminded him. "She still doesn't  _know_."

"And she's not going to. At least, not right now," Law said. "She's going to be so scared when I do tell her. We're less than an hour from Dressrosa. There's no possible way I would be able to calm her down and get her coherent again if I told her now." Law paused for a second. Another string of curses, including some he invented on the spot, rolled out of his mouth. "I can't let her near Doflamingo. He already has an interest in her, especially after our fight with Vergo. Crap! What do I do? She's not going to let me go face Doflamingo alone. If he finds out about this…if he finds out that Neo is pregnant…if he hurts her or our child…I won't be able to handle it. I'll kill him in the most horrific way possible."

Law's eyes turned sharp with murder. He clenched his fists together so hard that his nails pierced into his skin. If it weren't for the iron smell floating into his nose, he would have kept clenching his fists that hard. But he didn't want Neo to become concerned so he loosened his grip, the dull stinging faded slowly.

"Look, I know it's hard, but try not to think about it. You have all of us backing you two up now. Luffy, Zoro, and I are the three strongest of our crew. If she's not with you, we'll make sure she's at least with one of us at all times," Sanji said. "This is just a simple drop off and destroy the factory mission after all. Everything will be fine."

Law dropped his eyes to the floor. His mind buzzed incoherently with the fact and fears that he and Neo were really going to have a baby and the impending threats that could and might possibly come from setting foot inside Dressrosa. He chest tightened with an icy cold grip of fear. Nothing felt like it was ever going to be okay again. Everything just felt so messed up to him right now. Still, through all the mess buzzing around in his head, he lifted his eyes back up to Sanji and asked, "Is that why you and Nico were talking to her about kids, parents, and fears when you two were doing the dishes this morning?"

"Oh, you heard that?" Sanji asked, snickering. He rubbed the back of his head, looking sheepish.

"I don't like it when other men outside of the crew talk to her," Law said with a glare that made Sanji shiver. "Just like she likes to keep an eye on where I am, I like to keep an eye on where she is. She's still a bit naïve when it comes to a lot of stuff. And men often have ulterior motives when talking to a woman. And Neo has drawn plenty of attention from other men."

"You really are over protective of her," Sanji murmured. "I'm not going to hurt her in any kind of way."

"Do you blame me?" Law asked.

"With everything she's been through? I probably would do the exact same as you are doing," Sanji said. "But, you are correct. We were talking to her about all that in hopes to soften up the shock for when you do finally tell her. We saw how she was with those kids back on Punk Hazard. And we could tell those kids loved her a lot from how they spoke about her. It's amazing really. She really does have such a soft, caring side to her. Her maternal instincts are probably some of the strongest I've ever seen. And she's not even aware she has them. We really do believe that she would make a wonderful mother."

Law blinked. He felt a tiny twitch at the corners of his lips. A small bubble of warmth fluttered through his chest, thawing out the coldness that still had a grip on his body and mind, when his thoughts drifted back to his dream he had not that long ago. The dream that was actually going to happen. He was actually going to get to see Neo carrying their child inside of her and in her arms. He was actually going to see their child in his or her crib in their room.

The warmth quickly vanished when reality sunk its tentacles into Law's mind again. He was going to be a  _parent_. And he had no clue what he was supposed to do. He wasn't good with kids like Neo was. He didn't want anything to do with those kids back at Punk Hazard after all. But their own child would be different, wouldn't it? He would be able to handle their child, would he? He would be a good parent, right?

Then again, what did he know about being a parent? After his parents were killed the only decent role model he had was Corazon.

"Law."

All he ever wanted to do since the destruction of his home was destroy and kill.

"Law?"

All he wanted to do was destroy everything he got his hands on until Corazon saved him.

"Law?"

Then, after Corazon was killed, all he wanted to do was take down Doflamingo. His hatred for the man had consumed him to the point he didn't even noticed the one person he cared about most in the entire world was pregnant. He was supposed to take care of her. He was supposed to protect her from this. He was supposed to keep her from hurting and yet he's going to be the cause of the most extremely painful thing a woman could possible go through. He failed her. He failed to take care of her. He failed to-

"Law!" Sanji screamed.

Law jumped and about fell off the couch. His heart thumped hard in his chest as he repositioned himself. He swallowed and looked up at the blonde man. "What?"

"You need to calm down. You're completely white. You looked like you're about to have a panic attack," Sanji said.

"Right," Law said. He dropped his eyes back down to the floor and took a deep, deep breath.

"Just tell me what you were thinking," Sanji said, despite having a good guess at what was going on in the Warlord's mind.

"It's nothing," Law replied.

"It's everything," Sanji shot back. "Look, I'm not going to pretend that I know what you're feeling or what's going on in that head of yours. But, what I do know is, you don't need to keep your thoughts inside. I know Neo would be able to get you to talk easily, but, at the moment, we both know you can't talk to her. If you were with your crew, I'm sure there's at least one person there who you could talk to about this, who you could tell all of your fears to, but you're not with your crew. Now, I'm not telling you to completely spill your soul to me, but you have to talk a little bit about it. If you don't, then you're going to completely stress yourself out. And we need not only Neo to focus while we're in Dressrosa, but we also need  _you_  to focus. Just get the bulk of what's going on in your head off your chest here and now. That way you can focus more. You don't want Neo to find out about this at the wrong point in time, do you?"

"I don't," Law whispered.

"Then talk for her sake. I have a pretty good idea what you're thinking anyway. It'll just help you if you say it out loud. And whatever you say doesn't leave this room. It'll just be between you and me." Sanji crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

Law thought over the cook's words for a few minutes before releasing a deep sigh. He didn't like to admit weakness. In fact, he hated it. And he certainly didn't like admitting what he was about to say to a complete stranger and opposing pirate. But he couldn't deny that Sanji was correct. He didn't have his crew to talk to. He would only hurt himself if he kept it all inside. He knew that if he did, if he tried, he wouldn't be able to remain calm and in control. And that's what Neo really needed from him right now, despite being unaware of it.

And he had to admit, if only to himself, that if he was going to admit how scared he was, he would rather it be to this man than anyone else on the Straw Hat crew. Sanji seems a lot less stupid than the others, except for Nico Robin. With a deep breath, Law let it all go. He let the words tumble freely from his mouth. He said, "I'm scared. No, I'm not  _scared_. I'm completely and totally  _petrified_. I have no clue how to take care of a child. I have no clue how to be a parent. I've done nothing, but live to destroy ever since I was a child myself. I'm use to having control over everything, including Neo. But for this? I won't have a single ounce of control over any of it. I feel like I'm spinning around in a hurricane with nothing to hold on to. I can't afford to feel this way. Neo needs me to be the stable force in her life that I've always been. How can I be there for her when I feel like…like this?"

"All these feelings that you feel are perfectly normal, Law," Sanji said when Law paused. "I'd be worried if you weren't feeling like this. Every first time parent goes through all these same feelings that you are. There's nothing wrong with feeling like you have no control over this. It's perfectly normal. Eventually, that will settle down and things will look a lot better. You're just suffering from the shock of it all right now. You're going to be fine."

Law scoffed. "And how do  _you_  know I'm going to be fine? You don't even know me."

"You're right. We are still strangers at this point," Sanji said. He lifted his cigarette from his lips and smiled, causing Law to lift an eyebrow at him. "But I know that you are going to be fine and a great parent because you are already protective of your child."

Both Law's eyebrows shot up at Sanji's words. He was already as protective of their child as he was of Neo. He blinked a couple of times, trying to process that fact. How was it possible that he could feel such strong affection and desire to protect a person, a child, he's never even met before? He couldn't comprehend it.

Law's thoughts then involuntarily wondered back to his dream again. He remembered walking up to the crib and looking into it, but what exactly did he see? Was it really his and Neo's child? Or was it just a dream child he made up? What color was the kid's hair? What color were the kid's eyes? Was it a boy or a girl? Did he or she look like Neo or himself? He couldn't remember. It frustrated him that he couldn't remember what he saw. He wanted to know if that child was really theirs. But, at the same time, he also felt that it was for the best that he didn't know and couldn't remember. When he found out all of that information on their child, he wanted it to be when he was with Neo. He wanted to find out, together, if their child was going to be a boy or a girl, the color of their eyes, hair, who he or she was going to look like. Yeah. He wanted to wait. He could wait.

"I'm still completely terrified of this," Law admitted. "I don't want her, either of them, to get hurt."

"We've got your back. And just keep reminding yourself that her crystals will be there to protect them both," Sanji said. "And so will we. We're not going to let anyone hurt her or your child. You just need to decide if you want anyone else on my crew to know about this or if you just want to keep it between the five of us for now."

With his elbows still on his knees, Law laced his fingers together and pressed them to his lips in thought. Since he didn't know this crew well enough, he wasn't sure if telling them would be beneficial or not. Letting the top three strongest fighters know did have some benefits, and one of them already knew. Despite not wanting to admit it, it was obvious that with how Sanji was handling Neo that Law knew he could trust him to keep her safe from harm if the situation called for it and keep this secret from her. They had connected through their shared love of cooking. But Luffy and Zoro? Neo did bond with Luffy a little bit just on the fact that she's Red Hair Shanks' goddaughter. And she was comfortable enough with the young man to follow his instructions when they combined their attacks during their friendly sniper game. And with the swordsman, she held her own and even got him interested in going head to head with her if she improved her skills with the sword in the future.

Law lifted his eyes to Sanji, but kept his position. "I think we both will agree that  _not_  telling Straw Hat would be for the best. I don't think he'll be able to keep his mouth shut about it."

"I know that's right," Sanji said with a small laugh.

"Other than that, I don't know your crew well enough," Law said. "What would you suggest? If we told them, would they be able to keep it quiet and still be able to protect her if necessary?"

Sanji took a puff on his cigarette. He drew it in, thought about Law's question, and then released the smoke. He said, "Well, my crew can be brainless morons quite a bit of the time, but when needed they always come through. They are clearly fond of Neo in each of their own way, even that crappy swordsman of ours. They would protect her if the need were to arise. As for keeping this a secret…I don't think my crew has ever had any real problems keeping things a secret. But this is such a huge secret that I'm not sure they'd be able to keep their cool when around Neo and possible danger. Most likely, they'd blow it."

"Then we won't tell them unless the need arises," Law said. He reached down and snatched his sword off the floor before standing up. He then turned and headed for the door.

"Law, I really hate to ask this, but…" Sanji started. He dropped his eyes to the floor, unsure if he should ask or not.

"What is it?" Law asked, pausing to look back at the blonde. His annoyance rose when Sanji didn't say anything. "Just spit it out. It's about Neo, isn't it?"

Sanji nodded. He lifted his eyes back to Law. Swallowing hard before asking, "Once she finds out…will she try and hurt herself?"

"No," Law replied confidently. "Neo is long passed trying to kill herself. She will, undoubtedly, won't be able to focus for a while and she'll probably hyperventilate or something, but she won't hurt herself. Or our child."

"I'm sorry. I hated to ask that, but…" Sanji said.

"I understand. Don't worry about it," Law said.

"So, when are you going to tell her?" Sanji asked. He shoved his hands in his pockets and followed Law out the door.

"I'm not really sure. Preferably, I'd rather wait until we're back with the crew. She'll be more likely be able to adjust to this easier if she's surrounded by all the familiarity of the crew and the sub. They're her comfort zones after all. That is, if we actually get back to the crew," Law said, mumbling the last ten words.

"It will happen," Sanji assured him. "We'll make sure it does. But let's just take this one step at a time. You said that you didn't want Neo around Doflamingo, and that's understandable considering, but do you have any idea how to make that happen?"

"I don't," Law replied. "Like I said before, she'll want to be with me when I take Caesar to Greenbit. I don't know if I can get her to follow someone else or not."

"Follow someone else?" Sanji asked.

"We're going to be divided up into three teams," Law explained. "I'm leading one team to hand over Caesar. The second team is going to stay on the ship and guard it. And the third team is going to head into Dressrosa to destroy the factory and find that samurai. I plan on taking Nico and The Nose with me. The ship guarding team will consist of you, Nami, Tony, and the boy while the rest go destroy the factory and find the samurai."

"Out of those possibilities the Sunny seems like the safest place to put her," Sanji said. "But since you already said she wouldn't leave you…"

"I could order her to stay on the ship, but she would get suspicious," Law said. He stopped walking and looked out at the horizon. A couple fish breached the surface before disappearing back under the sun spotted water. "Staying on the ship or going to destroy the factory would put her out of immediate danger from Doflamingo. She would still have to deal with his henchmen, but she can handle them a lot easier than  _him_. But then there's also the possibility of Doflamingo keeping an eye out for her. There is the possibility that he's going to try and take her away from me. He said that he has a wedding gift for us. I just wish I knew what that could possibly be."

Sanji walked a few feet ahead of Law before stopping. He stared up at the sky, thinking about their predicament. With an exhale, he turned back to Law and said, "Well, maybe we'll get lucky and Luffy will be stupid and pull her off to play like he said he's going to do. That way we won't have to worry about trying to get her away from you. She won't have a say in the matter. None of us will."

Law blinked, several times. On one hand, he knew that would be the easiest and least suspicious way to get Neo away from him and Doflamingo. On the other hand, he'd rather chew on a bunch of nails rather than let Neo go off anywhere alone with Luffy. Still, for some reason, a smile pulled across his lips.

"Hey! You can smile!" Sanji jabbed, teasingly. "And here I thought you were nothing but Mr. Serious all the time!"

"Whatever," Law mumbled, his smile fading, but the good feeling it brought to him remained inside his chest. He continued walking, but stopped one step past Sanji. The men didn't look at each other. They remained mere inches from each other as an air of mutual trust and understanding passed between them. "Thanks, Blackleg."

"Yeah. It was my pleasure," Sanji replied, knowing full well that Law was thanking him for helping him admit that Neo is pregnant and for talking him through everything the way that he did. He knew Law still had his worries and doubts, but he felt better now knowing the Warlord was in a more stable condition to handle everything that was about to come their way.

Once they had rejoined the others, the two men separated. Sanji headed off towards the kitchen while Law stood at the top of the stairs. He glanced up at the Crow's Nest. He could feel Neo's interest was peaked so whatever the two women were talking about had captured her attention. He tucked his sword free hand in his pocket and trudged down the stairs. He reclaimed the spot on the mast bench he usually sat at and waited for Neo to come back to him when she was ready.

…

Robin was still standing guard inside the Crown's Nest with Neo, but the younger woman had fallen asleep almost twenty minutes into their conversation. Robin didn't mind at all. Despite never had been pregnant herself, she knew it could take its toll on a woman and happily let Neo sleep. She felt like sleeping herself. With the windows still open, she had her right elbow on the window seal before her. Her chin was resting in her hand with her eyes closed, she was enjoying the gentle breeze that was teasing her hair and the bright sun that warmed the room. The tranquil setting was disrupted when the fragrance of sunflowers entered her nose. She opened her eyes, but before she could say anything, Neo woke up.

"I sense an island," Neo said. She pushed up on the bench, not remembering lying down, and looked around the room. She fixed Law's hat on her head that she still possessed. "I fell asleep again?"

"You're correct. I see an island," Robin replied. "And you fell asleep a few minutes ago."

"It's Dressrosa, isn't it?" Neo asked. She chewed on her bottom lip in thought and fiddled with Law's ring, anxiety gripping her chest and her stomach. She hoped she wasn't going to get sick and was grateful Law didn't let her eat anything stronger than broth earlier.

"I believe so." Robin nodded. She watched Neo for a few seconds, analyzing the growing anxiety in the young woman's eyes, before looking back out the window. There in the distance, an island started drifting into her sights. She opened her mouth to inform everyone below her, but paused. She turned her eyes back to Neo. This was it. They had finally arrived at Dressrosa. "Neo?"

"I'm going to go to Law now," Neo said. Instead of heading back to the actual door, she climbed out the window. Jumping from the Crow's Nest, she summoned a wind crystal and flew right down to Law. She heard Robin calling out "I see an island" while she was suspended in the air.

…

Law, sensing a small amount of distress in Neo, predicted her next moves easily. He stood up mere seconds before she flew into him. His arms automatically wrapped around her while her arms and legs locked around him. Carefully angling his sword so he wouldn't hit her with it, he rubbed his free hand on her back and whispered to her. He said, "Just breathe, love."

Neo tightened her hold on Law and buried her face in his neck, her lungs automatically obeying his words. Her heart took a sharp jolt. This was it. They were getting ready to set foot inside of Dressrosa, inside of Doflamingo's territory. She lifted up from him. Looking directly into his eyes with her own pleading, worried eyes. Her voice was low, childlike, scared. "Law, please, be careful."

"I will. I promise." Law leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

"You are okay, right?" Neo asked, breaking their kiss. "You seemed a bit off earlier. And your thoughts are a bit distant and muddled."

"Yes, I'm all right," Law replied. He pecked her nose. "I was just startled a bit by a dream."

"A dream?" Neo asked.

"Yeah." Law nodded. "I dreamed about Cora. He was just being his typical annoying self and I jumped."

"Oh, okay," Neo said before wrapping her arms back around him and tucking her face back into his neck. "I guess you just dreamed about him because of where we are."

"Yeah," Law mumbled. He held her for another minute before she decided to release her close hold on him. He let her lower herself to the floor before slipping his hand into her smaller one. He kissed her temple before turning his eyes to the island they were approaching.

Neo's hand trembled in Law's. She repetitively took slow, deep breaths. Now wasn't the time to freak out. She wouldn't allow herself to. She had to focus. And she would focus for Law.

Her eyebrows rose on her forehead when she sensed someone stepping up beside her. Looking to her right, she found it was Sanji. The blonde haired man was currently cigarette-less and had his hands in his pockets. When his eyes met hers, she couldn't help but give him a small smile. He smiled back. She then looked around at the rest of the Straw Hats.

Usopp, Nami, Zoro, and Franky with Chopper hanging onto the cyborg's shoulder, looking totally petrified, were standing calmly on the deck with them. She instantly sympathized with the way Chopper was feeling before moving on to the rest of them. Momonosuke, Kin'emon, and Brook were up on the Observation Deck, just patiently waiting to officially arrive at their destination.

Neo's eyes then landed on Luffy. She watched him slid down the slide, run passed Franky and Chopper, and over to the side of the ship. He was wearing a bright smile as he took in the island as it came closer. He laughed and said, "I see it! We made it! That rocky island is Dressrosa, isn't it?! Yeah!"

"Shut up, you idiot! Don't shout like that! Doflamingo is going to hear you!" Usopp hissed.

"No, he won't," Zoro replied. "We're too far away."

"We'll save you soon, Kanjuro!" Kin'emon and Momonosuke shouted.

"I can't wait!" Luffy declared with what Neo thought was far too much enthusiasm. She rested her head on Law's shoulder and tightened her hold on his hand. She barely registered the circles he was making on her skin with his thumb. Her heart seemed to be making extra beats as it pounded in both her head and her chest.

Law felt the same as she did, but kept an extremely tight control over his emotions. If he even let a little leak out, it wouldn't only make Neo more anxious. And he could tell she was trying so hard not to get upset or scared, or anymore scared than she already was. She was being strong for him. He wasn't going to let her efforts go to waste.

This was it. There was no turning back now. No more planning. No more second thoughts. They had arrived at Dressrosa.


	97. Into the Town

Into the Town

The island grew larger before their eyes. Within just a few short minutes, the Sunny had glided up to the island and bumped against the rocks where they were docking the ship. The ship rocked before settling into place like it knew that it was suppose to land right where it did.

Neo was lost in a bit of a daze. She focused on the island's flora and fauna while still holding onto Law's hand and resting her head on his shoulder. Part of her was glad that they were finally here. They could finally take the next step and get closer to going home. But part of her was also upset that they had arrive. She forced that part down. She wasn't going to listen to it or think about all the things that could possible go wrong.

"We made it! Dressrosa!" Luffy shouted.

Neo was grateful for the loud distraction. She turned her eyes to Luffy. The rubber man was sailing over the railing and disappeared below the side of the ship. She giggled. "He's so impatient."

"He's so stupid," Law grumbled.

"Luffy! Will you stop shouting?!" Usopp screamed in a hushed tone. He scanned his eyes over their surroundings. There appeared to be nothing but rocks around them, but that didn't mean anything. The enemy could still be hiding nearby. "We're in the enemy's territory now! So keep it down!"

Neo glanced up at the sniper before catching Franky from the corner of her eyes. She turned just in time to see him leaping over the edge. His voice floated back up to them. He said, "This week I'm super! I'm gonna find the factory right away and ka-boom!"

"I just said for Luffy to stop shouting!" Usopp screamed. "Why in the world would you scream too?!"

"Hey, Neo!" Chopper called. He waved back to her from his spot at the top of the ladder that had been tossed over the edge for them. "Come on!"

"Okay!" Neo replied. She took one step away from Law before he tightened his hold on her hand and pulled her back to him. "Hey!"

"Hold it," Law said.

"What?" Neo asked. She looked up at him. "What is it?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Law asked. He tapped his finger on the sheath of his sword.

"I don't think so," Neo replied. She tried to head for the edge of the ship, but was once again pulled back by Law. "Law! Why do you keep doing that?!"

"Don't whine at me,  _little girl_. You know full well what I'm talking about," Law said. He jabbed his sword at her bare feet. "You're not setting foot off this ship without your shoes."

"Ah! I was so close!" Neo whined. She then pooched out her bottom lip at him and batted her eyelashes at him while snuggling into his chest. "Do I have to put them on now? We're just getting off the ship. We're not going into town yet."

Law faltered at her sweet, innocent look for a split second before catching himself. He cleared his throat then said, "Neo, don't look at me like that. You know you have to wear them. We could end up in a fight at any point in time. I want your feet protected."

"I know. I know." Neo looked around the deck, trying to remember where she put her shoes. "Am I going to have to stay on the ship if I don't know where they are?"

"You left them in the bathhouse," Law said.

"I did?" Neo tilted her head. She thought about the day before and how she had chucked her shoes across the bathhouse when her and Law took a bath. She giggled and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Oh. Right. I guess I did leave them in there. Silly me. I forgot."

"Go get them," Law ordered.

"Okay," Neo relented. With her shoulders slumped in defeat, she headed for the stairs when Law finally released her. She rushed up the stairs and all the way to the bathhouse. Once inside of the room, she looked around. Her shoes weren't where she had tossed them. But she easily located them. Someone had sat them up near the vanity in the room and figured it was Robin. She wasn't sure why though. Robin just struck her as the type to do something like this. She walked over to her boots. She picked them up. "I wonder if this is what it feels like to have a mother. It just seems this is something a mother would do or, maybe, an older sister? Topaz does this kind of stuff too, but she still holds onto her maid attitude towards me at times. Or maybe my shoes were just in the way. I did just kick them off my feet not caring where they landed. Hm…I guess it doesn't matter. I like Robin either way."

Neo smiled at her thoughts of the older woman and the pleasant conversations they've had. She slipped her boots on then left the room. Once back outside, she summoned a wind crystal and wrapped her winds around her then took to the air. She landed on the deck and was greeted with a frown from Law. She batted her eyelashes at him innocently. She said, "What? Technically, we're at Dressrosa. So I can use my crystals now."

Law rolled his eyes. He walked up to her. Hooking his arm around her waist, he pulled her to his body. "Fine. You win. Listen, Neo, on the chance that something happens and we get separated…"

Neo tilted her head when he paused. "What is it, Law?"

"If you can't get back to me, I want you to stay with the Straw Hats if you come across them. You can sense Straw Hat so he'll probably be the one you go to," Law said. "And I want you to promise me that you won't go wondering off on your own at all."

"I never do that," Neo said. "You know that."

"I know." Law nodded. "But I still want you to promise me. Anything can happen while we're here. I want to make sure you understand the dangers we're stepping into here."

"Of course I understand, Law," Neo said. She kneaded her eyebrows in confusion at the way Law was treating her. "And I promise. If anything happens, and we get separated, I'll be sure to stay with the Straw Hats."

Law studied her eyes before letting his own drop down to her stomach, second-guessing his decision in not telling her about their child. He let them linger there only for a second before looking back at her eyes. "And I want you to listen to them, especially Blackleg and the raccoon."

"Okay. I'll listen to them," Neo replied, growing more confusion. "Chopper's a reindeer. Law, is something wrong?"

"Not really," Law replied. "I'm just worried since this is Doflamingo we're up against. And this is the first time you've been so close to him. I'm afraid he's going to try and take you away from me. You know how much I love you."

"Of course I know how much you love me. You show me that all the time. And no one's going to take me away from you, Law.  _If_  he tries to take me away from you, he'll be tangling with nature. I might not be able to take down him, but you know I won't go down without a fight. And I'll definitely give him one heck of a fight if he dares to try and separate us. I'll turn every single one of my crystals on him. He won't know what hit him." Neo smiled when she pulled a chuckle from Law at the image she provided for him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pecked his lips. "Let's go now. Okay? No point in delaying the inevitable and stressing out over what may or may not happen. And I'm keeping your hat while we're in Dressrosa. It's mine."

"Okay. You can keep my hat." Law chuckled. He took her hand in his as she wrapped her winds around them and lifted them off the ship. She lowered them to the ground and followed him when he led her over to Luffy and Zoro.

"So, we're going straight into the town to look for the factory, right?" Luffy asks.

Law nodded at the rubber man. "That's right. Listen, Straw Hat, it's important that you don't let your guard down. If we fail to destroy the factory here, it'll mess up our whole entire plan. We have no second chances here with this."

"Oh yeah! I get it! So don't worry about it! Hey! I just had a good idea! Come with me, Neo!" Luffy grabbed Neo's hand. He jerked her away from Law before either of them could protest the action and pulled her over to the dragon. "Hey! Momo!"

"Not so fast, Luffy!" Neo cried. The toes of her boots caught on each other, causing her to stumble forward. She went to summon her wind crystals to catch herself, but before she could get them out, she bumped into Luffy's chest. The next thing she knew, she found herself being swooped up into Luffy's arms, bridal style, and Law's jealousy pounding in her head. She tensed in his still slightly unfamiliar hold, but her anxiety didn't rise. "Uh, Luffy?"

"Hold on, Neo!" Luffy cried. He leaped into the air, causing Neo to release a startled cry and grab onto his neck, and landed them right onto Momonosuke's back. "All right, go Momo! To the town without stopping! Fly!"

"Ah! Luffy! No!" Neo screamed. She tried to wiggle out of his grip, but he wouldn't release her. "He's just a child!"

"Get off of me, you heavy lout! I cannot fly and I am not going to enter the island! Father has forbid it!" Momonosuke said.

"Luffy! Off!" Neo commanded. She summoned her wind crystals and lifted them both off the boy's back.

"Aw, Neo!" Luffy whined, now sitting on the ground with her in his lap. He tightened his hold on her when she tried to crawl off of him. "I wanted him to fly us!"

"I'm sorry, Momonosuke," Neo said. She smiled at the boy and stroked his dragonhead.

"It is all right, Lady Neo. Tis not your fault," Momonosuke said with a sharp glare at Luffy. "It is all  _his_. I cannot fly. And I will not even if I could."

"I understand. You don't have to fly if you don't want to," Neo replied, patting his head affectionately with a sweet smile. "Not everyone likes flying."

"Thank you, milady," Momonosuke said. He bowed his head to her. "You are very kind."

Neo giggled. She moved her hand from his head to under his chin. Working her fingers over his scaly skin, she found his soft spot. His eyes went half lidded as he leaned into her touch. "Your dragon form is kind of cute. A lot cuter than those other dragons back on Punk Hazard."

"Mhmm." Momonosuke hummed contently at her touch.

"Are you seriously saying you can't fly?! What are you talking about?! I saw you fly back on Punk Hazard!" Luffy said. "How do you think we got out of that dump?!"

"I do not know what you are talking about! I cannot fly!" Momonosuke snapped, pulling his head away from Neo's hand.

"But I really saw him flying!" Luffy looked to Robin and Chopper as if it would convince them or help prove his point.

"How is that possible? He doesn't have wings," Robin said. "And he doesn't have control over the wind like Neo."

"That's true," Chopper said. "And don't hold Neo so tightly, Luffy!"

"Why not?! She's my friend!" Luffy replied. He tightened his hold on her even more like he was concerned someone was going to take her away from him.

Neo chuckled at the rubber man's actions, but didn't try to escape from him.

"See? I told you! I do not remember flying! E-even if I did fly I-I'll never do such a dreadful think again! I'm not going to fly in the sky!" Momonosuke insisted.

"Huh? Are you sacred of heights then?" Luffy asks.

"You jerk!" Momonosuke screamed before clamping his jaws down on Luffy's head.

"Ouch!" Luffy cried out. He released his hold on Neo, giving her the chance to slip off his lap, while he grabbed a hold of Momonosuke's jaws. "Let go!"

"Do not disrespect me! We warriors do not get scared of anything!"

"Ow, ow, ow…You! Stop it, you jerk!"

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"Ow, ow, ow…You're unforgivable!"

"Uh." Neo blinked. Her eyes bounced back and forth between the two as they hurled insults, punched, and kicked at each other.

"What the heck are they doing?" Sanji asked. "Hey, Neo, you better come over here so you don't get pulled into their fight."

"Okay." Neo turned and skipped over to Sanji and Brook. She shared a smile with the cook before turning her attention back to the fight.

"Remember, Luffy, he's only eight years old," Brook said.

"I don't think he heard you," Neo said as Luffy and Momonosuke continued hurling insults and punches at each other seemingly to be unaware of those around them. She tilted her head as she watched the two. A wave of giddiness and nostalgia trickled into her when the fight reminded her of Shachi and Penguin. "They kind of remind me of some of the fights Shachi and Penguin have gotten into."

"You seem to be in a fairly good mood considering where we are," Sanji then said.

"I suppose so." Neo rocked back on her heels. She collapsed her hands behind her back and looked up at the sky. Her eyebrows turned up in worry when her nightmare filtered back into her mind.

"Are you feeling okay?" Sanji asked. "Are you feeling nauseous or anything since you've eaten that broth? You look a bit pale."

"Yeah, I feel okay. I don't feel sick at all." Neo looked at Sanji with a bright smile. "I'm a bit nervous, but I think I'm ready for this. I know Law has prepared me as much as he could. I can handle this. I'm just a bit worried about my nightmare, that's all."

"Yeah," Sanji said. "Law told us some of your nightmares have come true before. But try not to worry about it. You'll only stress yourself out if you do."

"I'll try not to," Neo said in a low tone. Her eyes locked onto Law. He was discussing something with Zoro and didn't notice she was looking at him. She was staring at him and thinking of her nightmare so hard that her right arm actually started hurting, or she thought it did. Law never looked over at her so she assumed that the pain was just in her head. Still, she rubbed her arm as if it was hurting.

"Hey! Neo!" Luffy called, pulling her out of her thoughts. He ran over to her and got right up in her face, causing her to bend backwards.

"Don't get so close, you idiot!" Sanji growled. He slapped his foot on Luffy's head, but the captain didn't seem to notice, or care.

"Are you ready for some fun?!" Luffy asked. "We're about to go into Dressrosa!"

"Will you stop shouting? She right in front of you," Sanji said with a sigh. He moved from Neo's left side to her right so she would be upwind of his smoke.

"Yeah! I know! I can see her!" Luffy said, his voice still high, but not at a yell.

"You are being so silly, Luffy!" Neo giggled. She took a hold of his cheeks and playfully tugged on them. "Are you done fighting with Momonosuke now?"

"I guess so. He was just being a brat. But you're here now," Luffy said. He looked over to Momonosuke.

Neo followed his gaze and noticed that the young boy was now snuggling up to Nami while she soothed him from his and Luffy's fight much to the dismay of Sanji, Brook, and Kin'emon. She sighed. "They're fighting again."

Luffy laughed. "They're funny!"

"You're so weird," Neo said. She grabbed Luffy's hand and pulled his towards the arguing trio. "Come on. Let's stop it. We have more important things to worry about."

"Okay." Luffy shrugged. He closed his fingers around Neo's hand and allowed her to lead him where she desired.

"Life father, like son! All you warriors are just bursting with lechery!" Sanji said as the two pirates approached them.

"He's right! You people are perverts, not warriors!" Brook growled.

"H-how dare you say that!" Kin'emon protested. "I object to this insult!"

"All right, that's enough fighting," Neo said. She placed her free hand on her hip and gave the arguing trio a pointed look. "We need to proceed with our plans."

"She's right. So let's go to the town already, Kin'emon!" Franky said while he walked over to the group. "How should we pervert…I mean, what style of clothing do they wear in this country? We need something so we'll fit in."

"Oh yes! Of course!" Kin'emon said. He shoved his hands into his kimono and pulled out a picture of a man in a suit and a woman wearing a mini leaf skirt around her hips. "This is how people dress in Dressrosa! Men wear dress shirts! While women let it all hang out! I will change you all so you can fit in with the locals!"

"Dressrosa is absolutely the best ever!" Sanji said with hearts pulsing in his eyes.

"Yeah!" Brook agreed.

"Indeed it is." Kin'emon nodded. He then turned his eyes to Neo and eyed her figure. "Even for one as small as you this style will be lovely."

"You want me to wear that?" Neo asked.

"What?! Of course not! You're wearing nothing of the sort! I won't stand for it!" Sanji shrieked. He then glared at Kin'emon. "How dare you say such a thing?!"

"But it is true!" Kin'emon insisted. He pointed repetitively at the picture he was holding. "If you want the young lady to blend in with this country, then she must wear this!"

"That doesn't strike me as true. But I've never been to this country. Is that really what they wear here?" Neo asked. The samurai nodded rapidly to her question. She turned to Luffy when he hummed. "That's just a little less than what the Kuja wear. And I never would have guessed they wore the clothes they did if we didn't visit that country."

"I dunno. But if that's what Kin says they wear here," Luffy replied, eying the picture. He then turned his eyes to Neo and eyed her. "I don't think Shanks would approve of you wearing something like that. I'm not so sure I approve of you wearing clothes like that. So you're not going to wear them. You can wear what you're wearing."

"I know Law wouldn't approve of me wearing something like that. So no worries there," Neo said, glancing over at Law. She knew before she even looked that he had noticed everything that time. There was a dark aura around him. His eyes were covered in dark shadows and murderous thoughts were parading through his head of how, and how many times, he was going to murder Kin'emon for suggesting her wearing nothing.

"Stop lying, you idiot!" Nami growled while she slammed her fist on top of the three perverts heads. "You just about confused Neo into thinking you were serious!"

"Uh." Neo blinked at the now unconscious Sanji, Brook, and Kin'emon laying on the ground with large bumps on their heads. She wondered if she should heal them with her solar crystals, but the thought faded when she sense Law walking towards them.

…

Law's murderous thoughts slowly began to fade away when he walked over to them. He was satisfied that Nami had hit Kin'emon and decided that would be a suitable punishment for now since he still needed the man for his plans. He looked over at Neo. The whole wearing nothing thing had clearly left her mind. She was now distracted by Luffy who was talking animatedly to her while still holding her hand. Another wave of jealousy wash over him when his eyes locked onto their still connected hands, but he quickly pushed it aside since he knew Neo and Luffy were just friends and had similar childlike qualities. That plus their connection to Red Hair, it was natural they'd get along so well. He reached into his pocket, pulled out Bepo's Vivre Card, and held it out to Nami. "Hey. I want you to keep this with you."

"Is that a Vivre Card?" Nami asked, taking the piece Law held out to her.

"Yes. It points towards the island Zou that we talked about earlier," Law replied. "If anything happens to us, go straight there."

"Huh? Are we finally starting with the plan?" Luffy asked. He led Neo over to Law where the older captain had pulled out a map and unrolled it on the ground.

Neo twitched nervously when she noticed that everyone had gathered around them. This was the first time she had been surrounded by them all at the same time. She knew she could trust them, but still a slight touch of fear bubbled up in her chest at being surrounded until Sanji shifted his position. She looked at him. He had taken a step back from where he was standing beside her. This move opened up a bigger space for her to escape from if she needed it. She gave him a grateful smile before turning her eyes back to the map.

"W-wait a second!" Usopp shrieked. "What do you mean by that?! Is something going to happen that we should know about?!"

"I dunno," Law said, casually. He looked up and locked eyes with Neo. Both were thinking about her nightmare.  _'It's all right, my love.'_

 _'I know.'_  Neo nodded.  _'It's possible that it was only a bad dream. I'm holding on to that.'_

_'Good girl.'_

"What's that?" Luffy asked while he took a glance at the map.

"This is a map of Dressrosa that our crew drew for us," Law replied from his spot on the ground.

"What an awful map," Nami said. She placed her hands on her knees and bent over to observe the map before her.

"You think so?" Neo asked, eyeing the map that was drawn in crayon. Bepo's paw print was also on it with a couple of tears taped up. "I think it looks cute. Bepo drew it."

"Bepo?" Nami turned her eyes to Neo.

"He's our navigator. He's a mink. A polar bear mink," Neo said. She then giggled while thinking about the bear. "He's so cute. He talks in his sleep a lot. I carried on a five minute conversation with him one time while he was taking a nap."

"Seriously?" Nami asked.

"Yup!" Neo nodded.

"We're docked right around here, at the west coast of Dressrosa." Law pointed at the map. "Doflamingo's palace is at the center of Dressrosa, here. The SMILE manufacturing factory must be somewhere on the island. We don't have much time. The Factory Destroying Team must move quickly."

…

Neo was staring down at the map, lost in Law's voice, when she caught movement from the corner of her eye. She turned to find that Sanji was walking off from the group. Without thinking, she followed after him. And since she was still holding onto Luffy's hand, he followed her without question. They separated from the group and followed after Sanji as he started to weave through the rock formations they had docked near. "Hey, Sanji, where are you going?"

"Don't you smell that?" Sanji asked, sniffing the air.

"I smell something," Luffy said. He sniffed the air. "It smells so good! Let's go check it out!"

"I do smell something. And it smells great. But shouldn't we tell the others that we're going into town?" Neo asked. She looked around the rock formations that now surrounded them.

"Don't worry about it. We're already this far," Zoro said.

Neo looked up at the swordsman. She noticed that he, Franky, and Kin'emon had followed after them at some point. She looked back and saw that they were no longer in view of the others. All she could see was rocks. She could tell that Law hadn't noticed she had wandered off. She wondered if she should contact him and tell him that they were already heading into the town. She then noticed something else. She had wandered away from Law for the very first, without telling him where she was going. A short stab of panic ran through her before she remembered that he had said, sort of, that it would be fine if she got separated from him as long as she was with one of the Straw Hats. And, technically, that did happen and she was with four of the Straw Hats and one samurai. So this should be fine, right?

…

Sanji was still sniffing the air while he weaved in and out of the small trails between the rock formations. He knew the smell. It was of beautiful women and perfume and spices from local foods. He couldn't wait to see what the local women looked like here. He bet they were very beautiful, extremely beautiful. His heart thumped with joy. That's when, for some reason, he turned his eyes to Neo. He noticed instantly that she was concerned about walking off from Law. He also instantly remembered Law's concern over keeping her away from Doflamingo. He had hoped that Luffy would have held to his word and  _kidnap_  Neo so he could play with her while in Dressrosa. Never would he have guessed that it would be  _him_  that led Neo away from Law. He never would have guessed she would ever walk away from Law. But she did. It was clear that she didn't realize what she did until just now, but she was away from the Warlord. They got lucky.

Now all he had to do was make sure Neo was fine with heading into town. He slowed his pace and stepped beside her. Casually, he said, "Don't worry about the others. We were heading into town anyway. So they already know where we are. Besides, Law can sense where you are. As long as he can do that, and knows you're with us, there won't be a problem."

"I guess so," Neo said. She glanced back over her shoulder. "But this is the first time I've been on an island without him or one of our crew beside me. He might get upset with me for wandering off like this. I can't believe I actually took off like that."

"Huh? Really? Is it bothering you?" Luffy asked.

"A bit," Neo replied. She looked back ahead of her so she wouldn't trip over anything. "Like I said, this is the first time I've done this. I usually tell Law where I'm going. And I'm always with one of the crew or him."

"Don't worry about it. It'll be fine," Luffy said. He tugged on her hand and pulled her into a run. "Tra won't mind at all."

"Besides, a little rebellion never hurt anyone. It's actually good for you. You can always tell Trafalgar about this," Franky said. "You said you can contact each other, right?"

"Well, that's true," Neo said, thoughtfully. "I suppose this is all right after all. It's not like I wandered off completely on my own."

"So you're going to stay with us?" Sanji asked, hoping her answer would be the one he wanted to hear.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "At least for a while. I would like to explore Dressrosa for a bit. I can meet up with Law when the deal's about to go down."

"All right, enough talking," Zoro said just as they rounded another rock formation. The town came into view when they did. "Let's check this place out."

"Go ahead and tell Law where you are," Sanji said. "I don't want you stressing out over this."

"Right." Neo nodded. She focused her thoughts on her love, and hoped he wouldn't be too upset with her for wondering off.  _'Um, Law?'_

…

Sanji took a puff of his cigarette. He glanced at Neo from the corner of his eyes. He knew from the concentrated look on her face that she was talking to Law.  _Good. Now all we have to worry about is keeping her distracted while Law deals with Doflamingo. If we're lucky, we'll be able to keep her distracted with stuff in the town and with destroying the factory. She won't even have to see Doflamingo. And Doflamingo will never have to know about her pregnancy._

…

"We, the Caesar Handover Team, will go across Dressrosa and cross the very long bridge to the north and get to Green Bit," Law said. He instantly noticed Neo moving away from him, but centered his thoughts and words on his plans. He hated pretending he didn't sense her walking off. He felt like he was deceiving her. But this was what he really wanted after all. He wanted her as far away from Doflamingo as possible while they were in his kingdom. He didn't want her to go to Green Bit with him where they would have to directly confront the man.

"But why do we have to go through Dressrosa?" Usopp asked. "We have the Sunny here. Why don't we just sail over there? All of us together? That would be a whole lot easier and take less time."

"Apparently you can't get there by boat," Law replied, grateful for the distraction of questions from the Straw Hats. He focused his thoughts on them instead of Neo.

"Oh, this sounds like fun," Robin said.

 _This isn't fun_ , Law thought.  _These Straw Hats are crazy._

"J-just make it a safe trip, okay?" Caesar said.

 _Sure, Caesar. We'll make it a safe trip._  Law mentally rolled his eyes.

"Oh no. I have a Fear-of-Dressrosa-itis," Usopp said, speaking as if his nose was congested.

 _Seriously?_  Law asked himself.  _This guy is such a coward. Why in the world did he even become a pirate if all he wants to do is run and hide?_

"Kanjuro…I hope he's still alive," Momonosuke said.

"And you all, the Sunny's Security Team, should watch out for the enemy's attack. Don't let them take the ship," Law said. He turned his eyes to the group, minus one, who were standing guard on the Sunny. He mentally sighed. He had to admit to himself that he was glad that Neo was with Blackleg. He was reliable. And she would be safe. Everything would be fine.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

_A darkened image of Neo filtered across the back of his eyelids. He saw Neo walk through a dark curtain and stood before him with all of her crystals out. Her crystals were pulsing with their individual glow, beckoning nature to obey them. It did. Vines rose up from the ground around her, cracking the rocks underneath her feet. The snapping crack of the flora resonated in his ears as they lashed out at invisible targets. He felt the fire of her fire crystals as the flames flared up around their glittering hosts. He heard the wind howling at her command as they blew wave after wave onto the shores of Dressrosa. He heard the calls of multiple animals screeching out as they attacked their human victims._

_People screamed. The island was crumbling around them. They had nowhere to go._

_Then a laugh ran out in the darkness. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead. It was her laugh. Her bells were unmistakable. And she was laughing at the expense of the townspeople trying to escape her unrelenting attack. She was actually enjoying destroying the island, the people, everything._

"What?! What do you mean by that?!"

Law jumped when the Straw Hat navigator's voice shrieked in his ears. With a gasp, he blinked and looked around. He couldn't seen anything but white before him.

"Are they going to attack us?!" a small, younger voice asked next.

Law couldn't place the voice. He knew it wasn't an enemy. He forced himself to draw in a breath. He remembered then. It was the boy, Momonosuke.

"What?! I thought guarding the ship was the safest!" another voice said. "Uh, hey, Mr. Tra, are you all right? You look pale."

"What?" Law managed to ask. He blinked again. His vision came back. He looked around. They were still where they docked the ship and the island was still intact. Neo was still walking away from him, as normal as ever, and not enjoying destroying the island.

"Is something wrong?" Nami asked.

Law finally brought his eyes to the group he was with. All of them were giving him looks of concern.

"No, nothing's wrong," Law's voice said, but his mind was screaming: " _Something's not right. We have to get Neo and get the heck out of here."_

He shook his head and took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair.  _Nothing's wrong. Whatever that was…it was nothing. I'm just over reacting. I'm just envisioning the worst case possible. Neo would never destroy another island. And she certainly never would enjoy doing it. I'm just worried. Everything is fine. She's safe. Our child is safe._  He turned his attention back to the Straw Hats and tried to focus on what they were saying.

"Guys, we're in the enemy's stronghold. But we're with Sanji so…Huh?! Sanji's not here! Luffy and the others are gone as well! What?! Neo's missing too! She can't go out like that! Not in her condition!" Chopper screeched when he finally noticed the missing pirates. He jumped all over the area, kicking his arms and flapping his arms. "Oh my gosh! We have to go find her! We have to bring her back here!"

Law wondered why it took so long for the animal to noticed their missing crewmembers. The creature was supposed to have a good sense of smell.

"Huh? Condition?" Brook asked. "What condition?"

"Uh…nothing!" Chopper rubbed the back of his head with a nervous laugh. "It's nothing at all! Never mind me! I'm just freaking out a bit! Sanji's suppose to be here with us! That's all!"

"They're the key to this plan! Where did they go?!" Law hissed, pretending he hadn't already known that they had wondered off around the same time that Neo did. His vision hammered his head again. His heart and lungs tightened in his body.  _Just relax. It was nothing. It's fine. It was nothing. I can always call her back to me if I need to. She's fine. She's safe. Our baby's safe. They're both safe._

"Hey! Wait a second! If Sanji isn't here then who's going to protect us?!" Chopper demanded.

 _He's just now noticing that?_  Law asked himself.

_'Um, Law?'_

_'Yes, love?'_

_'Don't get upset with me, but I kind of wandered off.'_

_'Neo…'_

' _You were busy and I noticed Sanji was leaving and I kind of followed him without thinking! Don't worry! I'm not alone or anything! I'm with Luffy, Sanji, Franky, Zoro, and Kin'emon!'_

' _Neo…'_

' _I won't leave them! I promise! I'm only going to stay with them for a while. I'll come back to you when you're about to hand over Caesar to Doflamingo!'_

' _Neo!'_

' _What?'_

' _Neo, it's all right. It's fine if you want to explore with them for a while.'_

' _It…it is?'_

Law drew in a breath. He could feel her confusion easily.  _'Yes, love. It's fine. Just stay with them. Always remain with at least one of them. Remember, do not go off on your own at any point in time like you promised.'_

' _I…I won't. I'll keep my promise.'_

Law paused. He thought about that vision he had. He carefully searched Neo's feelings. For what, he wasn't sure. He just needed to know she was really fine. She was. There was no malicious intent in her at all.

' _Law? Are you okay?'_

' _Yes. Why?'_

' _I don't know. You just seem…off.'_

' _I'm okay. I guess it just unnerved me a bit that you wandered off like that.'_

' _Yeah. I'm sorry.'_

' _It's fine. There's nothing for you to apologize for. Just behave yourself. And don't draw an unnecessary attention to yourself.'_

' _I'll behave, Law. You behave too.'_

Law chuckled.  _'I will.'_

…

Neo smiled. She felt a bit surprised at how relaxed Law was with her wandering off like she did, but was glad she didn't upset him.

"Feel better?" Sanji's voice asked.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "I was worried that Law might be upset with me. But he's not."

"That's good to hear," Sanji said just as the sounds from the town entered into their ears as they walked closer to it.

"Finally," Zoro said. "That was a longer walk than I thought it would be."

Nothing else was said as the pirate group, and samurai, stepped into the town. Their faces lit up at the joyous sight in front of them. The town was alive with musicians, women dancing to the upbeat tunes, kids were playing, people were laughing, and the air was filled with so many smells of local delicacies.

"It smells so good!" Luffy, Sanji and Franky exclaimed as they sniffed the smells that mixed in their nostrils.

"Smells so lovely!" Sanji shrieked. Hearts were throbbing in his eyes.

Neo felt like giggling at his expression. She was really starting to enjoy the hopeless flirt's antics when he got around pretty women. Knowing she didn't need to reveal her bells, she forced herself to look away from him. She about squealed when she sensed a dog running towards them. It's been a while since she's seen and got to play with dogs. She took a step towards it, to call it over and play, but stopped when she noticed it was carrying something in its mouth. "Huh?"  
"What is it, Neo?" Luffy asked when he heard her.

"Hey! Wait! Give that back!" a voice screamed.

"Huh?" Luffy asked. "What's going on?"

"I'm not really sure," Neo replied. She tilted her head when a yellow haired, red scarfed, black coated, striped arms and legs toy ran after the dog she had sensed.

"Wait! Mario! Hey!" the toy screamed. "Give me back my arm! Boy! You're a bad dog! The cotton's going to fall out!"

"Did that…toy just speak?" Neo asked. She kneaded her eyebrows in confusion. Her eyes automatically followed the toy as it continued to chase after the dog. It passed by another toy, a baby doll of sorts. The baby doll's mouth fell open. It stared in a creepy fashion at her. Feeling unnerved, she took a step closer to Luffy and pinched the tail of his shirt. "Luffy…"

"No! Wait! I got a side stitch! Although there's only cotton inside!" the toy screamed while it and the dog disappeared down the street.

"S-stuffed toys?!" Luffy gasped. "Were those really stuffed toys?!"

"Hello!" a soldier marionette suddenly popped into their view. "I am a soldier!"

"Ah!" Neo screamed. She ducked behind Luffy and clung to the back of his shirt.

"It's all right, Neo. It's just a toy," Sanji replied, patting her back comfortingly.

Neo looked up at the blonde man, who was inspecting the toy, then eyed the toy suspiciously herself. Wondering if she should summon her crystals, she said, "But…but toys can't move on their own. And they certainly can't talk."

"Do you want to go back to Law?" Sanji asks cautiously despite hoping she wouldn't want to.

Neo looked back up at Sanji then back at the toy soldier. She loosened her hold on Luffy's shirt but didn't let him go completely. "No, I don't. I want to stay with you for a while longer. I was just startled. I wasn't expecting him, er, it to pop up like that. And I certainly wasn't expecting a toy to be moving on its own. Sorry I screamed."

"It's all right. I think we all were a bit surprised by the toys," Sanji said. He shoved his hand back into his pocket.

"Oh? Have we met before? Your faces look familiar," the toy asked, leaning closer to Luffy as it spoke. "Oh, yeah! You were in the paper this morning…" The toy suddenly jumped back and spun around multiple times, getting itself tangled in its strings. "Oh no! The strings got tangled up! Help me!"

"Is that thing really a toy?!" Luffy asked, looking like he was trying to dissect the thing with his eyes.

"I'm not sure," Neo replied.

"Hey, Luffy! Look at that!" Zoro called.

Luffy and Neo pulled their eyes from the tangled up toy. They looked up to see Zoro was pointing out into the town. They turned their attention to what Zoro was directing their attention to.

"What?!" Luffy asked, finally seeing what they hadn't noticed before.

"That's not possible!" Neo said. All around the town were toys. Toys that were moving around like people. They were sitting at local restaurant tables, some were reading newspapers, some were walking around with people, some where talking, and some were dancing or playing games with kids. "But…this isn't…how could…I…I don't understand."

"You are not alone, my dear," Sanji said, sounding just as perplexed as Neo felt.

"A man has been stabbed!" a voice suddenly shouted out before the group could say anything else. They all turned their attention to a robotic looking toy.

"Oh, again?" the still tangled up soldier toy asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Zoro asked. He looked down at the toy. "Is there a phantom slasher or something?"

"No, nothing like that. Women in this country are just very passionate about love and most are the jealous type. So when a man cheats on a woman, things can get pretty violent," the soldier toy explained.

"Cheats? Why would a man want to cheat on the woman he loves?" Neo asked. "I don't understand."

"Not all men are loyal to their love, Neo," Sanji replied.

"But why not? Law's loyal to me," Neo said. She looked up at Sanji with confusion spinning in her eyes. "And I'm loyal to him."

"I don't think there's an actual answer for that. It's just something that happens. A lot more often then people would like to admit. You and Law are few of the lucky ones," Sanji replied. "Be grateful that you two found each other."

"Yeah." Neo nodded. She did feel luck to have Law, very lucky. Her lips curled into a smile at the thought of everything he has done for her. She had a strong desire to fly back to him, but pushed it aside. She still wanted to stay right where she was. And she was going to do that.

"It's actually very scary. The more beautiful they are, the more likely they are to stab a man," the soldier toy continued.

"That's terrible," Neo said. Tears began to pool in her eyes. She looked at her friends, her gaze settling on Sanji. "I don't want to be here anymore. Can we go somewhere else?"

…

 _I know she gets upset over certain things and has issues adjusting to new places, but is that what this is or is this because of her pregnancy? This might just be a mood swing, but I can't really tell. Maybe it's a combination of them both,_  Sanji thought to himself while studying her eyes.  _Let's see. What does she enjoy again? Cooking. And…_  He turned back to the soldier toy and said, "Excuse me. Is there a bookstore around here?"

"Bookstore?" Neo's eyes lit up at the word.

"Of course there is," the soldier toy said. He pointed down the street that the dog had run off in. "Just head straight down this street for about two minutes. You can't miss it. It's a lovely little building with a blue roof."

"Thanks." Sanji waved to the toy.

"Let's go!" Neo cheered. She grabbed Luffy's hand and pulled him in the direction that the toy had pointed.

Luffy laughed as she drug him through the town.

"Why are we going to a bookstore?" Zoro asked as he and the rest of the group trudged along after their resident children. "We're supposed to be looking for the factory."

"We still are. We're just going to let Neo spend a few minutes in the bookstore," Sanji replied. His eyes roamed over every inch of their surroundings. He was carefully looking for the factory while simultaneously looking for any possible threats to Neo and the precious cargo she was carrying inside of her. "After that little, unexpected, encounter with talking toys, I figured it would be best if we put her in an area that she'd enjoy. It'll help ease her nerves so we can continue on with our mission."

"That makes sense," Franky said. He looked ahead of them to find Neo and Luffy had paused at some kind of booth. He couldn't see what they were looking at due a small crowd that was blocking his view, but he could easily see that they were having fun.

"Indeed it does," Kin'emon added. "Lady Neo is rather a delicate little flower. We must be sure to take care with her."

 _In more way than one,_  Sanji thought to himself. He puffed on his cigarette as his eyes lowered to her stomach then back to her face. He smiled at the obvious enjoyment she was having with Luffy. She said something that caused the rubber man to laugh. By the time the four men caught up with the two, Luffy and Neo grabbed each other's hand and proceeded to head for the bookstore.

"I just hope Luffy doesn't pull her into any trouble," Zoro said just as the building they were looking for came into view. Like the soldier toy had said, it was a small building with a blue roof.

"They're just going into a bookstore," Franky said. "How could they possible get into trouble?"

A momentary pause of silence passed between the group before a darkened cloud of despair hovered over Zoro, Sanji, and Franky as their brains automatically went over all the times someone has asked that exact same question and how many times Luffy had gotten into trouble from seemingly harmless situations. Sanji said, "Well, look on the bright side."

"There's a bright side to this?" Zoro and Franky asked at the same time.

"At least Neo has a good head on her shoulders," Sanji said, coming out from underneath the cloud of despair. "She'll keep Luffy out of trouble."

"You're kidding, right?" Zoro and Franky asked. "With how Luffy is? She'll get pulled along with his lunacy just like we do."

"You're right," Sanji said, falling back under the cloud of despair.

Kin'emon blinked at the three standing with their shoulders slumped. With a sweat drop dripping down the back of his head, he asked, "Are you going to follow them into the store or just stand out here all day?"

…

"Hey! There it is!" Luffy cried out. He pointed to the little shop with a blue roof that held a sign over the door that read: Bookstore.

"Great!" Neo squealed.

Luffy laughed. "You really get excited about books, don't you?"

"I can't help it," Neo replied. "I really love to read. I never got to while growing up. Once Law and the crew started to teach me all that I missed out on, I developed a love for reading. I've also been told I get that from my mother."

"Your mother?" Luffy asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "She loved to read too. My father loved to cook. I like that I inherited some things from my parents. It makes me feel closer to them despite having never met them. Well, except for when I was born. But I don't really think that counts since I don't really remember them."

"So reading gets you excited because you love it and it brings you closer to your mother?" Luffy asked.

"It does." Neo nodded.

"Well, if you're that excited about it, let's go!" Luffy laughed. He reclaimed her hand and tugged her into the small building. He laughed again when Neo squealed with delight at the books before her. Despite how small the building was there were rows and rows of books neatly lined up on shelves while some were piled on tables.

Neo paused for a second. She scanned her eyes around the room. She carefully took in everyone that was inside of the building. She located about ten people and six toys wondering about the books. She looked back over her shoulder to check her exit just as their missing friends finally caught up to them.

"Is something wrong, Lady Neo?" Kin'emon asked when he caught her eye.

"No, nothing's wrong," Neo replied with a smile. "I was just checking my surroundings and the exit."

"Ah, yes, of course." Kin'emon gave a nod of understand upon recalling her story of how she didn't like being cornered and needed to know she had comfort and access to an escape route. "Do not fear anything here, Lady Neo. We will protect you and ensure that the exit remains open for you to escape from at any point in time that you wish."

"Thank you, Kin'emon," Neo replied.

"Hurry up already," Zoro then said. "We don't have all day to spend shopping."

"Shut up, you idiot! We have all the time in the world if she wants it!" Sanji snapped at the swordsman. His voice then turned sweet when he addressed Neo. "Take your time, my dear. We're in no hurry what so ever."

"I won't be long," Neo said before disappearing down an isle.

Luffy tucked his hands behind his head and followed her around like he was her own personal bodyguard. He was getting bored, to the point he was about to fall asleep on his feet, when Neo poked him in the ribs. "Hm? What is it?"

"Look." Neo turned the book she was holding to him. She pointed to the tiger on the page that had a mark over its left eye just like Zoro. "Doesn't this tiger look like Zoro?"

"Hm?" Luffy took a look at the tiger she was pointing at. He stared at the picture for a while before laughing and clapping his hands in enjoyment. "Ha ha! You're right! It does look like Zoro! Especially with that mark over its eye!"

"What are you two  _children_  laughing at?" Zoro asked as he walked over to them. Neo and Luffy looked at Zoro then back at the picture and laughed, Neo holding her giggles in as best she could. "What so funny?"

"Nothing!" Luffy said, sounding very unconvincing.

Zoro growled and plucked the book out of Neo's hands. He scanned his eyes over the tiger before looking back at Luffy and Neo. "Seriously…what's so funny?"

"Geez. You're so dense at times," Sanji said, looking over Zoro's shoulder at the tiger. "That tiger looks like you. That's obviously why they are laughing."

"What? It does not," Zoro said, scanning the page again. "It looks nothing like me."

"If you say so," Sanji said, chuckling.

"Whatever." Zoro slammed the book shut and shoved it back on the shelf. "Are you two done yet?"

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "They have some nice books here, but nothing really interests me."

"All right. Let's get out of here then," Sanji said. He turned and led the way back to the exit.

Franky and Kin'emon had separated from the group to look at books themselves. Once they noticed the rest of their crew leaving, they abandoned their books and followed after them. Back outside, they gathered before heading back down the street.

Neo had placed herself between Luffy and Sanji. She was scanning her surroundings, carefully taking everything in, when she suddenly sensed a tiger's presence behind them. Stopping, she whipped around. But looking over everything and everyone, she didn't see a tiger at all. She only saw the townspeople, the town, and the toys. No tiger whatsoever was anywhere for her to see. But she still felt the tiger. Her eyebrows tilted up in confusion. "Huh? That's weird."

"Hey!" Sanji called when he noticed Neo was no longer with them. The men ran back to her. "Don't break away from us like that! You scared me!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," Neo said, but she didn't look at them.

"What's wrong?" Zoro asked, noticing her confused expression. He placed his hands on the hilt of his sword and carefully looked around. "Did you see something suspicious?"

"I'm not sure," Neo said. "I sense a tiger."

"A tiger?" Kin'emon asked, his hand too was on the hilt of his sword. He looked around. "What nonsense is this? There is no tiger here. No one is running in fear."

"I know. That's why I'm confused," Neo said. She turned back around and looked at the men. "I know I sense a tiger, but there's not one here. I don't get it."

"Maybe you're just imagining things," Zoro said. He let his hand take a more relaxed position on his sword. "You were having a bit too much fun with that picture of the tiger."

"I suppose you are correct," Neo admitted. She then smiled. "Let's proceed then."


	98. Gravity of Situations

Gravity of Situations

Law stared off in the direction of the town, of where Neo was. He had just finished up finalizing his plans with the Straw Hats a few short minutes ago, but to him, it felt like it was years ago. In just another couple of minutes, they would be heading into town themselves, heading for Green Bit. But he couldn't get himself to move. That vision, or whatever it was he had, just wouldn't leave his mind. Something about it set him off. That vision shouldn't have unnerved him like this. So why did it? He knew, without a doubt, that Neo would never intentionally hurt anyone unless that person was hurting him or someone else she loved. The only other way she would hurt someone would be if it were against her will. And for that to happen she would have to be controlled. There was no way for that to happen. Even if it did, he would be able to stop her easily by disorienting her.

He took a breath and released it. He was worrying for nothing. That vision had to be just a result of his nerves.

Turning away from the town, he finally got himself to head back to the ship. He only got about five feet when Caesar said, "It's odd not seeing you and Neo together. It's even more odd that you're so relaxed with her not being by your side, especially when you take in consideration where we are. Aren't you worried that Joker will find her and attack her?"

Law glanced at Caesar before continuing on his way to the ship. He heard Caesar laugh, but paid him no more attention. He knew the scientist was just trying to get him riled up. And he wasn't going to give Caesar the satisfaction. He never did anyway. Right now, he had far more important things to worry about.

Forming his Room, Law warped himself directly into the ship. He looked around the room he landed in, the men's quarters. His eyes landed on the wall opposite from where he was standing near the door. He took a deep breath to settle his wanting to increase heartbeat. In this particular moment, he was glad that Neo wasn't with him, and he felt guilty about feeling that way. But what he was about to do would undoubtedly upset her. And he didn't want that.

He lifted up his hand. Taking in another breath, he said, "Room."

The blue sphere spread out over Law's current location on the Sunny. He reached his hand up to his chest and hesitated before removed  _their_  heart. Pulling the pulsing square away from his body, he looked at it, thinking about how upset Neo would be if she knew he had taking this out again and how bad he felt for doing this to her. Hopefully, he could drop Caesar off, get back to the ship, and replace their heart into his chest before she found out about it. Hopefully.

Tucking their heart into the, hopefully safe, walls of the Sunny, Law turned back towards the door. He exited the men's quarters and stepped over to the bathroom just as Chopper climbed back upon the Sunny. He entered into the bathroom before he could notice if any of the other Straw Hats were following the animal. He paused when he caught his reflection in the mirror. He always wore his hat so much that he forgot that he didn't have it on right now. He couldn't help but chuckle at how often Neo wore his clothes. Sometimes, he wondered why she even bothered having her own. And he knew she was going to start wearing his clothes more often due to her pregnancy. She'd want his presence around her as much as possible. Wearing his clothes would give that to her whether he was physically with her or not.

Law forced himself to shake those thoughts from his head. This wasn't the time for thoughts like that. They had to get done with Dressrosa first. And he had to tell her that she was pregnant. Something he was divided on. Half of him was excited to tell her, but the other half was dreading it.

Grabbing his shirt, he pulled it over his head and quickly changed his clothes before looking at himself in the mirror again. The hood on his coat would easily give him cover, but it wasn't enough. He still needed more to disguise himself. So he turned from the mirror and exited the bathroom to go find the Straw Hats. Surely they had something he could use.

Just as he stepped out the door, Chopper walked over to him holding a mustache and sunglasses.

"Here," Chopper said, holding up the items to the Heart Pirate, and looking really down. "You can use these. And don't worry if you end up losing them. It doesn't matter."

Law nodded. He reached down and took the items from the reindeer. He easily noticed worry in Chopper's eyes. And he easily knew who the creature was worried about. He sighed inwardly. Giving comfort to Neo was easy for him. Giving it to anyone else was awkward. Still, he squatted down and looked at the animal before him. He said, "She'll be just fine. Remember, she's got her crystals protecting her and our child. If anything does happen, both of them will survive."

Chopper nodded. "I know. And she's with Luffy and the others. She'll be fine. But I'm still worried."

 _I am too,_  Law thought while thinking about his vision. He shivered. He forced himself to shake the disturbing vision from his mind then he tapped Chopper's horn with the back of his hand and said, "Enough worrying for now. We have work to do."

"Right!" Chopper with a smile on his face, nodded. "I'll do my best not to worry about her and protect the Sunny!"

Law nodded back. He then watched Chopper run off towards Momonosuke and Nami before standing back up. He placed the mustache over his lip, slid the sunglasses on his face, and pulled his hood over his hatless hair. It wasn't the best disguise in the world, but it would have to do. His lips curled into a smile when he thought about how Neo would absolutely love this disguise. Well, she would partly love it because his chest was exposed and partly hate it because other women would be looking at his exposed chest.

Chuckling at the cute but annoyed look he pictured Neo would have on her face, Law stepped back over to the edge of the deck and looked down to the island. The Straw Hat sniper had already changed into his disguise and was guarding Caesar. Nico Robin was nowhere to be seen. He figured she was on the ship changing. And sure enough, just as the thought crossed his mind, Robin stepped out of her and Nami's shared bedroom dressed in a mini black dress, sunglasses, and a white hat.

"Shall we go?" she asked once she walked over to the warlord.

Law went to nod but stopped when Neo's heart rate took a sudden jump. He forced himself not to call out to her. He wasn't going to crowd or hover over her. He knew she was fine. He knew she wasn't freaking out or being cornered, she was just startled by something. And he knew he was right when her heart rate slowed down shortly after its spike.

"Is something wrong?" Robin asked.

"No, it was nothing," Law replied. He looked around the deck of the Sunny, thinking if he had missed something or if there were any more words that needed to be said to the group that was staying behind. When he couldn't think of anything, he held up his hand. "Room. Shambles."

"Let's go then," Robin said once they landed back on the island.

"Good luck!" Nami called from the deck of the Sunny as her team gathered near the rail to see the others off.

"Don't get into too much trouble." Brook waved.

Robin smiled and waved at her friends while Law just walked towards Caesar and Usopp. The captain glanced at Caesar before grabbing the scientist and shoved him towards the town. He said, "Let's go."

"Okay, okay!" Caesar growled. "You don't have to be so pushy! Geez! I'm glad I'll finally be rid of you people! Let's just get to Green Bit already!"

"Yeah, let's just get this over with," Usopp said as he followed Caesar.

Nothing else was said after that. Their little group of four stayed quiet as they threaded their way through the rock formations that outlined the island. Law was grateful that they were being so quiet. He really didn't want to talk to them, but then, on the other hand, he really could have used a distraction. With all of this silence between them, all he could think about was his vision he had about Neo. He tried to force it out of his mind, but it refused to vacate his thoughts.

"What the heck?!" Usopp suddenly shouted.

Annoyed at the intrusion, but also grateful for it, Law looked up at the Straw Hat sniper. The young man's mouth was hanging open and his eyes were bugged out of his head as he stared at something. Law raised an eyebrow at the man then searched for what he was starting at. His own eyes about popped out of his head when he saw it. There, around the town, acting like humans, were toys. All kinds of toys were talking, dancing, playing, and acting like real people.

"This is so bizarre," Robin mumbled. Her eyes dropped down to her feet when a stuffed, patchwork cat looked up at her. She watched in curiosity as the toy stared at her then scampered off without looking back.

"Bizarre isn't a strong enough word!" Usopp exclaimed. He looked at Caesar for answers. "This is insane! How is this possible?"

"How should I know?" Caesar asked, nonchalantly with a shrug.

"I bet you do!" Usopp whacked Caesar over the head. "You work for the man who runs this country!"

"Don't hit me, you worm!" Caesar snapped.

"Enough," Law ordered. He shoved Caesar again to get the man moving. "This changes nothing. Keep moving."

"I wonder how this is possible," Robin said while looking over the toys.

"Do you think they're some kind of machines or something?" Usopp asked, but no one answered.

Law carefully looked around the town, his eyes scanning every single detail from behind his dark sunglasses. He scanned for threats, for Doflamingo's men, but also for the factory. If they happened to come across it by chance, he could easily inform the others to its location through Neo. His eyes landed on a small group of toys.  _Neo…at least I now know what startled you earlier._

"So, where exactly are we going?" Usopp asked. "We're going to the bridge in the north, right?"

"That's right," Law replied, taking a sideways glance at Usopp. "We still have some time so we'll stop off at a café or something and get something to drink or eat, if you want it."

"Sounds good to me," Usopp said. "I could use a nice cool drink."

Law turned his eyes from the sniper. His steel orbs landed on a bookstore. He smiled, thinking about how Neo would go into one of those if she saw it. Pulling his eyes from the store, he proceeded forward only to get two steps before letting off a muffled string of curses.

"Is something wrong?" Robin asked.

Law quickly looked around. He relaxed a little when it appeared that Robin was the only one who heard him. Usopp and Caesar had gotten a little behind them by stopping and looking into the window of another shop.

"Trafalgar?" Robin asked.

"It's Neo," Law replied. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. His heart started to race, but he forced himself to regain control over that organ. "She has a craving for King Mackerel. And that fish has mercury in it. It's not good for pregnant  _human_  women, but I have no idea if it will have the same results for a pregnant Elemental. She's not very happy right now. So I assume that Blackleg made the same connection I did and is trying to stop her from eating it."

"You could just tell her not to eat it," Robin replied. "She might get suspicious, but you can tell her that you'll explain later why she can't have it."

"Maybe…" Law started. He stopped and focused on Neo. The laughter and music from the town faded away from his ears as he debated on what he should do. Which didn't take too long. He didn't want to cause any possible damage to their child. He had to tell her. He started to call out for her, but stopped when that craving disappeared and she became happy again. He released a sigh when he noticed the craving for the fish was replaced with craving for spaghetti.  _That should be fine for her to eat_ , he thought. He rubbed his forehead in aggravation that he knew nothing about Elemental pregnancies. He mentally kicked and cursed himself for being so stupid and not studying up on that subject. If anything happened to Neo and their child because of his stupidity, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

"It'll be fine, Trafalgar," Robin said calmly. "We'll get you two back to your ship so you can study up on this subject. But that won't happen if you keep getting distracted like this."

"Right." Law nodded.

"Something wrong?" Usopp asked when he and Caesar rejoined them.

"No. Let's keep going," Law said. He pointed his sword north, signaling for Caesar to get moving.

"Yeah, yeah!" Caesar grumbled. "Boy, you're going to pay for this! Just you wait! A little bit longer and Joker will scramble your brains into mush!"

…

"This place is so weird! The toys are moving by themselves, but that's okay!" Luffy shouted. He laughed and clapped his hands excitingly before placing his hands on his hips and looked at his friends. "Come on! Let's get something to eat!"

"Sounds good to me!" Franky agreed.

"Yeah!" Neo nodded. Her eyes lit up at the thought of food. "I'm hungry too! Let's go!"

"Slow down a little bit there, Neo. We really should disguise ourselves before we do anything else," Sanji said. He turned and looked at Neo, carefully taking in the clothes she was wearing and how her coloring seemed to stand out more than anyone else's. It was a miracle they hadn't already been caught. They should have disguised themselves long before now. "You're probably going to be the most recognizable with your coloring. We're going to need to cover you as much as possible."

"Okay. What would you suggest?" Neo asked.

"Hm." Sanji cupped his chin in thought while he continued to run his eyes over Neo's body. He then pulled out a small notebook and a pencil from his pocket. He scribbled in it for a few seconds before showing it to Kin'emon. "Do you think you could do this?"

"I see. Yes, yes. That will be easy. And she'll look so cute in it," Kin'emon said with blushing cheeks. "Although I think something more open in the chest-"

"Don't even start that, you pervert!" Sanji hissed, whacking the samurai over his head. "I won't stand for you to think about her like that! Or thinking about putting her in revealing clothing! So you better put every single dirty thought you're even thinking about think of out of your mind! Right!  _Now!_ Besides, she's  _married_! You should be ashamed for even thinking about thinking about her like that! You're sick!"

"All right, all right. I won't think of her in such a way. I will respect her as the young, married lady that she is," Kin'emon said, waving his hands in a surrendering fashion.

"Good. Then create her outfit," Sanji said, crossing his arms over his chest in an annoyed huff.

"Very well. I shall transform us all at the same time," Kin'emon said. He plucked a small handful of leafs off a near by bush and handed them out to the men before stepping over to Neo.

"You guys are so silly!" Neo smiled brightly before a thought crossed her mind. She looked back and forth between Sanji and Kin'emon as worry spread over her facial features. "Uh, is this going to hurt? You're a Devil Fruit user, right? You gave some of the Straw Hats outfits last night on the ship. It didn't look like it hurt, but…"  
"Not at all, Lady Neo. I promise this will not hurt a single bit," Kin'emon said. He placed his last leaf on top of Law's hat then stepped back from her. Positioning two fingers in front of his mouth, he said, "And transform!"

Neo closed her eyes, out of reflex, as a puff of smoke came out of the leaf and covered her body. When no pain came, she opened her eyes to see the smoke clearing from around her. Glancing down at herself and discovered she was now wearing a soft orange raincoat with a hood covering Law's hat and a big red bow tied at her neck and black sunglasses over her eyes. "Uh…so how do I look?"

"Wow! You're so cute in that! Way cuter than I thought you would look!" Sanji cooed as he danced around Neo with hearts in his eyes. "It's perfect!"

Neo looked up at her male companions. She had to bite her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing at them. They all were earing white beards and dark sunglasses, while Franky, Luffy, and Kin'emon also sported hats for their disguises. She said, "You all look so silly!"

"I thought we were suppose to prevent drawing attention to ourselves," Zoro said as he looked over Neo's bright outfit and their own, in his opinion, ridiculous disguises. "She stands out even more now. Did you really have to dress her like that? She looks even more like a child. It's going to look really weird having a little girl walk around town with five  _old_  men."

"Do I really look younger like this?" Neo asked. She glanced at her reflection in a nearby window, but couldn't really tell if she looked more like a child like this or not from her distorted, faded reflection.

"A little makeup and you'll look like a toy yourself," Zoro said. He turned to Kin'emon. "Go ahead and put some makeup on her. That way she'll be mistaken as a toy in this town."

"Shut up, you stupid swordsman! Who asked you?!" Sanji growled.

"You're the one who said we needed to be inconspicuous!" Zoro shot back.

"She is inconspicuous!" Sanji hissed.

"No, she is not!"

"Yes, she is!"

"She is not!"

"She is so!"

"I think she looks really cute in that. I'd like to see her with make up too. Go ahead and put some on her, Kin," Luffy said. He put his hands behind his head while he inspected Neo's new outfit before turning to the samurai. "I wanna see her looking like a toy!"

"Shut up!" Sanji snapped at his captain. "She's fine just the way she is! She's not your personal little dress up doll!"

"Says the one who dressed her up like a child in the first place. And see? The captain agrees," Zoro said. He crossed his arms and looked at the samurai. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go ahead."

"I said no!" Sanji growled.

"You want to fight?!" Zoro asked, placing his hand on the hilt of his swords.

"You're the one who started this!" Sanji snapped.

"I did not!"

"You did so!"

Luffy laughed at his two subordinates argument then said, "Okay, okay. Can we go now? I said I was hungry."

"And I said I was hungry too," Neo echoed. She pinched a hold of both Sanji and Zoro's sleeves and tugged on them. She smiled sweetly at them, her eyes rounding more with innocence, when they broke from their argument and looked at her. Her natural charm took over once she had their attention. With an innocent blink of her long eyelashes, she said, "Can we get something to eat? Please?"

…

Zoro's eyebrow twitched when he looked into her childlike, rounded, electric blue, impossibly innocent eyes. His hostilities towards Sanji were rapidly dissolving with each innocent blink she gave him. He had a ridiculously strong desire to give her anything she wanted in a split second of her asked for it. He growled at himself for being undone so easily by just a single look from her.  _How is it possible that she has this kind of power over such strong men? I can understand the stupid cook becoming weak around her, but I'm aiming to be the world's strongest swordsman. I've trained endless, and with Hawkeye Mihawk. I suffered so many wounds from that man and from all of my enemies. And not a single one of them was able to keep me down. And yet, one bat of those eyelashes, one innocent look, with a few sweet words, and she's completely crumbling me to dust. This just isn't possible._

"Oh, Neo! Of course we can go get something to eat! I'm sorry this pathetic swordsman distracted me! I should have been paying more attention to you instead of him!" Sanji cooed while spinning in a heart filled hurricane. He suddenly stopped spinning and took on a more serious tone when he remembered her pregnancy and how she got sick earlier. "Are you feeling up to eating?"

"I am!" Neo nodded. She collapsed her hands in front of her face in a pleading sort of way. "I'm feeling fine! Can we go now? Please?"

"Yeah! Please?!" Luffy said, copying Neo's pleading stance. "Please?! Please?! Please?!"

"All right," Sanji said. He looked around at the buildings that surround them. All of them were filled with clothes, dishes, books, and other such items. None of them seem to be restaurants in this particular area of the town. "Looks like we're going to have to go to another area of the town for food. But let's see if we can find something healthy enough for Neo to eat. But I would prefer if you ate something that was more on the lighter side of things instead of a heavy meal."

"What for? She's hungry. Let her eat whatever she wants," Zoro said.

"Yeah! I want spaghetti!" Neo cheered. "And chocolate! Green peppers! A ham sandwich! Tomatoes! Pizza! Sea Pig Meat!"

"That's quite a long list of food you have there," Franky said with a confusing blink while he eyed her smaller body. "Would you even be able to eat that much?"

"I don't care! I'm just really hungry!" Neo shouted happily. "Oh! I know what I really want! King Mackerel!"

"I want meat!" Luffy cried, adding to Neo's excitement.

"Absolutely no King Mackerel!" Sanji said, in a slight panic.  _I know pregnant humans can't eat that, but what about pregnant Elementals? Is it just as dangerous for them to eat? I should have thought of this before. Maybe Law and I could have came up with a list of food that we knew would be safe for her to eat until we got more information on this. Good grief! If I let her eat something that will harm the baby, Law will kill me!_

"Why not?" Neo asked. Her excitement faded a little. She tilted her head and looked at Sanji. "I really, really,  _really_  want it."

"I'm sorry, Neo. It would be best if you didn't eat that," Sanji said. He pinched his cigarette in-between his fingers of his right hand while clenching his left hand, which was hidden in his pocket, in worry.  _Am I going to be able to curb this? What do I do if she really insists on eat that? How can I change the cravings of a pregnant woman without upsetting her? Am I going to have to send her back to Law? He could easily handle this with the control he has over her. Maybe he'll sense what's going on and interfere if Neo becomes unmanageable._  "It's not healthy for you. It contains mercury."

"I've eaten it before," Neo said, slightly pouting. She crossed her arms over her chest and took on a defiance air of a child getting ready to scream until they got what they wanted. "And Law never said I couldn't have it."

"There. She's eaten it before. So she can have it," Zoro said, jerking his thumb at Neo. "Now let's go."

"I can't let her do that," Sanji said with a sharp glare at Zoro. "She's not eating that type of fish. So drop it."

"But, Sanji…" Tears pooled in Neo's eyes. "Why not?"

"I'm sorry, Neo. You're under my care right now," Sanji said. He turned to her with an apologetic look in his eyes and trying desperately not to cave to her big blue, tear filled eyes. "If Law was here, he would agree with me. You can contact him if you want to check. But I know he'd say that I am right on this."

"What's your problem?" Zoro asked. "Just let her have her fish."

"She said she's eaten it before," Franky pointed out again.

"I said 'No'! She can't have it!" Sanji snapped.

…

"But I…I don't understand." Neo dropped her eyes to the ground and stared at her shoes. Her eyes stung with tears and confusion while she thought about Sanji's words.  _I don't get it. I've eating that fish before. Law never cared. Maybe I should contact Law._  She adjusted Law's hat on her head before movement caught in the corner of her eyes. Her sadness and confusion disappeared when she saw the movement was a light brown and white spotted dog with three puppies. Not giving her friends another look or thought, she walked over to the dogs and kneeled down. The puppies and their mother immediately walked up to her and let her pet their soft fur. She squealed with delight, her confusion and sadness forgotten. "Cute little puppies."

"Hm?" Luffy was the only one to notice Neo wondering away from them and followed her. He ran his eyes over the puppies. Two of them looked exactly like their mother while the other one was solid black with one white spot on its left ear. "Dogs, huh?"

"Yeah." Neo nodded. She held up the black puppy to Luffy. The puppy barked and licked his nose.

"Are you cute?! Do you wanna join my crew?!" Luffy laughed and took the puppy from Neo. The puppy barked and wagged his tail. "Think that he said yes?"

"I think he said he wants to chew on you," Neo replied just as the other two puppies started chewing on Luffy's toes. "See?"

Luffy laughed again. He stroked the two puppies backs as they continued to chew on his toes. "Guess that makes me Captain Chew Toy."

"They would make a cute addition to your crew," Neo said. She turned her attention to the mother dog. Placing her fingers behind the dog's pointy ears, she gave her a friendly scratch.

…

"What's the big deal, Sanji? If she wants fish, then let her have fish," Franky said. "It's not like it'll hurt anything."

"Is this matter settled yet?" Kin'emon asked. "I really would like to move on from this now. Kanjuro is waiting."

"I say it's settled. She can have the fish. Now let's go," Zoro said. He turned from the group with the intent to walk off.

Sanji gritted his teeth.  _Looks like keeping this a secret from them is going to be a lot harder than I thought it would be. I can't let them let her eat that fish. There's far too much mercury in it. I figured I'd have to tell them at some point, but I didn't think it would be this quick. Sorry, Law, but I have to tell them. But first, I need to get Neo distracted so I can…_ Sanji turned back around to Neo. A sweat drop formed on his head when he saw she had already distracted herself with a mother dog and her three puppies that happened to wonder by. And it was clear that Neo was no longer upset about him forbidding her from eating King Mackerel. "Well, that was easy. I guess these pregnancy mood swings come in handy. She's completely happy now."

"You're such a good girl!" Neo cooed to the mother dog while scratching her on the belly with one hand while holding one of the brown puppies in her other hand.

"Yeah! Good girl! Good girl! Ouch! That hurt!" Luffy laughed then screamed with one of the puppies got a little too playful in using the rubber man as a chew toy.

Sanji chuckled at the display then turned back to the three men that were still standing with him but on the verge of leaving. With a sigh, he said, "Look, there's a very important reason we can't let Neo have that kind of fish."

"And what would that be?" Franky asked. "Does she have an allergic reaction to it or something?"

"No, she has no food allergies," Sanji replied. He checked one last time to make sure Neo was still distracted with the dogs before leaning closer to the other men. He lowered his voice and said, "Listen, the reason she can't have it really is because of the mercury content. It's not good for pregnant women. If mercury is consumed during pregnancy it can cause development delays and brain damage to the baby. I don't know how mercy affects Elemental pregnancies, but it would be best if we avoided letting her eat that and other foods that are bad for human pregnancies."

"Oh, so that's why you're so worried," Franky said. He crossed his arms over his chest with an agreeing nod. "It makes sense now."

"Indeed. It would not be good if Lady Neo did consume such a thing while she is with child," Kin'emon said. He too crossed his arms and nodded.

"Well, you should have said that from the beginning," Zoro said. He started to cross his arms too, but paused when everything Sanji said actually sunk into his, Franky, and Kin'emon's brains.

"What?! What do you mean she's preg-" The three started to shout at the same time.

"Shut up, you idiots!" Sanji snapped. He leaped up and kicked them on the heads to silence them before they could reveal anything. He landed and looked back over to Neo and Luffy. He sighed when they were still distracted by the dogs.

"What the heck was that for, you stupid cook?!" Zoro growled. He rubbed his head then pulled out his swords for a fight.

"Shut up and listen," Sanji said. "Neo doesn't know that she's pregnant."

"What?" Franky asked. "Why not?"

"Because Law hasn't told her and she doesn't recognize her symptoms because Law never taught her or himself them," Sanji said. He took out his cigarette from his mouth and pointed it at each and every single one of them. "And no one is going to tell her that she's pregnant."

"You can't be serious," Zoro said. "Why not? She has a right to know that she's pregnant."

"Believe me. I feel the exact same way. But telling her about right now would be a terrible mistake," Sanji said. "You heard what she's been through when she told us about her secrets back on the ship. If she were to know about this, she'll completely freak out. We don't need that right now."

"But this is insane," Franky said, straining to keep his voice low. "Why would Trafalgar let her come into this kingdom knowing we were going to possible get into fights?! She could lose the child!"

"She'll be fine," Sanji replied. He carefully looked around to make sure no one was listening to them. "Remember her body is different from humans. Elementals can take a few hits in the stomach while pregnant and nothing will happen. Their crystals also form a shield around the child so that is an added protection for them. I asked her about this on the ship before we arrived here. I was concerned about this as well."

"Well, that's relief," Franky said with a sigh. He looked over at Neo. She was still playing with the dogs and was oblivious to their conversation. He smiled when she did. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to either of them."

"Indeed." Kin'emon nodded. "We must take even more care with her."

"That's fine. But do not do anything that will reveal this secret to her. Law will take care of that when the time is right," Sanji said. "And, whatever you do, do  _not_  let Luffy know about this either. I'm sure I don't have to explain why we need to keep this a secret from him."

"No, you don't need to explain," Zoro and Franky said at the same time while surrounded in a grey cloud.

"That idiot would scream at the top of his lungs if he knew about this," Zoro added.

"Right." Sanji nodded.

"Ah! Ha ha! That tickles! Stop it!" Luffy's laughter broke into the other serious conversation. They turned to find their captain was laying on the ground with all three puppies using him as their own personal chew toy. "Stop chewing on me! Spot it! I mean, stop it!"

"Hey! If you two children are done playing!" Sanji called. "We're ready to go get something to eat!"

"Okay!" Neo wave back to the blonde man before returning her attention to the dogs she and Luffy were playing with. The mother dog had her paws upon Neo's legs. Her tail was wagging happily while her tongue tried to repetitively lick Neo's face. "Sorry, but we have to go now. I'm sure your owners are worried about you. You should take your puppies home now too."

The dog barked.

"What'd she say?" Luffy asked, sitting back up. He held one puppy in his lap while one puppy was on the ground and the other one was hanging over his left shoulder.

"She said their owners aren't home right now. So they don't know they are gone," Neo replied, stroking her hand over the mother dog's head.

"I see. Escapees then," Luffy said with a chuckle. He plucked the puppy from his shoulder and held her up to his face. "You're such naughty doggies."

The puppy barked and tried to bite Luffy's nose causing the young man to laugh in enjoyment.

"All right," Neo then said. She patted the mother dog before standing up. "We really have to go. Sorry we can't stay and play longer."

The mother dog barked and tilted her head, but quickly walked off with her puppies following her. Luffy waved to them and said, "See you later! Go straight home!"

"What now?" Neo asked, seemingly to have forgotten her hunger.

"All right! Well, we're in disguise now!" Luffy said. He planted his hands on his hips and looked at Neo. "I'm still hungry! Let's go get something to eat now!"

"Sounds good to me!" Neo agreed. "I forgot that I was hungry. And that I really wanted-"

"No!" Zoro, Franky, and Kin'emon shouted.

"Uh…" Neo drawled, confused at their sudden outburst.

"Huh?" Luffy blinked. He looked over the three panicked faces of the men who just shouted. "What's wrong with you three?"

"Nothing!" they shouted.

"We were just, uh…" Zoro started.

"Neo can't have King Mackerel!" Franky said.

"Indeed!" Kin'emon agreed. "She cannot have that."

"Huh?" Luffy tilted his head and lifted a confused eyebrow at the men. "Why not?"

Sanji slapped himself.  _You morons. I knew not telling you was the right decision from the beginning. Why did I have to go ahead and do it? If you blow this, we'll have one hysterical woman on our hands. I wonder how far way Trafalgar is. I hope he can warp himself here in seconds when Neo freaks out._

"Oh, that," Neo said before anyone else could speak. She collapsed her hands behind her back and smiled. "I don't want it anymore. I'd rather have spaghetti. It sounds a lot better than fish."

Sanji fell over. He chuckled in disbelief while pushing up on his hands.  _Mood swings and pregnancy cravings. Who knew those could save us? This is crazy. I'm not looking forward to this when I finally get married and have kids. But it will still be exciting when it does happen._

"Uh, Sanji?" Luffy asked, noticing his cook was on the ground. "Are you okay? Did you fall?"

"Ah! No! I'm fine!" Sanji leaped up. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Nothing's wrong at all. Shall we go?"

"Yeah! Finally!" Neo nodded. She then looked around. "But where are we going to go? What sounds good to you all?"

"We'll pick a place that has a variety of options," Sanji said.  _Hopefully it'll be safe for pregnant women to eat there._  He shoved his hands into his pockets as their group started to finally walking off from their current location. "We can order different dishes and share them, if you want. That way we all can taste different types of dishes from this place. I'm really curious about the local foods here."

"Me too!" Neo linked her arm through Sanji's. "Our crew often lets me pick off their plates. They've done that pretty much since I've been with them. They wanted me to try lots of different dishes when we stop at islands."

"You sound like you're a well rounded lady," Kin'emon said.

"Well rounded?" Neo asked. She looked at the samurai. "What does that mean?"

"It basically means that you have studied in a lot of subjects, tried a lot of different foods, experienced different cultures, stuff like that," Sanji replied.

"Oh. Well, I don't know about that. I still have a lot of learning to do," Neo said with a smile. "But I do like learning."

"I can tell," Sanji said with a small laugh.

"Huh?" Neo suddenly stopped walking. She pulled her arm from Sanji's and looked behind them.

"What is it, Neo?" Luffy asked when he and the others noticed she stopped.

"I don't know," Neo replied, softly. "I sense something."

Franky, Zoro, and Kin'emon's eyebrows all twitched. They pulled out their weapons and encased Neo in a tight circle within half a second. Neo blinked in confusion at the sudden reaction of the men and asked, "Uh…what's going on? Why are you surrounding me like this?"

"Stay calm, Lady Neo," Kin'emon said, his eyes scanning for a threat with his sword at the ready.

"We'll protect you," Franky said, his hands out and ready to fire.

"Just stay right there," Zoro added, his hands pulled two swords halfway out of their sheaths.

Sanji sweat dropped before taking in the questioning stares and whispered of the townspeople around them before slapping himself again.  _Another over reaction by these stupid idiots. We're dead. They're going to blow this secret for sure. How stupid can they possibly be? Neo might be naïve, but she's not_ _that_ _naïve. She's totally going to notice something isn't right now._

"Was it another animal?" Luffy asked, completely unaware of the odd nature of his friends in the moment.

"No, it wasn't an animal," Neo said, trying to squeeze through the wall of muscle around her. She sighed when she couldn't get past them and conceded to just standing in their circle until they let her out. "It wasn't a threat either. I'm not sure what it was. I do know that it was really small and running really fast."

"Really small and running really fast?" Zoro asked. He ran his eyes over their surroundings; overlooking the odd stares the townspeople were giving them.

"Yeah. But it  _wasn't_  a threat," Neo stressed. "You can let me out of this circle now."

"Oh," Franky said, stepping away from her.

"Right," Zoro said, sheathing up his swords.

"Forgive the over reaction, Lady Neo," Kin'emon said, also sheathing his sword. "We just wanted to be sure that you were safe. Everything is clear. You can come out now."

"Uh, okay," Neo drawled as she stepped out of their circle. "Well, at least Law will be glad I'm so protected. Even though that was a bit much."

"Ha ha! You guys are weird!" Luffy said with a laugh. He then turned and pointed to a nearby building. "But, anyway, I found a place to eat! Let's eat here! Okay?!"

"Works for me," Neo said with a nod while she inspected the simple stone building before them. "Are we going inside?"

"No point in standing out here anymore," Franky said while he led the way towards their destination.

"Yeah!" Luffy cried. He grabbed Neo's hand and ran ahead of Franky.

Neo smiled at the black haired young man beside her before turned her eyes to the world around her. They weaved through a couple of happily chatting people before finally reaching their destination. Once they reached the building, Luffy opened the door for her and allowed her to go in first. They entered into a welcoming area where some people were sitting, or standing, around talking. It was a simple room with potted plants taking up spacing in the corners, paintings of dancers on the walls, and four red cushioned benches lined the room.

She located another door and could hear more happy chatter coming from behind it along with the clicking sounds of a roulette game currently in progress. Just as they walked up to the second door, a couple walked out of it letting the delicious spices of the food grace her nose. It made her stomach grumble and her mouth water in anticipation of tasting the local food. She placed her hand on her stomach, gently caressing it as if informing the protesting organ that it would soon receive food.

"Welcome," a man said just as they stepped inside the room. Neo turned her eyes to him. He had his head bowed to them. When he lifted up, he gave them a friendly smile. "Please, feel free to sit anywhere you wish."

"Okay. Thank you," Neo said before turning back to Luffy, "This seems like a nice place. Good job picking it, Luffy."

"Yeah, this is a nice place. There's a table over there," Luffy said before guiding Neo towards the table he spotted in the back of the room.

Neo carefully scanned the room and the table's location. There were hardly any tables left open for guests, but they were spread far enough apart that she didn't feel like she was going to be crowded. She had plenty of room to escape if needed.

"Is this table suitable for you?" Sanji asked, stepping up beside her.

"Yes. It's fine." Neo nodded. She looked up at the cook just as their group started to gather around the table. She noticed one of them was missing. "Where's Zoro?"

"Don't tell me that moron got lost again," Sanji grumbled. He looked back over to the door they had just walked through.

"I'll go fine him," Neo said.

"Want me to come with you?" Sanji asked. "You really shouldn't be going anywhere alone here."

"No. I'll be fine. I'm just going to stick my head back out the door to see where he is. I won't leave your sight," Neo replied. She waved back to them from over her shoulder just as she walked back towards the door. She reached out for the doorknob but stopped when something caused her to suddenly freeze up. She tried to get her hand to touch the doorknob, but her body refused to listen to her. She noticed a strange heaviness seeped over her entire body.

"Are you all right, young lady?" a voice asked. She recognized the voice as the one who spoke to them when they stepped into this room, but she couldn't reply. Her hand trembled as it hung there, suspended in the air just an inch from the doorknob. "Hey, are you okay?"

Neo's eyes widened. The door started to open. The heaviness in her body became stronger with each second the door opened. Her mind whirl with regrets of wishing she had stayed with Law. She wanted to fly back to him. But she couldn't move. She wanted to call for Luffy, Sanji, or anyone else to help her. But her voice wouldn't work. She closed her eyes. On the verge of getting sick and calling Law, something tapped against her boot.

"Oh, excuse me," a gentle, but slightly gruff voice said. "I didn't mean to hit you. Are you all right?"

Neo blinked. Able to move again, she looked up at the old man before her and blinked again. She felt it once more. The heaviness was coming from him. But he was just an old man with black hair, a seemingly harmless looking old man with a liking for the color purple in his wardrobe. His yukata, belt, and cloak were three different shades of purple. She wanted to believe he was a harmless old man, but she knew that wasn't right. This man was strong, very strong and possible dangerous. She swallowed. Something was telling her to get away from this man, but something was also telling her she didn't have to run from him.  _Devil Fruit user. This heaviness is from a Devil Fruit. It feels like gravity is slamming down on me. Who is this man?_  Her eyes landed on the scar on his forehead, it came down over his closed eyes. _He doesn't look like a pirate. Is he just a common old man that happens to have a Devil Fruit and wondered into the same restaurant as us?_

"Are you all right?" the man asked again. And, despite having his eyes closed, his face showed genuine concern for her.

Neo opened her mouth to reply to him, but another familiar, friendly voice spoke first. It was Zoro. She felt a huge wave of relief being close to one of her friends again just as he said, "Neo? I thought you were with the others."

"I-I was," Neo stuttered, finding her voice again. Her eyes remained locked on the old man. She carefully studied his wrinkled face, the scar that ran over his forehead and eyes, and couldn't help but notice the old man's eyebrows lift slightly when Zoro said her name. "I noticed you were gone. I was just coming to find you."

"Well, I'm here now. Let's get you back with the others. Excuse me, old man," Zoro said.

"My apologizes. I didn't mean to block the door," the old man said, working his way around Neo.

"It was my fault. I stopped in the middle of the-uh," Neo said, stepping away from the door, before a wave of dizziness washed over her. Her knees buckled underneath her and she slumped forward.

"Neo!" Zoro shot his hands out and grabbed her shoulders before instinctively swooping her up into his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Are you all right? What's wrong?"

"Is she all right, young man?" the old man asked, taking a step closer. "Does she need a doctor?"

Zoro glanced at the old man before turning his eyes back to Neo. "Neo?"

"I'm okay. Just a little dizzy," Neo replied, opening her eyes. She turned her orbs to the old man and felt like he was running his slightly opened eyes over her body before settled his eyes on her stomach. She watched as he kneaded his eyebrows in concentration before they rose upon his forehead once more. She kneaded her own eyebrows and wondered why an old man would do that, especially since he was blind. He couldn't see her at all. "You can put me down now."

"Are you sure?" the old man asked. "Perhaps this young man should carry you to your seat if you're dizzy."

"No, that's not necessary," Neo replied, moving one foot to the floor and give Zoro no choice but to put her down. "It really was just a minor case of dizziness, that's all."

"I can carry you," Zoro offered.

"I'm fine. Really," Neo insisted. She jerked her thumb towards a corner of the room where the bathrooms were. "I'm just going to go freshen up. I'll be there in a minute."

"All right. If you're sure," Zoro said, carefully examining her eyes and her physical stability. He relaxed a bit when she showed no more signs of being dizzy.

"I am." Neo waved to him as she walked off.

…

Zoro started to head towards the group when he noticed the old man was watching Neo move through the restaurant despite being blind. He placed his hand on his swords.  _Is this old man interested in Neo? But why would he? Does he know she's not human? The only way he could know that is if he had Observation Haki. He does have a very strong presence. So I won't be surprised if he did notice she wasn't human. Are we going to have to have a fight right here? He's far too interested in her._

"Well, since you didn't go running of to aid her, I assume that her dizzy spell has come to an end," the old man said. He nodded his head at Zoro then turned and walked away towards the roulette table. "Be sure to take her to a hospital if she becomes dizzy again. Have a nice day, sir."

"Yeah. I'll do that. You too," Zoro replied, carefully watching the old man until he sat down at the gaming table. He glanced back over to the bathrooms just in time to see Neo disappear inside the smaller room. He then turned and headed towards his friends.

…

Doflamingo stared out into his kingdom from his window. He was sitting on the window ceil, running his sunglasses covered gaze over every single bit of it that he could see. It was quiet, despite the sounds he knew was happening below his palace. A sardonic grin pulled across his lips. He knew she was now inside of his boarders. And not because it was inching closer to the time he was to go meet up with Law at Green Bit to reclaim Caesar. Nor was it because of one of his men that had came to him a few minutes ago and informed him that she was wondering inside of his kingdom and with some of the Straw Hats. He could  _feel_  her inside of his kingdom. And he could sense the power she held within her. She was definitely more powerful than the other ones. He knew he was thoroughly going to enjoy this encounter. He was thoroughly going to enjoy giving his sweet little brother, Law, and his darling new sister-in-law, Neo, his wedding gift. He knew they were just going to  _love_  it.

Chuckling to himself, he pushed off the window ceil to go check on that particular little gift. He shoved his hands into his pockets, clutching the silver medallion that was inside his right pocket, and trudged towards his door. Leaving his silent room, he was met with more silence. It was fitting. It was the calm before the storm. And what a large storm it was going to be. It was going to shake the very foundations of his kingdom and of Law's soul.

Lost in his thoughts, Doflamingo wandered through the quiet, beige colored halls, down the stairs to the lowest levels of the palace where one special room was lit up. The light spilled out into the dark stone hallway. He stepped up to it and pushed the door open. He scanned his eyes around the room. The room was filled with several types of scientific equipment that lined the walls and was scattered over countertops and the one blood stained exam table positioned in the middle of the room. It smelled of antiseptics, latex, blood, and death. His hidden orbs then landed on the man inside.

The man was hunched over his cluttered desk. His nimble fingers working fast over what appeared to be murky green tubing. His long light brown hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. Some strands had come loose and was falling over his average built shoulders and his thick framed goggles. Upon sensing the Warlord behind him, the man lifted up from his work and adjusted his goggles over his blood shot black eyes while glancing over at the door. He said, "Ah, Young Master. With your presence here and I to assume it is time to start?"

"Not just yet," Doflamingo replied. He stalked into the room. The closer he got to the man the more he pulled out the medallion from his pocket then slammed it down on the desk. "Are you sure this will work?"

"Absolutely, Young Master." The man shifted his goggles and stared down at the medallion that now graced his table. His body shivered at the power the owner of that thing wielded. "I've been running these experiments for years. I guarantee you will be pleased with the results."

"And they know nothing of this?" Doflamingo asked.

"As I have already told you, despite a few leaving the island, the majority of them have remained. They know nothing of this. And the ones who do know of it have all been eliminated," the man said. "If they had the courage to leave that island once in a while, they might have discovered this…little weakness they have. Their ignorance really does work in our favor."

"You sound over confident," Doflamingo said with a frown. "They are dangerous, aren't they? And this is the first time you've done this in this way. In the past you've been more direct with this."

"Young Master, I assure you, she is connected to this thing," the man said. He lifted up the medallion. It swung from it chain, reflecting light off the crystals that were embedded in its silver base. "It will have the same effect as if we were directly feeding it into her system. But, if you want to be sure, I could always check. You could bring her to me. Or I could go to her. She doesn't know me. I could easily sneak up on her."

"Sneak up on her?" Doflamingo chuckled. "I think you are underestimating her. Despite her apparent childlike nature and appearance, she is not likely to let a stranger walk up close to her without putting up her guard. She's a lot more cautious and dangerous than most seem to notice. And I know Law. Even if he weren't romantically involved with her, he would still teach her to be cautious of those around her, especially when inside their enemy's territory. Besides, I highly doubt that the Straw Hats will let her out of their sights long enough for you to get close enough to her."

"The Straw Hats?" the man questioned. "She's not with Trafalgar? That's a surprise."

"Indeed it is. But this actually works in our favor," Doflamingo said. He sat down on the edge of the desk and took the medallion from the man's fingers. He dangled it in front of his face. "There's no way the Straw Hats are as protective of her as Law is. We'll have a better chance of succeeding with this as long as she's with them. I want you to go ahead and start. But start off slow. I don't want anyone noticing the change in her until Straw Hat is confined inside of the coliseum. As soon as we get the chance, I want you to examine her and make sure everything is going fine. When the time is right, I'll give you the go ahead and you can put this plan into full effect."

"Understood, Young Master," the man said, holding out his hand for the medallion. The Warlord dropped the trinket into the man's hand and left the room without another word. The man waited until he was gone to turn back to his desk. He placed the medallion down on the desk and picked up the tubing he was working with before. Pointing one end of the murky green tubing to the medallion, the tubing started to move on its own. It twitched and stretched out to the four element crystals. The man smiled when the tubing flew out of his fingers and embedded into the crystals like intrusive, pulsing, glowing veins.


	99. Lunch, Gambling, & Thieves

Lunch, Gambling, & Thieves

With his arm slung over the back of his chair, Sanji carefully watched with kneaded eyebrows as Neo walked through the room then suddenly paused at the door for no apparent reason. He became tense when the door started to open and Neo still didn't move. The talking, laughing and clanking of dishes faded away from his ears when he suddenly felt the reason why she didn't move. He tensed up when the person who opened the door appeared. He continued to watch, debating whether or not he needed to go to her. She wasn't freaking out, yet, but he was still concerned with her not moving. Thinking it would be best to go to her, he stood up. He was able to take one step but stopped when Zoro appeared behind the old man. He relaxed and sat back down, but continued to watch the small group of three as they exchanged words. His heart skipped a beat when Neo's legs gave out on her. Still, he remained in his seat and decided to let Zoro handle this since the swordsman kept her from hitting the floor.

But his resolve to let his crewmate deal with this quickly vanished when the green haired man let Neo walk off from him. He jumped up from his seat and rushed towards Zoro just as Zoro came towards him. Sanji hissed angrily at him from his clenched teeth. He said, "You stupid swordsman! What's the matter with you?! We can't leave her alone like that!"

"Just relax. She's fine," Zoro asked, casually. "She's just going to freshened up a bit."

"I don't care! She about collapsed to the floor a second ago! What was that about?!" Sanji demanded.

"She just felt a bit dizzy," Zoro replied like it as no big deal.

"And you let her walk off on her own?!" Sanji shrieked, earning a few annoyed glances from other customers.

"Will you stop shouting?" Zoro asked, twisting a finger in his ear. "What are you? Her babysitter? All she's doing is stepping into the bathroom to freshen up a bit. There's no need to baby her. We can easily see the bathroom door from the table you all picked out. It's not like anyone can sneak in there without us noticing. Besides, she's a big girl. She can take care of herself."

"Yeah, I know. But…" Sanji's voice trailed off while his eyes wondered over to the bathroom. Zoro did have plenty of good points. They could easily guard the bathroom door from a distance. And Neo is a big girl. As long as no one corners her or touches her, she would be just fine.

"Plus, would you really be  _man_  enough to follow her into the  _ladies bathroom_?" Zoro smirked at Sanji. "Do you really thing Trafalgar would like you following her in  _there_?"

Sanji's cheeks flushed. He shoved his hands into his pocket and huffed, "Fine."

"Good. The matter is settled then," Zoro said before he weaved through the tables and chairs, keeping a secret watch on the bathroom door, just in case. Taking a glance at the table everyone else was at he knew the two empty seats besides Luffy were reserved for Neo and Sanji. So when he reached them, he skirted around the table and headed for the only other empty seat with Franky and Kin'emon. He preferred this spot anyway. He could easily see the old man from this side of the table as well as the door to the restaurant. No one would be able to come and go without him seeing them. He plopped down on the chair then crossed his arms and legs.

"Huh? Where's Neo?" Luffy asked upon noticing their female wasn't with Sanji and Zoro.

"She went to the bathroom to freshening up," Zoro replied. "She felt a bit dizzy."

"Good afternoon," a cheerful waitress said with a warm smile and bright green eyes. She plucked a pencil and a small notebook from her apron then looked at the pirates. "Are you ready to order or would you like a few more minutes?"

"Wow! You're gorgeous!" Sanji chirped. He ran his heart shaped eyes over the curvy, black haired woman. "We're so lucky to have decided to sit here!"

The waitress laughed. "You're cute. But don't get too excited. I'm about done with my shift."

"Too bad. I'd like to have gotten to know you better," Sanji said with a wink.

"Must you flirt with every woman on the planet?" Zoro grumbled.

"Just shut up!" Sanji hissed.

"Should we wait for Neo?" Franky asked.

"No, let's go ahead and order," Sanji replied. "I know what she like well enough."

"Very well then!" the waitress chirped. "What can I get for you all?"

…

Neo glanced around the bathroom as soon as she stepped inside of the small room. There were three stalls to her right, all empty which she was grateful for, and three sinks to her left. She tilted her head in confusion when her eyes landed on a light brownish orange couch directly across the room from her. On each of its sides was a small round table. One of the tables held a box of tissues while the other held a small potted plant that looked like it hadn't been watered in quite some time.

"Good grief. People want plants but then won't take care of them. Why bother?" She grumbled while planting her hands on her hips. She huffed in annoyance at the dying plant before walking over to it. She glanced over her shoulder and stared at the door to make sure no one was coming. Once she decided no one was coming towards her, she summoned an earth crystal and a water crystal. Beaming down the earth crystal's glow, she enriched the dirt then refreshed it and the plant with her water crystal. She smiled when the plant sprung back to life and the brownish green vines perked up into a bushel of beautiful white azaleas. "There. That's better. Sorry they forgot about you, little plant."

Satisfied with her work, she turned and stepping over to the sink. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, taking in her disguise clearly. She didn't think it made her look more like a child. In fact, for some reason, she thought she looked older, more mature somehow. She shook her head. With no idea on why she would feel that way, she turned the cold water on, cupped her hands under the running water, and then splashed the cool liquid on her face a couple of times while thinking about the old man she ran into a minute ago.

 _That old man…he's clearly a Devil Fruit user. I have no doubt about that, but was all the power coming from the fruit or from him? He's clearly a strong opponent, but I feel like there's something else there. He was checking me out. I bet he has Observation Haki too. That would be the only reason he was looking at me like that through blind eyes. But still, what about when Zoro said my name? His eyebrows lifted up. Perhaps he's followed along with our adventures. My name has been in the papers quite a lot since I got my bounty. I wonder if he's possibly a Bounty Hunter. Or, worse, a marine. He wasn't wearing a soldier's uniform, but that doesn't mean anything. He could have left it behind so he could check out the town without drawing attention to himself._  Neo shook her head.  _Stop. Don't worry about it. You'll only stress out yourself and put Law on alarm if you do. You've already worried him enough today. Just put it out of your mind. Who ever that old man actually is, he's not an immediate danger to the Straw Hats or me. So we're fine. Let it go for now._

With a deep breath, she summoning a wind crystal and turning the water off. She floated a light breeze around her face to dry off the water droplets left behind. She took one last glance in the mirror before heading back out to her friends. Opening the door to the bathroom, she was met by a middle aged woman carrying a child. Both women were startled at the sudden appearance of the other. The woman said, "I'm sorry. You startled me."

"I was startled as well. Sorry. I guess I shouldn't have opened the door so quickly. Here, let me hold it open for you," Neo said, her eyes dropping to the black pigtailed girl in the woman's arms while she stepped to the side. She tilted her head when an image of herself holding a baby popped into her head. It made her heart flutter with excitement and fear. Her breath hitched in her lungs.

"Thank you very much," the woman said.

"Ank ou!" the child chirped.

"That was very good, Mia," the woman praised. "You're growing up to be such a polite young girl. Isn't it refreshing to hear young children with good manners? I could be biased, since I'm her aunt, but still. Hey, are you okay? You look a bit pale."

Neo forced herself to release the breath she didn't know she was holding. She smiled then said, "Yes, I'm okay. I was just…I'm not really that good with kids. But, yes, manners are a good thing."

"Indeed it is. Have a good day," the woman said as she disappeared into one of the stalls with the child.

"Yeah. You too," Neo mumbled. She walked away from the bathroom, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips.  _That was so weird. This whole day has been weird. First I walk off without Law and without a word to him, then that whole thing with that old man, now seeing myself holding a child? I think I'm going to need a seriously long nap after we leave Dressrosa._

"Hey! There you are!" Luffy said once she got close enough. He patted the empty seat beside him. "We saved you a seat!"

"Thanks, guys," Neo replied. Just as she stepped up to the table, Sanji pulled out the chair for her. "Thanks, Sanji."

"My pleasure," Sanji replied. "We went ahead and ordered. I hope that's okay. I knew you were really hungry and wouldn't want to wait very long."

"That's fine," Neo said, glancing down at the drink before her.

"We got you sweet tea since that's your favorite," Luffy informed her.

"I hope it's not too sweet for you," Sanji added.

Neo picked up the glass. She brought the straw up to her lips and took a small sip of its faded brown liquid. She let the drink linger on her tongue before swallowing. She said, "It's not too bad, just a bit sweeter than I usually drink it, but it's very nice. If I'm not mistaken, the brand of sugar used is really high quality."

"Really?" Sanji asked.

"Yup." Neo nodded. "Thank you for ordering it for me."

"Glad to hear it," Sanji said.

"Are you feeling better, Lady Neo?" Kin'emon said. "Sir Zoro informed us that you were feeling ill."

"Yes, I'm fine," Neo replied with a smile for the samurai.

"What happened?" Luffy asked.

"I'm not really sure. But you should know something about that old man that came into the room a few minutes ago," Neo said. She glanced over her shoulder and looked at the old man. He was still at the gambling table.

"What about him?" Sanji asked.

"He's a Devil Fruit user," Neo replied, quietly.

"Seriously?" Zoro asked. His eyes shot over to the old man. "No wonder I had a strange feeling about him before."

"What kind of Devil Fruit does he have?" Franky asked. "Can you tell?"

"I'm not really sure, but I think it has something to do with gravity," Neo replied.

"Gravity?" Sanji questioned. He glanced back over at the old man.

"I felt a really heavy feeling from him when he was outside of the door. There's something dangerously strong about him," Neo said. She gave each of her friends a look of concern. "I don't believe we're in danger from him, at least right now, but if it does turn out that we have to fight him, please be careful."

"Don't worry, Neo. We'll be careful," Sanji said.

"I wonder how strong he really is," Luffy said.

"You idiot!" Sanji, Zoro, and Franky shouted with a smack to Luffy head. "Don't you dare!"

"What? What'd I say?" Luffy asked, turning his eyes back to his friends.

"You're so silly, Luffy. A strong person approaches and you want to attack it head on whether or not they're a threat," Neo said, suppressing a giggle. "You and your crew's style is definitely different from my own crew. We're way more cautious than you guys are."

"Hold on a second there, kid," Zoro said. " _We_  are cautious. It's our brainless captain that throws caution to the Sea Kings."

"That's super true. Luffy's always dragging us into trouble," Franky said, leaning back in his chair he put his hands behind his head and thought about all the trouble his captain had pulled them into. "But, at the same time, it's fun. And we're still alive so I can't really complain."

"See? It always works out!" Luffy grinned.

"Only because we're extremely lucky!" Sanji and Zoro shouted.

"Hey! Neo! Watch this!" Luffy said before taking the straw of his drink into his mouth. He drew in air then blew bubbles into his drink.

"Geez. He's such a child," Zoro scoffed.

"Yeah." Sanji nodded. He placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. He smiled at his captain and the young woman sitting between them. "But at least he's keeping Neo entertained."

Neo had her arms crossed over the table, her straw was in her mouth as she intently watched Luffy blow bubbles into his drink. She watched as he blew rapidly until the bubbles almost spilled over the top, let them drop back down, then bubbled them up again. Smothering a giggle, she started blowing into her own drink. Both her and Luffy's eyes sparkled with a silent challenge. They then started blowing bubbles into their drink to see who could reach the top without causing their drinks to spill over. They were so drawn into their game they didn't notice the samurai with them growing aggravated. Neo jumped, spilling a bit of her tea, when the samurai slammed his hands on the table and stood up.

Luffy also jumped at the sudden loud bang. He asked, "What are you doing?! What's wrong?!"

"I do not have time for this kind of foolishness!" Kin'emon replied. "I need to look for Kanjuro as soon as possible!"

"Whoa-whoa, relax," Franky said. He reached out and patted the samurai's shoulder. "I know we need to hurry, but we can't just take off through the town. We need information on this place. Besides, you startled Neo with that outburst and caused her to spill her tea."

"Apologizes, Lady Neo." Kin'emon sat back down and bowed his head to her. "I did not mean to startle you. It's just that I…"

"No need to apologize," Neo said, her tone soft and understanding while she mopped up her mess with her napkin and forced herself to ignore his bowed head. "I can understand your frustration. I hate it when my crew gets separated from me and I don't know where they are or what's happening to them. It's natural that you feel so impatient. But, Franky's right. We need to find information on the factory. If we don't, we could be walking into trouble or just wondering the city aimlessly. I promise, we will find him."

"I understand," Kin'emon said. He gave Neo another bow of his head before sitting back in his chair. "You are very kind and patient."

"And speaking of patient," Sanji said while he looked around the room at all the happy people and toys. "Don't you find it strange how the people are being so calm? I mean their king just abdicated from the throne this morning. I was sure there would be more confusion and chaos through out the town. But everyone's carrying on like it's just another day of the year."

"Is it possible that they don't know yet?" Neo asked.

"No, that's not possible," Franky replied.

"Why not?" Neo questioned.

"The people seem happy to have Doflamingo as their ruler. So, if he were to suddenly leave the throne, then they would be upset and be demanding answers," Franky explained.

"I'd assume it would be like how the Elementals felt when you refused the throne to your own kingdom," Sanji whispered while leaning closer to Neo's ear. "People tend to get pretty upset when their royalty suddenly abandons them without any answers as to why."

"Oh." Neo nodded. She stared down into her tea and thought about how upset her people were when she refused to take the throne. "My people were upset when I didn't want to rule over them. But they did calm down after I told them the reason why I didn't want to stay on Luminous and got to know me, Law, and our crew."

"Let's just ask someone then," Luffy said, turning to the man at the next table beside them. He reached for the man and called for him. "Hey, pops! I've got a question for you!"

"Don't do that, you idiot!" Sanji screamed.

Neo ducked down just as Sanji stood up and dropped his foot on top of his captain's head. With a nervous blink at Sanji's leg in front of her face, she said, "Uh…"

"Hey! What's your problem?!" Luffy demanded, rubbing his throbbing head while turning a sharp glare at his cook. "I was just going to ask what was happening here! Nothing wrong with that!"

"Why don't you think for once?! Your ugly mug was on the front page of the newspaper this morning!" Sanji shrieked. "We're not supposed to be drawing attention to ourselves!"

"Says the one who kicked our captain and is shrieking at the top of his lungs," Zoro said, casually.

"What did you say?!" Sanji demanded. "Do you wanna take this outside?!"

Before Zoro could answer, and escalate their fight, cymbals bang together right next to their table. The group looked up to see another marionette toy, a monkey styled one, holding their meals in his hands and arms. He said, "Here's your order. Thank you for waiting…or not."

"Finally! Here it comes! I couldn't wait any longer!" Luffy exclaimed, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Dress Shrimp Paella! Rose Squid Ink Pasta! And Fairy Pumpkin Gazpacho!" the toy said as he placed the dishes down on the table.

"Wow! Everything looks so yummy! Let's eat!" Luffy said, already with a plate of food in his hands. He scooped up a fork and started shoveling it in at an impressive speed. "Yum-yum! So good! Hurry up and try some, Neo! It's incredible!"

"Sanji? What's Fairy Pumpkin Gazpacho?" Neo asked as she inspected the dish in Sanji's hands just as curiously as he was. "I've never heard of it before. I see onions, tomatoes…"

"I haven't heard of this particular dish either. But Gazpacho is typically a soup made of raw vegetables and served cold," Sanji replied. He then turned to the toy that brought them their meal. "Excuse me, uh, sir, but what exactly is Fairy Pumpkin Gazpacho?"

"Um, that's…in this country, we still believe in a myth about fairies!" the monkey toy said. "Or not! That dish was named in their honor."

Neo watched and listen to the toy with peaked interest while she filled her plate with some of the pasta dish that it brought. She then picked up her fork and twirled it into her pasta before taking a bite. She chewed on it thoughtfully as she thought about the toy's words. Swallowing before she asked, "Fairies and myths?"

"What kind of myth?" Luffy asked through his mouthful of food.

The toy banged its cymbals before he said, "Well, people around here claim to see fairies! Or not!"

"They see fairies?" Sanji asked. "No way. Fairies don't exist."

Feeling suddenly playful, Neo poked Sanji in the ribs and gave him an innocent grin when he looked at her. Whispering she said, "I can be considered a fairy."

"Uh." Sanji blinked and laughed nervously. "I suppose you are correct. I'm sorry."

"Yes! It is interesting, is it not?" the toy said, bent down to Sanji's face, getting a little too close for the cook's comfort. It banged its cymbals multiple times while speaking. "This has been going on for centuries! Even though most of us haven't seen them, they do exist! People call those fairies the guardian deities of Dressrosa! Or not!"

Taking more bites of her food, Neo watched the toy carefully. Her body was still riddled with a ton of playfulness. She ran her eyes over the toy as if she was trying to figure out how the thing was moving and talking on its own. Suddenly, she dropped her fork then turned around in her seat. Getting up on her knees, she leaning over the back of her chair and grabbed a hold of the toy's mouth. Pulling it towards her, she said, "How are you talking?"

"Huh?!" Sanji, Zoro, and Kin'emon gasped at the sudden, out of character, bold move that Neo just did.

"Ha ha! She's so funny!" Luffy laughed at Neo's antics.

"Super cute!" Franky added with a laugh of his own.

"W-at ar- u do-ng?" the toy tried to ask while simultaneously trying to escape from her grasp. The wiggling caused Neo's chair to tip over onto its back legs. Sanji gasped. Throwing out his arms, he grabbed a hold of the chair's back with one hand while wrapping his free arm around Neo's waist.

"Neo! What are you doing?!" Sanji asked.

"I want to know how you can talk like that and move like that!" Neo said while trying to peer inside of the toy's mouth. She tugged on its jaw, its arms, and its strings before going back to its mouth. "Are you a robot? Or maybe a cyborg? Or someone in a costume? There's so many of you around the town! Tell me how this is possible! I really, really want to know! Did someone make you all?"

…

"Oh, isn't that cute!" a woman squealed. "The little girl wants to play with the toy!"

"Well, she's in the right place for that," the man beside the woman said. "But she's playing a bit too rough. Don't you think?"

"Leave her alone, dear," the woman said, she smacked her apparent husband on the arm. "She's not hurting anything."

"I think the toy would disagree," the man grumbled.

…

"Do something, you stupid cook!" Zoro hissed, glancing at the people around them. "She is drawing attention to us!"

"Don't call me stupid, moron! I'm trying!" Sanji said, still trying to keep Neo from falling over. "Neo, please, leave the toy alone now!"

"But I want to know how this thing is speaking and moving on it's own!" Neo replied, keeping her eyes and hands on the toy. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"

"I d-n't kn-w! N-w et nee go!" the toy pleaded.

"Did he say he didn't know?" Zoro asked.

"If these toys are intelligent, how could they not know?" Franky asked. "Didn't someone tell them?"

"I do not know," Kin'emon said.

"Come on! Tell me! Please?" Neo asked, turning on her charms. She tugged the toy closer to her face and batted her eyelashes at it.

"Good grief," Sanji said with a huff as he struggled to keep Neo from falling out of her chair and on top of the toy. If that happened, he wasn't sure what Neo would do to the toy. "Neo, if you do not release that toy right this second…you…you will not be allowed to play with the next dog you see!"

"Huh?" Neo stopped pulling on the toy and looked at Sanji. "I won't get to play with the puppies?"

"No, you won't," Sanji said, loosening his hold on her when it was clear she wasn't going to struggle away or pull on the toy anymore. "Now, are you going to release him and behave? Your meal is getting cold."

"Okay!" Neo relented. She released the toy completely and it scampered away from them. She sat back down in her chair with an innocent, almost angelic, smile. "I'll behave! I'll behave! I promise!"

"Good girl," Sanji said with relief. He patted her on the hat before sitting down himself.

"Ah! Well, you travelers, please take care of yourselves! Or not! I'm out of here before she decides she wants to tear me apart!" the toy screamed as it stumbled back from the pirates.

"I'm kind of shocked that worked. Why didn't you just forbid her from having dessert if you were going to treat her like a child?" Franky asked. He pushed his sunglasses up from his eyes and took a closer look at Neo. "That was extremely odd behavior for her. I never expected her to reach out and grab anyone, toy or other wise, like that."

"Well, it looks like she's completely comfortable with the toys now," Zoro said before taking another bit of his meal. He chewed on it while watching Neo happily devour her pasta while humming to herself. "And that's a good thing…I think. Might not be if she's going to go around assaulting toys like that."

"Neo's not big on sugar since she didn't grow up eating it," Sanji replied to Franky. "That's why she only drinks lightly sweeten tea. If she eats too much of it, she'll get sick. So forbidding dessert really wouldn't have much effect on her. It was much simpler and more effective to ban her from what she really loves. And that would be animals, besides Law and her crew. As for her behavior, I believe playfulness is part of Elemental, uh…you know. That thing we were talking about earlier concerning her."

The pirates and samurai carefully glanced at Luffy. They all breathed a sigh of relief when the rubber man was far too interested in his food than their conversation. They all then lean in towards each other over the table. Franky said, "That makes sense. No point in forbidding dessert if she doesn't want it to begin with. But what did you mean about the playfulness being part of an Elemental pregnancy?"

"It's mostly a guess. Law mentioned it when he was listing off Neo's odd behavior back on the Sunny when we were talking about this," Sanji whispered.

"So her pregnancy symptoms are going to be different from a human's?" Kin'emon asked.

"Some is, I assume. Some that Law listed off when we were on the ship were identical to human symptoms," Sanji replied. "But considering she's not human, it makes sense that her some of her symptoms will be different from what we're use to."

"This is just so weird," Franky said as they all turned their eyes to the inhuman woman with them. "I think I'm going to want to read up on her culture. It sounds like it might have some super interesting events in it."

"Yeah. I think I want to as well," Sanji said with a nod. "It might be best for all of us to do that, especially since we're in an alliance now."

"Don't you think that's a little presumptuous?" Zoro asked.

"What do you mean?" Franky asked.

"We're only allies with the Heart Pirates until we take down Kaido," Zoro pointed out. "She might have offered books to you and Robin, but they haven't even told us where her home island even is. They might not want us to know about her culture since we'll go back to being enemies after our common goal is finished."

"You're forgetting one thing," Sanji said with a frown.

"I'm not forgetting anything!" Zoro snapped.

"You're forgetting our brainless captain," Sanji said. He jerked his thumb towards their glutton of a captain. The men turned their glazes to the rubber man just as he shoved an entire lobster into his mouth then gave Neo a lobster smile before chewing and swallowing it. Neo smiled and clapped for Luffy eating the thing and not choking on it.

…

"Watch this, Neo!" Luffy said. He forked the lobster and shoved it into his mouth.

"Eek! Don't choke, Luffy!" Neo gasped.

Luffy smiled at her. He chewed the lobster up and swallowed it then smiled again at Neo.

"That was incredible!" Neo clapped. "You're crazy, Luffy!"

"You think so?" Luffy laughed.

"I know so. You eat food like Godfather drinks alcohol," Neo said.

"Probably. Shanks and his crew sure can drink," Luffy replied.

…

"He's never going to let her go now, is he?" Franky asked.

"Not a chance," Sanji said with a sigh. "Especially since he knows that she's Shanks' goddaughter."

"But you two pirate groups are technically enemies," Kin'emon said. "How are you going to be friends and enemies?"

"Trust me, Luffy can easily pull that off," Sanji replied. "He has plenty of friends who are also enemies. It'll be difficult when the time comes for our two crews to fight, but Neo and Law are our friends. Our fight will probably be more of a friendlier, let's see who's the better fighter, type deal. And I highly doubt Neo will fight us herself. She clearly isn't the time to fight someone head on, at full strength, unless they hurt someone she cares about."

"It's going to be interesting to see how this all works out," Zoro said. He sat back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. "I can't wait until she becomes a better swordswoman so I can spar with her again."

"Is that all your thinking about? Your next sparing session with her?!" Sanji growled.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Zoro glanced at the cook. "She offered to fight me with her crystals. I want to see how I stand up to her when she's stronger and has more will to fight me head on."

"You are an idiot," Sanji glowered.

"But that reminds me, her pregnancy is why you were so concerned about our sparing session back on the Sunny, wasn't it?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah." Sanji nodded.

"So you've pretty much known about this whole thing since she and Trafalgar set foot on the Sunny?" Franky asked.

"Pretty much," Sanji replied.

"I don't believe it!"

"How is that possible?!"

"He got it right again! That's fourteen times in a row!"

"So what's going on over there? It's a kind of noisy," Franky said when several people shouted out over the other calm chatter in the room.

"It's just a roulette game. Some blind man is on a winning streak," Zoro replied.

"Huh?" Neo, catching the mention of a blind man, looked to her left towards the excited chatter of the roulette game. Her eyes landed on the purple clad old man that she had run into before. She placed her elbow on the back of her chair and rested her head on her hand while watching the old man. "It's that old guy again. Is he really winning?"

"Looks like it," Sanji replied.

"He did it again!" a voice cried out. "That's fifteen times in a row!"

"Fifteen times, huh? Sounds like he has just as much luck as I do when I play poker with the crew," Neo said, thoughtfully before a small wave of homesickness washed over her. "I miss them. Geez. I hope I don't start crying."

"You have good luck in poker?" Franky asked.

"So I've been told," Neo replied with a smile. Her homesickness faded thanks to the cyborg's question. "I won fifteen times in a row before."

"Remind me to never play with you then," Zoro said. "I'm broke often enough as it is."

"No worries. Law doesn't let me play for money anyway," Neo replied.

"He doesn't?" Zoro asked. His eyebrows lifted up on his forehead.

"Nope. I don't mind. I don't want to take my crew's money anyway. They're my family. I'd feel guilty for taking their money that I'd just give it back at the end." Neo smiled. She reached across the table and plucked a shrimp off the plate then popped it in her mouth. She chewed it sadly while thinking of her crew again. She swallowed then said, "I wonder what they're doing right now."

"Probably missing you like crazy." Sanji placed his hand on top of Law's hat. "Don't get sad now. A little bit longer and we'll be leaving this place. Then we'll be setting sail to Zou where you'll be reunited with your family."

"Yeah. I'll try not to get sad." Neo nodded. She grabbed another shrimp then turned back to watch the old man with curiosity. While nibbling on her shrimp, she watched the old man receive gratitude from those he helped get rich and offerings of some of their winnings. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck perch up when the old man looked in her direction. Or she thought he looked in her direction. With him being blind and still talking to the group around him, she wanted to deny that he really did glance her way. But she could tell that he did. He was looking right at her.

Strangely feeling calm, she settled her chin back on her hand and continued to watch the old man until a group of shady looking men and women walked into the room. At the head of the group was a tall, blonde man wearing a black mask of decent build. He spoke to another man who was stand at the door before they gathered around the old man. Her instincts instantly picked up on the fact that this particular group of people was up to no good. Their overconfident smirks and leering gazes reminded her of a predator locking its gaze on its prey with an intense desire to sink its teeth into the warm blood of its victim. It's a look she has seen many times in other pirates and bounty hunters, a look that Law taught her to keep a close look out for.

Soon the clicking of the roulette game refilled the air. From where she was sitting she saw the old man place down his bet and call out the color white. When the clicking stop, she could tell just by the looks on the groups faces that the old man really won the round. She didn't have to hear them call out the wrong color to know the truth, but the apparent leader of this group called out the color black. She watched it happen again. One more time, two times, three, four, five times they said the old man lost.

"What's the matter with them?" She heard Sanji asked. But she didn't look at him. She didn't look at anyone. She let Law's hat brim fall over her eyes. Casting a dark shadow over her eyes while her crystals appeared up by the ceiling and the wind picked up outside. She gritted her teeth as a low rumble of thunder released from her. She shot up to her feet. Before she could take a single step, a familiar hand clasped onto her shoulder. She glanced at the owner of the hand.

"Luffy?"

"I'm going with you," Luffy said.

"Thanks, Luffy," Neo replied with a smile. She closed her fingers around his hand when he slipped his warm palm into hers. She then walked off with him without giving the others a glance.

"Is it safe for her to go off with him like that?" Kin'emon asked. "We have no idea who those people are. Or how strong they are."

"She'll be fine. Besides, we're here to back them up if needed," Zoro replied, keeping his eyes locked on Neo.

"Still, I think I'll walk a little closer," Sanji said, standing up. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked off in Luffy and Neo's direction. "Just in case."

…

"Geez. They're doing it again," Neo grumbled while her and Luffy walked closer to the gambling table. She scanned her eyes over the people ripping off the old man. Carefully studying their shapes and sizes and possible skill level, she knew she could instantly beat them with her crystals. But they were trying to avoid drawing attention to themselves. And using her crystals would really draw attention to them. And none of them looked to be Devil Fruit users, so she figure she would be fine facing them in hand to hand combat if it came to that. Besides, she had the Straw Hats and Kin'emon behind her. So she let herself relax and follow Luffy's lead while keeping her sense open to make a move if necessary.

"White!" Luffy said, making Neo jump from her thoughts.

"Huh?! Who the heck are you?!" Neo glanced up at the man who spoke. It was the blonde man with the black mask who had been the main one lying to the old man. Her eyes slightly widened when she sense another man closing in on her from her right side.

"Hey! You two! Get out of here!" the second man said.

Neo whipped around just as the man started to reach out for her. She clenched her fists, her heart on the verge of taking erratic beats when Sanji's hand shot out and slapped the man's hand away from her. She gasped, "Uh, Sanji."

"Keep your filthy hands to yourself," Sanji said with a sharp glare at the man. "A gentleman should know better than to grab a young lady like that."

"You little…" the man started to say. He flinched when Sanji's already sharp glare sharpened to daggers. He stumbled back. "S-sorry! I won't do it again!"

"Good," Sanji said. He stepped closer to Neo, making sure to keep enough open space for her to escape from if she felt like she needed it.

"Thank you, Sanji," Neo said, relieved that no one stranger was going to touch her. She turned just in time to see Luffy raising his fork up high. Her heart skipped a beat when she thought he was going to ram the pointed object into the blonde man's face. She released her held breath when all Luffy did was fork himself another bite of his food. She mentally chuckled.  _I should have known. Luffy cares more about his food than picking a fight. Besides, he's not the type to stab someone with a fork like that._

"Look again! It's black, you idiot!" the blonde man screamed.

"It's white! Old man, you win!" Luffy shouted.

"What?!" the old man asked.

"You jerk! Stay out of this!" the blonde man hissed.

"That's right! This is none of your business!" a woman said.

"Do you want to get your butt kicked?!" a bald man asked as he and his friends pulled out swords and guns. They aimed them at the pirates.

Neo's eyebrow twitched at the move. But she kept herself calm while eyeing the enemy and possible battle strategies.

"D-did I really win?!" the old man asked.

"Yeah, you win," Luffy replied.

"I don't know who you are, but thank you for your kindness!" The old man smiled.

"No problem. Neo was the one who really wanted to help. Besides, I just said what I saw. That's all," Luffy replied. "I'm glad for you. But, old man, you look really strong-"

"What you're doing is so senseless, you brat!" the blonde man shrieked. "I said that it was black! That means it is black! He can't see anyway so it doesn't matter!"

"You're so annoying!"

"Go away!"

"You jerks! It does too matter! You were cheating him!" Neo shouted, her anger building up in her chest. "How can you act like that?!"

"Shut up, you brat!" a man said. He pointed his sword at her then charged.

Neo flinched when the man ran at her. She jerked to her right when the man swung his sword at her.  _Great. How am I going to fight him without using my crystals? I can't touch him or I'll freak out. I need some kind of weapon. But what could I use? I don't want to break anything in here._

"Hey! You leave her alone!" Luffy and Sanji shouted.

Neo jumped to her left. She turned to do a roundhouse kick on the man, but stopped when the guy tripped and fell to the floor. She blinked. "Huh? What happened?"

"Oh no, did I trip a boar or something? If so, I'm sorry," the old man said. He then turned in Neo's direction, causing her to flinch. "Are you all right, young lady?"

"Uh, yeah." Neo nodded. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," the old man said with a nod of his own. "Please, go back with your friends. I do not wish to harm you with what I'm about to do next."

"Uh, sure," Neo said. She kept her eyes on the old man while skirting around him then glanced around at all of the men surrounding him as she walked over to Sanji and Luffy. "What do you think he's going to do?"

"Dunno," Sanji replied. "Guess we'll see soon enough."

"This is no good. Young man, would you and your friends mind stepping back? I'm going to send these people to hell," the old man said before pulling out a sword from the stick he guided himself with.

"Huh? That walking stick is a sword?" Neo asked.

"Looks like it," Sanji said, guiding her a few steps back from the old man.

"Kill him!" the blonde man shouted.

Neo blinked. She watched as the old man easily dodged the group's attacks and disarmed them with just a few short seconds. Then he just turned around and started walking back through the group in a very calm manner while slowly sliding his sword back into its sheath before his attackers fell to the floor. Crackling and creaking slipped into everyone's ears.

"What did he just do?" Sanji asked.

"Uh." Neo's eyes widened. She stumbled forward.

"Neo!" Sanji shouted. He shot out his arms and grabbed her. "What is it? Are you feeling dizzy again?"  
"N-no," Neo stuttered. Struggling to lift herself up, she glanced at the old man. "It's his Devil Fruit. He used it just now. I can feel the pressure of the gravity he's released. I'll be okay. I just need to adjust to the pressure. There's just so much of it."

"Are you sure you're okay? You look a bit pale," Sanji said, running his eyes over her with concern.

"Yes, Sanji, I'm sure. See?" Neo stood up straight again. "I'm fine. I just need to adjust. I've gotten more use to how Devil Fruit powers feel, but something, some of them are so strong that I still need a minute to adjust to their power."

"Devil Fruits really effect you like that?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah. I don't know why though," Neo replied with a shrug. "I guess it's because a human is manipulating the element of nature, just like that old man did, instead of nature doing it itself. It bothers me a bit when Nami manipulates the weather."

"I think I understand," Sanji said.

"Brace yourself," Neo said. "The floor's about to cave in."

Sanji didn't get a chance to reply. The floor's creaking increased and suddenly broke apart with loud snaps. Screams from the men and women sound out through the room before they fell into the hole that was now occupying the middle of the floor. He put his arm out in front of Neo, guiding her and himself back from the hole even more just incase the damage was greater than the old man had intended for it to be. "What the heck?! What's wrong with that old man?!"

"Well, at least it's ove-Huh?" Neo blinked when she felt the presence of the little creature she felt outside again. She looked around the room for the creature.

"Excuse me, young lady," the old man said.

"Huh? What?" Neo blinked again. She brought her attention to the old man who was now standing in front of her.

"I apologize for the disruption I have caused you," the old man said. "I hope I didn't do any damage to you or yours."

"Damage? Uh, no, I'm not hurt," Neo replied. "None of us are."

"I'm glad. Have a good day," the old man said, turning from her and Sanji. "Perhaps we'll meet again."

"Maybe. You have a good day too," Neo replied. She watched in confusion as the old man headed walk away from them, stop at the front deck to hand the cashier a piece of paper, before heading for the door. "That was weird. It was kind of like back on Sabaody when the Dark King apologized for using his Haki around me."

"Hold on a second, old man! You're really strong! Just who are you?!" Luffy asked.

"I think that it would be better for both you, the woman, and myself if I didn't answer that," the old man replied before disappearing out the door. The door shut with an ominous click, leaving everyone in stunned silence. Quickly following was a tension breaking crash and an angry shout.

"What the heck?! Are you blind?!"

"I-I'm sorry. Did you get hurt?"

"I wonder why he said that," Sanji said. "Do you think he's extraordinarily infamous or something?"

"Whoever he is, he is not an ordinary man," Zoro said.

…

"Ah! My bag is gone!"

"So is my watch!"

"I can't find my wallet!"

"Oh no! My jacket got stolen, too!"

"Stuff got stolen? In broad daylight? Must have happened while there was dust everywhere!"

…

"People got robbed?" Neo asked.

"So that old man was a thief?" Sanji wondered.

"But how? We were watching him the whole time. He didn't move from our sight," Neo said. She suddenly gasped. "Ah!"

"What is it? What's wrong?" Luffy asked.

"I forgot! I sensed that creature again!" Neo replied.

"Creature?" Luffy and Sanji asked.

"That strange creature I felt outside just before coming in here," Neo replied.

"Ah! There are only two here!" Zoro then shouted.

"What's the matter?" Kin'emon asked.

"One of my swords is missing!" Zoro replied, picking up his remaining two swords. "My Shusui! It was here just a minute ago!"

"What?! The national treasure of the Wano Kingdom?!" Kin'emon screamed. "Where did it go?! What are you going to do?!"

"They stole from everyone," a drummer toy said. He pounded on his drums before speaking again. "It was fairies who took your stuff."

"What are you talking about?!" Zoro demanded. "Is that the name of a group of thieves?!"

"Fairies are fairies. All you can do is laugh it off and let it go," the toy replied.

"Laugh it off?! I can't just do that!" Zoro snapped. "It's my sword and I want it back."

 _Guardian deities? Fairies? Why would anyone just look away from someone stealing from people like that? What if they stole something very important? It doesn't make sense. I wonder if there's more behind this whole thieving fairies thing. I bet there is. People are far too relaxed about this._  Neo blocked out the people in the restaurant at that point. She scanned her eyes over the room, trying to locate the creature that she knew was still there.  _It's moving so fast. But what_ _is_ _it?_  She then found the creature heading towards the window. She shot out her hand and grabbed Zoro's sleeve with one hand while pointing towards the window with her other hand. "Zoro! There!"

"Huh? What?" Zoro asked, turning from his argument with Kin'emon.

"Your sword!" Neo replied.

"Huh?" Zoro looked to where she was pointing. He blinked at a brown bag bouncing across the floor then leaped up to the open window where it got caught because of his sword. He dashed off towards the supposed fairy. "You got far too greedy, fairy! You won't get away from me!"

"Zoro! Where are you going?!" Luffy asked.

"Zoro! Wait! I'll come with you!" Neo announced while running after him.

"What?! No!" Sanji freaked. He ran after the two as fast as he could. "Neo! Come back! If you go with him, you'll get lost and we'll never see you again!"

"Wait a second, Zoro! Geez! He's so reckless!" Neo gasped as Zoro ignored her calls and busted right through the window. She followed him without thinking. Tapping her foot on the window ceil, she leaped out the window and landed on the ground with ease. She shot herself back up and quickly followed after Zoro through the town. "Hey! Zoro!"

"Neo! Where did it go?!" Zoro demanded.

"Left!" Neo replied, catching up to the swordsman when he paused. She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him down the alley where the creature was heading.

"I see it! Your skills sure do come in handy!" Zoro said.

"Thanks. I can fly us, if you want," Neo said. "It would be fast than running."

"Hold off on that for now! I won't let that thing get away from me!" Zoro replied.

"Neo! Wait!" Sanji cried from behind them.

"Sanji!" Neo smiled over her shoulder. "You followed us!"

"Of course I did! Do you have any idea how lousy Zoro is with directions?!" Sanji replied.

Neo smiled at the cook before turning her eyes back in front of her. She locked her senses onto the creature to make sure she didn't lose it.


	100. Chasing Fairy Thieves

Chasing Fairy Thieves

"Oh! Come on!" Usopp shouted. "We can't cross over that thing! Didn't you hear what that guy said?! Those Fighting Fish attack an iron bridge! We're not that strong! We'll be like toothpicks to those things!"

"No. We're not changing anything," Law repeated, taking a drink of his coffee. He jerked his thumb to the passing people around them. "What concerns me more is the state this country is in. Their king just quit suddenly. Yet, they're carrying on like nothing has happened."

"That's what I'm worried about!" Usopp hissed at Law. He then turned to Robin when he noticed she was pulling her hat lower over her eyes. "What's wrong? What are you doing, Robin?"

"Shh." Robin placed her finger over her lips. When she did this, the group looked around to see what caused such a reaction from the woman.

Caesar screamed, his eyes and tongue popping out of his mouth, when he saw what Robin did.

"Who is that?" Usopp asked when three very tall people, dressed in white coats and tribal masks painted on their faces walked by them.

"CP-0," Law replied.

"CP-0? Do they have anything to do with CP-9?" Usopp asked.

"They are the strongest intelligence organization in the world. Cipher Pol Aigis Zero. They're the greatest of all of those organizations," Robin replied in a hushed voice.

"What?! CP-9 about wiped us out! And this group is stronger than them?!" Usopp struggled to keep his tone low so no one could hear him. He didn't want to draw any attention to them, especially from a group of people that were stronger than CP-9.

"Nothing good can come from them being here," Robin said.

"Indeed," Law said. He pulled his eyes from the people of the town, trying to push their bizarrely calm attitude about their king abandoning the throne and the presence of CP-0 from his mind as the men from that organization walked away from them.  _I hope they don't run into Neo while they're here. Judging from where she is and the location of the docks, they shouldn't run into each other. Hopefully._ "Drink up. We need to get going soon."

"Fine! But get Neo back here!" Usopp demanded. "She's good with animals! She surely could tame the Fight Fish or something! Then we could easily cross over!"

"That's right!" Caesar chimed in. "Or, at the very least, she could use her water crystals to push back the ocean! That way the water will be pushed back away from the bridge and we can cross safely! The Fighting Fish won't be able to get close enough to hit us or the bridge."

"I'm not putting Neo under that much stress," Law replied. He glared at the scientist and the sniper from behind his sunglasses while trying to keep his protective rage under control. He couldn't let himself drop any hints to anyone, outside of the Straw Hat crew, that he's more worried and protective of Neo than usual. He was pretty sure Caesar would connect the dots easy enough, if giving enough clues. And he knew without a doubt the man would tell Doflamingo the second he could. And that was the last thing he wanted.

"What are you talking about?!" Caesar asked. "I know she's a lot powerful than you have been letting on! She could easily push back an entire ocean! I know she could! Don't lie to me, Law! Why did you even let her take off on us like that?! She's supposed to be part of  _your_  team! Get her back here! Pronto!"

"You should know better than to tell me what to do by now, Caesar. Besides, Neo can do as she pleases," Law replied. He picked up his coffee and took a sip. "She'll come back to me when she's ready."

"Oh! Come on!" Usopp whined. "I know you can call-Ouch!"

Law shot Usopp a glare from behind his sunglasses while kicking the sniper in the shin.  _Shut up, you idiot! Caesar doesn't know everything about our bond! Do you want to ruin everything?!_

"What's wrong with you?" Caesar asked the sniper.

"I was just-" Usopp started but paused when Robin elbowed him in the ribs. He started to protest again, but quickly realized he almost blew Neo and Law's secret wide open. He sighed. "Never mind. Let's just get this over with."

Usopp took his straw into his mouth and looked over at the damaged bridge. He certainly was not looking forward to this.

…

Neo glanced up from her running. Her eyes roamed over the wavy roofs of the buildings that made up Dressrosa.  _All these buildings look like where built to look like cakes and gingerbread houses. That one looks like an ice cream cake. Those stairs looks like taffy. Those cluster of buildings look like gingerbread houses. Oh!_  And  _that one looks like that cinnamon cake I made for Shachi's birthday that one time. Man, I really loved that cake. It took so long to decorate it. Still kind of sad that most of it ended up_ _on_ _the crew instead of in their stomachs. But, all well, I guess it doesn't matter. We still ate the majority of it. And the crew looked so cute. They looked like cakes themselves._  She giggled when images of her crew spotted in cinnamon cake, white icing, and burning candles on their heads and shoulders popped into her mind. Law wasn't happy with the minor food fight- that was started by accident when a crewmate tripped and smashed his cake into Tero's face- but she easily settled him down when she licked icing off his skin and promised the crew would eat as much of the cake as they could salvage.

"What's up with you?" Zoro asked when Neo suddenly started giggling. "If you keep giggling like that, people are going to notice your bells."

"I can't help it," Neo replied, her eyes trailing hungrily over the buildings around them. A bright smile appeared on her face as her stomach rumbled. "I just noticed that all these buildings look like cakes and gingerbread houses. It reminded me of a little food fight that my crew got into on Shachi's birthday. And it reminded me that I'm still hungry."

"You sound just like Luffy. I guess this just happens when a woman is preg-Ack!" Zoro clamped his hand over his mouth to silence himself. He peaked over at her from the corner of his eye, wondering if she caught his almost slip up. She did.

"What were you about to say about women?" Neo asked. She forced herself to pull her hungry gaze away from the buildings so she could look at the swordsman. Her sunglasses fell down on her nose so her electric blue eyes were revealed to the man beside her. They sparkled at him with innocence and curiosity.

"N-nothing," Zoro replied. He focused his gaze ahead of him. He knew he shouldn't look at her. If he did, he knew he wouldn't be able to lie to her.  _Curse her and her big blue eyes! Why does she have to make me so weak?! I have to be more careful about what I say around her. I definitely do not want or need a hysterical woman on my hands. Focus on running. Focus on getting your sword back._  But, he couldn't stop himself from peaking over at her. She was still staring at him with curiosity and pure innocence and an insanely sweet smile that should not have been possible for anyone to pull off. She blinked. He twitched. Mentally growling at himself, he forced his eyes away from her.  _Focus, stupid! Just keep your eyes ahead of you! Don't let her wrap you around her finger with those eyes of hers!_  "It's nothing. Let's just focus on catching up with that little thief."

"All right then," Neo said. She pulled her eyes away from the swordsman and looked forward. "Turn right here."

"Right!" Zoro nodded, grateful to feel her gaze leave him.  _At least she's not the type to push when someone doesn't want to talk about something._

Unable to stop herself, Neo's eyes returned to the cake style buildings around them. Her mind, and stomach, bombarded her with a list of food she would have liked to eat right there on the spot.  _Pizza, ice cream, turkey sandwiches, pickles, grilled fish, fried rice…Geez. I'm so hungry. And tried._ Neo's eyebrows perched up when she realized she was panting and very tired.  _That's weird. Why am I so tired all of a sudden? Am I getting sick? Is my magic messing up again?_

"Hm?" Zoro peaked over at Neo as they continued to run through the town. He noticed she looked a little out of breath, worn down, and was starting to drop a little behind him.  _Great. Her pregnancy symptoms are in over drive. Food cravings, tiredness, playfulness, if the cook is right on that one. What next? I hope we don't get into a fight any time soon._  "Hey, are you okay? You look kind of tired. You don't have to come with me if you need to stop. I can find that thing on my own."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just fine," Neo replied with a little smile.

"Don't over do it. If you need to stop, just say so. That cook is still following us. He can stay with you," Zoro said.

"That's not necessary," Neo replied. She glanced over her shoulder to check on Sanji. The blonde man was still trailing behind a few yards, but was steadily catching up to them. "There's nothing wrong."

"Well, if you say so. Are we still on its trail?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. She pointed ahead of them. "It went down those stairs."

"Right," Zoro said while moving closer to Neo.

"Huh?" Neo glanced at him when he got closer. "What are you-Oh!"

Neo tensed, her heartbeat increased, when Zoro suddenly scooped her up into his arms. He said, "Hold on! We're taking these stairs in one step!"

"We're doing what?!" Neo asked before Zoro launched them into the air. Out of reflex, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gasped in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Zoro asked, enjoying her expression. "I thought you were use to flying."

"Jumping down a huge flight of stairs is not flying." Neo smirked at him before playfully pinching his cheek. Her heartbeat went back to normal as her body relaxed in his hold. "You're really a silly swordsman, aren't you? You should show this side of you more often."

"S-shut up!" Zoro tried to snap, but his voice came out as a stutter instead. He felt his cheeks heat up and became even warmer when Neo noticed.

"You're blushing!" Neo squealed. She tightened her hold on him and nuzzled his red cheek, completely comfortable in his arms. "You're cute when you blush! I really want to see this side of you more often!"

"Shut up!" Zoro growled through gritted teeth.  _Cursed pregnant Elemental playfulness! Why me? I should just dump her on the ground right here and now! Why am I still holding her?! Ah! Crap! She's got me whooped too! I'm just like that stupid cook! How is that possible?!_

…

"So which way did it go?" Zoro asked when they finally descended from the air and landed back on the stone streets.

"To the right. Over there," Neo replied. She pointed to in the direction she was talking about between two buildings.

"Right." Zoro nodded before running of in the direction Neo pointed in.

"Hey!" Sanji growled when he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Who said you could carrying her like that?! You put Neo down! Right! This! Second!"

"Shut up! She was feeling tired!" Zoro growled back.

"Then let me carry her!" Sanji said.

"No way! You're covered in smoke!" Zoro replied.

"Fine! Carry her! But don't drop her!" Sanji's eyebrow twitched in annoyance that he had no real comeback for Zoro's remark. It was true. His clothes did smell like smoke. And carrying Neo would put her far to close to it. He wouldn't put her or the baby in danger. "And forget about that stupid sword! You don't need three of them anyway!"

"What?! I do too! I use Three Sword Style!" Zoro glared back at Sanji from over his shoulder.

"You two are so funny! And you're so cute!" Neo squealed again. "I want to keep you two! You are officially a part of our crew!"

"What?! Of course you can keep us, Neo!" Sanji cooed. Hearts popped into his eyes as he picked up his running and came to be side by side with Zoro. "We'd love to be apart of your crew!"

"What are you two saying?! We're already part of the Straw Hats!" Zoro said. "We can't be part of the Heart Pirates!"

"Yes. You. Can." Neo pouted. She then giggled at the nervous look Zoro gave her and tightened her arms around his neck. She pecked his cheek and said, "I like you. You're cute."

"Trafalgar won't like you going around trying to recruit new crewmates," Zoro pointed out in a desperate attempt to save himself. "He's the captain of your crew. It's his decision who gets added on."

"He won't mind. I'm co-captain after all," Neo replied. Her eyes grew around and very puppy like. She batted her long eyelashes at the swordsman while making circles on his cheek with her finger.

"She's got you!" Sanji laughed when Zoro's cheeks turned red.

"You're co-captain? Shut up, you stupid idiot cook!" Zoro asked, his cheeks growing warm once again and causing Sanji to laugh even more at his distress. Trying to ignore the playfulness Neo was doling out on him, he turned his eyes back to her. "I thought crews only had captains and vice captains. How are you on the same level as a captain?"

"Well, I  _am_  his _wife_ , right?" Neo moved her finger up Zoro's cheek to his hair. Pinching a lock of his green hair, she tugged on it. "He loves me. So he gave me the same position as him over our crew."

"You command your crew?" Zoro asked. "Get your hand out of my hair!"

"I won't. And, yes, I have command over our crew. Despite never really giving them actual orders, I'm their captain just as Law is. They listen to me out of love anyway," Neo replied, trailing her finger to his earrings. "Your earrings are cute, but I like Law's better. If Law wore a style like this, I think I'd choke on them when I suck on his ears. I know he wouldn't like that. So he'd never wearing a style like this. It looks good on you, though."

Sanji snorted then laughed even harder at the predicament Zoro was in. When the swordsman growled at him, Sanji said, "What? You are the one who insisted on carrying her!"

"I didn't think she'd do something like  _this_ ," Zoro said through gritted teeth. Suddenly, he realized they got distracted and skidded to a stop. He looked around to try and find the thief, since Neo was preoccupied. "Just great. Hey, Neo! Where did it go?"

"Hm? Where did what go?" Neo blinked innocently.

"The thief fairy thing that stole my sword," Zoro replied.

"I dunno," Neo said.

"What do you mean by that?!" Zoro demanded. "You said you could sense it!"

"Why are you yelling at me?" Neo asked, her eyes watered while her bottom lip pooched out. She sniffled. "I didn't mean to make you angry."

"Zoro!" Sanji whacked Zoro over the head. "You made her cry!"

"I didn't mean too!" Zoro gasped. His heart took a couple fast beats at the tears in Neo's eyes. He definitely did not mean to make her cry.

"Apologize, you stupid swordsman!" Sanji ordered.

"I have no reason to apologize!" Zoro growled.

"Y-you hate me, don't you?" Neo asked. Her tears bubbled up over her eyelids as her sunglasses fell down on her nose again. "I wanna go back to Law! You're mean!"

"What?! I am not!" Zoro gasped.

"Apologize!" Sanji hissed.

Giving in with a disgruntled sigh, he said, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"R-really?" Neo sniffed. She brushed her finger under her eyes, wiping away her tears.

"Yes! I'm very sorry! I didn't mean to upset you!" Zoro looked around, trying to find something that would help him solve this problem. He spotted a little blonde girl with an ice cream cone in her hand. Sure Neo didn't care much for sweets, but it had to help, at least a little. Right? "I'll, uh, buy you an ice cream! Would you like that?"

"Yeah! Ice cream!" Neo threw her hands up in the air and kicked her feet. "I want vanilla!"

"Well that was easy," Sanji said with a satisfied smile.

"Shut up," Zoro replied while Neo wrapped her arms back around his neck with hearts floating around her.

"Fine. Let's find her some ice cream then get going," Sanji said. He looked around for an ice cream vendor, but stopped when his eyes landed on a beautiful black haired woman with curves to spare. "Oh, that's…"

"What is it? Did you see the fairy?" Zoro asked.

"No. That's no fairy. She's must be a goddess," Sanji said in a low, mesmerized tone.

"Goddess?" Neo blinked. She looked at the woman that Sanji was talking about. She tilted her head and turned her eyebrows up in confusion. "She's just a human. She's not a goddess. I don't understand."

"Ignore him, Neo," Zoro said, shifting her into a better position. "He's just being a stupid, perverted cook again."

Neo squealed when she saw the love struck look on Sanji's face. She pointed at him and said, "How funny! He looks just like the crew when they're trying to get a woman and have se-hmmph!"

"Just stop talking," Zoro said, quickly setting her back down on her feet and clamping a hand over her mouth.

Neo blinked at him, but didn't try to remove his hand from her lips. She turned her eyes back to the dark haired woman when one of the men beside the woman started strumming a guitar and the other man started singing in a language she's heard before, but didn't understand. She watched as the woman began to dance, in her option, a very complicated dance. The woman stomped her feet, clapped her hands, took spins, pivoted her hips, while holding a rose in her mouth. "What's the point of the rose?"

"I don't know," Zoro replied. "Who cares?"

"Hm?" Neo blinked when the woman stopped dancing and tossed the flower to Sanji while the crowd paid her off with claps of enjoyment at her performance. A frown formed on her lips as she spoke. "Does that mean she likes Sanji? I won't like it if she tries to take him away from me."

"You don't have to worry about that," Zoro replied.

"Why not?" Neo asked, bring her eyes back to him.

"Trust me. There's no need to worry," Zoro said.

"She's beautiful!" Sanji then said.

"Did you forget that women stab men in this country?" Zoro asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "A guy like you will definitely get stabbed if you try anything here."

"I forgot about that," Neo said. Her frown turned into a smile. "Sanji's not going anywhere then. He can get stabbed. Law will fix him."

"Well, I didn't realize you had such a devious side to you," Zoro said to the blue haired woman beside him. "I like it."

"Maybe I do. But Law will fix him if he get's stabbed. Anyway, that was a nice dance," Neo said, her eyes wandering cautiously over the crowd of people around them. She took a nervous step closer to Zoro and tugged on his sleeve. "But I'm bored. Can we get my ice cream now?"

"Yeah. Let's go," Zoro said. He turned from the dancer and walked away with Neo following close behind.

…

"I don't mind getting stabbed!" Sanji shrieked. When he got no snide remark from Zoro, he whipped around. His heart about jumped into his throat when he realized Neo and Zoro were gone. "Ah! That stupid moss head! He wandered off again! And this time with Neo! She's going to be lost to us forever! How could I be so stupid?! I just took my eyes of him for a second! If he get's Neo into trouble I'm going to flambé him!"

Sanji huffed and puffed while imagining Zoro being set on fire. He snickered at the pleasure his imagination gave him before looking around. "Geez. How the heck am I going to find them? They could be anywhere. Law's going to kill me for letting her wander off like this. Wait a second. Neo can sense where Law and Luffy are."

Sanji released a relieved sigh. He put his hands on his hips and smiled. "I was worried for nothing. Neo will be fine. She can always go back to Law. That was her plan to begin with anyway. I can look around. Zoro? Who cares about him? I can say I tried to find him. The crew knows how hard it is at times to find that jerk when he wonders off. Maybe we'll get lucky and leave him here. But then, that would probably make Neo cry. I guess we'll have to find him before leaving. Man. I was so close. Might as well look around for a while. Maybe I'll get unlucky and find him."

Sanji shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away.

…

"Well, that's just weird," Usopp said once his group finally reached Green Bit after a hard struggle with the Fighting Fish as they crossed the bridge. Someone on the other side of the damaged bridge caught and killed one of the fish then drug it to the island. They all stared down at the drag marks in the dirt where the giant fish had been pulled. But the fish was nowhere in sight. It looked as if the fish disappeared somehow. "What the heck do you think happened back there? Who caught that fish? And where did a fish of that size go? It couldn't have just disappeared, could it?"  
"I have no idea," Robin replied.

"Who care?" Caesar grumbled. "I can't believe you took my heart and made me fly all three of you cross that bridge! If you wanted to fly you should have brought Neo with you! Her winds would have been far more effective in flying you lazy bums over here than my gas!"

Blatantly ignoring Caesar's complain, Law listened to others voice the questions that he had too but didn't voice them until he felt Neo's mood becoming extremely playful. Already knowing it was because of her pregnancy, he wondered which of the Straw Hats was at the end of her cuteness attack and what, exactly, she was doing to them. Straw Hat would, undoubtedly, love her playfulness and would be joining her in whatever she was doing. Blackleg would probably love it too and flirt with her, the idea made his chest tight with jealousy. Forcing the Straw Hat flirt from his mind, he wondered how the other three would handle it. Franky appeared to be the type to just laugh it off while indulging her. Kin'emon, he had no idea what the samurai would do. He hoped he didn't try anything inappropriate. But with the others with Neo, he shouldn't. The last was Zoro. The swordsman didn't seem like the type to deal with such playfulness willingly. But Law figured Neo could handle him easily. She had a gift that weakened several powerful men with just a look. Law's jealousy came back at that thought.

"Hey, Trafalgar," Usopp said, sliding up beside the Warlord. Lowering his voice, he asked, "Do you think that Neo could have sensed whatever those things were that caught that giant fish?"

"How should I know?" Law asked, grateful for having his thoughts interrupted.

"You're her husband!" Usopp snapped.

"That doesn't mean I know the answer to that," Law replied as he glided his eyes over the fog that was lifting off the island. "We don't even know who, or what, those people were. They could have been humans for all we know."

"I suppose your correct," Usopp said with a sigh. He pulled his eyes from Law and looked around the clearing island. He gasped when the fog lifted. Building size vegetation greeted the pirates' eyes. "What the heck?! Wow! This is one wild looking forest!"

Law smiled at the large greenery before him. He easily knew that Neo would have loved this place. He could picture her sliding around on the large plant vines that dipped and curved around this crazy forest, diving off the large leafs, dancing around on the large pumpkins and mushrooms. And she would definitively be playing with the animals here. He almost started to feel guilty that he didn't bring her with him. Almost. He wanted to call out to her to come to him. But he didn't. The ominous thought of Doflamingo coming close to her quickly stemmed any desire he had to call her to him. In just about fifteen minutes, the older Warlord would be arriving on this island to reclaim Caesar. Surely he could get Neo to stay away from the island long enough for this exchange to happen.

…

"Hm?" Neo hummed while looking over her shoulder. She saw plenty of blonde men in the crowds around them, but none of them Sanji. "Sanji's not following us anymore."

"Don't worry about him. He's probably still back with that dancer woman," Zoro replied. With his hands in his pockets, he looked around for the thief. His eyes trailed over adults, kids, dogs, toys, buildings, food vendors, but no fairy thief. "I'm sure he'll show up eventually."

"I guess your right. Now for some yummy ice cream. You said I could have some. Remember?!" Neo said as she skipped along beside the swordsman. She poked him on the right shoulder. "Right? Right? Right?"

"Only if you find that fairy again," Zoro said. He cast a sideway glance at her. "Promise?"

"Okay! I'll find the fairy for ice cream!" Neo threw her hands up into the air. She skipped a few feet ahead of Zoro. When her eyes landed on a brown haired man wearing a white shirt selling ice cream cones, she squealed and pointed at him. "There! There! Ice cream!"

"All right, all right," Zoro said. He then gasped.  _What the heck?! I sound like I'm her father!_

"Let's go!" Neo shouted. She grabbed Zoro's arm and pulled him towards the ice cream vendor.

"Good afternoon," the man said. "What can I get for you today?"  
"A vanilla ice cream cone!" Neo cheered. "Two scopes, please!"

The man laughed at her enthusiasm while opening the lid to the ice cream cooler in front of him. He grabbed a cone and scooped out the ice cream while saying, "Well, aren't you just the cutest thing ever? I'll give you an extra scope for free because you're just so cute."

"Yeah! Thank you!" Neo cheered again. She took her ice cream when the man held it out to her and took a lick. The cool creamy treat melted over her tongue. "It so yummy!"

Without thinking, and with a sigh, Zoro pulled out his wallet and paid for her ice cream. The ice cream vendor took his money then bid them a farewell. "Have a nice day. And keep a close eye on your little sister. This is a nice place to live, but we do have some shady characters around here. And I know plenty of them wouldn't think twice about taking such a little cutie as she is for all kinds of dirty deeds."

"Yeah. I'll keep an eye on her. Good day to you too," Zoro said, waving with his left hand while putting up his wallet with the other. While they walked away, he finally realized what just happened with a jaw dropping gasp. "What the heck?! How did  _I_  end up paying for  _her_  ice cream?! And I just practically admitted she was my sister!"

"You're funny," Neo said while licking her ice cream and taking in his jaw dropped expression. "If you keep your mouth hanging open like that, you're going to end up eating bugs."

"Shut up. Eat your blasted ice cream. And tell me where that fairy is," Zoro said with clenched teeth and forced control. His eyebrow twitched when all she did was stare at him with a smile while licking her ice cream. "Well? Tell me where that fairy went."

"But you said to shut up," Neo pointed out. Her eyes sparkled behind her sunglasses when Zoro's eyebrow twitched again. "I can't  _tell_  you and  _shut up_  at the same time. So which is it?"

Zoro growled.  _How in the world does Trafalgar put up with this?_  With a deep, some what relaxing breath, he said, "Don't shut up. Tell me where the fairy is."

Neo hummed and focused her magic on the world around her. Within a few seconds, she turned southwest and pointed. She said, "It went that way. It's slowing down a bit. So it probably ran into a fairly big crowd that it has to dodge around. You know, I think it would be smarter if it ran across the rooftops. No one ever looks up. I learned that a little after I first started training with the crew. It's a good place for an ambush. Plus, the creature wouldn't have to keep dodging everyone."

"Let's just go," Zoro said. He grabbed her wrist and took off running.

"There it is," Neo said taking another lick of her ice cream.

"What?!" Zoro looked up to see the bundle they had been chasing zigzag out of a group of people. "Wait! You thieving fairy!"

"Yelling is not the way to get their attention. They're just going to keep on running," Neo said.

"Just eat your ice cream and follow me!" Zoro replied.

"Okay!" Neo chirped. She turned her eyes down to her ice cream, noticing she already ate half of it.  _That's odd. I usually don't devour sweets like this. But it's just so yummy. At least it's not making me feel sick. I wonder if I don't eat all of this, will Zoro finish it for me like Law would?_   _I wonder what Law is going right now. I can sense him to the north near large plants. They must be on Green Bit by now. I think. How long until the exchange happens? I really don't want Law alone when Doflamingo arrives on that island._  Her eyes brought her attention back to her ice cream and problem on whether or not it would get finished."Hey, Zozo?"

"Zozo?! What the heck did you call me that for?!" Zoro demanded.

"I felt like it!" Neo sang.

"Never mind. What did you want?" Zoro asked.

"If I don't finish all my ice cream, will you finish it for me?" Neo asked.

"Huh? Why would I do that? Just throw it away if you don't want it," Zoro said.

"That's a waste of food. I will not," Neo said with a pout. "You'll finish it if I don't."

"Fine. I don't have time to argue," Zoro said with a huff. "If you can't finish it, I'll finish it for you."

"Yeah! Thanks, Zozo!" Neo cheered.

"Good grief. If she keeps this up, I'm sending her back to Trafalgar," Zoro grumbled to himself.

…

"I'm not going to let you get away, you thief fairy!" Zoro growled when he spotted the bag again.

Neo smiled while she nibbled on her cone.  _I know I shouldn't be enjoying this, but I can't help myself. Zoro is huge compared to whatever that fairy thing is. And yet here he is basically getting his butt kicked by it. Penguin and the crew would rib him about this for weeks. I wonder what they're doing._  Sadness trickled into her chest. _Oh, great. Don't think about them. You'll cry again. Focus on your ice cream and Zoro._  She looked up just in time to see Zoro catching up to the thief. But the thief picked up on its own speed and pulled a head of the swordsman. "You almost had it."

"Almost is not good enough!" Zoro replied, picking up on his own speed again.

"If he picks up on his speed too much I won't be able to keep up without my crystals," Neo said as she watched Zoro skid passed the alleyway that the fairy made a sudden turn down. She caught up to him when he stopped and stared at the crowd in the alley.

"Ah! Where did it go?!" Zoro asked.

"Up on the roofs," Neo replied far too casually for Zoro's liking.

"Why didn't you say that sooner?!" Zoro demanded.

"It just went up?" Neo offered, nibbling on the last few inches of her cone. She pointed up to the roofs. "Are we going after it? There it is."

"You're driving me crazy!" Zoro scratched his head in frustration before running after the thief again. He bolted forward, dodged a couple people, and jumped up onto a red and white painted stone ledge jutting out of a building.

"Hm. Looks like I'm going to get a pretty good workout today," Neo said. She popped the last bit of her cone into her mouth and followed after Zoro. She bent her knees in preparation to follow Zoro's ascend. "Well, Tero and Bepo, let's see if all that training you two put me through will help me keep up with a Straw Hat."

With a good, hearty push, Neo shot herself into the air, without her crystals. She landed on the same stone ledge that Zoro did and followed his path cross the ledges of the buildings while humming a happy tune to herself. Landing on the roof, she started after the swordsman again. Skipping along before she suddenly felt Luffy moving around in a very fast pace. She paused and looked northeast of her position, wondering why Luffy would be moving like that. She heard Zoro cry out and pulled her eyes back to where he was. She gasped when she saw him going flying, head over heels, over the ledge of the roof they were on. "Ah! Zoro!"

Neo summoned her wind crystals. Wrapping the wind around her, she flew herself over the edge. Her heart racing with worry that he had gotten hurt when she could have prevented it. Her eyes filled with tears as she descended back down to the ground and saw him laying on his back. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but stopped when she noticed something blue and out of place sitting on top of Zoro's stomach.

"I have to get out of here! Otherwise this human will…Huh?!" it say before pausing when Zoro lifted his head, his sunglasses falling off, and looked at it. Neo hovered in the air. Her head tilted in curiosity while the little blue thing started crawling backwards away from Zoro. "Excuse me."

Zoro shot his hand out and grabbed the creature before sitting up. He asked, "Who, or what, are you?"

The creature whimpered then started crying. Her tiny, scared, upset voice made Neo's heart squeeze with sympathy. The creature cried, "I'm so dumb! So dumb and stupid and blockheaded! I knew it! I knew that I would fail like this someday!"

"What is this thing? Is this really what they call a fairy?" Zoro asked.

Neo lowered herself to the ground. Bending her knees, she sat down on Zoro's right side while her eyes remained locked on the blue haired, blue clad creature in the swordsman's hold. The creature looked like a tiny human with a pointed nose. Tugging off her sunglasses, she slipped them on the bill of Law's hat and said, "Oh, she's so cute. But what is she?"

"I have no idea," Zoro replied. His eyes, too, were locked on the creature in his hand.

"Oh! Are you all right? You took quite a fall," Neo said, but kept her eyes on the creature.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Zoro replied. "Hey, are you a toy?"

"I'm not a toy! I'm Wicka! A Tontatta!" the creature replied, tears pooling around her blue eyes as she pleaded to them. "Please! You can't tell anyone that you saw me! I'm begging you!"

"I have no idea what's going on here," Zoro said.

"I don't have time for this!" Wicka suddenly bellowed.

"Oh…there, there," Neo cooed while Zoro sat the creature down on the ground. "It's all right."

"What? Did you think we were going to eat you or something?" Zoro asked. "Just tell us what's going on."

"I'm sorry. I can't share any information with you Big Humans," Wicka said, folding her hands in front of her like she was praying. "I'm sorry. I have to go now."

Neo blinked just before Wicka took one step and suddenly screamed. "What is it?"  
"What's wrong?" Zoro added.

"I can't walk! I think I twisted my ankle earlier!" Wicka said, dropping to her hands and knees. She dropped even lower to the ground and started pounding on it with far more force than her little body should have allowed. "I'm so dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb…"

"Is she causing an earthquake?" Zoro asked when the ground around them started shaking and cracking.

Neo linked to the earth around her to make sure that this little creature really wasn't causing an earthquake. She relaxed when she found the damage was only being done near them. She said, "No. She's just really strong. No one else is feeling this. We're lucky. This would be hard to explain if someone else noticed."

"She sure is strong. She's smashing the ground to pieces," Zoro said, eyeing the cracked stone around them.

"Come here, you," Neo said, scooping her hands under the creature's body.

"Careful, Neo. If she can damage stone that easily, just imagine what she can do with bones," Zoro said.

"She won't hurt me," Neo replied. Just as she knew, when she lifted Wicka up off the ground, the little blue haired creature stopped pounding her fists. She smiled when Wicka looked up at her. "That's better. You're a cute little thing. I like you better when you're not crying."

"I'm…I'm sorry," Wicka replied. She brushed the tears out of her eyes then gave Neo a small smile of her own. "You're pretty cute too. I love the color of your eyes. They're so electric. Huh?"

"What is it?" Neo asked, curiously.

"You…you're not human," Wicka stated.

"No. I'm not," Neo replied. "You must be pretty strong if you noticed that immediately. Uh, what did you say you were?"

"A Tontatta," Wicka replied.

"And your name was?" Neo asked.

"Wicka," Wicka repeated with a pouty lip.

"Okay, Wicka." Neo nodded. She then pointed at herself then at Zoro while introducing them. "I'm Neo. And this is Zoro."

"Hi." Wicka waved.

Neo shifted Wicka into her left hand while reaching for the little person with her right. Curiously, she brushed her fingertip and eyes along Wicka's puffy pigtailed hair, her arm, her hat, then down to her back where she noticed a tail sticking out of the little body. She said, "Is that a tail?"

"It is." Wicka nodded, seemingly fine with the curious inspection Neo was bestowing upon her. "It helps me run fast. It can also be used as a weapon."

"Wow. You're so incredible," Neo said. "And your hair is so fluffy and soft."

"Okay, okay. You two girls can chitchat later over how pretty you think each other's hair and eyes are," Zoro said, interrupting them. "I want to know what's going on here."

"Zoro! You're being rude!" Neo snapped.

Zoro flinched and recoiled at Neo's unexpected snappy tone. "S-sorry."

"Now, Wicka, will you tell us what's going on?" Neo asked, turning back to the blue hair Tontatta.

"Oh, um, please! You have to take me to my commander!" Wicka dropped to her knees. Placing her hands on Neo's, she begged them for help while giving Zoro a pointed look. "When you come right down to it, this is all your fault."

"Hey! You're the one who stole my sword!" Zoro snapped. "This is your fault!"

"What do you mean by that? We manage the greenery of this land." Wicka placed her hand on her chest and glared at Zoro. "The Big People of this kingdom call us "Fairies" and give us things!"

"They're not giving you anything! You're stealing them!" Zoro replied.

"Waaa! What am I doing?! I said too much again! I have to go! I'm a member of a scouting unit! I have to report the Don Quixote Family's locations to my commander!" Wicka cried.

"What's she talking about?" Neo asked.

"How should I know?" Zoro blinked. "I haven't understood a single thing she's said this entire time. I'm not even sure if she knows what she's talking about."

"Now is our chance! I saw the Don Quixote Family on their way to attack the Straw Hat's ship!" Wicka continued.

"What?!" Zoro shouted.

"They're attacking the ship?!" Neo gasped. She brought Wicka up closer to her face. "Are you sure?!"

"Yes! I saw them myself! I have to go!" Wicka said before gasping in realization. She grabbed her hair and started tugging on it. "I'm so dumb! I told them everything!"

"Hey, is that true?! I'm a member of the Straw Hats!" Zoro said, his eyes widened in worry as his heart thumped in his chest.

"I'm so dumb! Dumb! Dumb! Dumb! I'm a blockhead!" Wicka cried, still pulling on her hair.

"Stop that!" Zoro hissed, grabbing the Tontatta from Neo's hand.

"Be careful, Zoro!" Neo warned.

"I'm not hurting her. Now, calm down, fairy!" Zoro ordered. "Is what you said really true? Is the Don Quixote Family really going to attack the Sunny?!"

"Yes. It's a secret. But I saw it! Oh, I did it again!" Wicka whined upon realizing she just spilled everything, again, to the pirates.

"What do we do, Zoro?" Neo asked. Her own heart started to increase its beating. She took a couple slow breaths to calm herself down. She didn't want to alarm Law again.

"I don't know. We don't have a Transponder Snail on us," Zoro replied. He looked over Neo's shoulder and into the town of bustling people. "I can't believe out of all of us, they're going to go attack those four."

"I could go warn them. Or I could send Chopper a mental message," Neo said.

"Mental message? Can you do that?" Zoro asked, setting Wicka down on the ground.

"What do you mean?" Wicka asked.

"It's a long story," Neo replied, looking down at the Tontatta. She then looked back up at Zoro. "I could try. I've never done it this far before. I can barely sense Chopper from this distance."

"Try," Zoro said.

Neo nodded. She closed her eyes and took a relaxing breath.  _Chopper? Chopper, can you hear me? If you can, the Don Quixote Family is planning to attack you! Chopper! Please! You have to get out of there!_

"Well?" Zoro asked when he couldn't wait any longer.

"I don't think he heard me," Neo replied with a sigh.

"All right, I'm going back to the Sunny," Zoro replied, pushing his glasses back up on his face. He jumped up to his feet and took off running.

"That's the wrong way," Neo said.

"Wait! Take me to the Flower Field first!" Wicka called out. "I'll take you to your ship after that!"

"No, I'm going to head to the ship right now!" Zoro growled.

"But that's the wrong way," Wicka and Neo said. "The sea is in the other direction."

"What?!" Zoro skidded to a stop and turned back to the girls.

"You don't know which way to go, do you?" Wicka asked.

"Well, he does have a terrible sense of direction," Neo replied.

"Really?" Wicka looked up at Neo.

"Yup." Neo nodded.

"Hey! I do not!" Zoro protested. "I'm just fine with directions! I always get where I'm going!"

"Zoro, take Wicka to the Flower Field," Neo said, ignoring Zoro's rant.

"What? What are you going to do?" Zoro asked, walking back to his friend.

"I'm going to go inform Luffy of this," Neo replied.

"What about Trafalgar and Chopper?" Zoro asked, a bit stunned she was going to Luffy instead.

"I can…" Neo took a quick glance at Wicka from the corner of her eyes before looking back at Zoro. "…tell Law too. You'll take care of Chopper. I just need to go see Luffy. Something isn't right. He's moving around very erratically."

"What do you mean by that?" Zoro asked.

"I think he might be in a fight," Neo replied.

"What?! With the Don Quixote Family?!" Zoro shrieked. "How long have you known about this?"

"Just for a minute or two," Neo replied. "I felt him when I was still on the roof."

"And you're just now saying something about it?!" Zoro demanded.

"Sorry," Neo replied, giving him the most innocent look possible. "Are you upset with me? I didn't mean to not tell you. I just got distracted. Wicka is just so cute."

Zoro's eyebrows twitched. Knowing he didn't have any defenses that would work on her when she got like this, he sighed. "It's fine. You go ahead and go tell Luffy and Trafalgar about this. I'm heading back to the-"

"Flower Field!" Neo butted in while placing Wicka into Zoro's jacket.

"What?! I have to get back to the Sunny!" Zoro snapped.

"After you take Wicka to the Flower Field," Neo replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "It is your fault that she got hurt."

"What?! It is not!" Zoro protested. "She's the one who took my sword!"

"Please, Zozo," Neo cooed as she placed her hands onto his chest, careful to not squash Wicka as she did so. She smiled sweetly at him while batting her eyelashes. "Please?"

"Uh, I…um…w-why are you so instant on this?" Zoro asked, doing his best not to get pulled in to her cuteness, but failing miserably. "You don't even know this creature."

"I know. But she's telling us the truth. She's a good person," Neo said looking down at Wicka. "I can tell."

"Thank you! Thank you!" Wicka cried, tears running down her cheeks. "Thank you so much for taking me to the Flower Field!"

"Fine." Zoro huffed while recalling Law telling them about Neo's instincts back on the Sunny. "I'll take her. And what about you? You're not supposed to be alone."

"It'll only be for a minute or two," Neo said. Focusing on Luffy, she estimated him to be a lot closer to her than Law was. "And there's about fifteen minutes left until Law hand's Caesar over to Doflamingo. That's plenty of time to inform Luffy and get to Law."

"Are you sure?" Zoro gave her a skeptical look. "From what I can tell, you've never been alone since you came to live with the Heart Pirates."

"Are you saying I can't take care of myself?" Neo planted her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyebrows at him.

"No, it's just…" Zoro paused. Wicka looked up at him then over at Neo, but said nothing. "Look, if you get freaked out, go to or call Trafalgar immediately."

"I know that," Neo said. She tilted her head when Zoro didn't move. "It's fine, Zoro. I'm always connected to Law. I'll be fine. Go on."

Zoro took a half step turn. Keeping his eyes locked on Neo before he finally forced himself to turn away from her completely. Without another look, he bolted out of the alleyway.

Neo watched him go with a smile. With a light shake of her head, she headed for the exit herself. She felt her heartbeat steadily increasing with each step that took her closer to the lively streets of Dressrosa. Her body automatically paused when she was three feet from stepping out of the concealing walls of the alleyway. Her body temperature dropped. Her hands shook and became clammy. Her vision blurred as the laughing and chatters of the townspeople became loud and pounded her ears. Her stomach took a violent turn. Stumbling back from the crowds, she placed one hand over her mouth and the other over her stomach.

_'Neo? What's wrong? Your blood pressure is too high.'_

Neo gagged.

_'Neo?'_

She gagged again.

_'Neo, I order you to take a deep breath.'_

Neo's lungs drew in air and released it slowly. Pressing her back to the wall, she slid down and wrapped her arms around her knees.

_'Now, tell me what happened.'_

_'I just got a bit scared.'_

_'Of what? You're still with the Straw Hats, right?'_

Neo flinched.

_'Neo.'_

She flinched again with Law took on his captain tone with her. Sighing she said, "I'm sorry, Law. Don't get upset with them. This was my decision."

_'What do you mean? What decision?'_

"The group kind of got split up," Neo replied. She waited for Law to reply, but he didn't. She felt him fuming and saw thousands of murder scenarios running through her lover's mind. "Law, please, don't get upset. I've been with at least one of them until now."

_'So why are you alone now?'_

"Well, we have a little problem," Neo replied, grateful Law forced himself to stop thinking about how he could painfully torture then murder the Straw Hats. "The Sunny is under attack."

_'What?!'_

"The Don Quixote Family is there or heading their right now," Neo explained. "It's kind of hard to say how I know this, but I was told by a reliable source. Zoro is on his way there after running a little favor for this person. I'm heading, or I'm trying, to head for Luffy to tell him about this."

_'Straw Hat? What the heck is he doing?! I figured he would surely stay with you! I never should have trusted him to take care of you!'_

"Law, enough. This isn't Luffy's fault. I told you I'm on my own because I chose to be. I just freaked out a little bit since this is the first time I've done this," Neo said. She turned her eyes to the people passing her by. She swallowed and quickly looked away. "But I know I'm fine. I'm not hurt. I'm scared, a bit, but not hurt. I know you're still close enough to me. Luffy's not that far away from me either. I can get there just fine. I just needed a minute to speak to you. And you came through for me like you always do. Although…you seem a bit more intense this time. Are you okay? Has anything gone awry on your end? You are on Green Bit, right?"

_'Yes, we've arrived at Green Bit. And nothing's wrong.'_

Neo kneaded her eyebrows. She knew Law would never lie to her, but something in his tone didn't seem right. While his thoughts were very distant from her, they weren't really blocked. "Law-"

_'You should get to Straw Hat. I accept you being on your own. You've proven many times you are capable of making your own decisions. I'm proud of you, love.'_

"Thanks, Law." Neo's lips curled into a light smile.

_'Go ahead and fly to Straw Hat now.'_

Neo's smile vanished. Her eyes turned back towards the people. She swallowed despite her dry throat. "I'm walking."

Neo bit back a giggle when she felt Law's blood pressure spike. She held her tongue while letting him process her willingness to walk around with a bunch of strangers, alone. She knew she made the right decision. She had to do this. She wanted to do this. She might never ever do this again, under her own choice and power, but she was going to do this now. She needed to do this. She needed to know if she could.

 _'You don't need my permission. But you have my support.'_  Neo's heart fluttered at Law's words. It was clear to her that he knew why she was really doing it. And he knew without the help of their bond.  _'Just take it one step at a time. And breathe. If you need to, you can always take to the air with your crystals and fly to Straw Hat. And you know you can always talk to me.'_

"Yeah. I know, Law." Neo nodded. "Thanks."

Conversation ended, Neo pushed herself back up to her feet. She placed her sunglasses back over her eyes and stared at the end of the alleyway. People. So many people were passing by. So many people with no idea what would happen if they touched her. She shook her head. That wasn't going to be happening. This country might have a lot of people, but it wasn't over crowded. There was plenty of room for her to walk through without getting touched.

She took one step.

Her hands trembled. She clenched and unclenched her hands to steady them.

She took another step.

Sweat started to bead on her forehead. Her head pounded in beat with her racing heart.

Her stomach spun.

She took a deep breath and took another step and then another and another and another until she was standing at the edge of the alleyway.

Deep breath in, deep breath out, she looked around.

Her pulse hammering just under her skin as she carefully surveyed the people and town before her. No one seemed to notice she was there. A couple looked her way, but quickly turned back to their own conversations without another look in her direction. Her pulse slowed down to a steady beat until someone passed by her causing it to pick up speed again. But she didn't run. She didn't flinch.

She took one last deep breath before lifting her right foot up. Releasing her breath, she took the last step that put her out into the world for the first time alone. A smile formed on her lips before she started walking, slowly, through the town.


	101. Getting in Deep

Getting in Deep

"Huh?" Chopper turned from the group of friends he was with and looked towards the island of Dressrosa. A cloud of worry gathered in his chest when the familiar soft voice of his Elemental friend whispered in his ears like it had done back on Punk Hazard when she spoke to him from a distance. "Neo?"  
"What's wrong, Chopper?" Nami asked from her spot on the Sunny's lawn. Momonosuke was lying on her lap like he had been for the past few minutes as they played a game of pretend with the boy. He too looked over at the reindeer when Nami addressed him.

"Something's wrong," Chopper said. "I feel like Neo is trying to contact me. I know she's trying to contact me. Something's happened."

"What do you mean?" Brook asked. He lowered his guitar and turned towards the island as well. "How would you even know something was wrong?"

"Oh, does this have something to do with Neo's ability to talk to animals?" Nami asked.

"It does. She's too far for me to be sure, but I think she told me something's going to happen to us. She says someone is going to attack us," Chopper said. "I hope she's okay."

"She says we're going to be attacked?" Nami asked. "Don't be silly. We're perfectly-"

_Crash!_

"Huh?" Brook asked as they all turned to the men's quarters behind them. "What was that? It sounded like it came from the men's quarters."

"But I thought we were the only one's on the ship," Nami said as Momonosuke grabbed on to her when more crashing sounds, followed by incoherent mumbles, came from the room. "Wh-what's going on?! We're supposed to be the only ones on the ship!"

…

"I can't believe it. I'm so confused. What the…what the heck did I just see?" Sanji asked. The vision Violet showed him about Doflamingo never quitting the Warlords was buzzing around in his head like an annoying bee that refused to leave him alone. He couldn't concentrate anymore. Everything had just got turned upside down in a mere second. "The World Government? They're beyond a Warlord's control, right?"

"You're right. And, I'm sorry, but there's something else you need to know about," Violet said.

"What is it?" Sanji asked.

"Doflamingo is planning to do something to Trafalgar's wife Neo," Violet replied.

"What?! What's he planning?!" Sanji demanded. He grabbed onto Violet's shoulders. "Tell me! What's he going to do to her?!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what he's planning. All I know is there's been a scientist that has been living at the palace for over a month now. His name is Cethin. For months he's been conducting top secret experiments for Doflamingo," Violet replied. "I only know it has something to do with Neo because I heard them talking about her once. This man and Doflamingo have been very secretive with each other. I'm not even sure if Doflamingo's elite officers know what this man has been up to. The only other thing I know about him is he's been staying in one of the lower rooms of the palace. He never comes out for anything. All the stuff that he needs, like food, is brought to him."

"Law figured Doflamingo would try something to hurt her because she's his wife and the most important person in his life," Sanji said. He knitted his eyebrows in concentration and worry. _I wonder if it's possible that Doflamingo figure out Neo is an Elemental. But how could he have? The only way would be if someone told him. Elementals are protective of their home and people. So I don't see anyone actually telling someone their secrets unless they were forced to do so against their will._ "But what is he planning on doing? He's had plenty of opportunities to try and take her from us. So why hasn't he? What could this man possible want with her? What's he waiting for?"

"Does she have any weaknesses that Doflamingo could use against her?" Violet asked.

"None that would really be any use to him," Sanji replied. "I'd say her biggest weakness, obviously, is Law. But Doflamingo would have known that from the very beginning. It's too obvious of a weakness. And Law would know that. There really would be no point in going that route. He's got to have something else in mind. But what is it? What could it be?"

"Well, we don't have time to figure that out," Violet said. She dug into her pocket and pulled out her transponder snail. "Here. You have to warn your friends. I've been too afraid to try and escape from him. But you all might have a chance. Call your friends. Get yourselves and Neo off this island."

"You sound worried about Neo," Sanji noted.

"I've been following her in the newspapers. It was kind of hard not to with all the talk about her and what she possible might be," Violet replied. "I couldn't help but notice she has some similarities to my late sister. Despite never having met her, I think I've a soft spot for Neo. She seems like a really caring person."

"She is." Sanji nodded.

"I can see you really care about her." Violet smiled. She pushed her transponder snail to him. "Hurry! Call your friends and warn them!"

…

Neo's head and heart throbbed hard as she walked farther out into the crowds around her. Carefully eyeing the people and the distance between herself and them. She kept a slow steady pace until someone came too close for her comfort. She then would jump and quickly take steps to get away from them. She figured she earned some questionings stares, but she refused to look and see. She wasn't completely stable in the moment and didn't want to do anything that would make her even more unstable. Her coat and Law's hat seem to make her body turn incredible hot, but she couldn't tell if it was because of them or if was her imagination and anxiety playing tricks on her.

She looked up at the sun for a small distraction. Judging from its position, it was almost three o'clock. That meant Doflamingo would soon be heading to Green Bit. She needed to head there soon as well. Picking up her pace, she weaved in and out of the crowd of people surrounding her. Going a little two fast, she almost ran into a woman and a child. Spinning on the toes of her boots to try and avoid getting touched, she bumped into the woman's arm anyway. Her heart took a sharp jolt. Her once warm body turned ice cold. On the verge of freaking out, she turned to the woman, her eyes dropping to the child beside the woman automatically for an unknown reason. Her anxiety instantly disappeared. She stared in slight shock and a lot of disbelief at the child. Her eyes were a familiar greenish blue. Her hair was blonde and cut in a straight line just above her shoulders. She thought she was seeing things. Her voice passed over her lips before she could stop herself. She said, "Lin?"

"Huh?" The little girl looked up at Neo. She turned her eyes up to her mother and tugged on her arm. "Mama?"

"I'm so sorry," the woman said. "I didn't mean to hit you with my bags."

"What?" Neo pulled her eyes from the girl when her mother spoke to her. But she didn't look at the woman's face. She looked down at the bags the woman was holding on her right arm. They were full of groceries and were sticking out. She didn't touch this woman at all. It was the bags that she ran into. Without really noticing, her eyes wondered off the bag and onto the child again. "Oh…it's okay. I wasn't really watching where I was going."

"Are you okay, dear? You look a bit pale," the woman said.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Neo replied. She forced herself to look back at the woman. She didn't want to give the woman a bad impression from staring at her child. "I'm just…a bit uncomfortable in crowds and around people and places that I'm not familiar with."

"I see. Well, you don't have anything to worry about here," the woman said with a warm smile. "This is a very nice place to live. I'm assuming you're a visitor here?"

"Yes, ma'am. I just arrived today. My husband and I, plus some friends, are just…passing through," Neo replied, carefully.  _Yeah, sure I don't have anything to worry about. Your_ _king_ _just murdered an important person to Law, had plans to brainwash Law into dying for him, has hurt countless amounts of people, and would do who knows what to me just because I'm important to Law. Absolutely! He's a really great guy for sure!_  She kneaded her eyebrows. Anger burned in her chest at all the things Doflamingo has done to Law. Feeling herself on the verge of creating a storm, she forced herself to stop thinking about the man. She chewed on the inside of her cheek to help herself not think about  _him_. She started to turn and walk off, but stopped when a little giggle flowed into her ears. Her eyes dropped down to the little girl.

"Are you a fairy?" the little girl asked. Her greenish blue eyes shimmered up at Neo. Her lips curled into a slightly mischievous smile.

Neo couldn't help but notice the little girl's white shirt and light green skirt had three fairies, with glittering wings, on them. She automatically came to the conclusion from that and the girl's question that she believed in fairies.

"Avalon! That's rude!" the mother said, tugging on her daughter's hand. "Don't ask things like that! You know fairies aren't real!"

"The fairies of Dressrosa are real," the girl replied.

"Oh, well, I guess you've got a point there," the mother conceded. "But this young woman isn't a fairy. Why would you even think that?"

"I don't know. She just seems like she would be one," Avalon said. "I'm not surprised that you don't see it. Adults often have a hard time seeing fairies."

"Avalon," the woman said in a forced patient tone. "If you keep up this rude attitude, you won't be having dessert later."

"I'm sorry, Mother," Avalon said. "But she really does feel like a fairy."

"That is enough, Avalon," her mother warned.

Neo smiled. This little girl reminded her so much of Lin. She wondered how Lin and the other children were doing and where they would be at this point. Most likely, they were still on the ocean somewhere. She wasn't sure where Vegapunk would be, but figured it would take a couple days for Smoker and Captain Tashigi to get the kids there. She hoped Lin was okay, as well as the other children. Pushing those kids aside for the moment, she bent down to deal with this one right in front of her. Smiling, she said, "It's all right. I don't think it's rude at all to ask someone a question like that. You never know where or when a fairy might pop up."

"You believe in fairies?" Avalon asked, her eyes sparkling with hope and amusement.

"I do," Neo replied with a nod. "I even believe I saw one of your Dressrosa fairies today."

"You did?!" Avalon clasped her hands together and squealed while bouncing up and down happily. "Did you really?!"

"I believe so. Though I can't really be sure since I've never seen one before," Neo replied, feeling a bit guilty for lying to the little girl. She did see Wicka. That was true. But did she really consider the Tontatta to be an actual fairy? She wasn't sure. "But since you live here, I'm sure you'll see one someday. And then you'll know for sure."

"Yes! I'll keep a look out for them!" Avalon cheered. "I'll even make them some homes! And write stories about them! And draw pictures of them!"

"Good grief, Avalon." Her mother placed her bag free hand on her hip. "You really shouldn't bother people with that wild imagination of yours."

"It's all right, ma'am," Neo said. She glanced up at the woman and smiled. "I don't mind at all. But I really do have to go."

"As do we," the woman said.

"Oh!" Avalon pouted. She crossed her arms over in her chest and took on a defiant air. "I don't want to!"

"Avalon," the woman said in an aggravated tone.

"I don't want to!" Avalon shouted.

Her mother sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't have time for this. We have to run home to drop off these bags before we head over to Nana's for Grandpa's birthday tonight."

"That's not my fault," Avalon grumbled.

Neo studied the girl and her mother. She knew she wasn't familiar with how mothers and daughters got along, or didn't get along, but living with the Heart Pirates, she was able to pick up on signs and body language that said the crew was about to get into a serious fight. And these two had that air about them. Turning her attention to the girl, she said, "Do as your mother says, Avalon. She's only trying to do what's best for you. You want to be a good girl, right?"

"I do!" Avalon nodded. She collapsed her hand in front of her, looking ready to obey any order her mother gave her. "I'll be good! I promise!"

"Wow. I've never see anyone settle Avalon down so easily when she's about to enter into one of her tantrums," the woman said. Her eyes blinking rapidly in disbelief as she started down at her angelically posed little girl. She then looked at Neo with respect. "You, young lady, are very good with kids. Do you have any of your own? You must if you're this good with them."

"No, ma'am, we don't have kids. And we're not planning on it either," Neo replied. With a dull ache appearing in her neck and between her eyes from glancing up at the woman, she stood up to be more eye level with her.

"Well, that's a shame. I think you would make a wonderful mother," the woman said. "Might if I ask if there's a specific reason you and your husband are choosing not to have kids?"

"Uh, thanks," Neo said surely. She reached hand behind her back to tug on her hair, forgetting it was hidden in her disguise, while thinking what she could say to answer the woman's question. Telling her they were pirates was definitely out of the question. Upon feeling nothing but her coat, she let her hand drop back to her side. "Well, we travel a lot. And, with how dangerous the seas are, we decided it was best not to have a child."

"I see. That makes sense." The woman nodded. "Well, it's been nice talking with you, but we really have to go now."

"I understand. I need to go as well. I'm running a bit late now," Neo replied, grateful the woman didn't ask what they actually did for a living. She looked down at the girl and smiled. "Be sure to keep an eye out for fairies. I'm sure you'll see them one day. And listen to your mother."

"I will!" Avalon said with a firm nod. "Bye bye!"

"Bye." Neo waved as the two finally walked away from her. Once the mother and child were out of her sight, she whipped around and got back on track to get to Luffy. Rushing through the crowds she grumbled to herself. "I don't believe it. Of all the times to become comfortable and talk with a complete and total stranger, it had to be today. I really didn't have time for that. It's so close to three o'clock now. I've got to get to Luffy then get over to Green Bit."

Picking up her pace to a run, she dashed through the streets of Dressrosa, wondering if she should fly instead. The thought quickly left her mind when she felt Luffy about twenty yards away from her and another thought entered into her mind. She said, "Hold on a second. That girl noticed I was different. I can't believe I'm just realizing that. Usually when someone does it's because they have Observation Haki or are just really strong. I wonder if that little girl has Observation Haki. It's said all living things have the ability to use haki, so I suppose that's possible. Or maybe she just has a gift for noticing stuff. All well. It's not like I'll know how she did that now. I have more important things to-Whoa!"

Turning a corner, Neo jerked to a stop at the enormous stone structure before her then at the gathered crowds that peppered the area around it. Forcing herself to ignore the 'too large for her taste crowds', she walked closer to the building and the people since this was where Luffy was. Upon getting closer, she noticed there were bars on all of the windows.  _This place looks like some kind of prison. But, if I remember correctly, this is a coliseum, a place of tournaments. And the type of tournament depends on the country that the coliseum is in. This one appears to be a tournament for people and apparently a bull since I'm sensing one inside. I'm also sensing some very aggressive fish. I wonder what kind of fish those are. Their aggression is so strong. And how is it possible there are fish in there? Is there an underground spring or something? No, I don't sense water running underneath the coliseum. Anyway, I guess my assumption on him fighting was correct. At least he's not fighting with Doflamingo or any of his crew. I'm glad for that, but I've got to find the door and get in there. Luffy needs to know what's going on._

Turning to her left, she headed around the building thinking that maybe she was just on the wrong side. While walking along, the dull ache from before reappeared between her eyes. She rubbed her fingers between her eyebrows in an attempt to get the throbbing to stop. "Ugh. Why does my head hurt like this? Is this a headache? I've never gotten one of those before. And where is that door? Did I go the wrong way?"

"Yeah! Go, Lucy!" a man cheered.

"Huh?" Neo paused and turned her eyes to the cheering crowd. She noticed a visual screen of what she assumed was the battle inside of the coliseum. She about shouted out when Luffy appeared on the screen. She had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep herself from doing just that.

"Go, Lucy! Go! Go! Go!" the crowd cheered.

 _Lucy? Do they mean Luffy?_  Neo lowered her hand from her mouth. Confused, she looked around the crowd to find someone she'd be comfortable enough to talk to. Avoiding the loud cheering ones, she spotted a nice enough looking older man, wearing a brown bowler hat and suit, standing a bit off from the crowd quietly watching the fight. She smiled to herself and made her way over to him. Calling out to him, she said, "E-excuse me, sir."

"Hm?" The old man turned to her. He tipped his bowler hat when she walked closer to him. "Good day, young lady. What can I do ya for?"

"Well, could you tell me what, or who, exactly this crowd is cheering for? Is it that guy on the screen?" Neo pointed to the screen as if it would help her in some way or another.

"Oh, you interested in the fight, huh? The crowd is just excited because that old man has been quite a shock to us all," the old man replied.

"A shock? How so?" Neo asked.

"People from public usually don't enter into the tournaments here at the coliseum because of how brutal they can be. And certainly no one ever expected an old man to enter and have such a huge chance of winning as this Lucy guy does," the old man explained.

 _Lucy? So I didn't mishear what the crowd had said. Luffy must have entered under a fake name. But why? We're supposed to be keeping a low profile here. Why would he enter into a tournament? If his hat and beard get knocked off his secret will be completely blow. Why risk it?_  Neo kneaded her eyebrows in thought. When her dull pain increased to a sharper one, she forced herself to relax. With a sigh, she started rubbing between her eyebrows again.

"Do you have a headache there, young lady?" the old man asked.

"I might be," Neo replied. "Is there a prize for the tournament?"

"Indeed there is. And quite a prize too," the old man said. "It's the Flame Flame fruit."

"The Flame Flame fruit?!" Neo gasped. Her hand fell away from her face. "You mean, Fire Fist Ace's Flame Flame fruit?!"

"That's right." The old man nodded. "And because of that fruit, we're getting quite a show this time. It seems a lot of people want to get their hands on that particular fruit."

 _Now it makes sense! Luffy would want that fruit as a keepsake since it belonged to his brother!_  Neo looked back at the screen. Luffy was wearing his typical grin while easily punching through his competition.  _I still need to get inside of there. But I can't go to him until his match has ended. I don't want to do anything to mess up his chance of winning his brother's fruit._

"Is there something wrong, young lady? You don't look very happy," the old man said, pulling Neo's attention back to him.

"Maybe I'm not. That, uh, old man is a friend of mine," Neo replied. "I need to get in there. Could you tell me where the door is?"

"Oh, a friend of yours, huh? Well, I'm afraid you'll have to wait to see your friend then," the old man replied.

"Why?" Neo asked.

"You can't go inside right now," the old man said.

"Why not?" Neo asked. "There are other people in there watching. I thought it was open to the public."

"It is. But when the tournament starts they close the gates so no one can come or go until it's over," the old man explained.

"That doesn't make sense," Neo said, kneading her eyebrows for a second before the pain stabbed her again forcing her to relax.

"I suppose it might not for someone who hasn't been here before," the old man said. "Visitors are often taken by surprise by this place."

"You aren't kidding. My friends and I were pretty shocked when we saw all the toys walking around here as if they themselves were humans," Neo said. She ran her eyes over the toys in her area. Her eyebrows lifted when one of them walked over to her. It was a brown stuffed teddy bear toy with a white and red bow on its neck. A brown stuff teddy bear toy that felt like an elephant. She bit her cheek in a desperate attempt to not reveal her confusion to the old man. It became even harder when the bear started tugging on her coat.

"Well, it looks like that toy wants to play with you," the old man said with a light laugh.

"Yeah. I suppose it does. Well, if it wants to play then who am I to disappoint it? Especially since I have some time to kill before my friend is done with this tournament." Neo picked up the toy then smiled at the old man. "Thank you very much for explaining how this place works. Sorry to have bothered you."

"It was no bother at all. It's nice to have such a cute young lady come up and address you. Have a nice day now," the old man said with another tip of his hat.

"Thank you. You too." Neo waved to the old man while she walked off. She mentally scoffed and looked up at the top of the coliseum.  _Can't get inside, huh? Well maybe you all can't. But I can. I just need to find an alleyway or something so I can take to the air without being seen._  She looked down at the toy in her arms when it spoke to her. "Huh? What is it? So you really are an elephant. Hold on just a second. Let me get to a place where we can talk without anyone noticing."

Noticing the toy, elephant, accepted her words, she continued to rush through the streets and people. Finding an alleyway that suited her taste, she ducked into it. She glanced over her shoulder to see if anyone followed her or was stopping to see what she was doing. But no one did. She sighed then walked farther into the alleyway until she reached an abandon crate. She ducked down behind it and turned her attention to the elephant. "Go ahead and tell me what's going on. And, if you don't mind, make it quick. I have somewhere really important I need to be. I don't mean to be rude or anything. I'm just in a hurry."

Neo went quiet and listened intently to the elephant. "What? What do you mean by that? How could you be an elephant one moment and then a toy the next by a touch? Who touched you? A little girl? Did she have a Devil Fruit power? I see. It's a fruit that gives people strange abilities. I suppose it's possible that a fruit like this could exist. I'm sorry. I don't know how to turn you back. I wish I did. I'm so sorry. I hate that you're in as much distress as you are. I guess this also means that tiger I sensed before wasn't my imagination after all."

The ache behind her forehead started to grow with this new news and with the feeling of distress coming from the elephant. She rubbed her forehead before hugging the animal. "I'm sorry. I promise I'll ask my husband and friends if they've heard of a Devil Fruit with this kind of ability. Maybe they know about it and how to fix this. I'll try. Oh, I'm an Elemental. I have control over the elements and can talk to animals. Yeah, I know. It does sound kind of strange, but its true. I know you trust me. And I will help you as much as I can. I have to go now. I'm sorry. My head will be fine. I have an ability that will heal it up nicely. Okay. You take care too. I have to get to my friend now."

Neo loosened her hold on the animal and allowed it to crawl off her lap. She look up and watched it walk back out into the crowds and disappeared. Looking up at the walls of the building, she noticed they had stone awnings just like the other buildings. She could easily get to the roofs without using her crystals. She figured that would be the best option and safest option in the name of caution. So she ran towards the awning that would lift her higher just like she had done a while ago with Zoro. She jumped across them and easily got to the rooftop within seconds. Sparing no time, she summoned her wind crystals and took to the air. Within two seconds, she landed on the coliseum roof, right on the edge so she could watch the rest of Luffy's battle.

Despite knowing people aren't in the habit of looking up, she still didn't want to take the chance of possibly being seen. So she sat down on the edge to minimize her size and hoped no one spotted her anyway. With how loud everyone was cheering for the bloodbath below, she figured she was safe enough here. Summoning her solar crystal, she extended its healing glow over her body while she eyed the coliseum carefully. The ring was in the middle of a moat, so that accounted for the fish being there. Looking to the other side of the moat, she saw doors that she assumed was where the fighters had came from. And that meant bridges were extended over the water before and after the fights for the fighters to get to and from the battle arena.

"Ugh. I should have asked that old man how these fights actually work. It looks like they're all just fighting at once. But was this the only match? Or were there others? Lets see, the crew's talked about fights before. And those fights they had different blocks or heats. And I bet this tournament has been going on for a while. It's been several minutes since we were last together," Neo said to herself. Now sitting down to rest, she noticed that her feet were throbbing. She pulled her boots off and set them aside then stretched out and wiggled her toes and feet, letting the cool breath wash over her tired, achy feet. "I guess it doesn't matter. As soon as this fight is over, and Luffy goes back inside the building, I'll just enter into the wind stream and follow him. I'll just have to remember to call him  _Lucy_  instead of  _Luffy_. That shouldn't be too hard. I just hope this fight ends soon. I really want to get to Law. It's five minutes until three o'clock."

Neo settled herself in to watch the fight. She carefully watched Luffy bounce around and hoped nothing happened to him that would cause her to lose control and interfere. She might not have ever seen a fight like this before, but did know that they had rules. And interference from outside sources, according to Penguin, was a common rule among tournaments. And since this was clearly an important fight for Luffy, she was going to do her best to not interfere. She giggled. But there had to be proof that she had interfered for him to be disqualified. And no one could see wind after all. She could help him if he needed it, but  _only_  if he needed it. If he got into a life or death situation, she would help. Other than that, she would let Luffy fight. She knew he wouldn't want her to interfere.

While watching the fight, her mind slowly began to understand and realize what she had accomplished today. She managed to walk through an unfamiliar town, talked to three strangers, and reached her destination without freaking out. She squealed with delight. "I can't believe I actually did it! I reached Luffy all on my own! And I'm  _never_  going to do something like this again! But still! It feels good knowing I can handle myself in a situation like this! The crew, especially Penguin, is going to be completely shocked when I tell them!"

…

Law's eyebrows twisted in confusion upon feeling Neo getting a headache. He found it strange, very strange, since she has never had one before. The pain wasn't bad at all and he sensed her using her solar crystal so he felt no need to contact her. But he did wonder why she was getting a headache in the first place. He thought she was immune to them. So did this have something to do with her pregnancy?

Law growled at himself again for being stupid and not studying up on this when he had the chance. His current bashing of himself for being stupid was cut short when his transponder snail rang. He pulled it from his pocket and answered it. He almost wished he didn't. His eyebrows rose on his forehead. His absent heart took a sharp jolt at the words Sanji had spoken to him from the other end of the transponder snail.

"You've got to get the heck out of there!" Sanji screamed.

"What are you saying, Blackleg?!" Law demanded. "I'm about to hand over Caesar soon!"

"Doflamingo never quit the Seven Warlords!"

Law's eyes widened. His heart took another sharp jolt in his chest.

"We're getting nothing for handing over Caesar now!"

"That doesn't make any sense. What are you saying?" Law asked.

"We've been completely deceived! Doflamingo only pretended to quit the Seven Warlords! Did you hear me?! Leave that island right now!"

Law cursed. "It's too late for that."

"Listen, Law, there's something else," Sanji said with regret in his voice. "I don't know what exactly, but Doflamingo  _does_  have something planned for Neo. There's been a strange man staying at the palace for over months now. It has something to do with Neo. And Neo's not with me anymore. But she is with Zoro. So you don't have to worry. I'm so sorry. I never should have left her. "

Law gritted his teeth. He heard the regret in Sanji's voice plan and clear. He wanted to tell him that Neo wasn't with Zoro, but with Luffy instead. He wanted to tell him that she was safe. But he couldn't. She wasn't safe at all. And not just because Caesar was standing right beside him and would blow their secrets if he spoke them out loud right now. He knew from the beginning that Doflamingo would do something, or try to do something to Neo. He just didn't know what that would be. So far Doflamingo hasn't done anything to try and hurt her. And that scared him the most. Something wasn't right about that. He forced himself to remain calm and say, "Don't worry about Neo, Blackleg. As long as she's with someone, she'll be fine. But if you happened to run into her, I want her to stay with you Straw Hats. Do you understand me, Blackleg? I'm  _ordering_  her to stay with you Straw Hats. She is not to come here."

"What?! How could we possibly get her to-"

"Blackleg! That's an  _order_. She always listens to my  _orders_ ," Law said, trying to heavily hint to Sanji his meaning. His heart started to beat rapidly in his chest. He knew he needed to calm down. He didn't need to let Neo sense his distress.  _Come on, Blackleg. You're smart. You can figure this out. I'll order Neo to stay away from Doflamingo._

"Right," Sanji said after a long pause. "I'll be sure to spread those orders to the rest of my crew if I see them. I have to go now."

_Click._

"Great. What the heck do I do now?" Law hissed.  _I can order Neo to stay away from Green Bit easily enough. But if Doflamingo tries to kill me I know Neo will break through my orders and come here. What is he planning for her? Why hasn't he attacked her yet? What am I missing?_

…

Neo leaned forward. She placed her elbows on her knees and rested her chin in her hands. Her eyes carefully observed the battle below her while her solar crystal continued to spread its glow over her. She moved the crystal closer to her, out of subconscious fear that someone would see it, and couldn't help but notice how all of these current opponents in this fight were men. She also couldn't help but notice a couple of other things. "Hm…Why is it that all the guys in my life want to do nothing but fight? Do men typically want to fight more than women do? It seems like that. I know I live with a bunch of pirates, but it's odd. I hate fighting. I don't want to hurt anyone, yet here I am. I wonder what my life would have been like if I grew up on Luminous. How would things have gone? Would I still hate fighting? Would mother and father still be alive? What kind of person would I be? And would I had even met Law? If I did still meet him some how, what would our relationship be? Would we even like each other? Would we have fallen in love? Gotten married?"

Neo hummed to herself while she tried to picture what her life would have been like if she did grow up on Luminous. With what Kailen told her about her mother, she figured she wouldn't be a spoiled brat. Her mother seemed like a no nonsense kind of person, despite always trying to cut her godfather's hair.

Neo giggled. Closing her eyes, she picture her mother running around with scissors trying to cut off a lock of her godfather's hair. And despite how big and bad her godfather was she pictured him never retaliating against her mother. All she could see him doing was running from her mother. She wondered how often she would have seen her godfather. Would they still have this bond that they do? This bond they had was a result of her godfather trying to help them escape from the darkness crystal. Would those events unfold the same way? Would Atlas still kill her parents? Or would growing up on Luminous cause her to notice that the darkness was taking over her people and she wouldn't have any reason to escape to the sea? If that were to happen, then it looked like it was highly unlikely that she would ever meet Law and the Heart Pirates.

Neo's heart sank in her chest. Tears spilled easily and freely over her eyes. She didn't want to imagine living without her pirate family. It really did hurt to think about it. But the questions still remained in her head. How would her life be? What would happen to the Heart Pirates and Law? She brushed the tears from her eyes. "Stop it. Stop crying. There's no point in getting upset over questions that will never be answered. I'm with Law and the crew. Nothing will ever change that."

Neo took a deep breath. Releasing it, she forced all of her questions to go with her breath, to flow out of her and disappear into the air around her. She turned her eyes back down to the fight below her. She wanted the distraction. She wanted all those thoughts of 'What might have been' to leave her. But she only got to watch the fight for a few seconds before a sharp jolt of worry coming from Law entered into her own body. He was afraid. Law was rarely ever afraid. And the majority of the times that he was had to do with her being in danger. "Law, what's wrong? Did something happen? Your blood pressure just spiked. What's happening over there?"

Neo kneaded her eyebrows when Law didn't reply immediately. He always did. It made her worry more. She snatched one of her boots off the roof and pulled it on. Once she got the other one on, she jumped to her feet. She headed for the opposite edge of the coliseum but paused when some newspaper birds started flying into the town. She called out to one, "That's odd. Why is there another edition of the newspaper being released? Hey! Excuse me. Will you, please, let me have one of those?"

The bird closest to her squawked in response and flew closer to her. He shoved his beak into his bag and pulled out a newspaper for her. She patted his head and giggled. "Thank you. You're pretty cute yourself. And thank you for the newspaper. See you later."

Neo waved to the bird as it flew off. She watched it go. When it finally was out of her sight, she turned her attention down to the paper in her hands. She gasped when saw the reason for the extra addition. There on the front page was a clarification article that Doflamingo's resignation from the Seven Warlords was a mistake. "What?! No way! It…it can't be! Doflamingo never quit the Warlords?! This must be why Law's blood pressure shot up! He must have seen this! Law! Answer me! Doflamingo never quit the Warlords! Law!"

Neo tossed the newspaper aside. She summoned her wind crystals. When they appeared, she wrapped her winds around her body and lifted herself into the air. She only got a couple inches off the coliseum roof before her crystals disappeared. She dropped back to her feet. "No! Not now! Don't mess up on me now! I have to get to Law!"

She tried summoning her wind crystals again, but they didn't respond to her. She dropped to her hands and knees. Repetitively trying to summon her crystals and her wings. She pounded her fists onto the roof. "No! Work! Work! Work! Dang it! Please! Law's in trouble! You have to work!"

As if responding to her desperation, Neo's crystals and her wings finally came to her. Using both her wings and wind crystals, she quickly took to the air before they could disappear on her again, Neo turned and bolted north. But she didn't get but only a few feet before Law's words halted her.  _'I order you to stay away from Green Bit!'_

"What?! Why?! I know you know that Doflamingo never quit the Warlords! I'm not going to sit back and let him hurt you!" Neo screamed. Her hot tears streamed down her face. Her head started hurting again, pounding in sync with her heart, but she didn't bother summoning her solar crystal again to heal it. "I can't just stay away! Lift your orders!"

A long, dreadful silence filled the already distance space between the two. The seconds ticked by painfully slow before Law finally answered her.  _'I can't, Neo.'_

"But why? I know you're afraid of him hurting me, but you don't have to be. I might not have an attack that can stop his strings but I can do something. I can…I can dump him in the sea and paralyze him. Please, Law, let me come to you," Neo begged. She wiped her tears away, but more replaced them. Her breathing became sharp and shallow. When she felt Law was going to refuse her, she released an uncharacteristic string of curses that shocked both her and Law. She stumbled backwards in shock of the words that came out of her mouth. "I…I…I didn't mean…I wasn't trying…"

_'Love, calm down. You're just upset.'_

"Then why? Why won't you let me come to you?" Neo asked. She dropped to her knees and sat down on her legs. "I don't understand. I'm supposed to be with you."

_'I know you don't understand. I_ _promise_ _I'll explain everything later. But, right now, you need to stay with Straw Hat. Your magic is malfunctioning again. I don't want you near Doflamingo while your like that.'_

"My magic is fine. We're talking," Neo said. She brushed her eyes away again and looked towards Green Bit. She couldn't see the island from where she was, but she could sense Law there. And she could sense the large plant life on the island. "What are you hiding from me? You just put your guard up on your thoughts. Law, what's happening?"

_'Love, listen to me. You know that I wouldn't keep you away from me unless I had a good reason, right? Right?'_

"Yes," Neo replied, reluctantly.

_'Then you know that I have my reasons right now. I just need you to trust me. I promise that I will tell you why I don't want you near Doflamingo. But I can't do that right now. You have to stay away from here.'_

"But, Law…" Neo clenched her fists. Her nails bit into her skin, but she didn't care. The pain from not being able to go to Law was far worse. "You're going to fight. Aren't you?"

Another tense paused passed between them before he answered her.  _'I'm sorry. I'm going to have to fight to get out of here.'_

"And you want me to sit back and do nothing," Neo hissed.

_'I'm just going to escape from him. Since he broke the deal, he doesn't get Caesar. There's no point for me to fight him head on.'_

"Cora," Neo said bluntly. "Don't tell me there's no point. I know you better than that."

_'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.'_

"I'm sending Luffy to you. I'm getting him out of this stupid fight he's in and I'm sending him to you," Neo hissed again. She narrowed her eyebrows. Pushing herself back to her feet, she walked back over to the edge of the coliseum roof. She looked down. The majority of the fighters were being knocked out of the ring by the bull that was there. "And, if Doflamingo tries to kill you, I  _will_  break through your orders and come to you. I  _won't_  allow him to kill  _us_. I won't do it, Law."

_'I know you won't. And I know you'll break my orders if that looks like it's going to happen. You've gotten so strong. All right. For now, I'll accept if you get Straw Hat and send him this way.'_

"Law, please…" Law's hat dropped over Neo's sunglass clad eyes. "…be careful."

_'I will.'_

That was it. Law broke his thoughts off from her to focus on his problem. Neo focused on herself. Or she tried. She stared down at the battle. She had no clue what she should do now. Her brain wouldn't work for her. Should she just scoop Luffy up with her winds and give him no choice? Should she wait for the battle to be over with before taking him? Should she use her wind crystals to force all the other opponents out of the ring therefore making Luffy the winner? Would he get angry with her for doing that? This was an important fight for him. But what would he say if he knew Law was in danger? Would he put a Devil Fruit, his brother's, over someone else's life? What would he say if he knew their plans all got turned on their heads because Doflamingo wanted to play with them? What was Doflamingo up to? His crew was already heading for the Sunny to attack the ship and the Straw Hats that remained on board. Was he sending men out to attack the rest of them? Was he sending men out to attack her?

Neo's chest started heaving up and down. Her breaths came in short, sharp gasps. She knew she had to calm down. She knew she didn't need to panic. If she did, she knew she would distract Law. And she wouldn't allow that. She needed him to focus completely on Doflamingo not on her because she was letting herself be weak again.

"St-p –t," She told herself through her grasping breaths for air. She drew in slow breaths while she spoke to herself. "Ca-lm d-wn. You're n-t hurt. Everything will b- fine. You've been in situations where plans have g-tten messed up. I just have to calm down and remember everything Law and the crew taught me. We're not defeated yet. And we are strong. I just walked through a strange country with no one with me. I walked around a bunch of strangers all on my own. Doflamingo? Pft! He's just a jerk. We'll take him down. We will. He'll pay for what he did to Cora and to Law. But how? What can I do to help? Doflamingo can easily slice through all of my attacks. Come on! Think! I control nature! I  _am_  nature! There  _has_  to be  _something_  I can do! There has to be some kind of an attack that will work against his strings!"

Neo summoned one of each of her crystals, including the solar crystal, to hover over her right palm. None of her crystals have ever been destroyed before. In fact, the only crystal she could recall ever being destroyed was the darkness crystal. But the darkness crystal was drained of its magic. That was the only reason it was destroyed and couldn't be used anymore. Elemental crystals were strong. They were strong enough to defend their offspring in fights.

Not noticing, Neo lifted her left hand to her stomach. She cradled her abdomen while her mind worked over how she could possible use her crystals to her advantage. Doflamingo was just an ordinary human. He was only as strong as he was because of his Devil Fruit powers. And she was nature. He was the weak one here. She might not be able to stop him completely, but she could do some decent damage. If only she knew how to get past her only obstacle: His strings.

"What the heck?" Neo asked when it appeared that her crystals started to liquefy. She rubbed her eyes with her fingers from underneath her sunglasses. She then lifted her sunglasses up off her eyes and looked at her crystals. They were back to normal now. "What just happened to my crystals?"


	102. Doflamingo Knows

Doflamingo Knows

"Don't tell me…" Law gasped as his body temperature suddenly plummeted extremely low. A cold sweat gathered on his already cold forehead. His absent heart thumped rapidly hard inside the walls of the Sunny's ship at the impossible thought that was forcing itself out of his head and onto his lips. Doflamingo is a Celestial Dragon.  _It can't be. Doflamingo can't possible be a Celestial Dragon._  He released a strong string of curses through his mind. This was far worse than he could have possibly imagined. Doflamingo, the man who had killed Corazon, wasn't just a Warlord of the Sea, he was also a Celestial Dragon with world wide power over everything and everyone. Neo and their child were in far more danger than he ever thought they would be.

His heart took several more sharp beats before his mind cleared just enough for him to think. He drew in several breaths, careful to keep his outer expression calm so he wouldn't give anything away to Doflamingo.  _Calm down. Keep your blood pressure low. Keep your thoughts clear and calm. If Neo senses how much stress you're in, how much danger we're really in, she'll break through my order and come here. I can't let her do that. I can't let her come anywhere near Doflamingo, especially now that I know he's a Celestial Dragon._

"What's the matter, Law?" Doflamingo asked with a deep chuckle before looking around the island. "You look a little pale. By the way, where is that adorable little lover of yours? She is here with you, isn't she?"

Law flinched. His eyes sharpened like dagger as he clenched his fists so tight that his nails and sword sheath bit into his skin. He forced himself to relax and gritted his teeth to the point he knew would make his jaw ache later.

"I know she's here, somewhere. Or maybe she's on her way here," Doflamingo said, bringing his eyes and malicious grin back to Law. "I sure hope she is. I was hoping to give you two your wedding present. I suppose I could give it to you now, but that wouldn't be very proper of me. It would be best to wait until you two are together. So that's what we're going to do. We'll wait. I can wait a little bit longer to give it to you. But she is coming here, isn't she? I don't believe she's the type to willingly let you be here on your own, especially with the history between us. Would you like me to send an escort for her?"

"You stay away from her, Doflamingo!" Law hissed.

"What's wrong, Law?" Doflamingo's lips curled into a smile when he caught Law's eyes flickering over to Fujitora and the Navy. "I just want to secure your lover's safety. We don't want her to get lost now do we? Or maybe she can't get lost? Does this have something to do with your bond to her? I already know you can share pain with her."

"Share pain?" Fujitora asked. His eyebrows perched up at Doflamingo's words. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Doflamingo chuckled deeply. "I'm surprised you don't know, Fujitora. The Navy is always so slow when it comes to gathering such intel. But I can't say that I blame you this time. Law's precious little lover is a rather evasive species. They can be hard to detect and even harder to capture. Surely the Navy, at the very least, has noticed that she doesn't exactly feel  _human_."

"Yes. I have heard all of the reports and newspaper articles about that," Fujitora nodded. "In fact, I just happened to run across her while I was in the town a little bit ago. I could easily tell that she wasn't human at all with my Observation Haki."

Law growled and cursed under his breath. An Admiral being here was shocking enough. But that Admiral being that close to Neo was almost heart stopping. He gritted his teeth.  _She must not have recognized who he was. If she did, then she would have warned me about him being here. Crap. This whole thing has gotten completely messed up. But if he was that close to her, why didn't he try to arrest her? Was it because she was with the Straw Hats? Or is there some other reason behind his motives?_

"Not to worry, young man," Fujitora replied. He turned his closed eyes in Law's direction. "Other than the typical pirate charges on her, she did nothing in the moment for me to arrest her for. But that could change depending on what happens here today."

"Well, perhaps you would like to know what exactly she is then," Doflamingo said. "I've had another one of her kind working for me before. They're a tough breed, but they too can be broke if giving the right amount of… _persuasion_."

Law narrowed his eyebrows.  _He's clearly talking about Ren. What did he do to her? Did he do something to her? She seemed to be working for him of her own free will, but was that all a lie? Was she hiding something from us about her relationship with Doflamingo?_

"So you found out what that young woman is?" Fujitora asked. His eyebrows perching up more with curiosity, as were the soldiers behind him.

"Is he for real?" a soldier asked.

"I don't know," another one said.

"I wonder what she is," a third one added.

"Then tell us! Tell us what she is!" a fourth soldier demanded.

"Yes! Tell me! Tell me what she is!" Caesar said as happy tears streamed down his cheeks in anticipation on finally learning what Neo was. He reached out towards Doflamingo like it would help him get the answer faster. "I have to know! I've been trying to figure that out for so long now!"

Doflamingo chuckled deeply. "Impatient, aren't you all? I see no harm in going ahead and revealing what she is. It's quite interesting."

" _Doflamingo!_ " Law released another string of curses through his mind upon realizing that Doflamingo knew the truth about Neo.  _He knows! He knows that Neo's an Elemental! Did Ren tell him?! Or was it someone else?! If he managed to have one Elemental in his crew then it's possible that he has others! Or does this have something to do with that man that Blackleg mentioned?! Was it a human that revealed what Neo really is?! How would that man even know about the Elementals? Did he meet one that told him everything out of trust then was betrayed? If so, what all did they tell him?! Does he also know_ _everything_   _about our bond?! Does he know that if one of us dies the other will die as well?! Calm down. Our bond is rare. It's possible that Elementals who live among humans don't know about the bond. Focus now. You can worry about that later. Deal with the here and now first._  Forcing all these thoughts and questions out of his mind, Law forced himself to regain control over his emotions. There was no point in stressing out over questions that would most likely never get answered to begin with. "Leave her  _out_  of this! This deal has  _nothing_  to do with her!"

"It has  _nothing_  to do with her?" Doflamingo asked. His smiled faded for a few seconds before spreading back over his lips with the intent to do some serious malicious things. " _She was with you_  on Punk Hazard!  _She helped you_  take out my equipment and most trusted subordinate!  _She helped you_  kidnapped another important subordinate! And you really have the gall to say she has  _nothing_  to do with this?! She has everything to do with this! I didn't bring her into it, Law!  _You_ did!  _You_  are the one that brought her here!  _You_ are the one who married  _that_   _creature, that freak_!"

" _Doflamingo!_ " Law warned. "Don't you  _ever_ call her a freak! And she is  _none_  of  _your_  business!"

"It's  _your_  fault, Law!" Doflamingo continued. " _You_  are the one who brought an  _Elemental_  into the human world, into the New World, into the life of a pirate! You didn't think you could possible keep her hidden from the world did you? If you wanted to do that, then the best thing for you to have done would have been to abandon your pirate life and live with her on some secluded island! It's only human nature to be curious, Law! Bringing her out here into the  _human_ world? It was only a matter of time before people found her out! I'm just moving events along! Trafalgar Neo…"

" _Doflamingo!_ " Law growled. "Don't!"

"…is a creature called an Elemental!" Doflamingo finished. "And not only that…"

Law's heart and stomach lurched.  _There's no way. He can't possible know that she's a royal as well._

"Trafalgar Neo is also a  _princess_ ," Doflamingo said. "She's the ruler of her people."

Law's stomach dropped all the way to the center of the planet. White-hot anger building up in his chest made his vision become spotted with red dots of rage while his brain filtered through thousands of different ways to murder Doflamingo. There were no words to say how angry, how furious, he was at Doflamingo right now. There were no words to say how angry he was at himself for being naïve in thinking he could keep her and their secrets safe. Doflamingo, and now the Navy, knew what Neo was.

"Elemental?" Caesar asked, his ears perching up with interest. "What the heck is that?"

The Navy's ears also perch up at the Warlord's words.

"It is exactly what it sounds like. Elemental is related to or embodying the powers of nature. Her crystals and powers have nothing to do with a Devil Fruit at all," Doflamingo explained. "It's magic. She is a magical creature. A magical creature that can somehow share pain with Law."

"Magic?" a Navy soldier asked as murmurs began to pass through their group

"What's he talking about?"

"I don't know. But this would explain a lot. Her powers, magic, or whatever, is connected to nature that could also explain why she's so young looking."

"Wait, isn't there another soldier in the Navy who also feels inhuman?" a soldier asked.

Law's eyebrows twitched upon, somehow, hearing the Navy soldier's words through the pounding in his head.  _Jory. He's in danger too if they really believe in what Doflamingo has said. Neo will be upset if anything happens to him because the Navy found out our secrets. For her sake, I hope he abandons the Navy and heads back to Luminous. Luminous…Crap! Whoever told him about all of this, I hope they were strong enough to not reveal to him the location of their home land! I know Elementals are abnormally protective of their home, but they are not immortal! And, depending on what methods Doflamingo used, they could still cave and tell him what he wanted to know! The Elementals might be strong, but they've never faced a Devil Fruit user, aside from me, before, especially one who has murderous intentions! And a surprise attack would cause a lot of damage to them, especially if the ones who attack them fake being in distress! The Elementals could be welcoming a wolf in sheep's clothing into their home! We have to get out of here and find a way to warn them to not trust anyone who comes to the island that can't prove they are allies to Red Hair or us! Come on! Focus! Get their attention back on you! Worry about the Elementals later when there's more time and Neo is safe again! At least she's with Straw Hat right now! He'll protect her! Now focus!_

"That's most likely the case, Navy soldiers," Doflamingo said. "They can easily blend in with humans. I wouldn't be surprised if there are hundreds or thousands of Elementals in the Navy and among humans."

"You know, he's right! A friend of mine once told me about a guy who came off as inhuman and seem to be able to do things that should have been possible," a soldier exclaimed.

"We must get back to Headquarters and find this guy," another soldier added. "We can't allow this to happen. We must find them and kick them out."

"Yeah!" the soldiers cheered.

 _Stupid morons. Jory hasn't done anything to you. He's actually been helping you. And yet here you are, ready to kick him out just because he's different than you. You Navy soldiers are pathetic._  Law opened his mouth to cuss them out, but stopped when Fujitora spoke up.

"Enough of that," Fujitora ordered. "That man has done nothing to any of you."

"But, Admiral-"

"I said, enough!" Fujitora snapped. "I will not have you all creating a lynch mob because you found out one of our soldiers isn't human. I do not know this man personally, but if he has served the Navy with dedication then there's no reason to run him off."

 _Well, that's a surprise. Fujitora has some honor in him. Neo would have admiration for him,_  Law thought.  _But that doesn't change much of anything here. I still need to get them focused on me._

"Joker!" Caesar then cried out as he lunged forward. "Kill this jerk already! I want my freedom back! Then let me have Neo! I want to conduct experiments on her even more now that I know she's not-Ack!"

Law grabbed Caesar's scarf and jerked him backwards. He said, "I'm not handing Caesar back over to you! You didn't follow the terms of our deal, Doflamingo! The deal is off! You get nothing!"

"What?! No! What are you talking about?! Not when I'm this close! Let me go!" Caesar demanded.

Doflamingo laughed. "Oh, trying to take attention off your precious lover, Law? All right then, I've said what I wanted to about her for now. Let's focus on us. And I must ask is that really how you speak to your boss after ten years of silence? What would your lover say about your rudeness, Law? Leave Caesar with me. You know how valuable he is to me. Now hand him over to me."

…

Neo clenched her teeth so hard that her jaw ached while she rocked back and forth on her feet. She knew she should stop it, but she couldn't. She was far too upset. Something had happened. Something had put Law under a lot of distress. The feeling didn't last long. But she knew he was just concealing his thoughts and feelings from her so she wouldn't worry about him. "Well, to late for that, Law. I'm already worried. What's going on over there?"

Neo tried not to focus on Law. She tried to focus on the battle below her instead. It had to end soon. It would end soon. Then she could go to Luffy and tell him what as going on. Luffy would help Law. He had too. The Straw Hat captain said that they were friends. And friends helped each other. She just had to be patient and trust in both Law and Luffy's abilities. Law was strong enough to handle whatever Doflamingo threw at him. He would be fine. He would be fine until Luffy got to him.

She forced her eyes to watch, to study, Luffy's movements in battle as a distraction. She watched him easily kick through all of his opponents that came his way. None of them stood a chance. Even those that were wielding weapons couldn't do anything to stop the rubber man. Luffy, she noticed, seem to have a very free, very loose fighting style. He was just bouncing all over the place. She couldn't help but wonder if that had something to do with him eating the Gum Gum Devil Fruit or if he would just fight that way because that's just how he learned to fight or if it was an effect of his personality. She knew her own crewmates had different fighting styles. This must have been what worked best for Luffy. And it probably did have a lot to do with his Devil Fruit considering he's had it for a while now. If she recalled her godfather's stories correctly, he's had this Devil Fruit since he was a kid, around seven.

Her thoughts paused when she noticed Luffy staring down the bull that was in the competition. Though she didn't want her thoughts to be on anything but Law, she wondered how and why a bull was in this tournament. Was it intelligent enough to make that decision for itself? Or did someone own the bull and put him in for the heck of it? If the bull managed to win, would it eat the Devil Fruit? Did it even know what a Devil Fruit was? How would it even use the Devil Fruit? A wild, fight loving bull could be just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than a human wielding Ace's Flame Flame Fruit.

She shifted her thoughts. Searching out the animal again, she looked for signs of distress of being in this fight. But she couldn't find anything. The bull appeared to like fighting in this tournament just as much as anyone else. That gave her some relief. At least the bull wasn't being forced to fight against his will. The bull wanted to be here.

She twitched when she saw that Luffy and the bull were now staring each other down. She wondered if Luffy was actually going to fight this creature. He didn't strike her the type of person to hurt an animal that wasn't trying to hurt him. But this bull was trying to hurt people. What would Luffy do? She swallowed and waited to see what would happen as the second ticked by painfully slow.

"Oh, now the Brutal Bull is facing the unstoppable Lucy!" She heard the announcer say. She was grateful to be able to hear the man's voice from her perch on top of the coliseum. It would have been torture to sit up on the top of the coliseum and not know exactly what was going on below her. The information the announcer gave out on the fighters helped to distract her. "The Brutal Bull has fought death row prisoners in this coliseum just the other day! He killed more than half of the prisoners in that fight! That certainly makes him a killer bull! The Coliseum's Grim Reaper! And because of his behavior in these fights, people call him Brutal Bull!"

Neo sighed. That was some information she could do without. She didn't like the idea of an animal being used like this. She wondered who ever came up with this tournament idea. She wondered if it was Doflamingo. This was his kingdom after all. She bet he had  _something_  to do with this. And with Ace's Flame Flame Devil Fruit as the prize, this was undoubtedly a trap to purposefully get Luffy inside of this place.

"He's charging at Lucy! But Lucy is just standing still!" the announcer continued. "Did he get paralyzed with fear or something?! Brutal Bull is about to stab him with his horns!"

Neo sigh again. Going by what she knew about Luffy, there would be no way this bull could actually hit him. But still, her heart skipped a beat when it looked like the bull did pierce his horn through Luffy's body. She relaxed before the announce could say, "He some how fend off the attack! Lucy is fine!" since it was only an after image the bull hit.

Neo kneaded her eyebrows and squinted when it looked like Luffy was encouraging the bull to attack him. She whimpered when pain, sharper than before, stabbed through her forehead. She relaxed her forehead and started rubbing it again with her fingers. She didn't have time for any of this. When would this stupid fight be over with already? She released a frustrated growl. She no longer cared about the rules of this tournament. She was going to use her winds to flip that bull and the rest of the fighters out of the ring. The bull then charged again at Luffy. She started to summon her wind crystals again, but stopped when she noticed that Luffy wasn't going to dodge the bull this time. She also noticed something else. A familiar pressure was being released from Luffy. It was the same exact feeling she got when the Dark King and her godfather used their Haki. "He's using his Haki to tame the bull."

Neo relaxed her body posture when she felt the bull's killing nature slowly subsiding. Once the bull was completely relaxed, she watched Luffy jumped upon the bull's back. The bull's blood thirsty nature had completely vanished. It was gone. Unable to stop it, she broke out into laughter. The sight of Luffy on the back of the bull in the middle of a bloodbath just was too much for her. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and dropped to her knees. Her bells chimed wildly as her laughter rolled effortlessly passed her lips.

Through her hysterical giggles, she looked down the check the distance between her and the crowd in the coliseum. She was far enough away that no one would be able to hear her. Her laughter came harder then, causing tears to stream down her cheeks and her sides to ache. "I can't believe it! This is, ha ha, serious! And he's acting, ha ha, so silly! And I can't believe, ha ha, I'm laughing right now! Law's in trouble! Ha ha ha! Why am I laughing?! This doesn't make any sense! Ha ha! This is…this is like back on Punk Hazard when the lab was caving in! Ha ha!"

"I-I can't believe it! He's riding on top of the Coliseum's Grim Reaper! What a man! Lu-"

Neo gasped as the strong feeling of a strange shift in the air around her. Her laughter vanished as her eyes shot to the north, to Green Bit. Her electric blue eyes widened in shock when she saw the flame engulfed meteor falling down towards the smaller island. Her breath hitched in her lungs when the meteor hit. "Law!"

…

"Hm." Robin hummed and looked up at the ceiling of the strange underworld dwelling place she and Usopp were currently in. The rumbling had finally stopped, but dirt particles were still falling down on them. She was worried. "Neo."

"What is it, Robin?" Usopp asked when he noticed the woman's concentrated stare up at the ceiling. "It stopped shaking. There's nothing to worry about. Well, at the moment anyway. This place looks like it's pretty sturdy."

"It's not that. I'm worried about Neo," Robin replied.

"Neo?" Leo asked. "Who's that?"

"She's a friend of ours," Usopp replied. He looked down at the Tontattas. "She's very important to our crew, especially Luffyland. If you happen to meet her, be very nice to her. She's had a hard life. But she's very friendly and really sweet. I know she'll just love you all. You're the right amount of cute for her taste."

"Oh, all right then!" Leo smiled. "If she's a friend of the great hero, then she's a friend of ours!"

"That's great," Usopp said just before the Tontattas when back to their party. He leaned over closer to Robin at that point. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure. But that little earthquake before was clearly a result of something Law did," Robin whispered. "And if Doflamingo is really up there, I'm sure he's told Neo to stay away from him. I get the feeling that Neo is really upset right now. And that's not good for her."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Usopp asked. "She's obviously been in plenty of fights before. Why would this one possible be different?"

Robin looked at the sniper. She weighted her options of telling him about Neo's pregnancy or not. With how events are turning out, she figured it would be better to have as many people know about it, just in case. She knew Neo and Neo's crystals would protect the baby and herself, but that didn't make her or the baby immortal. Damage and death could still occur. And she didn't want that to happen to either of them, especially if there was something she could do to protect them. So she leaned even closer to Usopp and told him the truth. She whispered, "Neo's pregnant."

"What?!" Usopp shouted.

"What's wrong now, Usoland?" Leo asked, turning his eyes back to the pirate.

"N-nothing at all," Usopp stuttered. He waved at the Tontatta with an unconvincing grin before forking another bite of his fish meal. "Just a private conversation with my friend. Go on and continuing the party. The Fighting Fish is really good."

"It sure is good! And all right then, we'll leave you two to your private conversation! I'm sure you have a lot of planning to do!" Leo said with a nod before once again turning back to his friends.

"Are you serious?!" Usopp demanded with force control as he whipped his eyes back to Robin.

"Yes." Robin nodded.

"Then what the heck is she even doing here?!" Usopp growled lowly. "Is she and Trafalgar insane?!"

"Trafalgar didn't know until a little bit before we arrived here. It was too late to do anything about it then," Robin explained.

"What?!" Usopp gasped.

"Listen, Neo will be fine. Her crystals will protect the baby to a degree, but she and the baby can still die or get seriously injured in battle," Robin said, easing the sniper's worry a little bit.

"All right. So who all knows about this?" Usopp asked.

"As far as I know it's just us, Nami, Chopper, Sanji, and Trafalgar," Robin said. "Unless something happened on Sanji's end, no one else knows. And we're not telling them, especially Luffy, unless we absolutely have to."

"So you're telling me all of this because of what's happened?" Usopp asked and Robin nodded. "I see. You want to protect Neo and the baby. Hold on a second. You didn't say her name when you told me who all knows."

"That's because she doesn't know. She would have freaked out if anyone told her," Robin replied. "It was Trafalgar's decision to not tell her. He'll inform her once we're out of Dressrosa and safe again."

"I guess that's the right decision considering how she reacts to new things," Usopp said. He glanced over at the Tontattas. "Should we tell them about this?"

"That I don't know," Robin said. She turned her eyes to their new friends and pondered on Usopp's question.

…

"Law…what the heck?! What's going on over there?!" Neo whispered to herself as she tried to contact him. He wasn't answering her so whatever was happening clearly had his complete attention. She forced herself not to try and contact him again. Her eyes were locked in the direction of Green Bit, her mind forgetting the battle below her. "How in the world could a meteor come crashing down to the ground like that? That was not an ordinary occurrence. Did someone with a Devil Fruit do that? What kind of Devil Fruit-Hn!"

Neo flinched when a sharp pain shot across her right cheek. She placed one hand on her stinging cheek and rubbed it gently. Lowering her hand back down to her side, she clenched her fists and her teeth. She forced her eyes to pull away from the direction of Green Bit and back down to Luffy's battle. The rubber man was still running around the area on the back of the bull. She watched as they ran into the giant's foot. Her heart seized up when the giant in the ring pulled back his fist and punched both Luffy and the bull into the ring's floor, cracking it. The giant straightened his body back up and walked away. She summoned her crystals in an attempt to assist Luffy, but stopped when Luffy sat up. She relaxed when Luffy easily knocked out the giant, with the help of his Armament Haki, and carried the bull off to the side of the ring where he would be out of the way.

"I can't take this," Neo said to herself. She dropped to her knees and sat down on her legs. She pressed her hands to her face and tried to stop her tears from coming. She took several deep breaths, slowly getting her tears to subside. Once the desire to cry was gone, she lowered her hands to her lap. "What am I suppose to do? I can't interfere in Luffy's fight, even thought I want to. I can't help Law because of his stupid order for me to stay away. Maybe I should have stayed with Zoro or Sanji. They would have known what to do about this."

Neo sighed. She looked up at the sky. A cloud shaped in the form of a penguin passed by. Her homesickness returned as the cloud reminded her of her absent brothers and sister, especially Penguin. "Penguin…I wish you was here. You certainly would have known what to do about this. And I could really use your advice right now. Should I go ahead and interfere with Luffy's fight? If I do, he'd most likely be angry with me. I can't do that. So what? What the heck am I suppose to do? Law's in danger. He won't let me go to him. So what can I do? I'm too far away to help him with my crystals. If I try to do that from here, I could end up hurting him. If only I could see where Doflamingo is, then I could-Uh?! That's it!"

Neo shot up to her feet with a startled gasp. She mentally slapped herself. "I'm feel so stupid right now! I  _can_  help Law! I can use my Projection technique and project my image to him! That way I can see where Doflamingo is and attack him! It might be a bit of a stretch since I've never projected my crystals and myself this far before! And Law probably won't be happy about it since I'll be in a vulnerable position while I'm projecting myself, but…"

Neo looked around, carefully scanning the area around herself again. No one knew she was up here. This was the safest place as any to use her Projection ability. And if she laid down, she was sure to remain unseen by anyone, unless they were flying. But how many people actually had the ability to fly? One more second of debating and it was decided. Law might be upset with her, but he only ordered her to  _stay away_  from Green Bit and, technically, she still was. She took a deep breath and laid down. Not knowing how long she was going to be able to project herself this far, she got as comfortable as she possibly could then closed her eyes and concentrated on projecting her image to Law.

…

Law growled to himself as his blood dripped down his cheek. He forced himself not to think about how this was effecting Neo. He knew she was upset and confused about him banning her from Green Bit. But she would be fine. As long as she stayed away from Green Bit and Doflamingo, she and their baby would be fine. He would make this up to her, somehow. And he knew she would understand why he forbidden her to come here once he told her about the baby. If he got the chance to do that, that is.

Law lifted up his sword. He deflected several more String Shots from Doflamingo before jumping away from his current location and into the thick forest of Green Bit. He ran straight into the forest before making a sharp left and coming to the shock of his life. His heart literally stopped beating when he saw Neo standing there, obviously glaring at him from behind her sunglasses. He cursed under his breath. "Neo, what the heck are you doing here?! I told you to stay away from here! How could you have disobeyed me at a time like this?!"

_'I didn't disobey!' Neo snapped. 'And you better keep running! I won't be happy if_ _we_ _die here!'_

Law's body automatically did as he was told. He started running again with her by his side. While running, he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. That's when he noticed she was glowing and transparent. His eyebrows twitched. He's heart took a sharp jolt upon realizing how she was actually there. He said, "Neo! You are using Projection?! We've talked about this! You are  _not_  supposed to use that unless me or one of the crew is with you! Have you lost your mind?!"

_'No, I'm completely sane! But at the moment I am questioning your sanity!' Neo shot back. 'Facing Doflamingo alone?! Really, Law?! Where's Robin and Usopp?! Are they hurt?!"_

"They're trapped underground! But they're fine and safe! And don't you dare turn this around on me! You do remember the dangers you are in when you use Projection, right?!" Law asked. "You've just made yourself completely vulnerable right now!"

_'Of course I know that, Law! You know I wouldn't just use this ability just anywhere! I'm as safe as I can possibly be! I'm still upon the top of the coliseum! No one knows I'm up there! So unless someone has the ability to fly and just happens to be out for a flight, I'm safe enough!' Neo retorted._

Law couldn't argue with that, especially since he taught her that it's rare for someone to look up for danger. But that still didn't excuse her behavior in somewhat, sort of, coming here after he ordered her not too. With a frustrated growl, he said, "And what about your magic?! You're having trouble again!"

_'So? We've already established that I'm safe! If my magic disappears again, my projection will just disappear! It's not like Doflamingo can do anything to me here! He won't even be able to see me!' Neo replied. 'I came to help you! I wasn't going to just sit there and feel all of your anxiety with this, Law! By using Projection I can physically remain safe while still helping you fight. As long as my project body is here, I can see where Doflamingo is and use my crystals! And I don't understand why you ordered me to stay away in the first place! I know that Doflamingo can easily slice through all of my attacks, but I can still cause him a lot of trouble! Since we're arguing about this, why don't you just tell me why you're so bull headed about keeping me away from you!'_

Law gritted his teeth and kept an extremely tight control over his thoughts, forcing thoughts of Doflamingo to the front of his mind to try and keep the real reason hidden. But he wanted to do just that. He wanted to tell her the truth about why he didn't want her here.

_'Answer me, Law!' Neo snapped. She carefully eyed him and how guarded he was being with his thoughts._

"I can't do that!" Law said through gritted teeth. He leaped over a giant vine and pressed his back to it. He watched as Neo easily pass through the vine since her body wasn't really there and looked at him from behind her shades. He wished she wasn't wearing them. Despite being in the middle of a fight, with her and Doflamingo, he still wanted to see her beautiful electric blue eyes. He hated that they were hidden from him. "Neo, we can't talk about this right now! We're in the middle of a fight!"

Both flinched when Doflamingo's strings came shooting through the large vine too close to Law's head for their comfort. Without a word to each other, they started running again.

_'I noticed,' Neo mumbled to herself as she followed Law. Though she really couldn't tell if they both meant the fight with Doflamingo or the fight between themselves. She pushed it aside for now. It wasn't important. Summoning her crystals to Green Bit, she lifted herself up into the air. Turning backwards so she could see the blonde Warlord behind them, she focused on the large vines around her. She felt them twitching in struggling obedience to move on her command. She wondered if maybe she was too far after all to control this type of forest. She has grown her own large forests before, but nothing like this. And she's never tried to control them from such a far distances at the same time she was using her Projection ability. That was something she was going to have to correct in the future. She wasn't going to allow something like this to happen again without being prepared to handle it better. While trying to get the plants to listen to her, she moved ten fire crystals in front of Doflamingo. 'Take this!'_

"What the he-" Doflamingo started to ask when the crystals appeared in front of him. His voice was cut off when he realized Neo was somewhere nearby. He jerked himself backwards just as she flared up her crystals.

_'Dang it! He's too fast!' Neo growled._

"Well, it looks like your sweet lover is finally here," Doflamingo said as he continued to chase after Law. "Where is she hiding, Law? I don't sense any Elementals nearby."

_'What?!' Neo gasped. Her attempt in connecting to Green Bit faded from her. She turned her eyes to Law. 'He…he knows?'_

"Yeah. He knows you're a princess too." Law nodded. Picking up his speed, he leaped into the air and ricocheted three times off some large vines just before Doflamingo sliced them up.

 _'Why didn't you tell me?!'_   _Neo hissed. Anger built up in her chest allowed her to finally connect to Green Bit. She stopped following Law and picked up the sliced vines and some rocks and flung them pointlessly at Doflamingo. But like she knew, he easily sliced through them. So while keeping him distracted with slicing up vines and rocks, she moved her water crystals above Doflamingo's head, she gathered water around them and turned the water into seawater before shooting down a ton of water towards the man below them. Her anger bubbled when Doflamingo easily moved out from underneath her attack and laughed at her attempts of trying to use his weakness against him._

"Neo, surely that's not all you can do," Doflamingo said between his deep chuckles. "Where are you hiding? Why are you being so resistance in meeting me? Did Law's bad manners rub off on you?"

_'I'm not being resistant!' Neo snapped, despite knowing the man couldn't hear her. She growled in frustration of that fact then started to follow after Law again while continuing to use her crystals to try and slow Doflamingo down. She wrapped a large vine around Doflamingo's body. She bought Law a mere two seconds to move farther away from their enemy before Doflamingo escaped her trap. She gasped and whipped around when she felt vine pieces falling down from the sky and a very familiar pressure of gravity on her chest. 'Law!'_

Law jumped away from getting hit from the first vine piece, which almost landed on his head, then stopped when Neo's wind crystals appeared around him and easily blew them away from him. He looked to Neo when she landed beside him. He knew her eyes were locked onto Fujitora, who was standing on a piece of vine that had fallen from the sky, in shock despite being hidden behind sunglasses.  _'That's Fujitora. He's the new Admiral we've talked about before.'_

_'But he's the guy…back in town…the restaurant…' Neo stuttered. She growled in frustration. 'I knew there was something about him. I could sense his power, but I could…I didn't know…'_

_'Calm down, Neo.'_  Law ordered.  _'You just forgot about him. Besides, it's not like you've met him before. You've done nothing wrong.'_

_'No, I just let my friends come within inches of a Navy Admiral without realizing it,' Neo grumbled. 'Nothing wrong with that at all.'_

"I'm not going to let you have your way, Law," Doflamingo said as he dropped down. He stood on one of the large vines just above Neo and Law. "Now, tell me where that precious lover of yours is hiding. Her crystals are here so I know she's here too."

"Trafalgar Neo is here?" Fujitora asked from his perch on a vine piece. He scanned his Observation Haki vision around the forest. "I don't see her anywhere."

_'I guess Observation Haki users can't see my Projection form,' Neo said with a relieved sigh. 'I never thought of testing that out before.'_

_'Neither have I. At least we have that knowledge for the future now.'_  Law gritted his teeth and pondered on what their next move was going to be. Neo was completely defenseless against Doflamingo, but she did have a chance against Fujitora, if it was needed.

_'So, if we're done arguing with each other," Neo said. "What's the plan? What are you trying to do here? I know you could have escaped if you wanted to. So why are you dragging this all out? And where's Caesar? Never mind. I sense him near the beach. Why did you let him go like that? He can escape.'_

Law summoned all of his will power and forced himself not to flinch when she started asking questions about Caesar. He suppressed his thoughts of removing his heart as deep into the back of his mind as he possible could. They had just gotten over one fight, he certainly didn't want to start another one, at least not now. If he knew himself as well as he thought he did, he knew he'd tell her about removing  _their_  heart later.

_'Tell me you removed Caesar's heart and that's why you've let him run loose,' Neo said. 'If not, I can use my crystals and retrieve him for you.'_

_'That's not necessary.'_  Law carefully ran his eyes over Doflamingo and Fujitora. Doflamingo was still standing on the vine above them while Fujitora was still standing on a piece of shredded vine that had fallen from the sky when the Admiral attacked.  _'I took his heart when we were crossing the bridge. He won't be able to get away.'_

_'That's good,' Neo replied._

_'We need to run again. Give us a distraction so we can get some distance between these two and us. Ready? Go!'_  Law ordered.

Neo nodded. She summoned all of her crystals together. Combining their elements, she spun them into a tornado.

"Well, I guess the young woman is here after all," Fujitora said upon sensing the bizarre turn nature just took and feeling the wind and fire from Neo's crystals. "That's a shame. I was hoping she's would have chosen to stay away from here."

_'Why in the world would he want that? I'm a pirate. He's suppose to want to capture me,' Neo said._

_'Never mind him. Let's just get moving.'_

_'Right! Here goes! I'm so sorry for doing this to you, Green Bit! You really are a very lovely island!' Neo flung her whirlwind of elements into the ground, causing a controlled explosion. She pushed the majority of the backdraft towards Fujitora and Doflamingo before following after Law. She wrapped her winds around him and flew them both through the forest. 'I don't think that's going to do much good. Fujitora just took to the air. Doflamingo probably did the same.'_

"Doesn't matter," Law replied as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his transponder snail. "It was just a diversion anyway."

_'Who are you calling?' Neo asked._

"Nami," Law replied. "I need them to come pick up Caesar and get him away from here."

_Neo watched Law carefully as he dialed in the number for the transponder snail back on the Sunny. She sighed upon realizing that this fight with Doflamingo was just starting. Law wasn't going to give it up now that it had been started. He wanted the man dead after what he had done to Corazon. 'We weren't suppose to fight.'_

"I know," Law said in a low voice. "And I'm so sorry that I dragged you into this." He paused. A thought quickly passing through his mind before he quickly silenced it. "Neo?"

_'Yeah?'_

"I'm going to have Nami and the others, who stayed on the ship, take Caesar and head for Zou," Law replied, carefully. He gritted his teeth when he felt her heart skip a beat.

_'Don't you dare order me to go with them! I won't do it!' Neo snapped. Tears pierced the back of her eyes as she looked at him. 'I can't! You know that! I won't be able to…I'm not going to…I just can't…I-'_

"Easy, love," Law said while he wrapped his presence around her. His eyes dropped down to her stomach. He wanted her as far away from Doflamingo as humanly, or Elementally, as possible, but he knew she would always stay with him no matter what. Still, he had to offer the choice for her to go back to the crew. "I wasn't going to order you away like that. I was just going to offer you the choice to leave."

_'You already know the answer to that, Law!' Neo brushed away her tears then she narrowed her eyebrows at him. 'Why do I do nothing but cry here lately? Ugh! Don't even think about asking, telling, or ordering me to leave with them! I won't do it!'_

"I know, love," Law replied, forcing his eyes off Neo's stomach before she finally noticed his stare. He turned his attention back to the transponder snail when he notice Nami hadn't picked up yet. "It'll be fine. I won't separate us like that. Come on, Nami. Pick up."

_'They might still be having trouble with whoever attack the ship,' Neo said. She turned her eyes towards Dressrosa before turning her eyes up to the sky. 'And we're in trouble too. Fujitora is about to attack. He's floating a bunch of rocks and vine pieces above the forest.'_

"That's just great!" Law hissed. "Try and distract him!"

_'What about you? Doflamingo's right behind us,' Neo said as she glanced over her shoulder._

"I can handle him just fine. Focus on Fujitora," Law said.

_'Okay. His attack is coming,' Neo said just before Fujitora's attack rain down on them. She swirled the wind around them, easily deflecting his attack away as she flew Law down a hill. She focused on Fujitora's location about them. Summoning her crystals up to the Admiral, she fired several shots at him. But with the strain of being so far away and trying to do three times at once, she couldn't get a good enough hit on him. He was easily dodging her attacks or deflecting them with his own powers. 'Great. To have a chance of stopping him I need to physically be here.'_

"What are they doing?!" Law wondered when Nami still didn't pick up the transponder snail. "Pick up already!"

_'Crap!' Neo shot her eyes to the sky._

"What is it?" Law asked as he looked at her.

_'He's pulling down another meteor!' Neo banished all of her crystals, except for her wind crystals. She summoned a hundred more when she saw the meteor descending upon them. Gathering them together, she swirled her winds into a twister and shot it up to the sky. Just before her winds hit the meteor, her magic began to flicker out. 'N-! N-t n-w!'_

"Your magic is fading again," Law said as he watched her already transparent body fade from his eyes. They ducked behind a vine. He paused to catch his breath before speaking again. "Neo, go back to your body."

_'No! I won't!' Neo protested. Hot tears stung her eyes again, but she refused to let them fall. 'I won't leave you here like this! I won't do it!'_

"Neo, you don't have a choice. You know your magic is fading again," Law said gently with a soft sigh. His eyes dropped back down to her stomach. He wanted to tell her so badly. Pushing off the vine he was leaning against, he wrapped an arm around her. "You've done enough."

_'But, Law." Neo pulled her hands up to his jacket. She clenched a hold of the sides of his jacket and pressed herself into his chest before turning her eyes up to him. She reached up and pulled off her sunglasses. Her magic flared up and she pushed back against the falling meteor, but only for a few seconds before her magic faded again. She sighed. 'Fine. But once my magic straightens out, I'm coming back. I'm sorry I couldn't stop the meteor. Please, be careful.'_

Law nodded. There was no point in arguing with her on whether or not she should come back. So he let it go. Most likely she'll get Luffy over here before her magic straightened out completely for her to use Projection again. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers just before her transparent body faded away from him. Snapping back into action from the meteor that was baring down on him, he leaped away from his current location. The explosion, when the meteor hit, threw him through the air. He landed on his side then rolled to a stop before jumping up and dashing behind a large rose stem. He looked at his still ringing transponder's snail. "Come on, Nami! Pick up! What's going on over there?!"


	103. Waiting for Luffy

Waiting for Luffy

Neo opened her eyes and stared down at Law's ring on her finger. The sun glinted off its shiny surface before Law's face appeared in it for a split second. Clenching her eyes shut, she gritted her teeth and slammed her fist down on the stone in complete frustration. Her magic had failed her again. She just left Law all alone on Green Bit with a psycho nut that was bent on killing them both and a Navy Admiral who wanted to arrest them. And she just left him there to deal with both of them all on his own.

Rolling onto her stomach, she pushed up on her forearms before she forced herself to her feet. Once up straight, she grabbed her sunglasses, ripped them off her face, tossed them over the side of the coliseum, then turned towards Green Bit with an infuriated scream. " _Doflamingo! If you hurt him in any kind of way, you will pay for it!_ "

She watched the sunglass seemingly sail over the edge in slow motion. Before they could disappear over the side, they were covered with a puff of smoke and turned back into the leaf Kin'emon had used to make them with. For some reason, it made her even angrier. Her chest was boiling hot. Her head and heart pounded hard, pumping blood at a rate that would have put Law's internal alarm over the edge if her magic were working correctly and he could feel how angry she was.

Neo turned her sharp glare to the sky. Expecting, and wanting, to see a storm brewing overhead, but knowing it wouldn't come right now. It caused more frustration and anger filled her from the lack of hearing thunder booming in sync with her anger. She wanted to see the lightning dance across the dark clouds she always created when angry. She wanted to bring the sharpest lightning bolt down on Doflamingo's head. She wanted to create the loudest thunderclap ever to exist and sound it off in Doflamingo's ears. She wanted to wrapped him up in the strongest winds she could possible create and blow him away. But there was nothing but bright blue skies and too cute and fluffy white clouds. She felt like they were taunting her. Giving her an unnecessary, unwanted, reminder that her magic wasn't working right. She parted her lips to scream in frustration again, but quickly bolted away from the edge when her stomach took a violent turn. She dropped to her knees and retched up everything she had eaten before.

Several gags later, she sucked in desperate gulps of air. She placed her hand to her face again to find her skin was warm, low-grade fever warm. She knew she had to calm down. She knew getting  _this upset_  wouldn't do her any good. "Just great. Getting sick is all I need right now. Or maybe I just got too upset in the moment."

Neo's stomach turned again when she saw the mess she made on the roof. Moving away from it, she rubbed the back of her neck tiredly with her left hand while cradling her stomach with her right hand. If she had her crystals, she could clean it up and rinse out her mouth. But there was nothing she could do while magicless. She walked back over to the ringside of the roof and realized that her frustration and anger completely disappeared upon realizing the predicament she was in. She groaned and rubbed her hands over her face again. "This is just great! And so stupid! I'm stuck up here on this stupid roof until my magic comes back!"

She looked over the edge. The distance from the top of the ceiling to the next level was over fifty feet down. Even with her Elemental body she knew she would most likely hurt herself if she tried to jump down from here. Law wouldn't be happy with her if she tried it and ended up with several broken bones. Still she walked along the edge of the roof, trying to find a way down. She only walked about fifteen feet before stopping. There was just no way for her to get down without flying. The only other way would be for Luffy to stretch out his arms for her and grab her. But she wasn't even sure if he could do that. She never thought to ask him how far his limbs could stretch out. He might not be able to reach her. The only other option would be for her to jump and him to catch her. That could easily work. She didn't weight a whole lot at all. However, there was a flaw with that plan. And that flaw was that Luffy had no idea she was even up here and she had no way of informing him she was here. He most likely thought she was still with the others, chasing after Zoro's sword. Her shoulders hung low with complete and utter defeated as she did the only thing she could do. She sat back down on roof and went back to watching the battle and hoped it was almost over and her magic would come back soon.

"What the heck is going on?" Neo blinked in confusion when she finally noticed the bizarre battle going on between Luffy and the only other person in the ring, an old man in a green jacket and yellow pants who towered over the teenager. The old man appeared to be trying to head butt Luffy out of the ring. Somehow, despite the old man's weight and height, Luffy held out his hands and managed to stop him. She watch Luffy then grabbed the old man and lifted him way over his head and slammed him onto the ring floor. "What the heck is he doing?! He's using his powers openly now! People are going to notice it's him! What happened here while I was using Projection?! I'm so confused now! Why couldn't Chopper have the Gum Gum Fruit?! At least I could talk to him at this distance and know what was going on!"

"Did it work this time? Did Lucy knock Chinjao out for good?" the announcer asked over the hushed crowd.

"Chinjao?" Neo questioned. "That name sounds familiar. At least I can here the announcer from here so I won't be completely lost."

"Chinjao isn't moving at all?! Is this it?! Has Lucy won this battle?!" the announcer screamed before falling into silence himself.

Neo narrowed her eyebrows. Her heart started racing in anticipation. She hoped that this was the end of the battle. That way whenever her magic came back she could go straight to Luffy then back to Law. And she wished she had a pair of binoculars. The old man could be moving down there and she wouldn't be able to tell until the announcer said something. Her heart sank when the announcer did start speaking. "Wait a second! No! It didn't work this time either! Chinjao is getting back up!"

"Just great," Neo grumbled to herself. She leaned forward. Resting her right elbow on her knee, she placed her chin in her hand and crossed her other arm over her lap. She watched in aggravation as the old man got back up to his feet. She slipped her pinkie finger in between her teeth and started gnawing on it in annoyance. "Maybe it's a good thing I don't have my crystals. I feel so aggravated I might attack that old man on an uncontrollable whim. Law…please be careful. And get off that island as soon as you can. Get away from Doflamingo."

Feeling her finger already going raw and numb, she forced herself to stop gnawing on herself while she watched the old man push himself upon his head. She kneaded her eyebrows and carefully watched him while she bobbed her knees erratically. "What's going on? What's he doing? Come on, announcer guy. Tell me what's going on."

"Wow! Chinjao, is he really going to attack Lucy while being upside down like that?! What kind of technique is it?!" the announce said.

"That was not helpful at all, you jerk!" Neo snapped at the announcer despite him being unable to hear her. "If I had my crystals I would burn you for lack of proper inform-what the heck am I saying?!"

Upon realizing her bizarre aggressiveness towards someone who wasn't hurting someone she cared about, she sat up straight and looked down at the palms of her hands as if they held the answer to her behavior. Her memories of the day came flooding back to her at that point. She recalled every bizarre action she had done and every food craving she had. The thoughts of food caused her stomach to rumble. She tried to not pay any attention to it because she was far too confused at her behavior, but the rumbles and food cravings grew stronger. "What the heck is wrong with me? I feel like my emotions and stomach are out of control. I just threw up everything I ate, but I want to eat again, I've yelled at Law, yelled at an announcer who's several yards away and can't even heard me, I grabbed that toy, I've been acting like a child pretty much all day, I fiddled with Zoro's earrings while he was carrying me…Sheesh! Have I really been acting that bizarre all day long? Did I really act like a child earlier today? Why didn't anyone tell me? I feel so stupid and silly right now. I might not see that toy again, but I'm going to have to apologize to Zoro for acting the way I did. Huh? What's that old man doing?"

Neo glanced through her hands when she noticed the old man had started to spin while still standing on top of his head. The old man spun towards Luffy like a toy top. All of the knocked out fighters, which were scattered on the floor, was picked up and flung out of the ring as the old man passed them. She watched at Luffy leaped up into the air and released his Gum Gum Gatling on the spinning old man.

"Now it's a one on one fight between the remaining two fighters, Lucy and Chinjao!" the announcer said.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious," Neo said with a roll of her eyes. She rubbed her hand over her forehead upon realizing she was being snappy again. "Maybe I've just been away from home far too long. I'm tired, frustrated, and worried. And it just makes it worse when I can't even feel how Law is doing. At least I know he's alive, since I am, but still. How do people live this way? How do they live with not knowing?"

"Which one of these amazing fighters is going to win the Block C match?!" the announcer screamed.

"I don't care as long as someone wins and this thing ends," Neo mumbled with a low sigh.

…

Franky glanced around the entrance of the secret passageway that the toy soldier had led him too. He kept quiet while walking down a spiral staircase that led them to a room full of little people. When they entered into this place they were greeted with happy cheers and excitement from the Tontattas over the return of their captain and having another strong fighter fighting for their cause. But he was more concerned with something else. Zoro was down here, without the rest of their friends, and seemed to be more concerned about Luffy's fight than anything else. He called out to the swordsman, "Hey, Zoro! What are you doing here? And where are the others? Wasn't Neo with you and Sanji?"

"We were together for a little bit, but we split up a while ago," Zoro replied. He pulled himself away from Luffy's fight and walking over to his crewmate.

"In other words, you got lost," Franky said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That's not what happened!" Zoro snapped. "Neo chose to leave me! She went to tell Luffy and Trafalgar about everything that's happened!"

"Is that so?" Franky asked.

"Yes! That's so!" Zoro growled.

"So, she's all right then?" Franky asked.

"I believe so," Zoro replied. He glanced back at the screen that was displaying Luffy's battle with Chinjao. "Luffy's been fighting for a while. Since Neo hasn't interrupted the fight I assume she's somewhere nearby watching until she gets a chance to get him alone."

"You might be right," Franky said. He looked at the screen and thought about how Neo would go about getting into the coliseum. "Since the public can't enter now, I'll bet she's on the roof somewhere watching."

"Are you concerned about her?" Zoro asked.

"Aren't you? Considering everything that's happened?" Franky asked.

"Is there something wrong?" the toy soldier asked from his spot on Franky's shoulder. "I assume this Neo is a friend of yours?"

"She is," Zoro and Franky replied.

"Is she not a fighter or something? Is that why you're so worried about her?" the toy soldier asked.

"No, it's not that," Franky replied. He took a glance at Zoro. The swordsman only shrugged in response to the cyborg's unanswered question. "She can fight. It's just…she's not exactly in the best condition to fight right now."

"I see," the toy soldier said with a nod. "Would it be all right if I asked about her condition?"

Zoro and Franky exchanged looks. Both silently asking the other if they should tell these strangers that Neo's pregnant or not. Before they could talk the toy soldier said, "If it is a condition that we can help with, then we will be glad to keep an eye out for her."

"What do you think?" Franky asked. "It might not hurt letting them know about it."

"I don't know what to think," Zoro replied. He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. "Trafalgar doesn't what her to know yet…"

"But we're about to get into to a huge fight," Franky said. He pointed to the toy still hanging on his shoulder. "I think we should tell them. At least tell this toy soldier here."

"Go ahead and tell if you want," Zoro said. "But I'm not taking the heat from this if Neo finds out and freaks out on us then Trafalgar kills us for it."

"Is something wrong with Neo?" Wicka asked from the top of Zoro's head. "Is she sick? She didn't seem like she was sick before."

"No, she's not sick," Zoro replied. "She's pregnant."

"What?!" Wicka shouted.

"Way to be stealthy there, Zoro," Franky said.

"Ah!" Zoro gasped.

"I see. So that's why you are so concerned about this girl," the toy soldier said.

"It's actually more than that," Franky replied. "Long story short, she's had a difficult past. I can't explain everything, since it's not my secret to tell, but new things scare her very easily."

"And I assume this is why she doesn't know she's expecting?"

Franky nodded at the toy soldier. "She's a special case. And she can fight in battle while pregnant, but she and the baby could still take damage."

"That's kind of vague," Wicka said. "How can we help her if we don't know what's going on exactly?"

"I'm sorry," Franky replied. "Like I said, this isn't our secret to tell."

"No worries," the toy soldier said as he hoped off Franky's shoulder. "Just tell us what this Neo looks like and we'll keep an eye out for her."

"Well, right now she's wearing sunglasses and an orange raincoat with a large red bow," Franky explained. "But that's just a disguise. Her regular clothes consist of a yellow tank top, black shorts with yellow spots and a smiling jolly roger on the left leg, and boots. She has light blue hair, electric blue eyes, and sun kissed skin. Trust me, you can't miss her. When you see her, you'll know."

"Every well then," the toy soldier said. "I'll spread the word to keep an eye out for her."

"Thanks a lot," Franky said. "It'll really help us out by having more eyes on her."

"All right then," the toy soldier nodded. "Let's get to work."

The group turned to the rest of the Tontattas just as one of them said, "Commander, we've already sorted out the intelligence report from the scouting unit!"

…

Neo looked down at the palm of her hands again when she felt like she was connecting back to her magic. She sighed when the feeling suddenly disappeared on her. She clenched her fists then looked back down at the battle. Luffy and the old man had locked into trading punches. She was starting to feel like the entire world was against her. That it was, somehow, slowing down time on purpose.

"Lucy fended off this attack from Chinjao easily!" the announcer cheered. "The champion hopefuls, Sai, the thirteenth leader of the Happo Navy, and "Destruction Cannon" Ideo have surprisingly been eliminated! Will the legendary gangster, Don Chinjao win?! Or Lucy, the unknown powerhouse who keeps going strong?!"

"Luffy…I mean  _Lucy's_  going to win," Neo said. She placed her elbow back on her knee and her chin in her hand again. "It's obvious. Chinjao has experience because of his age, but  _Lucy_  has youth. Can we just end this already?"

Neo hummed to herself when Chinjao flipped his body over and started spinning on his head again. She studied his moves, the best she could from how high up she was, and wondered if there was some way she could use his move in her own fights. Like, could she possible trap Doflamingo in her vines, then spin like this old man and repetitively hit Doflamingo on his head like he was her own personal punching bag? Of course she'd have to figure out a way to keep him from using his strings to cut himself free. But the image she gave herself made her laugh so hard tears streamed down her cheeks. Pulling herself together, she wiped her tears away. "I am so ready to fight that man. He's going to pay for everything he's done to us. I hope when it does come time to face him I get angry not stand there and laugh. Come on,  _Lucy_. Finish this already."

The old man spun towards Luffy. He struck out at the rubber man with attacks that Neo couldn't identify from how high up she was. But she did easily noticed Luffy's skin turning red and steam lifting off his body then used his Jet Cannon move to send Chinjao flying into the air. Neo growled. "Come on! Come on! Fall out of the ring!"

She growled again when the old man easily flipped himself over and landed on his feet. "Should have seen that coming. He's a skilled fighter despite his age after all. Come on,  _Lucy_! Take him out! Finish this already! Ouch!"

Neo growled when a sharp pain stabbed into her forehead. Her headache had returned twice as strong as before. It caused her vision to double and sway. She closed her eyes when the swaying caused her stomach to turn in multiple directions. She massaged her forehead with her fingertips while she breathed slow and tried to get herself to relax and no get even more sick than she already was.

…

Sanji hummed to himself as he watched his captain fight on the screen that was mounted on the wall of a near by building. A small crowd was gathered around it, but he didn't care about them or the fight. He was more concerned about Neo. He had a bad feeling that something happened to her. And, if he knew Zoro like he believed he did, he knew that the pair had gotten separated at some point. But where would Neo have gone after that? He knew she wasn't with Law since he talked to him before and was clearly hinting that he contacted her through their bond to stay away from Green Bit. "She has to be here somewhere."

"What was that?" Kin'emon asked. He pulled his eyes from the screen displaying Luffy's battle and looked at the blonde man beside him.

"I'm just talking to myself," Sanji replied. "I'm wondering where exactly Neo is. I know she's not with Zoro anymore. And since I talked to Law earlier, I also know that she's not with him. So the only other place she could be is with Luffy."

"But Sir Luffy is in the middle of a fight," Kin'emon said.

"She's there," Sanji replied. "She doesn't like crowds so it's obvious that she's on the roof of the coliseum. She is probably waiting for Luffy's match to be over so she can inform him of everything that's been going on."

"So all we can do is wait," Kin'emon said.

"Yeah. Such a pain," Sanji grumbled.

…

Law growled to himself while he continued to run through the large forest of Green Bit after finally getting a hold of Nami back on the Sunny. Doflamingo was still closing in from behind him. He knew, without a doubt, that Doflamingo had noticed he was buying time. At least the man didn't, or shouldn't know, the reason for buying time. And he hoped the man didn't figure it out, at least for a while. And he hoped that he didn't figure out where Neo really was, ever.

It was bugging him that their connection wasn't working. That meant Neo was still having trouble with her magic. And that meant she was extremely vulnerable right now. Sure she was on top of the coliseum, but that didn't mean she was completely invisible to the enemy. She could still be found. She could be found while completely and totally defenseless.

Law skidded to a stop when Doflamingo came towards him from in front of him. He turned and ran to his left then jerked to a stop when Doflamingo blocked his path with sliced up vines. He turned to face the older Warlord, his chest heaving up and down while he sucked in air to fill his lungs. Part of him wished Neo were still with him while the other part was thankful she wasn't.

"What's wrong, Law?" Doflamingo asked. He walked towards Law, carefully inspecting the area for Neo. "Where's that precious lover of yours? She was helping you out a minute ago. Did she run off somewhere? You have nowhere to run now. She isn't here, is she? If she was here, she could easily lift you out of here. Or are you planning an ambush? Is she still here?"

"Hey, Joker! Don't kill him yet! I need you to get something back for me!" Caesar cried out as he ran over to them. "He has my heart! Law took my heart while we were heading over here!"

"Room! Shambles!" Law called out. He formed his Room and warped himself away from his current location and started running through the forest again. Hearing the familiar sounds of Doflamingo slicing up the world around them and feeling the vibrations of the giant, shredded plants hitting the ground followed after him. "Neo would not be happy about him destroying the forest like this. Ah!"

Law grunted when one of Doflamingo's Bullet String attacks hit him on his right side. He fell to the ground before using the momentum from the fall to roll back onto his feet. He panted hard as he looked up at Doflamingo.

"Just stop running, Law. You can't escape from me," Doflamingo said. "Who did you just call? Was it Neo? Or was it one of the Straw Hats? Just give me back Caesar's heart already. It really is meaningless for you to keep hanging on here. Your partner, Straw Hat, has already walked into the trap that I set up for him. He's now fighting in the gladiatorial contest at the coliseum. Tough contenders from all over the world come to fight in that outlaws-only, deadly competition. When someone loses, it's a one way ticket straight to hell. He will never come out alive from the coliseum. This is the end of your alliance, Law. Just give up."

Law gritted his teeth and glared at Doflamingo when the Warlord started laughing.  _Yeah, you keep thinking that, Doflamingo. Keep thinking that you're in complete control here. And keep thinking that Neo is somewhere in the forest with me. Don't make the connection to her ability to fly Straw Hat out of the coliseum._

…

"Come on, Luffy!" Neo cried after several minutes of tending to her headache. When it finally went away, she noticed Luffy had started using his Jet Gatling move again. She jumped back upon her feet and started to pace along the roof to give herself something to do and hopefully keep her headache away. Luffy punched at the old man rapidly while Chinjao matched his punches blow for blow. "Come on, Luffy! Take him out already! Knock him out! Throw him over the edge of ring! Throw him completely out of the coliseum!"

"They're exchanging fierce punches and kicks that are rocking the ground around them! What a fight! This is so exciting!" the announcer screamed. "I can't believe the level this fight has gone to! It's amazing!"

"This is not amazing this is so annoying! Take him out already, Luffy!" Neo shouted. She continued her pacing while Luffy and Chinjao's punches and kicked became so fast it was starting to get hard for her to see what they were doing. "Come on! You can do it! He's just an old man! I don't care how many years of experience he might have! You can do this! You can win! Do it now! Take him out!"

"Their punches and kicks are going so fast that I can't even see what's going on anymore!" the announcer said.

"Took you long enough! You pathetic slowpoke! I already said that several seconds ago!" Neo growled. She cupped her hands to her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs. "Come on, Luffy! End this already! This entire fight is just stupid! We have more important things to take care of right now! Your friends need you! I need you!"

"But I can feel their fighting spirit! I'm sure what we are seeing now is one of the greatest fights that has ever taken place in this coliseum!" the announcer said.

"You really need to get out more, Mr. Announcer," Neo mumbled to herself. She stopped her pacing when Luffy and Chinjao jumped away from each other to catch their breath. While waiting for their next move, she shifted back and forth on her feet impatiently and fiddled with her coattail. "Come on. Come on. This is dragging out too long. Are they talking to each other now? What in the world would two strangers have to say to each other? Or does Luffy know this old man? Is that why their fight is taking so long and why they are going so hard at it? Ugh! Why couldn't they put transponder snails in the ring? That way we could hear what they are saying. Come, Luffy."

Getting impatient again, Neo started pacing back and forth on the ceiling. She chewed on her bottom lip while her eyes lifted to the north. She wondered what and how Law was doing. Was he okay? Was he hurt? Did he need her? Did Doflamingo have him trapped? Her stomach spun with worry. Feeling herself coming to the point of getting sick again, she pulled her eyes away from the direction of Green Bit. She looked at the palms of her hands and wondering when her magic was going to finally come back to her. She tried to summon her crystals, repetitively, while pleading with her magic to come back to her. "Come on, magic. I really need you right now. Don't abandon me. Don't abandon Law. He's counting on us. Come back to me now. Come on.  _Come on._  Did I do something to upset you? Have I not been using you enough? Have I been using you too much? Are you upset because I don't use my wings that often? What is it? What? Do you hate me now? Is that why you're messing up so much?"

"Chinjao has been eliminated!" the announcer's voice suddenly broke into her private conversation between herself and her magic with the announcement she's been waiting for.

"Huh?! What?!" Neo dropped her hands to her sides and shot her eyes back to the ring. She gasped at the site before her. The ring had been split in two pieces and Luffy was the only one now standing in the ring. Luffy had finally won the fight and she didn't even watch it. "What happened?! What the heck happened?! I just turned away for a second and the match is suddenly over?!"

"Chinjao has been thrown out of the ring!" the announcer said.

"We do have eyes, you moron! And I'm being cranky again! I'm sorry!" Neo snapped. She slapped herself and groaned. Running her hands up her face, she pulled off Law's hat and pushed back the hood of her coat. She then ran her fingers through her hair, pulling it out of her coat. "I'm sorry, Mr. Announcer. I know nothing is your fault. You're just doing your job. I'm just tired and cranky. After all this is over, I'm forcing myself to take a nap for an entire day. Maybe then I'll come back to my normal self and my magic will be back to its normal self too."

"What a man! He beat the legend and won the fierce battle for Block C! Lucy the Gladiator!" the announcer said before the crowd started cheering wildly for Luffy. "I really didn't expect him to go this far! It's quite a shocking ending to this match! How much father can he carry this momentum?! And who's going to win the championship and win the Flame Flame Fruit?!"

Neo sighed with a light giggled. She knew Luffy was down there with a huge grin on his face. "You stupid…why is it hard to stay angry with you? It's the same with Law. We might have our fights, some intense because of our bond, but it really is hard to stay angry with him for too long. At least the battle is finally over. Now all I have to do is wait for my magic to return and I can finally get to Luffy. Then we can go help Law. Just hold on, Law. We're coming soon."

Neo looked back down just in time to see the platforms being extended out to the broken ring while the announcer reminded the crowd which fighters had won the block matches again. He said, "The battle royal at the Corrida Coliseum! Now, three contenders have gotten the chance to challenge the Don Quixote Family! The winner of Block A is the "champion" of the Blackbeard Pirates, Jesus Burgess! From Block B, the captain of a pirate group, Barto Club, Bartolomeo the Cannibal! And from Block C, everybody's favorite gladiator, Lucy! Only one more contender ca-"

Neo gasped when her magic and Law's current state of being out of breath suddenly came back to her and slightly in pain came back to her, finally. She stumbled forward and almost dropped his hat over the side from the sudden return. Tightening her fingers around the brim, she pulled Law's hat and herself back a few feet from the edge. Thinking it was just a dream, she focused on Law and summoned a couple wind crystals. But it was real. Her magic and bond was finally back. A ton of relief lifted off her chest. "Finally! I can feel Law again! I'm so glad he's not hurt very much!"

She started to call to Law, but stopped herself from doing so since Law was in the middle of dealing with Doflamingo. She didn't want to distract him, especially since he could feel that her magic returned. So she just put Law's hat back on her head. She then grabbed her hair and tucked it back into her raincoat before pulling the hood back up over Law's hat. She continued to listen to the announcer while the bridges extended over to the ring for the workers to fix it and for Luffy to return to the coliseum. "Just a few seconds longer. Just a few seconds longer and I can finally go to Luffy. Just remember to call him Lucy instead of Luffy. And whatever you do, do not call him Straw Hat."

"Only one more contender can advance to the championship. However, due to the extensive damage to the ring, the start of the battle for Block D will be delayed by fifteen minutes," the announcer said.

"Fifteen minutes to fix that kind of damage?" Neo asked. Her eyes moved from Luffy to the broken ring. The workers had finally got to it and were walking around to survey how bad the damage actually was. "The ring has been split in half. They must have magic of their own if they can fix that much damage in such a short amount of time. Oh! Luffy!"

Neo turned her eyes back to the rubber man, but he was already out of her vision. With relief, she sensed him just inside of the coliseum so she knew he hadn't got very far. It wouldn't matter if he did. She would have been able to find him easily since she could sense his rubber element. She checked her disguise to make sure it was in place. Realizing, for the first time, that she didn't have her sunglasses anymore, she pulled Law's hat brim down over her eyes.  _That'll have to do. Guess I shouldn't have gotten so upset earlier. It won't matter anyway. You won't be staying here much longer. Just get to Luffy now._  Wrapping her winds around her, she slipped her body into the wind stream and followed after Luffy.

She flew directly down and into the door that Luffy had entered into. Careful not to draw attention to herself, she kept a tight control over her winds until she manage to fly in front of Luffy. She appeared right in front of him, causing him to scream and stumble backwards. "Luf-Lucy!"

"Ack! Neo! Where did you come from?!" Luffy shrieked. He flailed his arms wildly in an attempt not to fall over backwards. He managed to keep his balance, but barely just before Neo threw her arms around his neck.

"Lucy!" Neo said with forced control. Tears once again streamed down her still warm cheeks. "I've been so worried!"

"Hm? Worried about what?" Luffy blinked. He wrapped his arms around her waist. "Neo, what's wrong? Why are you here? And why are you crying?"

"I'm sorry." Neo pulled away from him a bit. She brushed away her tears before speaking again. "I'm really emotional right now for some several reasons. There's a lot that's being going on since we split up earlier. I'm just really worried about Law."

"Tra? What happened? Is he all right?" Luffy asked, his hands dropping to Neo's hips when she pulled away from him.

"Sort of, but not really! Kind of! What am I say?! Of course he's not okay! He's on Green Bit right now and he's in a bit of trouble! We have to go now! There's no time to explain it all! I'll tell you everything on the way!" Neo said. "But Doflamingo didn't quit the Warlords!"

"What?!" Luffy screamed.

"A special edition was released a few minutes ago! Law's fighting him right now!" Neo informed him. Tears gathered as she spoke and leaked down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, but I need you to go help him! I know this tournament is important for you because of the prize! Please, Luf-Lucy! Please! Please help him!"

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down, Neo," Luffy said. He pulled his hands from her hips and patted her shoulders. "Tra will be fine. But of course I'll help him."

"You will?" Neo asked, peering into Luffy's familiar and trustworthy eyes. She knew she shouldn't be surprised at his answer, but she was.

"You know I will. You two are my friends," Luffy said. He pulled back from her a bit and smiled. "Did you really doubt me?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," Neo replied, dropping her eyes from his. "I'm just not really myself today. And I know how important the Flame Flame Fruit is to you. It was your brother's after all. If it belonged to any of my brothers or sister, I would probably do the same thing that you are doing."

"But it's just a fruit. Yeah, I'd like to get my hands on it, but not if it comes at the cost of losing one of my friends," Luffy said. He reached up and brushed away her tears. "Take me to him, Neo."

"Right!" Neo nodded. She wrapped her winds around Luffy and lifted them both into the air. But she only floated them for three seconds before her magic disappeared on her again. They dropped back to their feet with confused expressions. Her eyes shot open in fear and anger. "No! Not again!"

"Hm?" Luffy blinked. "What happened? I thought we were going to Tra. Why did you stop flying us?"

"I can't," Neo replied in a dark tone that caught Luffy off guard.

"Ack! What is it? What's wrong? Why are you so upset?" Luffy asked. He looked at her to find a dark aura falling over her eyes and her clenched fists were shaking violently. "I didn't think you knew how to get this scary!"

Neo lifted her hands, palms up, to her shadow covered face. "My magic…it's gone. I can't…I can't fly us right now."

"What?!" Luffy gasped. "What's wrong with your magic?! Why can't you fly?!"

"I don't…I don't know!" Neo growled through clenched teeth. She curled her fingers into her palms and pierced her skin with her nails.

"Wait. Didn't this happen to you back on Punk Hazard?" Luffy asked. Neo nodded, unable to voice her answer. "Are you sick or something?"

Neo's hands shook. Feeling like she could strangle someone with them, she lowered them to her sides and clenched them even harder before she could act on her aggressive thought. She drew in several breaths. She tried not to let herself get upset. Her magic would come back. She just had to wait…again. She could do that. Law didn't feel like he was in any serious distress when she was connected to her magic. So she could, and he could, wait just a little bit longer. All she had to do was wait for her magic to return. Then she could instantly fly them out of this place. Once over the side of the coliseum, it wouldn't matter much after that if her magic failed. Luffy would be able to run to Green Bit and help Law even if she couldn't do anything herself.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Stop that!" Luffy cried out when he noticed blood leaking out of her clenched fists. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands to him. He pressed his fingers into her skin until he managed to get her to loosen up. He then carefully looked at the indentions she made in her skin. "Tra is not going to be happy if you hurt yourself like that."

"I'm sorry, Luffy," Neo whispered. She sniffled as tears threatened to come out again. "I didn't mean…I'm just upset. I feel so helpless again. I feel like that little girl that Law always had to rescue, that little girl who did nothing but cry all the time. I feel so pathetic and useless."

"You're not like that so don't say it. You're strong. You're just having a magic issue right now," Luffy said encouragingly while he gripped her wrists tighter. "It's not that big of a deal. I'll get you back to Tra. I'm sure he'll be able to help with whatever's going on with your magic. He's a doctor after all. So smile. You look a lot prettier when you smile."

Neo pulled her eyes back up to Luffy's. He was smiling at her with both his eyes and his lips. She felt the corner of her lips twitching into a smile. Once her lips finally formed into an actual smile, she brushed away her tears that hadn't yet fallen. She opened her mouth to reply to him but didn't get the chance as a sharp, angry voice rang out before she could.

"Straw Hat!" the sharp, angry voice hissed.

"Huh?" Luffy looked passed Neo's head.

"What is it?" Neo asked. She turned to look to see who called out Luffy's real nickname. She saw a man with thick, slightly curly, blonde hair wearing a black cowboy hat with an aqua blue plume, ruffled shirt under a white coat, and dark pants. He had his sword at his side and was rushing towards them. "What's going on?"

"You won't run this time!" the blonde man growled. He grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"Who is that guy?" Neo asked.

"Cabbage!" Luffy replied.

"Cabbage?" Neo blinked in confusion.

"Durandal!" The blonde man pulled out his sword. He leaped into the air just before coming down toward Luffy and Neo and jutted out his sword.

"Hey!" Luffy cried. He picked up Neo, bridal style, and jumped them out of the path of the sharp blade. He landed on his feet with a growl. "Watch it! You almost hit Neo with that thing!"

"Stop trying to hide behind that woman, Straw Hat!" the blonde man demanded. "You won't get away from me! Now, put her down and fight me!"

"Luf-cy, what's going on here?" Neo asked. "Who is that guy?"

"He's one of the fighters in the tournament," Luffy replied. "He wants to kill me for some popular reason."

"Popular reason? That makes no sense at all," Neo said. "Or do you mean popularity?"

"I don't know! Hold on!" Luffy cried just before the blonde man started swiping at his sword at them. Still with Neo in his hold, he ducked and dodged the glinting blade. The blade missed them, but sliced the top half of two men's hair off. "Stop that! You're going to hurt Neo!"

"Then put the woman down!" the blonde man hissed before pulling his sword back for another thrust.

"Sorry, Neo, but I have to throw you!" Luffy said.

"What?!" Neo screamed just before Luffy tossed her up into the air. She looked down as she rose to see the blonde man thrusting his sword at Luffy and Luffy stopping the attack by slapping his palms down on the blade just before it could puncture his face. She pivoted her body around before she started to descend back to the floor. She landed easily on her feet before straightening out her clothes and readjusting Law's hat on her head. "Law would kill you if he saw you do that to me."

"Let go!" the blonde man demanded.

"I won't!" Luffy replied.

Neo sighed to herself while she darted her eyes between Luffy and the blonde man. She watched as they struggled back and forth with the sword between them. If she had her magic she could easily settle this by pulling them apart with her winds. But then she was in a room full of people and she was still supposed to be laying low. So she opted to stand back and let this weird fight play out on its own. Luffy could handle himself after all.

"Get your hands off my sword already!" the blonde man ordered.

"Why should I fight you in the first place?!" Luffy asked. "I'm tired!"

Neo reconsidered getting involved when Luffy managed to throw himself and this blonde man to the floor. She tapped the toes of the right boot on the floor and chewed the inside of her cheek in thought.  _I might not have my magic, but I still have my eyes. People seem to cave easily to me when I ask them nicely to do something._

"Hey! Someone stop them!" a man cried out. "They're going to get kicked out!"

"We can't get close enough! They're fighting to hard and fast for us to do anything!" another man said.

"Says the ones who willingly decided to fight in a tournament to the death," Neo grumbled. She then noticed how many people were in this coliseum with her. She carefully eyed them, making sure they were far enough away from her. She didn't have her wind crystals to put up a barrier between herself and these people. She was going to have to be careful and more aware of her surroundings. She didn't know this place. She didn't know how to escape. A cold wash of dread washed over her body upon realizing she  _couldn't_  escape from this place. Her breaths started coming in sharp, raspy gasps. "I c-n't do th-s. No…c-lm dow-. I'm fin. Luffy –s w-th me. Besides…I w-lked here. All on my own. I walked all the way here on my own. I can handle this. Just breath. I'm safe. I'm okay. I'm fine now. That's it. A few more slow breaths."

"Hey, Straw Hat!" another voice called out.

"What now?" Neo asked, finally back under control. She turned her eyes to the voice and found the old man, Chinjao, walking towards them with two other men beside him. The one with reddish brown hair was helping the old man walk while the other one with black hair was a couple of steps ahead of them, waving his weapon in the air. "More friends of yours,  _Lucy_?"

"Our old man wants to say something to you!" the black haired man with the weapon said.

"What?! Just leave me alone! I won the match!" Luffy said to them.

"No!" Chinjao growled.

Neo shifted into defense mode. She lifted her fists up and readied herself to fight if she need. But she wasn't sure she'd be much good to Luffy without her magic.  _This is just great. Some of these fighters I know I can take out. But guys like this Chinjao? I probably won't be able to do much but dodge and cause distractions. And Luffy is far too tired from his battle to fight this guy again. Plus I don't have my magic. I can't touch anyone._  She flinched when Chinjao leaned forward and stuck his large pointed head to the floor of the coliseum. The floor shattered, causing Luffy and his blonde haired opponent to abandon their battle and leap into the air. She took a couple steps back, careful to pay attention to her surrounds and not let herself get unintentionally cornered or touched.

"Come on, Neo!" Luffy said just as he landed beside her.

"Huh?" Neo asked a second before Luffy grabbed her wrist and picked her up bridle style. Her arms automatically went around his neck. "What's going on?!"

"That old man has a grunge against my grandpa," Luffy replied before he shot the two of them into the air. He bounced off the wall then jumped across the broken floor before dashing off in a desperate run. "He's trying to kill me because of something my grandpa did years ago!"

"He's trying to hurt you because of something your grandpa did?" Neo asked. She turned her eyes back to the old man. "But why?"  
"I have no idea!" Luffy replied. "But that was the only reason he was fighting me in the ring!"

"I get the feel this kind of thing happens to you a lot," Neo said, turning her eyes back to Luffy. Her eyes landed on the straw hat against Luffy's back. "Did your hat, or yourself, get injured in the fight?"

"Naw. I'm okay," Luffy replied. "I just need to relax for a while."

Neo gave him a skeptical look as she felt his chest heaving against her body. "You are tired. Put me down."

"I am tired, but I'm not putting you down," Luffy replied. "I'm your bodyguard from now on."

"You don't have to do that," Neo said.

"Huh? Of course I do!" Luffy looked at her. "If you can't fight because your magic isn't working, then I'm going to protect you and fight for you if it's needed. You said before that Tra was in trouble."

"He is. But we can't go help him since my magic isn't working," Neo replied. She wrapped her arms tighter around his shoulders, unable to stop the tears from streaming down her face. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have stopped to hug you. We could have already been on the outside of the coliseum now. And now I'm crying again because of it. I'm sorry for being so emotional."

"Don't worry about it," Luffy said. "There's no reason for you to apologize. You haven't done anything wrong. Tra will be fine. Once your magic is working again we'll leave this place and go find him. Now stop crying. Save those tears for happier occasions."

Neo couldn't help but smile when she looked at him. His smile was just so bright and reassuring. She nodded while brushing her finger under her eyes, removing her tears from her face. She tightened her hold on Luffy once again as he continued to run through the coliseum halls.


	104. Rebecca

Rebecca

Neo drew in a shaky breath as her vision blurred and the world around her started to sway and split. She closed her eyes and rested her head on Luffy's shoulder.

"Hm? Hey, are you feeling okay?" Luffy asked as he bolted down the hall with her in his arms. He cast a sideways glance at her, inspecting her drained expression, when she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Why do you ask?" Neo questioned, lifting her head off his shoulder. She noticed her vision had cleared up, but she didn't feel very good.

"You look a bit flushed and tired," Luffy said, eyeing Neo's pink cheeks. "I know you were just crying, but you also feel kind of warm."

"Oh, yeah. I think I do have a bit of a fever. And I did get sick earlier when I was waiting for you," Neo replied with a nod. She lifted her fingers to her forehead. Upon touching her skin, she found that she was a bit feverish. She lowered her hand back down and put it back around Luffy's neck. "But I'll be okay. It's probably just from worrying about Law and getting so upset earlier. I'm sure it'll go away when my magic is working again and I know that Law is safe. We have more pressing problems to worry about. Like how we are going to get away from those men who want to fight you." She looked back in the direction they had just come from. The old man was still on the ground, but the blonde man had started running after them again. "What are we going to do now? The one with the sword has started chasing you again."

"Wait, Straw Hat!" the blonde man screamed. "Hey, you can't run from a fight! Now, put that woman down and fight me!"

"What's wrong with them?!" Luffy asked, picking up his speed. "They're so persistent!"

"What exactly did you do to get them so angry with you?" Neo asked, turning her eyes back to the group of men now chasing them. She noticed that along with the four that had confronted Luffy before, a fifth man had joined the chase. "There's another now too. He has some wild green hair. It's kind of funny looking. Reminds me of a rooster. It's cute. Do you think he's friendly or does he want to fight you too? I can't tell. But what did you do to them to get them so angry?"

"I didn't do anything to them!" Luffy wailed as he turned a corner.

"Wait!"

"Hold on a second!"

"Come back here!"

"Please wait!"

Neo forced herself to pull her eyes away from the small group of five chasing them when they rounded the corner. She turned her eyes to her surroundings and tried to make a mental note of where she was and were the exit was. But with how fast Luffy was running she barely caught a clear glimpse of anything. All she could see was a bunch of fighters standing around, the muddy colored stonewalls, and the candles that were lined up on the wall for light in the dark halls of the coliseum. Just then Luffy took them into a large room that was void of people. "Where are we?"

"I'm not really sure," Luffy replied. He sat her down on her feet, but took a hold of her hand. "I was looking for a safe place to hide from those guys. But there doesn't seem to be such a place that I feel comfortable enough."

"I'm not really familiar with these types of places. I don't know where we are or where we could go. And it doesn't help that I don't have my magic," Neo said as she looked around the room. There were a couple doors, plus the one they just ran through, in this room, but nothing else. She had no idea where any of the doors led to, with the exception of the door they just ran through. And they certainly weren't going to go back through that one. Taking a small step away from Luffy, she carefully scanned her eyes over the room. A cold chill ran down her spine from the room. For the first time she noticed that there was a lot of darkness in coliseum and not from the lack of lightening. She felt like voices from the past were trying to reach out to her and tell her all of the gritted details that went on in a place like this. She had the strange feeling that this seemingly happy country wasn't as happy as it appeared to be. It made her shiver and step back towards Luffy.

"Hm? What's wrong? Are you cold?" Luffy asked upon seeing her shiver.

"A little bit," Neo replied, rubbing her free hand on her arms. "It's nothing. Let's just get going."

"Yeah. But which way?" Luffy asked, looking around the room.

"This way, Lucy!" a soft, female voice said.

Neo turned her eyes towards the voice just as a young woman with pink hair appeared, grabbed Luffy's arm, and pulled him down an unfamiliar hall. Without question, Neo followed since Luffy was still holding onto her hand. She remained quiet as Luffy said, "Oh, aren't you…um…uh…"

"It's Rebecca," the girl said with a smile. "I've noticed you've made quite a lot of enemies. Just follow me."

"Sure. Thanks a lot," Luffy said.

"Uh, Luf-cy?" Neo said.

"It's okay," Luffy said. He turned his eyes to Neo and smiled. "I've met this girl before."

"You a friend of Lucy's?" Rebecca asked, turned her eyes back to Neo and Luffy. "Wait a second. You're not one of the fighters that signed up for the fights today. How did you manage to get in here?"

"Uh." Neo blinked.  _I have no clue what to say. I never planned on staying in here long enough to need a backstory for the reason of being here._

"She's a friend of mine," Luffy replied. "She came to get me because Law is in troub-"

" _Lucy!_ " Neo hissed. She gave his hand a sharp squeeze and pulled him closer to her. Lowering her voice, she said, "You can't mention Law. Or that he's fighting Doflamingo."

"Oh! Right! I'm sorry!" Luffy replied.

Neo sighed internally. She turned her eyes back to Rebecca. The young woman didn't seem to catch their conversation as she continued to lead them through the coliseum.

"By that logic, Shiryu is no different!"

"Huh? Ah!" Neo gasped when Luffy suddenly skidded to a stop and she flew past him only to be anchored down by his hold. She stumbled back to him, just barely missing tripping over her own feet as she did. "Lucy? What did you suddenly stop for? You could have given me a little warning before doing that."

Neo paused when she noticed Luffy's intense expression. She followed his gaze to a man wearing a black and orange mask with long purplish colored hair and beard sitting on a stone bench with a transponder snail in his hand. She shivered at the intense, dark aura the man was giving off. Feeling insecure without her magic, and without knowing what was going on with Law, she stepped closer to Luffy. She looked down at their connected hands when his squeezed hers. She wasn't sure if he did it to let her know he was there or if he did it out of tension because of this strange man.

"But I don't trust Aokiji at all!" the man screamed into his transponder snail.

Neo kneaded her eyebrows.  _Aokiji? Does he know the former Admiral somehow? Wait…that man looks familiar. I think that's Burgess of the Blackbeard Pirates. What's he doing here?_

"Huh? Oh, hold on a second, Captain," Burgess said when he noticed Neo and Luffy standing there. "Straw Hat is here."

"Are you really there?" Blackbeard asked from the transponder snail. "Straw Hat Luffy?"

Neo shivered from the sound of the pirate's voice and the sight of the transponder snail when Burgess turned it towards them. She's never met this man before, but she's heard plenty of things about him. And none of them were good.

"You…you're Blackbeard!" Luffy growled.

Neo took a glance at Luffy before quickly returning her eyes to Burgess.  _If I remember correctly, Blackbeard was at the Marineford war when Luffy's brother died. I'm assuming with the dangerous aura Luffy is putting off right now that he has some history with Blackbeard. I wonder if it has something to do with Ace._

"You're Blackbeard, aren't you?" Luffy asked.

"Yes, it's me! It's been a while! Hasn't it?" Blackbeard said. "I heard that you were taking part in the competition today,  _Lucy_! But my man, Burgess, is going to win the Flame Flame Fruit! This will be great! I can't wait because it'll be like having my very own Fire Fist Ace in my crew! He turned me down in the past, you know?!"

"You're not going to get that Devil Fruit, Blackbeard! You guys are the last people I want to have Ace's power!" Luffy declared, causing both Blackbeard and Burgess to laugh.

"Only time will tell,  _Lucy._ I can't wait to fight you in the finals! Make sure you rest up well for that!" Burgess then said before getting up and walking off without another word.

Neo kept her eyes on Burgess as he walked away from them until she sensed Rebecca walking back over to them. She then turned her eyes to the young, pink haired girl. Finally getting a good look at the young girl, she couldn't help but notice something familiar about the girl. She also noticed that it was the same feeling she got from Sanji when the cook was teaching her how to dance. She kneaded her eyebrows slightly and wondered why she would get this feeling from them, and what this feeling actually meant.

"We better get going," Rebecca said, pulling Neo from her thoughts. "Those guys are still after you."

"Hey, Lucy, let's go," Neo said. She squeezed his hand when he still didn't respond. "Lucy?"

"Lucy!" Rebecca called.

"Right." Luffy nodded, finally hearing them.

"Let's go then," Rebecca said as she turned away from them.

"Lucy?" Neo asked, looking at Luffy. She started to become worried when all Luffy did was stare off in the direction that Burgess walked off in. She stepped closer to him and leaned in towards his ear. "Luffy, are you all right? What's wrong?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Come on," Luffy said. He gave Neo a quick smiled before once again taking the lead in following after Rebecca. While they ran to catch up to their new friend, Neo watched Luffy's expression.

"Do you know that pirate?" Rebecca asked a minute later.

Neo turned pulled her attention off Luffy and onto Rebecca. The pink haired woman was looking back at them from over her shoulder. Neo tilted her head. She noticed that Rebecca was just a teenager, probably younger than Luffy. She wondered how old this girl was exactly and why someone so young was fighting in a place like this to begin with.

"Yeah. I know him. And he's the last person that I want to win Ace's Flame Flame Fruit," Luffy replied before suddenly stopping when they came upon a food vendor.

"Ah!" Neo cried as she bumped into him. She stumbled backwards a couple feet before catching herself. "Lucy! What did I tell you before about suddenly stopping?!"

"I'm sorry," Luffy said with a laugh. He reached out to the food vender and grabbed a toothpick that was jammed into small pieces of food before he held it up to Neo's face. "Hey! Look, Neo! They have food samples! Do you want some too?!"

Neo took one look at the sample in Luffy's hand. It looked to be some form of breaded meat that was wrapped with onions. The smell and the sight of it caused her stomach to turn. She shot her right hand up to her mouth to try and keep herself from gagging while taking a step back from the offensive food.

"Huh? Is something wrong? You look a bit pale," Luffy said upon seeing Neo's usual dark skin turn white. He lowered the food a bit, but didn't remove it from her face.

"I'm okay," Neo said. Using her free hand, she pushed the food and Luffy's hand away from her face, and then dropped her own hand down to her stomach. "I think I am getting sick. The sight and smell of the food is making me feel very nauseous."

"Huh? Are you sure? It's really good," Luffy said, finally taking the offending food away from Neo and shoving it into his mouth. "So yummy. Not as good as Sanji's, but still very good. Are you sure you don't want any?"

"I'm sure." Neo nodded. She forced herself to look away from the food. She didn't think she would retch again, since she didn't think she had anything left in her stomach to give up, but she didn't want to take the chance. She busied herself by looking around the room. Several tables and chairs with yellow umbrellas, which she thought was pointless being indoors, were scattered near the vendor for fighters to sit at and enjoy some lunch. Some of the coliseum fights were currently sitting at the tables talking among themselves and eating. The fighters didn't seem to care that they were there, but she still jumped when one of them looked at her. She turned away from them and continued to run her eyes over the room. So far it seemed that the only people around were fighters and the vendor lady, but she knew there were official people running around the coliseum somewhere. She wondered what she would do or say if or when they finally ran into one of them. She still didn't have a story to explain why and how she got into this place. All she could do was silently hope that Rebecca got them to a good enough hiding place and that her magic returned soon. If she had her magic, she could easily pull the air out of peoples lungs if they tried to remove her from Luffy.

"Hey, old lady, are there no more samples?" Luffy asked, pulling Neo's attention back to him.

"Hey! You're just going to keep on eat and not buy anything, aren't you?!" the old lady pointed at Luffy accusingly.

Neo inspected the old woman. She looked nice enough, but was clearly getting annoyed at Luffy's continuous sampling of her food with no intent of buying anything. She reached into her pocket to pull out her money, but stopped when Rebecca's voice rang out.

"Hey! Just a second!" Rebecca called as she ran back over to them. "I'm sorry, ma'am! Which one do you want, Lucy?"

"What?! Are you going to by it for me?!" Luffy screamed in delight.

"Or you could just buy it yourself, Lucy," Neo said, but he didn't hear her. She sighed.  _All well. He probably doesn't have any money with him._  She continued to pull out her own money. Silently she counted how much money she had with her. She then looked up at Rebecca. "Rebecca, you don't have to buy him anything. I can do it."

"It's fine," Rebecca said with a smile. "I don't mind at all. You just save your own money for now. You'll probably need it later."

"That's nice of you," Neo said. She glanced at Luffy, who was drooling over the lunch boxes on the counter. "But Lucy's not your responsibility. And he's being a bit rude. I'm sorry. He's just like that, I guess."

"I really don't mind. Beside you two are guests here," Rebecca replied.

"Oh, Rebecca, are they friends of yours?" the old woman then asked.

"Sort of. Lucy is a competitor in the fight today," Rebecca replied with a smile for the old woman. She then turned and looked at Luffy. "Go ahead, Lucy. Pick out what you want."

"Great! Thanks a lot!" Luffy smiled. He turned to the vendor booth and swiped a couple lunch boxes off the counter. "I'll take these!"

Neo sighed. She shoved her money back into her pocket and stared down at the floor. She really didn't feel like dealing with any of this. So she didn't argue. She was more worried about Law anyway. She wondered what and how Law was doing at the moment. Was he still on Green Bit? Did he get off Green Bit? Was he still fighting Doflamingo? He did get a hold of Nami? How were the other's doing? Was he with the other Straw Hats by now?

"What about you?" Rebecca's voice asked, breaking through Neo's worried thoughts. "Would you like something to eat?"

"Huh?" Neo lifted her eyes to Rebecca upon noticing the girl was talking to her. "Oh, no, thank you. I'm not hungry."

"Are you sure?" Rebecca asked.

"I'm sure." Neo nodded. She rubbed her hand on her stomach. "I'm not really feeling well at the moment. If I eat right now, I might get sick again. And I don't want that to happen."

"Again?" Rebecca blinked. Her eyes filling with concern as she scanned her gaze over Neo's face. "You do look a bit pale. Do you need to see a doctor? They have some medics here in the coliseum for fighters once they're done with their fight. I know you're not a fighter here, but if you're really sick I'm sure they'll take a look at you. Or they might let you leave the coliseum so you can go to the hospital."

"No, thank you. I don't need to go see anyone. I'll be all right," Neo replied with a smile.

"Well, if you're sure," Rebecca said with a slow nod.

"I am." Neo nodded firmly. "I can always come back and get something later if I feel like eating then."

"Very well then. But if you really start to feel sick, please let me know." Rebecca said.

"Sure. I don't see why not," Neo replied.

"Great." Rebecca said with a relieved smile. She then turned to the vendor and paid for Luffy's lunch boxes, using up all of her money in the process.

"Thank you," the old woman said with a happy wave. "Come by any time."

"Let's go now," Rebecca then said to Neo and Luffy. The two pirates nodded and started to follow the young woman once again.

Neo carefully made sure to keep an eye on her surroundings in her typical effort to know where she was and how to escape, but also to keep herself distracted from the smells of Luffy's lunch boxes. The food was still making her feel very nauseous. She glanced back behind them at the rounded halls of the coliseum. She hadn't heard those men yelling anymore so they had lost them at some point in time. She wondered if it would stay that way or if the men would somehow find them.

"Here," Rebecca's voice said.

Neo pulled her eyes back to the girl. The female fighter was pulling open a large door. She hesitated a bit when Rebecca signaled for them to go inside. But she quickly followed after Luffy when he stepped inside of the new room. Upon stepping into the room, she noticed it was more musky smelling that the areas that they had been in before. She also noticed a faint, familiar smell of medical supplies and blood. She kneaded her eyebrows and carefully took in the room. The walls to her left and the prison cells to her right were curved so she knew they were on the outer edges of the coliseum. She also carefully noted that lined up again the left wall were weapons. There were a variety of axes, swords, spears, and hatches, just waiting to be used.  _Weapons? At least they have swords here. If I need it, I can borrow one until my magic comes back._

"It looks so yummy! I'm going to eat now!" Luffy announced, breaking Neo's concentration of studying the room they were in. She glanced at him just as he picked up his fork, speared him a bite of food, and then shoved it into his mouth. She noticed Luffy and Rebecca was sitting on a bench just in front of the cells before her stomach turned at the sight of Luffy's lunch. She quickly looked away and took a deep breath, relaxing breath.

"Sorry that I don't have that much money," Rebecca said. "I could have bought you a couple more if I did."

"No, thank you for buying me lunch, Rebecca," Luffy said with his mouthful.

"I'm sorry he made you buy him lunch," Neo said from the opposite side of the room. She ran her eyes over all of the weapons lined up against the wall again before she turned towards Rebecca. She put her hands behind her back in her typical habit of tugging on her hair. But she forgot once again that her hair was tuck back into her disguise. She had to settle for tugging on her raincoat for now. So she pinched a hold of the fabric and tugged. "I have enough money on me to pay you back. Please, let me do that. I can always get reimbursed from Lucy later."

"Don't worry about it. I really don't mind at all," Rebecca said with a smile. "You keep your money. You'll be leaving this coliseum later today and might need it."

"Oh, well…okay then. If you really insist," Neo said with a small nod. "But I really would like to make it up to you later. Maybe I can buy you lunch sometime in return? Or maybe dinner since this fight will go past lunch time."

"Yeah." Rebecca said. She lowered her eyes to the floor.

Neo tilted her head. She noticed Rebecca's eyes turned strangely sharp with hate for a split second. "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing," Rebecca replied. She brought her eyes back up and smiled. "And, if you really insist on paying me back in that way, then I won't stop you."

"Okay." Neo studied Rebecca's soft eyes.  _I know I wasn't imagining things. Rebecca's eyes did change. They were filled with such hatred and anger. I wonder why? And who were those emotions directed towards?_  She turned from the female gladiator, knowing she most likely won't get any answers, at least at the moment, and started walking around the room again. She continued her inspection of the weapons and her surroundings while she heard Luffy speak up.

Luffy chewed up his current bite of food, swallowed, then looked around the room they were in. "By the way, where are we? What is this place?"

"This is a quarter for us gladiators of the coliseum," Rebecca replied. "But some people have called this place a prison."

Neo felt her body twitch at the female gladiators words.  _A prison seems fitting. That was what I first thought when I saw this place outside._  She ran her eyes over the room once more. Noticing for the first time how unkempt this place really was. Along with the weapons there were empty bottles and scraps of paper scattered over the floor, and a barrel with a rag draped over the side around the area. She tensed and turned her eyes back to Rebecca when she caught a glimpse of movement. The gladiator was taking off her helmet. She relaxed upon fully seeing the harmless move.  _I guess other people have thought the same thing._

"Guest competitors don't come in here so you can stay here and rest until your next match," Rebecca said once her helmet was removed. "Neither of you will be bothered."

"Yeah. Okay," Luffy said between mouthfuls. "That's great. Thanks a lot."

"You're just a child," Neo said without thinking when her eyes landed on the young woman now helmet free. "I knew you were young compared to the others, but still…"

"That seems a bit odd coming from you," Rebecca said as she turned her eyes to Neo. "You look younger than I am. But I must say that you have very beautiful eyes."

"Uh, thank you," Neo said, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious for speaking out like she did. She tapped the toes of her right boot on the floor, feeling her feet starting to throb from being confined for so long. "But I'm not as young as you think. I'm twenty two."

"Really?" Rebecca blinked in disbelief. She scanned her eyes over Neo's face again. "But you look so young! I seriously thought you were around twelve years old or something! I'm sorry!"

"It's nothing to apologize for. I get that a lot." Neo tapped her boot on the floor a couple more times before stopping. "It's a fairly common mistake that people make with me. So I'm use to it."

"I see. Well, whatever you're doing to keep such a young appearance, it's working," Rebecca said, still taking in Neo's youthful appearance with a small amount of disbelief in her eyes. "I know a lot of women who would love to use a product like that. What do you use?"

 _Elemental blood._  Neo thought before saying, "I don't use anything. I just naturally look this young. I guess you could call it a gift."

Neo flinched when Rebecca tilted her head and took a closer look at her that she's seen many times before. Rebecca was finally taking notice of her inhuman nature. She said, "There's something…different about you."

"Uh, yeah. I get that a lot t-" Neo paused when she realized that this girl was using Observation Haki on her. Her pulse started pounding under her skin with each passing second that Rebecca was inspecting her. Her heart skipped a beat when the pink haired girl's eyes landed on her stomach and took on a confused expression. She lifted an eyebrow before Rebecca returned her eyes to her own. She forced a flinch down when they locked eyes. She studied Rebecca just as hard as Rebecca was studying her. Her heart rate slowed down. She didn't feel threatened at all by this stranger. She knew she could trust Rebecca. So she cleared her throat, took a breath, and said, "That's something else I get a lot of. As I'm sure you just noticed."

Rebecca nodded. Neo expected her to ask questions, but she just turned to Luffy instead and said, "Your fight was amazing! I was really surprised at your strength!" The pink haired woman smiled when Luffy just took another bite of his lunch. "Is it that good? You haven't put it down once since we got here."

"Yeah, this coliseum lunch box is so good!" Luffy exclaimed before turning to her. "Aren't you hungry? You've bought this for me and offered some to Neo, but you haven't gotten yourself anything to eat yet."

Neo's eyebrows lifted up when the cheerful atmosphere around Rebecca suddenly changed to a gloomy one. She watched as Rebecca's bangs fell over her eyes.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about me. I don't get hungry," Rebecca said softly.

"Huh? It sounds like you're a samurai or something," Luffy said.

 _It sounds like it, but that's not what it really is._  Neo thought to herself. She looked back over at the weapons that lined the wall.  _Rebecca doesn't appear to be the type of person who'd want to be in a place like this. So why is she here?_  A crash caused Neo to jump and turn her eyes back to Luffy. She gasped when she noticed two arms were wrapped around Luffy's body from the cell bars behind him. "What's going on?!"

"I got you!" a man's voice yelled. "Rebecca, do it now!"

"What?!" Neo asked. She jerked her eyes towards Rebecca. The gladiator was now standing up. The bench she and Luffy was sitting on got turned over when Luffy was ambushed. The two lunch boxes that were also on the bench was now spilled out on the floor. "Do what?! What's going on?!"

"Hurry while the girl is confused!" the man's voice said.

"What?!" Luffy screamed, his hands desperately trying to hold onto his lunch box while his body was being pinned to the bars behind him.

"You brought them here to do it, didn't you?!" the man's voice asked.

"Hey, what's going on here, Rebecca?!" Luffy asked, struggling to get free.

Neo's heart leaped in her chest when Rebecca's reply was just picking up her sword and holding it in preparation to attack.

"Hey! My lunch is going to fall!" Luffy shouted.

"Do it! You're hesitating too much! The girl's going to come to her senses!"

"What's wrong?! If you don't do it, you won't be able to continue with your plan!"

"No, don't," Neo whispered.  _What do I do? I don't have my crystals. And I can't fight hand to hand without them. I'll freak out if I touch her. I won't be any good for Luffy if that happens. So what do I do? The weapons!_  Neo jerked her eyes towards the weapons in the room and reached for them.

"Her plan?" Luffy asked.

"Do it, Rebecca!" a voice screamed.

"No!" Neo sounded as her hand grabbed the nearest sword. She turned just in time to see Rebecca pointing her sword towards Luffy with a desperate look in her eyes. She gripped the hilt of the sword with fury and charged towards Rebecca just as the gladiator jutted her sword towards Luffy. Neo's arms tingled with vibrations when she clashed her sword with Rebecca's. A loud clank resonated through the room. She pushed Rebecca back away from Luffy. Her eyes taking on a storm even if her magic wasn't working. "Stay away from him!"

"Uh!" Rebecca flinched at the violent storm that replaced Neo's calm expression. She gritted her teeth and pushed back against Neo's sword. "I never would have guessed you were a fighter! I guess there's a lot more to you than meets the eye than what I saw before! But I don't have time for this! I can't allow him to reach the finals!"

"I won't let you hurt him!" Neo hissed.

"I'm sorry," Rebecca replied.

"Huh?" Neo's eyebrows narrowed slightly upon seeing the genuine regret in Rebecca's eyes.  _She's not trying to kill Luffy. So why is she doing this? What's up with this girl?_  She pushed Rebecca back a few feet before swinging her sword at the gladiator. Their clashing swords clanked multiple times before the two locked into just pushing their swords again each other. "Why are you doing this?"

"I have too," Rebecca replied. She pushed against her sword, causing Neo to take a step back. "This is how this kind of tournament works. It's kill or be killed."

"You're lying." Neo's lips twitched into a small smile when Rebecca flinched at her words. "You don't want to kill. I can tell. I can see it in your eyes."

"You don't know anything. And you certainly don't know me!" Rebecca snapped. She pulled back her sword and swiped it a couple times at Neo.

"True." Neo easily blocked Rebecca's attacks before pinning her opponent's sword down, tip pressed against the floor. She quickly noted Rebecca's shocked expression at her skills with a sword before saying, "I don't know you at all. But I do know when someone's being resistant towards fighting."

Rebecca gritted her teeth. "And how do you know that I am?"

"Because, unless I'm fighting to protect someone I love, I'm resistant towards fighting myself," Neo said. "You really don't like fighting, do you?"

"Shut up!" Rebecca hissed. With all her strength, she pushed back against Neo's sword, throwing the Elemental off balance.

Neo stumbled a bit. Bending over backwards, Neo planted her left hand on the floor just as Rebecca attempted to jump over her. She used the momentum of falling, to kick her feet up at Rebecca. She clipped the gladiator's boots, causing the young woman to get thrown off balance and land awkwardly on the floor. She quickly righted her own body position and swiped her sword at Rebecca. Their blades clashed again when Rebecca turned back towards her. Neo easily started to herd Rebecca back against the cell bars, but was halted when the sharp pain from her come and go headache stabbed her head.

"Neo!" Luffy's distant voice called out, but Neo couldn't reply to him.

The gladiator used the opportunity to push against Neo then pulled back before swiping her sword upward, knocking Neo's sword from her hands before turning her blade back towards Luffy and rushing forward. Neo gritted her teeth in frustration from her headache and from letting Rebecca get away from her. She pushed through the pain and bolted for her sword as it flew through the air. She grabbed it and turned around just in time to see Luffy sink his teeth into one of the men holding him against the bars. She watched as Luffy expertly continued the consumption of his meal while he easily avoided Rebecca's sword swipe. She relaxed, as much as she could with her head pounding from her headache, when he then planted his feet on her arms and easily pinned her to the floor with in just a few seconds. She sighed and reprimanded herself.  _You shouldn't have let her get away from you. You were too soft on her. Tero would not be pleased with how you handled that and having a headache won't matter. It shouldn't have mattered that she didn't want to fight. You could have easily pinned her. I'll have to correct myself on that later. Law won't be very pleased either, but at least it's over. Wish I could say the same for this headache._  Shaking it off, she walked over to Luffy.

"You didn't get hurt, did you?" Luffy asked when Neo got close enough. "You looked like you were in pain."

"No, I didn't get hurt. Not really anyway. I just keep getting this headache," Neo replied, rubbing her fingertips on her forehead while pointing the tip of her blade at Rebecca's neck. She looked down at the caught gladiator.

Rebecca looked at Luffy then at Neo before turning her eyes away from them both.

Neo felt a twinge of sympathy for the gladiator when she saw the guilt in her eyes before she looked away from them.  _Rebecca…I was right. You don't want to fight us at all._

"Rebecca got caught! I can't believe he moved faster than her!"

"I know! That other woman moved really fast as well! Who are these two?!"

Neo glanced over at the bars where the shocked voices were coming from to see who else was in the room with them. But she turned her eyes back to Rebecca when she said, "Do whatever you like to me. I accept your retribution."

"What are you talking about? I'm not going to do anything to someone who bought me food," Luffy said after a couple more bites of food.

Neo looked at Luffy and smiled. He was still standing on Rebecca's arms and eating his food happily.

"But I tried to kill you!" Rebecca snapped. "And I was going to kill your friend too!"

Neo moved her sword back a little bit when the gladiator turned her head to look at Luffy, she didn't want to accidently poke her in the face after all. She wasn't even sure why she was still holding the sword this way.

"Eh, that's okay. Neither of us are dead," Luffy said, wiping the crumbs off his white beard. "Besides, you weren't going to kill either of us. Neo will even remove her sword from your neck. Neither of us is going to hold a grudge against you. Right, Neo?"

"Yeah." Neo nodded while retracting her borrowed sword. "I saw it too. She wasn't really trying to kill either of us."

"Ouch. Getting beaten then being shown mercy by the one's who beat you," a voice said. "It's very clear who's the superior fighters are here, Rebecca. If we could beat one Devil Fruit eater here, there was still a slight hope for us. But it doesn't look like that's going to happen."

"Hm?" Neo turned her eyes back to the voice coming from the darkness behind the bars. She noticed the silent people for the first time. "Who are you people?"

"Huh?! Mummies?!" Luffy gasped upon seeing the men behind the bars.

"No! We are not!" the men snapped.

"Who are you people?" Neo asked. She eyed the severely wounded men. Every single one of them was practically covered from head to toe in bandages and was missing limbs or eyes.  _That accounts for the smell of medical supplies and blood. But who are they?_  "Why are you locked in there?"

"We are convicted gladiators," a black haired man replied. He had several bandages wrapped around his body. Neo noticed he was missing a hand and probably an eye considering how the bandages were wrapped around his face. "And so is Rebecca. We are forced to fight in this place. And we'll most likely get killed someday in the ring, as part of this stupid show, just because we protested against the Doflamingo Family even just the slightest little bit."

"You got thrown in here just because you spoke out against Doflamingo?" Neo asked.

The black haired man nodded. "Yeah. The  _king_  said that we would be released if we ever won a thousand times in a row."

"So he says. But it doesn't matter how tough you are, you'll die long before you come close to winning a thousand times," a blonde haired man said. "It's a hopeless endeavor for the amusement of the  _king_  and the people of Dressrosa."

"Can't you escape from here?" Neo found herself asking despite already knowing the answer. If these men could escape, they wouldn't have been locked up right now.

"No. Anyone who's ever tried to escape from this place has been shot and killed," the blonde man replied with a shake of his head.

"There's no where for us to run," the black haired man added. "Before Doflamingo became the king of this country a decade ago, these gladiatorial matches were not fought to the death. But now, in this kingdom that he governs, there are two different sides to everything. There's a very bright side and very dark side to the country."

"And that's why I'm going to win today's competition. No matter what it takes, I will win and kill Doflamingo with the Flame Flame Fruit power!" Rebecca declared.

"What are you talking about?" Neo asked. She looked at the female gladiator and noticed a familiar fire burning in her eyes.

"Today, an army led by Soldier will come here to let us out of this place by provoking a battle against the current  _king_ , Doflamingo! Soldier is willing to sacrifice his life to destroy this kingdom! I'm not going to let him do that! I'm going to do it before he does! I don't want to be the one who's always getting protected anymore!" Rebecca replied.

"Hn." Neo flinched at Rebecca's determined words.  _She's fighting to protect someone she loves. Just like I do._

"I want to protect Soldier this time!" Rebecca cried. She covered her face with her hands to hide her tears. "He's going to die if he fights against Doflamingo!"

"Soldier?" Luffy asked.

"Who's that?" Neo added.

"He's a one legged toy soldier," Rebecca replied.

"A toy?" Luffy said thoughtfully.

"What is it, Lucy?" Neo asked noting his thoughtful expression.

"I met a toy like that in front of the coliseum just before entering in the tournament," Luffy replied. He turned to Neo. Noticing she was still holding the sword she borrowed, he pointed at it. "You don't have to use that thing anymore. She's not going to attack us again."

"Oh. Right." Neo looked at the sword in her hand. She then walked it back over to the opposite wall. She put it back where it belonged before walking back over to Luffy and Rebecca. She looked down at Rebecca when the teenager crossed her arms over her face. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Rebecca shook her head. "I was the one who attack you first. You were just defending yourselves. And I'm the one who needs to apologize. And, yeah, that should be him that you met. As far as I know, he's one of a kind. The only toy soldier with a missing leg."

"We would really like to help in the fight against Doflamingo. But we're not allowed out of the coliseum," one of the prisoners said. "So we can't do anything if something does happened out there in the town at any point in time."

"So you are worried that a toy is going to die?" Luffy asked. He tilted his head in thought to those words. "An actual living toy seems really odd to me."

"Well, you are not from here so it's normal for you to not understand how we feel," Rebecca said as she sat up. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. "The toys here, they're just like humans. They have become friends to people who don't have any friends. They have become siblings and playmates for kids who are only children. They become lovers for the loveless. They've brought a lot of light and love to the people of Dressrosa. But we are not allowed to live together. It doesn't make any sense. I don't understand at all why they aren't allowed to live with us in our homes.

"You sound like you're really attached to this toy soldier," Neo noted.

Rebecca nodded. "I am. Since the day I lost my mother, who was the only family that I had, this particular toy soldier has raised me. He's become like a father to me. That's why I want to protect him so much. He's my family."

"Toys that are like humans and like family to people really sounds-Huh?!" Neo gasped upon remembering the toy she had met before, the one that had an elephant inside of it. "It can't be! It's not possible!"

"What is it, Neo?" Luffy asked. "What's not possible?"

"Oh! Uh, it's nothing," Neo replied. She forced a smile to appear on her lips.  _I almost forgot about that elephant before. If a toy can really be an elephant, then wouldn't it be possible that a toy could really be a human? That elephant said that someone touched it and it was suddenly a toy. The same could be for humans. But why? And how? That toy at the restaurant said that it had no idea who made it or how it could move and talk on its own. Was that a lie? All of these toys had to come from somewhere. Let's just assume that there really is a kid with the power to turn people into toys. All of those people would have had to come from somewhere. Were they citizens of Dressrosa? They have to be citizens of Dressrosa. If they were from other places, then people would have come looking for them. But the same should be for the people here. If these toys really are people who lived here, why isn't anyone looking for them? Why isn't anyone questioning anything about this? Wouldn't people go looking for love ones who've disappeared? This has to be a Devil Fruit. But what kind of Devil Fruit is it that can turn people into toys and possible cause people to forget others? Is that even possible? Or is my fever talking now?_  Neo placed her fingers on her forehead. Her headache had disappeared at some point, but her skin was still warm with her fever.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Rebecca's voice asked.

"Huh?" Neo broke free from her thoughts and looked at the girl.

"You seem a bit shaken up, uh…" Rebecca replied, carefully examining Neo. "What did Lucy call you? What's your name?"

"Neo," Neo replied.  _I guess it doesn't matter if she knows my name or not. She's not a bad person. And I don't think these other guys are either._  She walked closer to Rebecca and sat down in front of her. "I'm sorry about before. I didn't mean to yell like I did. It's just…I know this is going to sound a bit weird, but…"

"What is it?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah. What's going on, Neo?" Luffy asked. He grabbed a hold of his ankles and leaned towards his blue haired friend.

Neo looked at Luffy then at Rebecca.  _I don't know if I should say anything about this. It's not like I have proof, other than the elephant. But I can't say anything about that in front of Rebecca and these other gladiators. Besides, I'm just making guesses on what that elephant told me. This could be some form of magic at work instead of a Devil Fruit. I should just keep quiet for now. At least until I talk to Law about this. I don't want to cause trouble_. "I'm sorry. It's just…you're story kind of reminds me of my own."

"Really? How so?" Rebecca tilted her head.

"My parents were killed when I was born," Neo replied. "I never got to know them at all."

"Oh. I'm sorry," Rebecca replied with a sympathetic look.

"It's okay." Neo shook her head. "I miss them a little bit, but not much because I didn't know them. I did learn a little about them when I found my brother, Kailen."

"Found your brother?" Rebecca asked, confused.

"It's a long story," Neo replied. She paused for a moment to study Rebecca's eyes. Her instincts were screaming at her that she could trust this girl completely. And she did. Her fingers danced over Law's ring on her finger, causing her heart to flutter with love and worry for the man. She was grateful for the distraction with Rebecca but she was starting to grow concerned again. "I would like to tell you it, but I can't. Maybe some day I can. But I can understand how you feel about this Soldier. I want to always protect the people I care about as well, especially Law and our crew."

"Law?" Rebecca asked. "Who's that?"

"My husband," Neo replied quietly, her fingers still dancing over his ring.

"You're married?" Rebecca gasped. She looked down at the ring on Neo's finger. "Wow. You really are just full of surprises."

"I guess so," Neo replied with a small smile.

"I see. So that toy is…" Luffy started while he reached over and picked up part of his spilled lunch off the floor and ate it.

"Thank you for waiting! The ring has now been fully repaired!" the announcer's voice then said. "Will the contestants for the next match please make their way to the ring?!"

"Rebecca, the match is going to start soon," the blonde man said.

"Uh huh." Rebecca nodded then stood up. She gasped when she saw Luffy eating the spilled food off the floor. "Hey! What are you doing, Lucy?"

"That little scuffle earlier knocked over the lunch boxes," Luffy said around the food in his mouth. "Sorry about that. You emptied your wallet to buy these for me. They might be on the floor, but they still taste good. You know, you really don't look like a prisoner to me."

"Huh?" Rebecca gasped slightly.

"Buy me lunch again sometime," Luffy said, turning his eyes to her and laughed.

"Lucy," Neo said with a smile. "You goofball. All you ever think about is food, don't you?"

Rebecca smiled. She picked up her helmet and walked away from them while putting it on. "I'll see you at the finals, Lucy."

"Yeah!" Luffy called. "Good luck!"

"And Neo," Rebecca said as she paused to look over her shoulder with a smile. "I hope to see you again. I really would like to hear your story sometime."

Neo locked eyes with the young woman before smiling herself. "Yeah. I hope to see you again too."


	105. Scrambling

Scrambling

Neo watched nervously as Rebecca turned and walked away from them. When the pink haired woman disappeared from her view, an uncomfortable feeling washed over her. For some reason a strong desire to run after Rebecca and wrap the girl in her arms consumed her body. She wanted to follow her, to protect her from harm. She took a couple steps after Rebecca then managed to stop herself. It wasn't her place to tell Rebecca to not fight in the tournament, but she still wanted to do it. To keep herself from actually following Rebecca, she looked down and picked at her raincoat while shifting from foot to foot. "She'll be okay. She'll be okay. She'll be okay."

"Hm? What is it, Neo?" Luffy's voice then asked. "You're very fidgety all of a sudden. You feel sick again?"

"Not really. I'm just really worried about her," Neo replied. She forced herself to turn away from the direction Rebecca went and look at Luffy. She paused and studied Luffy's calm expression, wondering how the rubber man could be so relaxed at a time like this. Their new friend was getting ready to walk into a battlefield and Law was already in one. And there was nothing they could do for either of them all because her magic refused to work right. Clenching her fists, she tried to push the worrying aside. "It's just…she's just a kid, a teenager, fighting in a tournament with seasoned fighters. And she's a normal human with only Observation Haki to help her. Will she be all right fighting like that? I know some of my crew don't have any kind of powers, but they have us backing them up. I can help them. But here I'm powerless, literally."

"Ah, no worries," Luffy said with blind cheerfulness. He planted his hands on his hips and smiled. "They'll both be all right. You'll see."

"Of course she will be all right," the black haired prisoner then said. "She might not look as tough as some of the other competitors, but she's fast. She'll be just fine."

"You don't look very convinced yourselves," Neo said as she noted the worry that was present in the prisoners' faces. Among the worry, she noticed something else. They were keeping a secret from them. "What haven't you told us?"

"Yeah. Well…" one of them said. They all then looked over at the screen just as Rebecca stepped out of the coliseum for the crowd to see. Then the already dark side of the coliseum turned even darker.

"Screw you, Rebecca!"

"Cut her to pieces!"

"King Riku's line-burn in hell!"

"You're a corrupted family! Die, Rebecca!"

"What's going on?!" Neo demanded when the crowd started jeering and booing at Rebecca as she walked along the bridge to the ring. Her anger and concerns were over shadowed by her confusion. "Why are they yelling at her like that?!"

Luffy didn't have a problem with his anger. He grabbed onto the bars of the prison and shouted at the crowds through the screen. "Why does everyone hate her so much?! She's a very nice person! Screw her? Screw them! She bought me lunch!"

"We know all of that! But Rebecca's grandfather is despised by practically everyone in this country! He was the former king before Doflamingo came!" the black haired prisoner said.

"Rebecca's grandfather is a king?!" Neo gasped. "Then that means that Rebecca is a pri-pri…"

"That's right." The black haired man nodded. "Rebecca is royalty. She's a princess."

 _That's it! That's what I sensed from her before! Somehow I knew that she was a princess like me! Can I actually sense that from people? I don't understand._ Neo's eyebrows twitched. Her eyes dropped from the screen and to the floor.  _But…this is the same feeling I got from Sanji when he was teaching me how to dance. And he's not royalty…is he? He never mentioned being a prince before. He wouldn't…be keeping it a secret from his friends, would he?_  Neo looked over at Luffy. The rubber man was still glaring and shouting at the screen as if the crowd could hear him.  _If he really is a prince, wouldn't he tell his friends? Do they know? Or am I mistaken?_

"Drop dead, Rebecca! Die!"

"You horrible wench!"

"Today will be your execution day!"

"Set her on fire! And see how she likes being burnt!"

Neo flinched at the words the crowds kept shouting, at the hate in their glares, at the ill intent they had against one little girl. She forced herself to turn away from the screen. Covering her ears to block out the hateful voices when flashbacks of her own painful past began to pass through her mind. She bent down and rested her chin on her knees. Pulling Law's hat down over her eyes to help herself remain calm, she clenched her eyes shut in an attempt to keep herself from crying. "Stop it! Please stop talking like that! She didn't do anything wrong! It wasn't her fault!"

"Neo?" Luffy asked. He turned to Neo before squatting down beside her. He placed his hand on her back and rubbed it.

"Is she all right? She just kinda freaked out suddenly," a prisoner asked.

"This is reminding you of your past, isn't it?" Luffy asked.

"It…it is." Neo nodded. She lowered her hands from her ears and wrapped her arms around her knees with a tense sigh. "I'll be okay though. I just need a minute. I wasn't expecting the crowd to be so hateful. It caught me off guard."

"All right. You just take your time. If you need to get out of here, we can go find somewhere else to sit." Luffy nodded before standing back up.

"The battle royal in the Corrida Coliseum- Block D is about to begin! And Rebecca is really heating up the crowd!" the announcer said. "Will this be her last fight?! Will someone finally take down the granddaughter of the hated former King Riku?!"

Neo gritted her teeth. Taking some deep relaxing breaths, she reminded herself that she wasn't hurt or being hurt. She reminded herself that she was fine and safe with Luffy before she stood up and faced the screen again.

"Even if she's the former king's granddaughter, whatever he did has nothing to do with her!" Luffy growled. "They should just leave her alone!"

"Yeah, you're right," the black haired prisoner agreed.

"I never would have expected to hear that come from you since you're a fighter here too. But even though her grandfather is the former king who is hated by the whole country, Rebecca is still our hope," another prisoner said.

"Your hope? What do you mean by that?" Neo asked.

The blonde haired man nodded. "We've all be stuck in this darkness together for a long time. We've all been fighting desperately to claw our way out of the darkness but with no way out."

"We were not strong enough to fight our way out of here and we ended up getting hurt like this. Rebecca is the only one who can still fight," the black haired man said. "She's been the one who's kept our hope alive. If she can win this thing and get the Flame Flame Fruit things will get better here."

Neo ran her eyes over every single one of the prisoners.  _They seem so hopeful that she can win this. But it's clear that she won't. Luffy alone is far too powerful for her to defeat. And I know he knows that. So what is Luffy going to do? I know he won't let her have that fruit. Will he fight for her? We're already in a fight with Doflamingo. Law's out there right now._ She let her eyes move from the prisoners to Luffy as she started to fiddle with Law's ring in worry. Luffy was holding onto the bars again, but let them go to cross his arms over his chest. She wondered what he was thinking about when he suddenly looked determined about something. Her attention was pulled from him when the announcer started talking again. She looked to the screen just as the blonde man, that was chasing Luffy before, made his entrance on the back of a white horse. "He has a horse?"

"Oh! And coming into the ring now is the captain of the Beautiful Pirates, Cavendish of the White Horse!" the announcer said.

"Cavendish, huh? I thought you said his name was Cabbage," Neo asked Luffy before the man on the screen recaptured her attention. She tilted her head to the side and tried to recall his name while he yelled at the crowd through a bullhorn, but couldn't. She found a smile curling on her lips when the blonde man defended Rebecca against the jeering crowd. It made her feel a bit relieved knowing that there was someone in the ring that wasn't out for Rebecca's blood. She stopped her nervous fiddling with Law's ring and let her hands drop back to her sides. "I don't know what you did to upset that guy, Lucy, but he doesn't seem like he's that bad at all. He stood up for Rebecca."

"I guess so," Luffy replied to her before yelling at the screen. "Wow! That was so cool, Cabbage! I still hate you though!"

"The crowd changed their tone really fast," Neo said when the crowd started cheering for Cavendish. "They seem to really like that guy now."

"Yeah. They do that," one of the prisoners said with a nod. "The crowds here can be very fickle."

"Huh?" Neo eyes widened slightly when she had a strong feeling that something was happening to Law. Instinctually, she turned north. Lifting her left hand to her chest, she pressed it against her and fingered Law's ring with her right hand. "Law."

…

Law grunted when Doflamingo's strings caught on his sword and pulled him backwards off his feet. He gasped as the air was expelled from his lungs when his back slammed against a tree. He growled when he saw Doflamingo stalked towards him through his blurred vision. Part of him, his wild, sadistic side, wished Neo were with him so she could turn a storm on the man hunting him. But his other half, the more logic and protective part, was glad she wasn't anywhere near him. He knew she was already having a hard time not knowing what was going on with him. He wondered what she was currently doing. He hoped she found something to distract herself with. It would help her to get through not knowing until her magic came back.

"What are you thinking about, Law? Are you thinking about that precious lover of yours?" Doflamingo asked. "I'm beginning to think that she's not really here. From what I know about her, she can't handle seeing someone she loves in such pain. And yet, she hasn't come out here to stop me. So where is she, Law? Are you speaking with her right now? Are you forming some kind of plan? I know you can feel each other's pain. What else can you two do? Is she helping you by attempting to destroy the factor in town? You're so protective of her. I'm having a hard time seeing you letting her wander around on her own. Is she with the Straw Hats? Is that it? I suppose it doesn't matter. I can easily find her. After all, she's not human after all. And her coloring is so different from everyone else's. She's probably wearing some silly disguise. But that won't stop me from finding her, Law. I have men all over this country."

Law scoffed. "It won't matter if you can find her. You'll never be able to catch her. She's far to fast for you to catch. And she's a lot smarter than people give her credit for."

Doflamingo chuckled. "So you think. I have no doubt that she's smarter than people think. I know that people often underestimate her because she looks so much like a child and she uses that to her advantage. I know you have trained her well, Law. You wouldn't have brought her here if you didn't. But I have my ways of getting what I want. You should know me well enough to know that. So you shouldn't be surprised when I tell you that she's already decided to join me."

Law about choked on his own spit when Doflamingo said that. He bit back his desire to laugh in the older Warlord's face. "Did you really think that I would fall for a lie like that? Neo would  _never_  willingly join someone like  _you_. The only way would be to force her to join you. And you've got nothing to hold over her, not even me. But, even if you managed to take her by force somehow, you would never be able to keep her. There would be far too many powerful people that would come and take her back. If you try it, you'll be signing your own death warrant."

"Powerful people, huh? I assume you're talking about her people, the Elementals. I suppose you might be right. But they would have a hard time in taking her away from me. I know not many venture into the human world. So they aren't prepared to handle people like me. I'd have to say that I would love to see that happen. Once she's under my control, I'll be sure to spread the word that I have her. I'd love to test my strength against an entire army of Elementals," Doflamingo said with a confident smirk.

 _You have no idea how ignorant you are of her, Doflamingo. You just keep thinking that. It's not her people that you'll be facing. It would be her godfather and his entire empire. And you already fear making one Emperor angry. Just imagine what Red Hair Shanks will do to you if you ever hurt his goddaughter._  Law mentally smirked. His eyes took on a sharp glint as he envisioned what Shanks would do to Doflamingo if this scenario ever did come to pass.  _I have never been so glad that Neo is under the protection of an Emperor. If I ever fail in protecting her, he'll come for her._

"It's over, Law. I know all you've been doing is stalling for time. But you can't buy anymore time," Doflamingo said.

Knowing he still needed more time, Law tried pressing a different matter. Anything to keep Doflamingo talking, anything to keep both his and Doflamingo's minds off Neo. "I'm curious about something you said before. You said things were more complicated. What were you talking about? What did you mean by that? How could being a Celestial Dragon be complicated?"

"If you really feel like chatting with me, hand Caesar and his heart over first," Doflamingo said holding out his hand towards Law. "You have no need for them anymore."

Law clenched his fist. He wiggled his arm around to see if he could get loose from Doflamingo's strings, but failed. There was only one way to get out of this situation. "Of course you want them back. Caesar is…I mean, the Smiles are very important to you after all. If you lose all of the Smiles, Kaido's will kill you for it."

"Perhaps. If I lost them," Doflamingo said. "But I won't. I'll get Caesar back. And once I do, I'll even have an Elemental to add to my crew. And with her powers, she'll be able to grow fruit so fast for me. It'll actually double, maybe even triple production."

"She will never obey you! Room! Shambles!" Law, ignoring Doflamingo's taunting, formed his Room and warped away from the tree he was tied to. He only got a few feet before Doflamingo's strings wrapped around his ankle. He turned to face the older Warlord only to have the man pin him down to the ground by sitting on his chest.

"You blasted brat!" Doflamingo hissed. He lifted and stiffened his fingers before going in for the kill. Before he could make the hit, Fujitora's sword came between his hand and Law's face. He looked up with a frown when the Admiral using his Devil Fruit to pin them to the ground. "Fujitora?"

"Excuse me for interrupting," Fujitora said.

"What are you doing? Why are you helping him now?" Doflamingo asked.

"Pardon the intrusion, but I'm going to have to stop you right now, Heavenly Demon," Fujitora replied. "I'm here to arrest him and his wife, not to kill them."

"Hm?" Doflamingo got up off of Law and stepped towards Fujitora. He carefully inspected the Navy man before him. A smile curled on his lips. "I get the feeling you have ulterior motives in catching these two particular pirates. Their wanted posters say dead or alive. And you clearly want them alive. What's going on in that head of yours? This has to do with Law's lover, doesn't it?"

"I will not deny that I want to talk to the woman pirate," Fujitora said.

"What?" Law asked. His eyes shot to the Admiral. His brain going over multiple, possible reasons for a Navy Admiral wanting to talk to a pirate. He came up with none.

"Interesting," Doflamingo said with a light chuckle. "What could you possible have to say to that woman?"

"That is a conversation that will happen between me and her," Fujitora replied.

"Fine," Doflamingo said. "Do as you wish."

 _What in the world could a Navy admiral want with Neo, other than to capture her? Is he going to try and get the truth out of her? That can't be right. If he's been following along with our journey and reading the newspapers then he would know that she won't talk. So what's he thinking?_  Law grunted when Fujitora increased the gravity on him.  _Hn!_   _While I hate not knowing what's going on with her, I'm actually pretty glad that Neo's magic isn't working. I know this is actually happening to me, but the stress of this gravity might be too much for her and our baby. But how long is that going to last? Once her magic comes back, she's going to feel this. I know she already senses something's wrong despite her magic not working. I've got to get free of Fujitora and get Caesar back to the Straw Hats' ship before her magic straightens out again. I don't want her under this stress._

"But I need Caesar's heart. So I'm taking it back," Doflamingo continued while running his eyes over Law's body. Once locating the heart, he used his strings to pull it out of Law's pocket. "By the way, you seem quite curious about that complication that I mentioned earlier. Are you sure you want to hear about it, Law?"

Law gritted his teeth from both the heavy pressure on his body and from Doflamingo's words. Half of him wanted to know what Doflamingo was going to say, while the other half didn't want to know. He wasn't sure which would be better for him and Neo.

…

"Hey! Robin! Usopp!" Franky called when his friends entered into the Command Center of the Tontattas with more little friends. He watched as they climbed off the large foxes they were riding.

"Hey, Franky," Usopp said as he and Robin walked over to him. "What's up?"  
"Not much. Just preparing to go to war with these little guys," Franky replied giving the Tontattas a glance. He then looked back at his friends. "Oh, right. You'll probably be wondering about Neo."

"How is she?" Usopp asked. "I have been wondering about her for a while."

"Do you have any word on her?" Robin asked. She heart rate increase slightly. She was hoping Neo was still safe with the rest of her crew, but had no idea. "Last we heard she was with Zoro. Is she still with him? You were with her before too, right?"

"I was with her for a while. And she was with Zoro." Franky nodded. "But she should be with Luffy right now. Zoro was here a little while ago and said she was going to go tell Luffy what all has been happening here while he came here to help deliver one of the Tontattas."

"I hope she's safe," Usopp said looking down at the floor with concern.

"I'm sure she's just fine." Franky looked at the sniper's concerned expression then looked to Robin. "Am I getting the feeling that you told him about Neo?"

Robin nodded. "I did. I felt it was the best thing to do with everything that's happened."

"That's cool. Sanji told us too," Franky replied with a nod of his own. "We also told these little guys about her being pregnant. They're going to keep an eye out for her. We thought it would be best for them to know about that and that she was a friend of ours."

"That's probably for the best," Usopp said, bring his eyes back up to the cyborg. "I know her body is…different than ours, but it's comforting to know that she'll have plenty of back up."

"The time has come, Commander!" Leo said, breaking into their conversation.

"Indeed." The Soldier nodded. "Let's gather around, everyone. We have a lot to go over before the battle starts."

…

"Zoroland, we're going to turn left soon," Wicka said as they rushed down the streets of Dressrosa. She looked down at the swordsman from her perch on the pink bee she was riding. "And the left side is the side that you don't have your swords on."

"What?! Why are you telling me that?! I know my right from my left!" Zoro growled. "Don't you trust me at all to know right from left?"

"If you did know you wouldn't keep getting lost," Wicka replied. "So, no, I don't trust you at all with directions."

"Hey!" Zoro snapped. He huffed in aggravation but kept on running and didn't reply anymore to Wicka's berating him on his horrible sense of direction.

"But I sense that you are distracted for another reason," Wicka said. She carefully studied the swordsman face while they continued their way through the town. "You're worried about Neo, aren't you?"

Zoro scoffed, but his expression said other wise. He sighed. "Yeah. I am a bit concerned about Neo. Something just doesn't feel right."

"Do you want me to go find her after I drop you off at your ship? I've been a bit concerned about her too. She seems like such a nice person," Wicka said with a smile. "I'd like to see her again. She was going to the coliseum, right?"

"Yeah." Zoro nodded. He thought about her question for a minute before replying to it. "No, I don't think that's necessary. She should be with Luffy by now. If anything goes wrong, he'll keep an eye on her."

"All right," Wicka said with a light nod. "If you change your mind, just let me know. This pink bee and I can easily fly into the coliseum. She'd be easy for us to find. And I could always ask for help from other Tontattas. Turn left here."

Zoro ran right passed the street that Wicka told him to turn down. He quickly righted himself then caught up with the little Tontatta. He growled at Wicka when she gave him a smug look. "Oh shut up! Tell me, who's attacking our ship?"

"It's one of the executive officers of the Don Quixote Family. Her name is Giolla," Wicka replied. "She's an art woman who attack and disarm an opponent with artistic attacks. Her Devil Fruit is the Art Art Fruit."

"How do you know all of this?" Zoro asked.

"I told you before that I was on the Recon Team. I've memorized the names and faces and abilities of those at the executive rank and up as much as I could, especially the top three executives who destroyed the entire Dressrosa army ten years ago. They're names are Trebol, Diamante, and Pica. I will never be able to forget those faces," Wicka said.

"That happened ten years ago? How old are you anyway?" Zoro asked while taking a glance at his companion.

"I'm twenty seven," Wicka replied.

"You're twenty seven years old?! Geez! First Neo and her young appearance and now you?!" Zoro gasped. He turned right, but quickly turned around when Wicka yelled at him.

"Hey! You're going the wrong way again!" Wicka called.

"Hm?" Zoro looked up when he caught a glimpse of Sanji and Kin'emon.

"Hey! Sir Zoro! Sir Zoro! Over here!" Kin'emon called when he saw the swordsman running towards them.

"Hey! Stop shouting! Do you want us to get caught?!" Sanji screamed as he kicked Kin'emon in the leg. His own voice and panic rose when turned and he saw his favorite blue haired Elemental wasn't running towards them. "Huh?! Ah! You stupid moss head! I thought Neo was with you! What did you do?! Where is she?!"

"I thought you didn't want me to yell," Kin'emon said with a frown.

"Shut up! Stop yelling!" Zoro hissed when he go close enough. "Neo is fine. She's with Luffy right now. Or she should be."

"What do you mean by that?! So help me, if you lost her because you got lost yourself…" Sanji started.

"Calm down, you stupid cook. I didn't lose her at all. We split up. She went to inform Luffy of some stuff that's happened. Listen up. There's a lot that's been going on," Zoro said. He then quickly informed them of everything that's happened on his end of things. "And there you have it. The Sunny is under attack right now."

"What?! Nami's under attack?!" Sanji shrieked. "So I was right. That's why she didn't pick up the transponder snail when I called earlier. All right. I'm going with you then."

"Wait, Sir Sanji!" Kin'emon said. "We're here to tell Sir Luffy what's going on."

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me," Sanji said, glancing at Kin'emon. He then turned his attention back to Zoro. "I spoke with Law a little while ago. I already told him this, but you need to know too."

"What is it?" Zoro asked, noticing the seriousness in the blonde man's face.

"Doflamingo is planning to do something to Neo," Sanji said.

"What?!" Zoro gasped. "What's he planning?"

"He's going to do something to Neo?!" Wicka shouted. Her eyes widened while her little heart pounded hard in her chest.

"I don't know what he's planning. All I know is, an unfamiliar man has been living at the palace for a while now. A new friend of mine said he and Doflamingo were talking about Neo one day," Sanji informed them. "We need to make sure she stays safe."

"Why don't Trafalgar just call her back to him?" Zoro asked.

"Are you kidding?! Think a little bit!" Sanji snapped. "Doflamingo is the last person Law wants Neo around right now! He's going to order her to stay away from him, but with how protective she is of him, she could easily break through his orders if his life is in danger! Law wants us to keep a close eye on Neo from now on!"

"That shouldn't be too hard," Zoro replied. "She's with Luffy right now. And he's one of the strongest of our crew. As long as she stays with him, she'll be fine."

"As long as she really is with him and nothing went wrong," Sanji said. "If only there was a way we could know for sure."

"Blackleg!"

"Huh?" Sanji turned around upon hearing his name being called. Hearts filled his eyes when he saw Violet coming out of an alleyway. "Violet, my dear!"

"I wish you'd just get stabbed already," Zoro mumbled to the incurable flirt.

"I don't have much time. My colleague, Giolla, has attacked your ship," Violet said. "And she's taking the ship to Green Bit."

"What?!" Sanji asked. "We have to get back to the ship!"

"Uh, yeah! I just told you that. And that's what I've been trying to do until you distracted me!" Zoro said. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the blonde haired cook. "So I'll just be leaving now!"

"Hold on a second! Nami will want me to come save her not you!" Sanji growled.

"Fine. Then you go," Zoro said. "I don't care either way."

"I will go to the ship while you go tell Luffy what's going on. But once you get inside to Luffy and Neo, do not let her out of your sight!" Sanji said. His expression turned serious. "I mean it, Zoro! You tell Luffy what I've told you about Doflamingo coming after her! And, whatever you do, do not let her go to Law! She is to remain in your sights at all times! Do you understand me?!"

"Yeah, yeah! I got it! Will you just go already?!" Zoro screamed. He twisted his pinky finger in his left ear in a very annoyed fashion. "Your yelling is getting on my nerves! Just go already!"

…

"Hey! Hold on a second! That's not fair!" Luffy shouted, pulling Neo from her worried thoughts. She looked up at the scene to see a small group of men circling around Rebecca. "All five of those guys are going for Rebecca at the same time! They're ganging up on her!"

"Yeah. It's always like that when Rebecca enters in one of these competitions," the blacked hair prisoner said. "She's the first one people want to take out."

"Most of the time, Rebecca is the only woman competing among all of the men," the blonde haired prisoner added. "They automatically think she'll be easy to beat."

"In addition to all of that, everyone in the coliseum, both fighters and spectators, wants to see Rebecca get beaten," a third prisoner said. "So it's only natural for them to go after Rebecca first. And they have a greater chance of taking her down when they gang up on her."

Neo flinched at the man's words. The actions of the fighters pinning down Rebecca were causing bad memories to resurface again. She took an extremely deep breath and let it out as slowly as she could while reminding herself that she was safe. But it wasn't working this time. With the negativity, and similarities between herself and Rebecca, coupled with not knowing what was going on with Law she was starting to make her feel very over whelmed. Her heart was taking too many painful beat inside of her chest that it was making her lightheaded and she felt like she was going to pass out. She needed to get away from all of this.

She wrapped her arms around herself and walked away from the screen and the men. She walked to the farthest end of the room, the opposite way Rebecca went, before turning around and heading for the exit. She paused when she reached the door to the quarters. Her eyes lifted up to the door as her hand, seemingly under its own power, reached up for the handle. Less than an inch from the handle, her hand paused. Her chest throbbed with the decision to leave this room or stay. Deep down, she wanted to leave. She wanted to go to Law, despite his orders to stay away. And she would have. She knew if her magic was working right she would leave this coliseum and fly to him. She didn't care about his orders. They were married. That meant they were in this together.

Neo kneaded her eyebrows.  _We're married. We are supposed to be together and help each other no matter what comes up. I can understand him giving me orders to stay away from him or a certain battle in the past when I wasn't able to handle it, but this time doesn't match up to that. I know I don't have any attacks that will stop Doflamingo's strings, but I can still cause him trouble. He's still a human. And humans are always weak against nature. There's something else Law is keeping me from. But what is it? What's he hiding from me? Is he hiding something from me? He's never done that before. So why now? What changed? Is it just because of his history with Doflamingo? No, I don't think that's it. If it was he never would have let me come to Dressrosa in the first place. Law knows I can help him in ways that others can't. So what happened? What caused him to change his mind? Why is he keeping me away from him?_

"Go get them, Rebecca! Don't let them touch you at all! Don't lose to them!" Luffy cheered. The prisoners instantly joined in cheering for Rebecca. In just a second their happy cheers filled the area to the point they were drowning out Neo's thoughts.

Neo dropped her hand from the door and turned back towards the men. She couldn't see them due to the curve of the building, but she didn't need to. She knew they were there. They knew she was here. But they didn't notice she had walked off. Her eyes drifted back to the door as her fingers started tracing Law's ring again. How long would it take Luffy to notice she wasn't there if she did leave this room?

…

Doflamingo laughed as he tossed Caesar's heart in his hand up and down. He was enjoying seeing Law in as much pain as he was under Fujitora's gravity. "Tell me something, Law. How much pain does Neo feel when you're in this much pain? Does she feel it all? Or just some of it?"

Law gritted his teeth and growled. A small part of his fury vanished when Fujitora's gravity lightened up on his body.  _What the heck? He's trying to keep me from escaping. Why would he lighten up on his attack like that?_

"How much pain does she feel when you're the one being hit?" Fujitora then asked.

Law's eyebrow twitched.  _He saw Neo earlier today. And he has Observation Haki. Did he use it on her? Does he know she's pregnant? That's how Blackleg confirmed her pregnancy. And if Fujitora did see her, it's a safe bet to say he did use his haki on her when he noticed her inhuman nature. I have to assume that he knows. And that would have to be why he loosened up his attack here. But that doesn't make sense. The Navy hates children born from pirates. Is it possible he's different from everyone else and won't blame our child from being born from pirates? Neo does have a way of getting people to care about her with her innocence. She did that to Smoker back on Punk Hazard. Could she do that to an Admiral too? Fujitora did say he wanted to talk to her. What's he up to?_

"It's a waste of time, Fujitora. I'm sure the Navy is smart enough to know how protective Law and Neo are of each other. They guard their secrets tighter anyone else. You should know that seeing how long it took for anyone, including myself, to find out as much as I have. Let's move on to something else. I'm sure that you, Law, are just dying to know how I became a Celestial Dragon. You asked about that complication before. Well, it all happened a long time ago…it actually goes back eight hundred years, Law," Doflamingo said, still tossing the heart up and down. "When twenty kings from twenty different countries came together at the center of the world to form one giant organization…"

…

"Yeah! Go, Rebecca! You did it! Way to go! She made another guy drop! Go, go! Come on! Get them, Rebecca!" Neo sighed upon hearing Luffy's cheerful voice cheering on their new friend again. She wondered how it could be possible for him to be so excited when they had no clue where any of their friends were or how they were doing. They could all be in some serious trouble, they  _were_  in serious trouble, yet here he was cheering his heart out over a person they just met.

"Hey, Lucy, where did your friend go?" Neo heard a prisoner asked.

"Huh? She was just right here," Luffy said before his voice took on a touch of concern. "Hey! Neo?! Where'd you go?!"

"I'm here," Neo called back. She forced herself to walk away from the door and back over to the cells.  _All well. It's not like I can get out of here. I'm still trapped without my magic._

…

"You weren't supposed to come here! I told you to wait for me at the harbor!" Sanji said to Violet once they had separated from Zoro and Kin'emon.

"I know. But there are Navy soldiers all over the harbor. So you and your friends might want to change your rendezvous point," Violet told him.

"I see. The Navy, huh?" Sanji said. "I shouldn't be surprised at that."

"There are currently four Navy ships there. That means there are at least three thousand Navy soldiers here now," Violet said.

"How did you manage to find all of that out in such a short amount of time?" Sanji asked.

"It's one of my abilities from my Devil Fruit. Clairvoyance," Violet explained. "With this power, I can see things within a 4000km diameter from a bird's point of view. I can see everything that's going on in this country from here. So there's no need to worry about me. If someone is coming for me, I'll see them before they can even find me."

"Really? That sounds like a useful skill to have," Sanji said. "Can you also see inside of buildings?"

"I can." Violet nodded. She glanced over her shoulder upon noticing a concerned tone in his voice. "Was there someone you wanted me to check on? Like your friends back on your ship?"

"Yeah. I want to know how they are doing, but there's someone else I'm a bit more worried about," Sanji said.

"Neo?" Violet asked and Sanji nodded. "Very well. I can check on her for you."

"That would be so great. She should be in the coliseum with Luffy," Sanji said, feeling a bit relieved. "I just want to make sure she's there."

"Let's take a look then," Violet said before closing her eyes. She looked around until she reached the coliseum then made her way into the building until she found Neo. "I found her. She looks a bit upset, but other than that, she looks just fine. She's with Straw Hat Luffy in a part of the coliseum that houses prisoners."

"Prisoners?! Why would Luffy take her among criminals?!" Sanji growled.

"They're not the type of prisoners you think they are," Violet replied. "They're just some people that spoke out against Doflamingo. They're forced to fight there against their will. But they're not bad people. Your friend is safe."

"That's good. I'm glad she's safe and with Luffy," Sanji said with a light smile. "What about you? You're no longer safe in this country. Will you be leaving?"

"Don't worry about me, Blackleg. I'm going to…this is odd," Violet said.

"What is it?" Sanji asked.

"I can't find your ship anywhere!" Violet replied.

"What?!" Sanji gasped.

"Wait! I see your ship! It just emerged out of no where and was hit by lightning!" Violet told him.

"What?! Lightning?! Wait that's…" Sanji said.

…

"Finally. It's over. But what should we do with this?" Nami asked as she dusted off her leg. She looked down at the Devil Fruit woman she just took out with her attack. "Seem too cruel to just dump her over board."

"Yeah, she's a Devil Fruit eater after all," Chopper said with a nod.

"And I have no desire to see her panties," Brook said, waving his hand in front of his face.

"Wh-who did you call Miss Universe?!" Giolla asked from her spot on the Sunny's lawn.

"No one said that!" Brook screamed.

"Should I hit her again?" Momonosuke asked as he swung his weapon.

"Just leave her alone," Nami said. "We got to hurry up and get to Green Bit to meet up with Tra."

"But why does he want to leave Caesar with us?" Chopper asked. "It doesn't make sense."

"Are you all right, Chopper?" Nami asked when she noticed the concerned look in Chopper's eyes.

"I'm worried about Neo," Chopper replied. "I have a bad feeling. Something about this just doesn't feel right."

"I'm sure she'll be okay," Nami replied.

"This whole thing doesn't feel right," Brook said. "Doflamingo resigned from the Seven Warlords just like Mr. Tra requested for him to do. We should be returning Caesar to him, not picking Caesar up."

"You people are brainless idiots, aren't you? You don't have a clue of what's going on," Giolla said with a deep cough from the smoke in her lungs from Nami's lightning attack. "Young Master never planned to honor that agreement. Did you really think he'd obey little brats like you? He never resigned from the Seven Warlords. It was all a set up."

"What?!" Chopper gasped, his bad feeling suddenly growing worse.  _Neo…she took off with the others shortly after we arrived here! Don't panic! Don't panic! She's with of our three top toughest fighters! She'll be fine! She will be fine!_

"What do you mean by that?!" Nami demanded. "What are you talking about?!"

"Tell us what you are talking about!" Momonosuke said before whacking Giolla on the face again. "Tell us!"

"You rotten brat! That hurt!" Giolla snapped.

"O-Nami!" Momonosuke cried. He ran to the orange haired woman and grabbed onto her leg.

"You people have been fooled! Our comrade, Violet, has unearthed all of your plans by now and all of your friends would have been captured!" Giolla said.

"What?!" The Straw Hats gasped.

"That's not true! It can't be!" Chopper said.

…

Neo fiddled nervously with Law's ring while coming to stand by Luffy's side again. Her mind was buzzing with the unknown and hundreds of questions on what was happening outside of this building, on Green Bit, and how they could possibly escape from this place if her magic didn't return soon.

"Get out of the way, Cabbage!" Luffy demanded. "I don't want to look at you! I want to see how Rebecca's doing!"

"Yeah! Get out of the way!" a prisoner said.

"We don't want to see your ugly mug!" a second prisoner added.

"That guy sure seems to like the cameras," Neo noted as she watched Cavendish dance wildly around the ring. When the man finally moved, her eyes locked onto the youngest person in the ring. She tried to use the fight as a distraction from not knowing what was happening to Law. She kneaded her eyebrows while she watched Rebecca repetitively dodge attacks. Her ears were barely registering the words that the announcer was saying. Her heart skipped a beat when a man snuck up behind Rebecca.

"Behind you, Rebecca! Look out!" Neo jumped when Luffy screamed at the screen. She glanced at the Straw Hat captain beside her then turned her own eyes back to the screen before her. She knew Luffy was just being supportive of their new friend, but at the same time, it was pointless. Rebecca couldn't hear them from here. She almost felt like verbally cheering herself, but stop when her knees suddenly gave out on her and her body became extremely heavy. She gasped and dropped to her knees under the bone crushing feeling. "Hm? Neo, what's wrong?"

"Hey, is she all right?" a prisoner asked when he noticed Neo's painful expression.

"Neo?" Luffy bent down to her and grabbed her shoulders. "Why are you in pain?"

"Its…its Law's pain," Neo whispered to him.

"What's wrong with her? Does she need a doctor?" the prisoner asked.

"No, she'll be fine," Luffy replied to the man before turning his eyes back to Neo. "Neo?"

"S-something's happening t-to Law. It…it hurts so much. What…what's happening to him?" Neo choked out just before her magic disappeared. She covered her hand with her mouth when she felt like she was going to be sick. She forced herself not to gag when she felt her stomach turn.

"Hey, you're not going to get sick are you?!" Luffy asked in a panicked voice.

"No." Neo shook her head and moved her hand from her mouth to her stomach. "My magic is gone again. I'm just worried. I can't sense Law again. He was in a lot of pain. Luffy, we have to get out of here. We have to go to Law."

"Law will be fine," Luffy said firmly. "He's tough. You know that."

"I know he's strong, but," Neo started. She dropped her eyes from Luffy's, unable to keep contact with him while thinking about the real reason they were going after Doflamingo.  _But there is so much you don't know about him. This isn't just because of the Smiles. Law has a vendetta against Doflamingo._

…

"So that's how you became a Celestial Dragon! Doflamingo!" Law said just before he felt himself connecting again to Neo. He felt her feeling his pain for a few seconds before the connection faded again.  _Neo…_  He grunted when Fujitora increased his gravity slightly.  _Curse you, Fujitora! I don't care if Neo only felt this pain for a split second. If this causes any harm to our baby or her, I'm going to kill you._

"Technically, I  _was_  a Celestial Dragon," Doflamingo said as he walked passed Law. "Tell me something, Law. What is bloodline? What is destiny? I don't believe there are many people in this world that have such a checkered past as my own."

"Then explain it to me so I can understand!" Law demanded.

"I'm sorry, Law. I really do wish that I could tell you and your lover all about my past before I met you over some drinks. But there isn't time for that," Doflamingo said. "I've got to do something about the Straw Hats back in Dressrosa before they do any damage. I know there are a lot of people who have underestimated them and have gotten burned." He looked over his shoulder when the crackling of the ground under Law stopped. "What is it, Fujitora?"

"Well, I thought I heard a clap of thunder in the direction of the sea," Fujitora replied as he reapplied the gravity to Law. "Tell me how the sky looks."

"Thunder?" Doflamingo asked, taking a couple steps towards the sea.

"I've always been able to discern the weather. But maybe I'm getting too old now," Fujitora said.

 _It has to be Nami. The only other one here that can manipulate the weather is Neo. And her magic is out again. The ship must be near Green Bit now._  Law thought to himself.

"Hey! Joker! That's my heart! Give it back to me already!" Caesar said as he popped up out of the bushes. "Give it to me! My beautiful heart!"

"I don't recall telling you that was Caesar's heart," Law said.

"What?! You've been holding that thing over me all day long! It has to be mine!" Caesar hissed. He grabbed a hold of the front of his outfit. "My heart is still missing from my body!"

Law force back a smirk when Doflamingo squeezed the heart in his hand and Caesar screamed out like a baby followed by the real painful cries of the Navy soldier the heart really belonged to. "Room! You better apply the gravity, Fujitora! Or else I'm going to escape from you! Shambles!"

"Joker! Help me!" Caesar cried out when Law grabbed him.

Law tuned the man's cries out. His focus was on escaping.  _Finally got away. At least now Neo won't be put under that kind of pain anymore. Now I just have to get Caesar back to the ship._

"How do you still have this much energy, Law?" Doflamingo asked.

Law ignored him and the complaints and demands from Caesar. Warping through the forest, he made his way to the beach and planned out how he was going to handle everything from there. He knew he needed to get Caesar on board the Sunny before he could fight Doflamingo. He figured he'd fight the Warlord on the bridge, but there was still one problem that he couldn't figure out. And that was Neo. He had no clue what he should do with her. He wanted to order her onto the Sunny and go to Zou with the Straw Hats. But he knew that was one order she wouldn't obey.

Law cursed under his breath when the Straw Hats screamed too loud and Doflamingo heard them. "No! You idiots!"

"I see. So that's what's going on," Doflamingo said before taking off towards the Sunny.

"No! Wait, Doflamingo! They've got nothing to do with this!" Law called out. "Crap! It's too late! Neo's not going to be happy if I let anything happen to them!"

…Meanwhile, over on Zou…

"This is so stupid!" Penguin shouted before slamming his fist into the tree in front of him. With each word he screamed out, he jammed in fist into the thick tree trunk. "I hate this! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!"

"Shouldn't someone stop him?" Uni asked as he started at his angry crewmate.

"Why don't you stop him?" Clione asked.

"Why don't you?" Uni shot back.

"Why don't both of you shut up if you're not going to do anything?" Ikkaku snapped before crossing her arms over her chest and turning her eyes back to the irate man taking out his frustration on innocent tree. "Sheesh! I'm surrounded by idiots!"

"Hey! We're not idiots!" Uni and Clione shouted.

Ikkaku didn't reply. She just turned to the sound of footsteps coming up from behind them.

"Is he still going at it?" Shachi asked as he, Bepo, and Topaz wandered up to their crewmates. Their eyes locked onto Penguin and the tree. He eyed the damaged bark on the tree and the small spots of blood that came from Penguin hitting it for so long.

"It's been like that since we got the paper," Topaz said even though it wasn't necessary. They all knew how long it's been since Penguin bolted away from them and started hitting this tree. Fifteen minutes ago when the newspaper brought some very disturbing news of Doflamingo leaving the Seven Warlords wasn't true. The entire crew was distraught, but Penguin took it the hardest. The entire crew wanted to run after him. They didn't. They decided to give him space to vent things out before even thinking about approaching him. They knew if they went to him too soon, he'd turn and punch them.

"It's not surprising considering he's so close to Neo," Bepo said in a low tone. "We're all worried."

"We need to do something," Ikkaku said. "He's starting to tear the skin on his hands. Neo won't be happy about this."

"Yeah." Shachi nodded just before they all turned their eyes to him. "What?"

"You two are best friends," Uni said pointing a finger at Shachi.

"You stop him," Clione added while also pointing a finger at Shachi.

"You've got to be kidding!" Shachi screamed.

"Well, we got to do something," Bepo said before anyone else could speak. "He's ripping his hands up even more. I can smell all of the blood from here."

"Just great," Shachi grumbled. He looked at Topaz. A nod of understanding passed between them before they walked over to Penguin. Setting themselves up on opposite sides of him, they shared another nodded before they lunged forward and grabbed their friend's arms.

"What are you doing?! Let go of me!" Penguin hissed.

"Sorry, Pen, that's not going to happen," Shachi said while struggling to keep his hold on his struggling best friend.

"Hurting yourself is not the answer to any of this, Penguin," Topaz said.

"Shut up! I don't care!" Penguin snapped back. "Let me go! I want to see her! I want to go to her!"

"You can't do that, Penguin," Bepo said. He rushed over to help his friends pin Penguin down. He grabbed the man's ankles and pinned them to the ground.

"Think about it," Ikkaku said. "If you go there, you'll only get in the way."

"I don't care! I hate all of this waiting!" Penguin said as he continued to thrash against his crewmates. "I'm going to Dressrosa! Right! Now!"

"We're going to have to sedate him, aren't we?" Uni asked.

"That might not be a bad idea," Clione said.

"Penguin, calm down and think about Neo," Topaz then said. "She wouldn't want you to defy the captain's orders. We're supposed to wait here. I know it's hard, but that's all we can do. You want to be here when they arrive, don't you?"

When Penguin's thrashing slowed down, Topaz continued. "We have to stay here. We have to stay safe. Right now, this is where we belong."

Penguin completely quit struggling. They released their hold on him, but stayed in position to grab him again if necessary. They watched as his chest heaved up and down with each breath that he took. Under his breath, he mumbled, "I hate this. I hate feeling like this. I hate all of this waiting. It's killing me not knowing what's going on with her."

"We understand that, Penguin," Topaz said. She sat down beside him and took one of his hands in hers. She pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket and started to clean his hand. "It's killing us all not knowing what exactly is happening. And it's worse for you because of your relationship with her. But it will get better. They will take care of things there and then come home. She'll want to see you first. And you'll be here for her, right? Completely whole and intact?"

Penguin nodded. "Right."

"Good. Now, no more punching tree," Topaz ordered as she continued taking care of his hands.


	106. Closing In

Closing In

"Crap! Crap! Crap!  _Crap!_ " Law cursed to himself when Sanji appeared dashing across the sky. He watched as the blonde man directly charged at Doflamingo. He knew that the Straw Hat cook wasn't going to be strong enough to handle the Warlord. He didn't even know about Doflamingo's Devil Fruit powers. He knew Sanji was going into this fight to protect his friends, but he was also going into it completely blind. And it was his entire fault. He didn't inform the Straw Hats of Doflamingo's string powers at all. A very stupid, rookie move that would haunt him later if he let anything happened to the Straw Hats, but also because of Neo. Mostly because of Neo.

He's heart skipped a beat when Sanji got closer and moved in for the attack. He forced himself to pull his eyes away from the two men clashing in the sky. He ran his eyes around the beach before him. He had to find something he could use to get himself up there and get Doflamingo away from the Straw Hats. Luckily, laying there on the beach, as if someone left it for him, was a log. Snatching it off the ground, he turned and, with all his might, threw it into the air as hard as he could. His heart skipped another beat when he saw Doflamingo strike out at Sanji and the cook's blood went flying through the air. Then Sanji's body got stretched out like he was pinned with invisible needles. But they weren't needles. They were strings. The Straw Hat cook, a new friend of Neo's, was trapped and Doflamingo was going in for the kill. He could hear the rest of the Straw Hats' cries from where he stood on the beach screeching out over the air as they watched their friend helplessly. His heart clenched, his breathing stopped when an image of Neo crying over the loss of a friend passed through his head. He wasn't going to let that happen. He held up his hand, formed his Room, and then warped himself and Caesar into the air. "Room! Shambles!"

He breathed out a sigh of relief when he took Doflamingo's place in the sky beside the Straw Hat pirate. His hand landed on Sanji's arm and he completely relaxed. Neo's friend was safe, for now.

"Law!" Sanji gasped with his own relief when the Heart Pirate appeared out of now where and saved his life.

"I'm sorry," Law replied, glancing at the man. His eyes ran over the blonde man's injuries and the blood dripping down his face. He could tell that none of the man's injuries were life threatening, but he might have had a few cracked bones here and there. He could take care of that later or leave it to the Straw Hats' doctor. "This was my fault. I made a mistake. We're heading back to the ship now."

Law, still with his Room active, warped them back to the ship in a flash. He released Sanji when they reappeared, letting the man fall onto the deck while he landed on Caesar's body. He pushed himself to his feet, ignoring Caesar's protest of rough treatment, just as Chopper ran over to him and Sanji. The reindeer said, "Sanji! Law! Where's Neo?! Where is she?! Is she all right?!"

Law felt himself falter. He almost opened his mouth and told the reindeer where Neo was. Luckily, Sanji spoke up for him and he didn't have to reveal anything to Caesar and Giolla. "She's fine, Chopper. She's with Luffy right now. Zoro and Kin'emon are also with her. So she has plenty of people with her."

Caesar scoffed. "You people are so ridiculously protective of her. She's actually stronger than all of you put together since she can control nature. She just doesn't utilize her  _powers_  because she's so afraid all the time. Unless…there's something else going on with her right now. I do find it very odd that she's been missing from this battle with Joker. She hardly ever left Law's side while they were living with me on Punk Hazard. So what is it, Law? Where is she? I know she's far too protective of you to let you face Joker alon-Ack!"

"Shut up!" Sanji hissed with a strong kick to Caesar's side. "Neo is none of  _your_  concern!"

"Stop kicking me! What's the matter with you?!" Caesar screamed. "I'm not your personally ball to just kick whenever you feel like it! I can't believe I'm on this stupid ship again!"

"Caesar!" Giolla said.

"Huh?! Giolla! Help me!" Caesar said.

"What?! How?! I'm just as much of a prisoner here as your are!" Giolla said, showing the man her own shackles that bound her.

Turning towards the cabin where he hid his heart, Law walked over to it, ignoring the annoying complains of Caesar about being on the Straw Hats ship again and his guesses on where Neo was. He stepped inside the room. Pulling out his heart from the walls, he paused to stare at it pulsing in his hand. Relief washed over him now that he had gotten it back before Neo returned to him. He still felt guilt for removing it. He was definitely going to tell her about it and make it up to her. Holding and staring at it, he left the room and headed back out onto the deck. Just as he got back to the door he heard Chopper's panic voice shouted. "Ah! Doflamingo's coming back! What do we do?!"

"Blackleg!" Law said just as the cook cursed and took a step towards Doflamingo. Sanji stopped and looked back at him. "What about the factory? Has it been destroyed yet?"

"No. We know where the factory is, but Franky told me that it's going to be harder to destroy than we thought," Sanji replied.

"And what of my father and Kanjuro?!" Momonosuke asked. He ran over to the cook. Grabbing onto his pant leg, he looked up at the older man with tears in his eyes. "Please, tell me! How are they?! Are they fine?!"

"Momonosuke," Sanji said, looking down at the boy. He placed his hand on the boy's head with a smile. "They're fine. The samurai should be heading to the factory soon. I'm sure your friend will be saved once he gets there."

"Then we still need more time," Law said with a frustrated growl. His heart pulsed in his hand in tandem with the pulsing in his skull. He barely heard Caesar screeching at him about it over the pounding in his head. He was hoping they were farther along in their plan than that. He was hoping to get Neo out of here as quickly as he could. The only way that was possible was to send her away with the Straw Hats.

"Hey! That's my heart, isn't it?!" Caesar said. "You hid it on the ship?! Wait! That's not possible! You took it out while we were on the bridge!"

"No. This one is mine," Law said, turning to the scientist. He rested his sword on his shoulder and pulled out the man's heart from his chest before tossing it onto the floor of the ship. "I had yours with me the whole time."

"Curse you, Law!" Caesar growled before diving for his heart. "You're going to pay for this! So help me! You will pay for the way you've treated me!"

Law ignored the complaints. He looked up at the Straw Hats crewmembers that were with him. It was time for him to send them on their way to Zou. But he hesitated to speak up. His mind was spinning around his painfully strong desire to send Neo with them. He looked towards Dressrosa and wondered when Neo's magic would come back. When it happened before it wasn't very long before it came back. It only lasted just a few seconds to a couple minutes. Now it's been several minutes, ten to fifteen minutes to be precise and it still hasn't come back. He was divided on whether he was upset or glad for that, especially with what he was about to do next. Despite all that, he knew she was stuck in the coliseum until it did come back, unless Luffy could get her out somehow. So even if he did decide to force her to go with the Straw Hats, she couldn't leave while being stuck in that place. He pulled his eyes away from Dressrosa and looked at the Straw Hats. "Listen to me, everyone. I want you all to take Caesar and head to Zou now."

"Zou?!" Nami asked.

"I gave you the Vivre Card that'll lead you to the island," Law said, ignoring the shock in the orange haired woman's face. They already talked about this. She shouldn't have been surprised at his words. She should have expected it, especially since their plans got turned upside down on them.

"Yeah. I still have it. It's right here," Nami said, pulling the paper from her pocket.

"You want us to head to Zou now? What about Luffy and the others?" Brook asked.

"And what about Neo?" Chopper added. He stared up at Law. His eyes were swirling with worry over Neo and the baby. If they were leaving, he wanted her to go with them. But he knew that was highly unlikely. Neo was far too attached to Law to leave. He sighed and dropped his eyes to the floor before Law even answered him.

Law stared into the animal's eyes when he started talking. He could easily see what Chopper was really saying to him. He knew the thoughts and worries going through the animal's head were the exact same ones running through his own mind. With an internal sigh, he stepped closer to Chopper and kneeled down. Lowering his voice, he said, "Tony, listen, I understand your concern. But you know she won't leave me. Even if I order her to she would refuse it. There is something that I need you to do for me and Neo once you reach Zou."

"You want me to do something for you and Neo?" Chopper asked. He lifted his eyes back to Law. "What is it?"

"I want you to speak to my crew. They're going to be really worried about Neo," Law said. "Mostly, it's going to be a man named Penguin. He's going to want to know everything that's been happening. I want you to tell him, and everyone else, that Neo is fine and safe. But do not tell them about the baby."

"Huh? Why not?" Chopper asked.

"Our crew has grown very fond of Neo. And Penguin has developed a special relationship with her. They have a really close brother and sister bond. He'll be the most worried about her," Law said. "If he knew about the baby, without us being there, he'd freak out and leave to come and find us. I don't need a hysterical crewmember jumping onto our sub and coming over here."

"Right. I understand," Chopper said with a nod. "But it's not going to be easy to keep the baby a secret from them."

"It'll be fine. All you have to do is tell him that Neo is fine. He'll still worry of course, but he'll be more calm once he speaks to someone who's seen her," Law said.

"Yeah." Chopper nodded slowly. "Okay. I understand. I'll tell him, but keep the baby a secret. I suppose you two would want to inform your crew about that yourselves. And with how Neo is, it's probably better that way anyway."

"The only thing we have left to do here is destroy the factory," Law said, raising his voice to everyone else could hear him. He pushed up on his sword and stood back up. "After that's done, we'll be following after you."

"What?! No! We can't do that!" Nami protested. "We can't just leave like that! We're the Straw Hat crew! We won't set sail without our captain! Besides, you can't really let Neo stay here after everything that's happened. I know she's different from the rest of us with her-"

Law shot Nami a sharp glare instantly shutting her up from revealing Neo's pregnancy and any other secrets she was going to spout out in front of Caesar and Giolla. Before he could reply to her, a loud bang erupted through the air. They all looked up to see a Navy ship casting its dark shadow over them.

"What the heck?! How is that Navy ship flying towards us?!" Chopper shouted.

"But that's not possible!" Nami screamed. "Ships can't fly!"

Law narrowed his eyebrows.  _Fujitora. He's the only one with the power to do that._

"Ah! It's Doflamingo! He's coming at us again!" Brook then shouted out.

"And the Navy ship is getting closer!" Chopper said.

"Someone do something!" Nami said just before the Navy pointed their cannons at their tiny little ship. "We're going to die! Where's Neo?! She can easily take care of this!"

"You all are free to do what you wish. If you want to stay behind and wait for the rest of your crew, then wait for them. But do  _not_  give them Caesar," Law said. He grabbed the hilt of his sword just before the Navy started firing on them. Loud booms went off cannon fire and smoke filled the air. The cannon balls hit the water with violent splashes. Erratic waves knocked into the ship. The pirates stumbled around the deck from the unpredictable jerking.

Chopper, regaining his footing, looked up into the sky when something caught his attention. A reddish orange ball was hurling towards them. He tilted his head at the object before realizing that it was falling right at them. "Ah! There's something falling from the sky! It's coming right at us!"

"Huh?! It's a meteorite?!" Nami gasped upon seeing the ball of fire. "Where's Neo?! We need her here! She can easily take can of the ship and the meteorite! Tra! Do something! Get Neo back here!"

"Yes! I can't in good conscious let Neo stay her any longer!" Chopper added, despite knowing it wouldn't do any good. "It's not good for her in her condition! She has to leave with us! I know what we discussed before, but this is insane!"

"No," Law said.  _She won't leave. No matter how much I want to get her away from Doflamingo. I'd have to tell her the truth. There would be no other choice if I sent her away. I can't tell her that yet. She won't be able to handle that without me._  "She's staying with me. She'll be just fine. I won't let anything happen to her."

"Condition?" Caesar asked, but no one heard him. "What condition?"

"Tra, we Spiral Hats are ready to leave!" Nami announced with tears streaking down her cheeks.

"I agree, but only barely!" Chopper added. "I really don't want to leave her behind like this!"

"Then get going already," Law said.

"Leave her behind like what?" Brook asked. "You seem a bit more tense than usual, Chopper."

"I'll explain it later!" Chopper replied. "We have to get going now!"

"Hey, Law. I understand that we have brought Caesar as far as we could. And I completely understand that we have to leave this place now. But Dressrosa was just supposed to be a waypoint for taking down our target Kaido. Is it just me or are you too hung up on taking down Doflamingo?" Sanji called out. He narrowed his eyebrows when Law twitched at his question. Kneading his eyebrows, he marched right up to Law and looked him right in the eyes. Lowering his voice, he said, "Does Neo know the real reason to why we're here?"

Law hesitated. He stared back into Sanji's dark eyes for several second before finally answering him. He should have known that Sanji would have figured it out. This one was smart and noticed details unlike the rest of the Straw Hats. "Yes. She knows everything. With the obvious exception of the current one, I don't keep secrets from her."

Sanji sighed. It was clear he wanted to ask Law what he had gotten himself and his crew into, but both knew Law wouldn't answer him. They didn't have time for a lengthy backstory anyway. Lowering his voice even more, and barely moving his lips so no one could read them, he said, "If anything happens to her or the baby…"

"It won't," Law said with a stern confidence. His eyes flared up with fire and his hand tightened on the hilt of his sword. "I won't let Doflamingo touch either of them. And we will leave this country safely. You take the ship and these crewmembers of yours and get to Zou. She'll want to know that you all are safe. Despite only knowing you all for a short time, she's become very fond of you all. This is the first time she's opened up to people so quickly and easily.  _Don't_  disappoint her. And  _don't_  make her cry."

"I wont." Sanji nodded. "I'll make sure we get to Zou safely."

Law nodded in acceptance to the blonde man's words before turning his attention back to the meteorite falling towards them. He ignored the screams of Nami and Chopper and guided the flaming ball away them and into the hull of the Navy ship. "Takt!"

The metal caved in with a loud groan. Law then turned his attention to the approaching Warlord while the Straw Hats ran about their ship in preparation to leave the country. He swiped out his sword to the strings that Doflamingo shot out at them. They wrapped around his sword. He tightened his hold on his sword, hoping the Straw Hats were ready to take off. "Nami! Listen up! Head for an area that doesn't have clouds!"

"That doesn't have clouds?!" Nami asked. "What for?! What good would that do?!"

"Doflamingo uses the String String Devil Fruit! He can fly through the air by attaching his strings to clouds!" Law told her. "He won't be able to follow you if there are no clouds around for him to grab on to!"

"Are you serious?!" Nami gasped. She looked up at Doflamingo and how he was suspended in the air.

"Strings, huh? I guess that would explain it how he was able to catch me like he did," Sanji said.

"Get going now!" Law called before he severed the strings from his swords.

"Fine! We're leaving! But you better take care of Neo!" Chopper shouted. "We'll see you all in Zou! Here we go! Get ready for the Coup de Burst!"

Law nodded. He stepped over to Giolla. Grabbing her hair, he pointed his blade to her neck. "Hey! Doflamingo! Look over here!"

"Law?! What in the world do you think you are doing?!" Giolla demanded only to get Law's sword twisted more towards her neck.

Law locked his eyes onto Doflamingo's sunglasses before warping himself and Giolla to the nearby fog covered bridge. He clenched his teeth. His hand tightened on his sword hilt when Doflamingo walked out of the fog that was covering the bridge. He focused on Neo. Or he tried to. Her magic was still out. At least she wouldn't know immediately on what he was about to do. But he knew she would sense what he was about to do.

"Was there a point in letting only half of the Straw Hat crew escape?" Doflamingo asked. "We both know that the others are back in Dressrosa. I can easily take them as hostages. Then the half that just took off would come back and hand Caesar back over to me to save their friends."

"You think so? I thought there were several people who underestimated the Straw Hat crew and got burned for it," Law said. He forced back a smirk when Doflamingo frowned. "Despite that. Our alliance with the Straw Hat crew ends here. When we joined forces with them, my only purpose was to use them and have them shut down the manufacture of SMILEs. Even if I can't or don't kill you here and now, Kaido will do it sooner or later because you lost all of the SMILEs for him."

"I see. Your plan was to sacrifice yourself to kill me," Doflamingo said. "Or so it seems. But Neo is mixed up in this as well. Were you planning on sacrificing her too? Did she agree with that?"

"I would really like to see how the world falls into chaos after your death, but first, we're going to settle the score to what you did thirteen years ago! Joker!" Law hissed, ignoring the man's taunts.  _Forgive me, Neo. I know you don't want me to fight Doflamingo, but I have to. You know that. I know you know that. I promise that I_ _will_ _make this up to you._

…

Once free of the Navy and Doflamingo, Sanji picked up the transponder snail. He dialed it in to Franky's transponder snail and waited for the cyborg to pick up. When he did, Sanji informed them of what happened on their end then Franky told them everything that happened on their side of things before asking about their missing friends.

"So what are Luffy and Law doing now?" Franky asked from his end of the transponder snail. "Is Neo still with Luffy at the coliseum? That's where Zoro told me she was earlier."

"Yeah, she's still there," Sanji replied. "Zoro and Kin'emon are there now too."

"That's good to hear," Robin said.

"As for Law…" Sanji's voice trailed off. His mind wondered to the Warlord that had warped of the Sunny just before they had taken off.

"Hey, what were you saying before about Neo?" Brook asked Chopper.

"Oh, that," Chopper said. He looked at the skeleton then at Sanji.

When the cook caught the doctor's eyes, he said, "Might as well tell him. Pretty much everyone else, but for Luffy, knows by now."

"Right." Chopper nodded. He looked over at Caesar, to make sure the man was far enough away before leaning closer to Brook. "Neo's pregnant."

"What?!" Brook shrieked. "And we left her back there with that crazy Warlord?!"

"The blue haired woman is with child?" Momonosuke asked, looking up at Nami.

"She is." Nami nodded. She placed her finger over the boy's lips as if silencing him. "But don't tell anyone else. We're trying to keep that a secret from certain people."

"I understand," Momonosuke said with a nod. "I will not utter a single word of this to anyone."

"You're such a good boy," Nami said. She hugged the boy in her lap. A few minutes later, she got up from her spot to reclaim the helm. The rest, but for Sanji who was still on the transponder snail, fanned out on the ship to make sure no one was following them.

Chopper looked over the horizon before walking back over to Sanji. He said, "Hey, Sanji? Will Law be okay?"

"He'll be fine. His plan is to let Kaido of the Four Emperors kill Doflamingo. As long as he focuses on escaping, he'll be fine," Sanji said. He pulled his cigarette from his mouth and smiled. "But that's not the real reason your worried, is it?"

"We just left her behind," Chopper said, tears pooling in his eyes. "I'm trying not to worry, but I can't help it."

"I understand how you feeling. But Law has no intentions of losing either of them. He'll make sure they all escape alive. And we'll reunite with them in Zou," Sanji said. He reached over and placed his hand on Chopper's hat. "Let's just focus on getting to Zou."

"Right." Chopper nodded.

…

Neo stood up. All she could do was either let herself worry or try and distract herself by watching the fight. But all she could do was worry. She worried about Law. And she worried about Rebecca. Mostly, she worried about Law. Rebecca she could see on the screen before her. And currently, the young gladiator was backing herself up to the edge of the ring. If she backed up anymore, she would fall in the water and lose the match.

"Hey! Stop, Rebecca! Stop backing up!" Luffy cried out to the screen. He grabbed onto the bars as if it would help her hear him screaming. "You're at the edge of the ring! If you back up more, you're going to fall off!"

"All right, Rebecca! Keep at it!" the black haired prisoner cheered.

"What are you saying?!" Luffy snapped. "She's going to fall off! She'll be out of the fight if that happens!"

"No, she's not going to fall!" the black haired prisoner said.

"What?" Luffy asked.

"Just watch," another prisoner said. "Rebecca knows what she's doing."

Luffy and Neo turned their eyes back to Rebecca. They watched as she easily took down three opponents at the same time. Luffy asked, "What did she just do? Wait a second. I didn't know she used Observation Haki."

"You're just now noticing that?" Neo asked him.

"When did you figure it out?" Luffy asked, turning to look at the woman beside him.

"Not long after she brought us into this room. You were eating so I guess I'm not really surprised you didn't noticed it then," Neo said. She leaned closer to Luffy and lowered her voice to a whisper. "She used it on me. She knows I'm not human. Or she assumes I'm different at least."

"What?!" Luffy gasped.

"Shh!" Neo looked at the prisoners. Luckily, they were too focused on the battle and Rebecca to notice or hear Luffy's scream.

"Are you okay with that?" Luffy then asked, lowering his voice back down.

"Yeah." Neo nodded, turning her attention back to him. "She's a good person. We both know that already."

"She sure is," Luffy said before looking back at the screen. The announcer was confirming what they already knew about Rebecca. The announcer informed the crowd of how she's never hurt anyone in battle. That she always throws them out of the ring instead of resorting to violence and blood shed. "Yeah! Rebecca! You're so cool!"

Neo nodded slowly in agreement to Luffy's words. She just wished the crowd could see what a good person Rebecca was instead of hating her for something she had nothing to do with, or she assumed Rebecca had nothing to do with it. She didn't know the complete story after all. All she knew for sure was Rebecca wasn't a bad person.

"This is so irritating! What's wrong with those people?!" Luffy asked when the crowd started jeering at Rebecca again. He tightened his hold on the bars he was clinging to. It was clear he wanted to wrap them around someone's neck.

"It's just like I told you. That's how much they hate her," the black hair prisoner said. "All because of what her grandfather did."

"But that has absolutely nothing to do with her!" Luffy snapped. "She's a really nice person!"

"We all know that already. I know personally," the black hair prisoner said. "After one of my fights, when I got seriously injured and my life was hanging in the balance, she was there for me. She sat up all night and kept encouraging me to live. She kept telling me I was going to be fine. And it wasn't just me. She's been like that with all of us. Everyone here really likes her. We support and encourage her. But the people outside of this place will never forget what happened that night."

"That night?" Luffy asked. He and Neo glanced at each other then turned their eyes to the prisoner.

"It's a long story but-" the prisoner started to say.

"Never mind then," Luffy said, cutting the man off.

"What?!" the prisoner gasped. "You asked!"

"Go, Rebecca!" Luffy shouted, ignoring the man. "Go for it!"

"Excuse him," Neo said to the prisoner. "He apparently has a very short attention span."

"I noticed," the black haired man said.

"Will you tell me what happened to her?" Neo asked.

"You want to know?" the man asked.

"I do." Neo nodded.

"All right. I'll tell you, but it's not a very happy story," the man said.

"That's fine. I've…dealt with my fair share of turmoil," Neo said. "Just give me a quick version of the story. I'm sure we're more concerned with watching Rebecca's match anyway. Besides, there are some things that I can't handle listening to, as I'm sure you've noticed."

"Right. I'll leave out what I think you can't handle." The man nodded. "Well, to be blunt, Rebecca's grandfather pretty much burned down the entire country after asking the citizens to give him all of their money."

"What?" Neo asked with a light gasp.

"It took everyone by surprise. The king was really loved by all of the people. We trusted him and he betrayed us," the man said. He dropped his one eye to the floor and sighed. "The Doflamingo and his  _family_  came and stopped the former king. He saved this country. That's how and why he's the current king."

"That's…" Neo's voice trailed off.

"Terrible," the man finished for her, assuming that's what she was going to say.

Neo stared at the man for a few seconds before turning her eyes back to the screen. She watched as Rebecca continued to dodge the fighters, forcing them to fall into the water.  _That doesn't sound right to me. I don't know why though. Something about all of this just doesn't feel right. Doflamingo just happened to show up at the same time the former king went nuts and started to set the country on fire? I wonder if he also has something to do with the toys in this country._  "Excuse me, but when did all of these toys start appearing in Dressrosa? Have they always been apart of this country?"

"They started appearing shortly after the arrival of the Doflamingo Family," the black hair man replied before turning his attention back to Rebecca.

 _I see. Everything about this place is just so crazy. I wonder what's really going on in this country._ Neo looked back at the screen. Her heart clenched when she saw that Rebecca was now standing face to face with a large man that the announcer had called Rolling Logan. Her heart clenched again when Rolling Logan managed to disarm Rebecca. The young gladiator was nimble enough to avoid getting hit by the man's attacks when he bombarded her with them, but she was slammed onto her back when his finger caught a hold of her cape. She grabbed onto the bars and shouted when Rolling Logan picked up the pink haired girl and started squeezing her. "Rebecca! No! Let her go!"

Neo released the bars and shot her hands up to her ears when Rebecca screamed out in pain. Flashback started to roll through her mind again. It made her stomach spin. She whipped around and walked away from the screen. She didn't know if Luffy noticed. And she didn't really care if he did or didn't. She just wanted, needed, to get away from the fight. She walked the length of the room then walked it again. Stopping at the door, she reached up and pulled Law's hat down over her eyes. She was about to turn and walked back to Luffy when she suddenly got a very bad feeling about Sanji. He was in trouble. She shifted from foot to foot, while her body trembled, wishing her magic would come back so she could speak to Law, so she could leave this horrid place. But it didn't. It didn't obey her desires at all.

She released a frustrated growl and kicked the door multiple times while she waited for this feeling to either go away or get worse. Her breath started coming in short, sharp gasps. She knew she would hyperventilate if she kept this up. She closed her eyes, forced her breathing to slow down, and tried to figure out where Sanji would have been right now. Last she saw of him, he was fawning over that dark haired woman back in the town. But would he still be with her? Was she the reason for this bad feeling? Was that woman causing pain to Sanji? Was she hurting him? She knew Sanji had a weakness for women, but she believed he could handle himself no matter what came his way. She was still worried, however. Then, just as quick as the feeling came, the feeling was gone. The bad feeling was replaced with relief. She exhaled. Whatever happened, whatever danger Sanji was in, it had passed by. Upon feeling lightheaded, she leaned against the door

Neo took a couple shaky breaths to steady herself while pressing her hand to her warm face. She stayed like that for a minute before finally feeling better. She pushed herself off the door. She took only one step towards Luffy and the prisoners before she felt like her heart had stopped beating. Her body grew cold, her knees buckled, and she dropped to the floor, clenching her aching chest while gasping desperately for air. "Law…no…don't…"

Neo's teary eyes dropped down to Law's ring. The light from the room was bright enough that it should have glinted off of it, but his ring looked dark to her. The light wouldn't reflex off of it at all. She knew Law was about to do something really stupid and very reckless. And she knew exactly what that was. She knew he was getting ready to fight with Doflamingo. And not like he had been doing. She knew he was about to fight Doflamingo head on. Something must have happened. But she didn't know what. She was completely in the dark on what was happening outside of the coliseum. And she hated it. She hated every single second that she didn't know what was going on with Law. She hated being away from him. She needed to be beside him. If he was really going to fight Doflamingo, then she was going to fight beside him. She had to get out of this horrible place and get back to Law's side.

Pushing herself to her feet, she brushed her tears away with the back of her hand before stomping back towards Luffy as her mind went over all of the abilities of Luffy's that she knew about. She was getting out of here one way or another. Since her magic wasn't working, Luffy's Gum Gum Devil Fruit was the only other option. It might be long shot to pull it off, but he could use his Gum Gum Rocket to launch them over the moat and into the crowd. He then could use it again to, hopefully, get them to the top of the coliseum. They could jump over the side and he could use his Gum Gum Balloon to safely land them on the ground.

She started to mentally curse at herself for not thinking of this before, but stopped herself upon remembering Law doesn't like it when she uses such words. She wasn't use to using such words anyway. She pushed those thoughts from her mind and continued towards Luffy. As she got closer to her friend, her steps and determination almost faltered when she saw Luffy, for some reason, was running in place. She pushed it aside as she continued to march up to him. Luffy didn't notice her as he continued speaking to the prisoners in the cell. "I thought everyone in this country was happy. That's how it seemed while we were walking around the town. But after meaning you all, I guess that's not true."

"What you saw was the bright side of this country. That's where the winners live happily. Doflamingo labels those who obey him without question the winners while the people who openly disobey him are labeled the losers," the black haired man said. He waved his missing hand to emphasize his point. "It's kind of like the World Government. The losers are basically like trash and once you hide that trash in the darkness, the country can look nothing but good on the surface."

"Hm. That kind of sounds like the place I grew up," Luffy said thoughtfully while he continued to jog in place.

"When you get the feeling that something is wrong, you start seeing strange things happening," the black haired prisoner said. "We believe there's an even darker side to this country. You two better be careful. If you openly defy Doflamingo, you could end up like us."

"Yeah. We'll be fine," Luffy said.

Neo almost faltered at the prisoner's words. He spoke the truth. She had gotten the feeling that something wasn't right in this country. That door opened up for her when she sensed that tiger. Then it became even clearer when she spoke to the elephant trapped inside of a toy and even more so upon meeting Rebecca and these prisoners. She shook those thought from her head. They didn't matter at the moment. Law did. She had to get to him. Marching closer to Luffy, she grabbed the front of this shirt. He blinked at her before asking, "Hm? Neo? What's up? You looked kind of upset about something. Are you feeling sick again?"

"We're leaving!" Neo told him before jerking him towards the door. "Law's-"

"Of course we're leaving!" Luffy then said. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand off his shirt, and then dashed down the hall to the door with her in tow.

"We are?" Neo asked, feeling completely off guard by his words. Did Luffy have the same bad feeling that she did?

"The view down here is terrible!" Luffy said, pulling her towards the door with a high amount of enthusiasm. "We're heading back up to the viewing spots for the other competitors!"

"Are you kidding me?!" Neo snapped. "That's why you're so excited?! I thought you had the same bad feeling that I did about Law!"

"Huh? What about Tra?" Luffy glanced over his shoulder at her.

"He's in trouble!" Neo replied. She felt her frustration growing at her helpless situation. It made her heartbeat increase to a level she knew was too high and Law wouldn't be happy about.

"Oh?! Did your magic come back?!" Luffy asked.

"If it did I wouldn't be stuck here being dragged by you!" Neo snapped again, causing her frustration to grow even more. She needed to calm down. She took a deep breath to calm herself down when she felt like she was going to become hysterical. She knew this wasn't Luffy's fault. She had no reason to blame him or yell at him for it. Once she felt herself becoming more stable, she spoke again. "Luffy, Law and I are really close. I don't need my magic or our magical bond to know when something bad is happening to him. And something very bad is about to happen to him right now. He's going to fight Doflamingo head on. I think he's already fighting him. I know he is."

"You can tell all of that without your magic?" Luffy asked. "How?"

"I just told you how! But it's also more than that! Law's had a ven-" Neo clamped her mouth shut after almost telling Luffy the real reason they were after Doflamingo. She was taking a bit by surprised at how easy and quick she had come to trust the Straw Hats. Her eyes lifted up to her godfather's hat. It was still covered with a black hat. Part of the disguise that Kin'emon had done for Luffy. She got a sudden strong feeling of nostalgia for her godfather. She wanted to see him, both in person and in their dream world. She knew the quickest way she'd see him was in their dream world. It has been a while since they have talked. She wondered what he was doing. She also wondered if he was still paying attention to the newspapers. She shoved that thought away. She knew he was. He always followed their journeys. She wondered what he thought about their recent ventures. He hadn't called her in a panic yet so either he figured they were fine or he didn't know yet. Maybe he didn't know. Her magic was out after all. He could be trying to get ahold of her right now and she wouldn't know it until her magic came back. She figured he wouldn't like them going up against a man like Doflamingo. She shook her head. There was no time to think about that. She would call for him after they got out of this country, to check in if nothing else. She turned her attention back to Luffy. "Look, Luffy, just trust me on this. Law is in a whole lot of trouble. We have to get to him. You can use your Gum Gum Rocket to shoot us to the top of the coliseum. Then we can jump over and use your Gum Gum Balloon to land safely on the ground."

"That's a good plan. But we're not going to do it," Luffy said.

"What?!" Neo gasped. She tried to pull back on him, but he continued to barrel down the hall with her. She didn't have the physical strength to stop him. She had no choice but to follow along with him.

"Don't worry about, Tra. He's going to be fine," Luffy said, casually. Too casually for Neo's liking. She frowned at his back, but he continued to run forward completely unaware of her displeasure. "We need to cheer for Rebecca right now."

"Luffy!" Neo growled under her breath. "So help me…once my magic is back I'm forcing you out of this coliseum!"

"Relax! It's going to be fine!" Luffy smiled. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you or Tra! So here's what we're going to do, we'll go cheer on Rebecca so she knows we're there for her then we'll leave. How's that? It's not like you can help Tra without your magic anyway, right?"

"Luffy. Fine." Neo sighed. His smile was so comforting that she couldn't help but believe him. It still bugged her that he was being so carefree. No other words were passed between them. They had reached the exit to this room. Luffy pushed it open for them and they found the strange rooster hair styled man, which was chasing them before, greeted them with a startling cry. Neo tilted her head in confusion, her anger and worry momentarily forgotten as she stared at the green haired man before them. She tried to figure out if he was excited, happy, sad, or if he was on the verge of having a heart attack. His emotions were all mixed together as he cried, literally, at the sight of Luffy. "Huh? It's one of the guys that was chasing you before. What do you think he wants? He doesn't look like he's out to kill you or anything like that."

"Yeah." Luffy nodded. "I'm not sure what he wants."

"L-L-L-L-L," the green haired man stuttered. He ducked behind a column of the coliseum. His eyes sparkled with stars before he jumped back out from the column. Fresh tears shot out of his eyes like rivers. "Mr. Luffy!"

"He knows who you really are!" Neo gasped in a low tone.

"Mr. L-L-Luffy!" the man cried again before his eyes took on a dreamy expression.

"Shouldn't you see what he wants?" Neo asked.

"No," Luffy replied. He slid his hand from her wrist to her hand and started running down the coliseum hall. He looked around as they went. "Let's see. Which way was it? We need to find the place to watch the fight."

"You don't know where we are?" Neo asked.

"Nope." Luffy smiled.

"Just great," Neo grumbled. She looked around.  _I'm not sure where we are either. I didn't pay close enough attention when Rebecca brought us to that room. I guess we're just going to have to ask someone for directions. Surely someone is nice enough to tell us without trying to hack Luffy's head off._

"Wait, Mr. Luffy!"

"Huh?" Neo said just as Luffy stopped running and turned back around. "It's that rooster haired guy again."

"Yeah, I remember you now," Luffy said as they walked back to the green haired man. "Your name is, um…Ack! Wait a second! My name isn't  _Luffy_! It's  _Lucy_!"

"That doesn't matter. It's not important," the man said before casting his eyes down to the floor. "Oh, I can't! I can't even speak! I'm too nervous!"

"Is he okay?" Neo asked. She tilted her head to the side when the man dropped to the ground and leaned backwards. Suddenly feeling nervous at the strange man and his even stranger actions, she stepped closer to Luffy. "We don't have time for this. We need to go."

"Right. Well, if you got nothing to say, we're going to leave now," Luffy said. "We have to support Rebecca then go help a friend of ours."

Neo gave the man one last look before following Luffy back down the hall.

"Wait, Mr. L-L-Luffy! Mr. Z-Z-Zoro to asked me to…to…" the man called.

"Huh?! Zoro?!" Luffy skidded to a stop.

"We're never going to get out of here," Neo grumbled to herself as they walked back to the green haired man. Feeling aggravated she openly spoke to him. "Look, mister, we're in a hurry. What is it that you want from Luffy?"

"Huh? Who the hell are you?! You're not part of the Straw Hat crew! How do you know, Mr. Luffy?!" The man tilted his head as he took Neo in. His eyes ran over her body then stopped their connected hands. He's voice shrilled with happiness as he threw up his hands in the air. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know that the great Mr. Luffy had a girlfriend!"

"Huh?" Neo gaped at the man. It took her a few seconds to find her voice and really register what he had said. She lifted her left hand and waved it at him. "Oh! No! We're not a-"

"You're wearing Mr. Luffy's ring!" he gasped. Tears poured down his cheeks like mini waterfalls had magically implanted themselves on his face. "I don't believe it! There has been no word about this at all! But I suspect you would want to keep it a secret so no one would be able to use her against you!"

"Who are you?" Neo asked completely dumbfounded at this strange man and the bizarre idea that she was romantically involved with Luffy.

"Please, Mrs. Luffy, call me Bartolomeo," Bartolomeo said. He placed the back of his arm over his eyes and continued to cry. "I'm so unworthy!"

"I'm not Mrs. Luffy!" Neo snapped. Anger flared up in her chest at being calling something other than Neo or Mrs. Trafalgar. Tears stun her eyes. "I'm Mrs. Trafalgar! I'm married to Law not Luffy!"

Luffy laughed at the man's outburst.

Neo turned her tear eyes at the Straw Hat captain and said, "It's not funny, Luffy! I'm not married to you!"

"Right, right. I'm sorry." Luffy then stopped laughing. He turned to Bartolomeo and said, "What did you want?"

"Oh! Right! Mr. Z-Z-Zoro asked me to bring you to him!" Bartolomeo said after composing himself. His eyes bounced between Luffy and Neo before dropping down to their connected hands again then to the ring on Neo's hand. Tears began flowing again. "I can't believe it! I'm so happy for you both!"

"You're making a mistake," Neo said, trying again to get through to him. "We're just friends."

"Really? Zoro's looking for us? Where is he then?" Luffy asked.

"You could help me here in correcting him," Neo said. She gave Luffy's hand a squeeze then a jerk but he didn't respond.

"H-he's outside of the coliseum! I can take him to you!" Bartolomeo said as he covered his face with his hands. He scissor walked sideways passed Luffy and Neo before dashing down the hall. "I-I-I can show you! Follow me! You and your wife come this way!"

"I'm not his wife!" Neo snapped.

"All right! We're counting on you, Rooster Head!" Luffy said. "Come on, Neo! Let's go!"

"Aren't you even going to correct him?!" Neo asked while Luffy once again started to drag her down the hall. "He thinks that we're married!"

"So?" Luffy asked, looking over his shoulder at her.

"What do you mean 'so'?! We're not married!" Neo said with an annoyed sigh. "Law's not going to like this one bit! You have to correct him!"

Before Luffy could reply to her, Bartolomeo suddenly dropped to the ground and started crying again. Luffy said, "Huh? Hey, what's wrong?"

Bartolomeo didn't reply.

"This is just great. You attract a lot of weird people," Neo said. She placed her free hand on her hip and stared at Bartolomeo. She noticed he didn't even hear Luffy talking to him. "Let's just go. It doesn't look like he's going to stop crying any time soon."

"Yeah. I think you might be right," Luffy said. "Let's go."

Neo nodded. _Finally. Hold on, Law. Please, don't do anything stupid until I get there. And don't let Doflamingo get to you. Don't let him use me against you. Keep your head calm, clear, and focused. You know I'm safe. It's going to be fine. We're going to leave this country. Alive._


	107. Warlords

Warlords

Law took a deep breath. The calmness of the world around him was putting him on edge. Nature was eerily silent, the birds had stopped calling, the ocean waves had stilled, the wind was nowhere to be found. It was like nature itself was waiting to see what the outcome of this battle was going to be. He narrowed his eyebrows and wondered if Neo, despite her magic still being absent, was sensing the odd change in nature. Or was nature acting on her behalf? Was nature holding its own breath in anticipation to the outcome of this fight? His body started trembling to that thought. Nature did have a habit of protecting her. He took a strained breath and slowly released it through barely parted lips in hope Doflamingo wouldn't notice. It was really pointless. The older Warlord already knew how much Neo meant to him. Doflamingo probably knew that, or at least assumed that much, the first time Neo was revealed in the papers to be one of his crew. Doflamingo was, after all, a very smart and dangerous man. And he had trained Law for those few years when he was just a kid.

"So you want to make me pay for what I did thirteen years ago?" Doflamingo asked with a tilt of his head.

Law felt like rolling his eyes at the man clearly trying to pretend he didn't know what he was talking about. He said, "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"I don't linger on the past, Law. I'm more concerned with the here and now," Doflamingo said with a dark chuckle. "Like how Neo still hasn't come to your aid since that first time in the forest of Green Bit. You know I still can't figure out where she actually was during that time. Her crystals were clearly there, but she wasn't. I know you trained her as a sniper. So keeping her distance would normally be the position she would be in. However, as the news reports have said, she always entered the battle up close when someone she loves is in danger. And she didn't this time."

Law forced himself not to show any kind of emotion to Doflamingo's words. He gritted his teeth and held tighter onto the hilt of his sword in a desperate attempt to not let his emotions get the better of him. Neo was a source of great strength to him, but she was also his greatest weakness. If he wasn't careful, he could lose control. And that would give Doflamingo a huge advantage over him. So he let his hat brim fall over his eyes to calm himself down and control his thoughts again. He felt both Doflamingo and Giolla's eyes carefully watching him. He knew this move was pointless since Doflamingo had it all figured out. Neo's moves in protecting those she loved were obvious. Even people who have no battle experience would be able to figure it out just from the reporters' words in newspapers. But this time was different. And Doflamingo noticed that. A lump formed in Law's throat. His mouth turned dry. And his heart took several rapid beats as he tried to brace himself for Doflamingo's next words.

"There's something going on with her, isn't there?" A light shimmered across Doflamingo's dark sunglasses when Law couldn't keep his body from reacting to his words. A smile curled on his lips as his eyes danced over Law's twitching body. "What is it, Law? What's going on with her? Is she hurt? Is she sick? I know she can feel your pain. And with how protective she is of you, there's no way she would just sit back and do nothing. Or did you order her to stay away? Is she  _that_  obedient to you? Huh? Is that all you have to do? Just  _order_  her to stay away and she'll do it?"

"Enough!" Law hissed. He tightened his hold on his sword and angled its blade closer to Giolla's neck.

"Trying to use her against me? You should know better than that, Law. So what are you going to do, Giolla? Both you and Law know what kind of family we are," Doflamingo said with his grin growing wider.

"He's right, Law! You know I don't mind sacrificing myself for the young master at any point in time!" Giolla snapped. "Holding me hostage is pointless!"

Law ignored her words. He knew full well what kind of people those in the Don Quixote family really were. He had almost become one of them once before. Without a word, he formed his Room and warped the loud mouth, multicolored haired woman away from him and behind Doflamingo. Taking her place was a small, insignificant rock that was just another reminder of Neo. His mind wondering over all of the ways she could have used that little rock as a weapon to protect him. He tried to force her out of his head. He didn't need to be distracted right now. That would give Doflamingo a huge advantage over him. But how could he not think about her? Still, he tried. He said, "You have the chance to run. Get out of here while you can."

"What are you saying?! There's no way I'm going to leave the young master and run away!" Giolla snapped. She wiggled her oddly shaped body on the ground until she managed to get on her knees. "Have you lost your mind, Law?!"

"Go! I don't need you here right now!" Doflamingo said. He kept his eyes on Law instead of looking back at the shocked woman behind him. "I don't need you here, Giolla! Just leave now!"

"Y-yes, sir!" Giolla said. She jumped up from the spot that Law had warped her to then scampering off towards Dressrosa without a second glance behind her at the two Warlords.

"Considering that Blackleg arrived near Green Bit earlier I've come to the conclusion that our plans haven't gone like I had wanted them to," Doflamingo said. "If they had, then he would have been dead by now. I wonder what happened."

"You've lost your trump card, Doflamingo. That's what has happened. And you'll never get Caesar back from us now," Law said, holding up the back of his hand to Doflamingo so his tattooed fingers featuring the word 'Death' could clearly be seen by the older Warlord. "And while you're fighting me here, you're going to lose the SMILE factory you have here is Dressrosa. Your time is coming to an end."

"You're just being very unreasonable, Law. You have no reason to hold a grudge against me for anything," Doflamingo said. His lips still curled into a smile. "I only did what was necessary. You're just lashing out like a spoiled child."

"I'm not lashing out! I've been living my life until this day to attain that man's long cherished ambition!" Law cried out. His body took an automatic pause to see if Neo's magic had come back. It hadn't.  _I've got to finish this quickly,_ he thought before raising his sword towards Doflamingo.

"Very well then! I would like to see how much pain I can inflicted on you two before your precious lover comes to save you!" Doflamingo said.

"Leave her out of this, Doflamingo!" Law hissed.

"I didn't bring her into it, Law!  _You did!_ " Doflamingo shot back.

Law's heart clenched hard at Doflamingo's words. The older man was right. He did bring Neo into this. It was his fault that she was here. It was all his fault she was here and pregnant. It was his fault that she was this close to a madman who wanted to kill them both. And that number would increase to all  _three_  of them if Doflamingo ever found out that she's pregnant. His mind and body relaxed a bit know that Doflamingo didn't know she was pregnant and had no way of knowing she was. But that good feeling quickly vanished when he remembered the man Sanji had mentioned to him before, the scientist who had been living and working for Doflamingo for several months. Who exactly was that guy? What did Doflamingo have him here for? Did that man know something about Neo and her people? Obviously he did since Doflamingo knew Neo was an Elemental and a royal. But was there a way for the enemy to figure out that Neo was pregnant, other than through the tradition means?

A large splash broke through Law's thoughts and the thick silence that nature had settled down on them. With his Room still in tact from warping to the bridge, Law launched his first attack at Doflamingo at the same time Doflamingo launched his first attack at Law. Doflamingo's strings and Law's severing sword slice flew towards each other. The sounds of iron breaking and the shocked cries of the Fighting Fish filled the air when their attacks sliced through them with ease. The debris fell into the water causing large waves and scaring the sea life that might just happened to be below the bridge as it broke the surface.

Doflamingo shot his strings up to the clouds above. Once they were securely wrapped in place, he pulled himself into the air. Angling his body so he could easily speak to Law, he asked, "How much pain can she handle, Law? I know Elemental bodies are different from human bodies. And I know how much pain Vergo can inflict on someone. Did she suffer the same amount of pain that you did? Or was did it hurt less because she wasn't the one taking the beating?"

"What makes you think I'll tell you anything?" Law asked, trying to sound like he wasn't bothered by anything the older Warlord was saying. He warped when Doflamingo lifted a finger at him and fired a String Shot at him.

"I actually don't expect you to tell me anything. But I will find out all I want to know, Law. And I don't need you to tell me anything. Once Neo has joined my side, I'll just conduct experiments on her." Doflamingo chuckled. He swiped his strings at Law.

"Why are you still going on about that?" Law asked. He used his sword to deflect Doflamingo's strings. The strings clanked against the metal of his sword, it rang through his ears before the sound faded away. "Neo would never join you!"

"I guess we'll see soon," Doflamingo said. The two Warlords struck out at each other again. Their attacks missing each other, but sliced up more of the bridge.

Law took a quick glance at the destruction around them. He wondered how much this bridge could take before it collapsed around them. He knew that Doflamingo could easily pull himself away from the bridge if it did collapsed. He, himself however, would not be as lucky. He could feel his power draining. He was fighting too much. He needed to either end this battle soon or get closer to the island so he could easily warp himself to safety if the bridge did decide to collapse under their battle. But then, moving closer to the Dressrosa, meant leaning Doflamingo closer to Neo. It looked like no matter what course of action he took, Neo was fated to fight against Doflamingo. But how would she be able to do that when Doflamingo's strings could slice through anything? Her earth, air, and wind crystals were basically useless. That left her fire crystals. Would she be able to melt his strings with her fire if she turned up the heat enough on them?

…

The sounds of their shoes thumping against the floor filled their ears and the halls of the coliseum as they ran through the building. They ran passed multiple doorways and people, but none of them were the correct ones. Still holding on to Neo's hand, Luffy cursed and looked around their stone surrounds, unaware of having passed by one of the coliseum workers that noticed them when they almost ran into him when he stepped through a door.

"Hey! Careful! You almost…" The gladiator-clad man cut his own voice off quickly when he noticed the spotted hat that Neo was wearing underneath her raincoat hood and her electric blue eyes as they ran passed him. "Huh? That looked like Trafalgar Neo. I'd know those eyes anywhere. I better report this to Mr. Diamante. He'll want to know that she's in the coliseum with Straw Hat Luffy. But when did she get here? And how did she even get in? The gates have been closed for several minutes. Was it possible she snuck in with Straw Hat? Oh! Forget that! I've got to report this right now!"

The man turned and ducked back into the door he just stepped out of.

…

"Ah!" Luffy groaned in frustration. "That stupid rooster head! What happened to him?! He said he was going to take us to Zoro, but then he just collapsed on the floor and didn't move!"

Neo glanced over at the black haired teen beside her. The way he was looking around gave her the impression that Luffy thought Zoro would just materialize in front of them if he looked hard enough. She said, "I'm sorry. I know coliseums are big. I've heard my crew talk about them before and I've read about a few in some books, but I had no idea they were like mazes if you weren't familiar with them. Books are always kind of vague with details like that. They want you to use your imagination to insert yourself into the story. But it's okay. We'll find Zoro soon enough. We're on the ground level so if we keep running around right here near these windows, we'll come across him eventually. The entrances are closed to the public. So it's certain that he's still on the outside of the coliseum. There's nowhere else he could be. Plus, that green haired man said that he was going to take us to Zoro because Zoro asked him too. So Zoro knows we're coming. He wouldn't leave anyway."

"I suppose you're correct. But Zoro does like to-Hey!" Luffy said just as he spotted Zoro's outline out of one of the barred windows. "There he is!"

"Yeah." Neo nodded. She looked out the bars to see that Zoro was also with Kin'emon. She was glad to see them and ran her eyes over their bodies. She breathed a sign of relief when she saw no signs of injuries. So despite the trouble that had been going on, they didn't look like they had gotten into any fights.

"Hey! Zoro! Kin'emon!" Luffy called out to the two men on the outside of the coliseum as they rushed up to the window.

"Huh?" When they got about four feet to the window, Neo noticed for a split second that the bars were sea prism stone. She tightened her hold on Luffy's hand and pulled him back with as much force as she could summon. "Luffy! Hold on a second!"

"Ah!" Luffy cried, stumbling back to her. He straightened on his feet and looked at her before he could stumble to the floor and take her with him. "What? What did you do that for?"

"My magic came back for a split second. Those bars are sea prism stone," Neo informed him. She pointed to the three inch thick bars separating them from their friends on the outside. "So don't touch them. We need you at full strength to help Law."

"Huh?" Luffy looked back to the bars. "Oh! Okay! Thanks for telling me! I'll be careful not to touch them!"

Neo nodded before the two walked the last four feet to the bars. She paused when she got a strange feeling coming from nature. She looked up at the sky. Despite the cheers from the coliseum crowd and all the noise from the town, she could still hear nature going oddly quiet. It was the calm before the storm. Law was seconds away from clashing with Doflamingo in a serious fight. Her body started trembling, but she forced herself to stop. She was with Luffy, Zoro, and Kin'emon. And once they were all on the outside of this coliseum, they would go to Law.

She brought her eyes back down to the two men. She locked onto Zoro's shirt when something moved inside of it. She wondered if it was Wicka. The little Tontatta was the only reason that Zoro's shirt would be moving like that. She wanted to ask Zoro if the little blue haired person was still with him, but she didn't think she'd be able to without someone else noticing. And since the Tontattas didn't reveal themselves to the people of Dressrosa, Neo didn't want to disrupt that. So she pulled her eyes from Zoro's shirt and focused on the man instead.

"Hey, guys! Here we are!" Luffy called. He waved to their friends like it would help them be seen. "Zoro! Kin'emon! Over here!"

"Luffy! Neo!" Zoro called back. He and Kin'emon ran closer to the coliseum and looked up at the two trapped inside.

Kin'emon gasped. Holding up his finger to his lips, he quickly tried to shush Luffy despite the rubber man having already called out their names. "Shh! Shh!"

"Don't shout out our names like that, you idiot! Do you want someone to figure out who we are?!" Zoro demanded.

"Shh! Shh! Sir Zoro, please!" Kin'emon said. He looked at the swordsman standing beside him. "You shouted out their names as well!"

"Oh, sorry," Luffy replied with a laugh. "But I'm really glad to see you two!"

"I'm glad to see you two as well," Neo said. She placed her hand on the edge of the windowsill and carefully looked them over again. "Are you two all right? You look all right."

"We are fine, Lady Neo," Kin'emon replied. "Rest easy now. It will not do you any good to get upset."

"Sorry. I'm already upset. Law's in trouble," Neo said. She felt relieved that they were fine, but also sad. She blinked away the tears that threated to fall from her eyes, not understanding why she felt this way. She rubbed her eyes with her free hand before placing her hand on her stomach. "We need to get out of here and get to Law."

"Indeed. We all are in trouble with everything that has happened. But I am very glad that you two have arrived here. I did not think we were going to be able to depend on that guy we spoke to before. He was acting so weird, but it seems like he was able to do what we asked of him," Kin'emon said. His eyes wondered around the area in an attempt to find the green haired man, but he wasn't there.

"Speak of that guy, where did he go anyway?" Zoro asked. His eyes also wondered around the inside area of the coliseum where Neo and Luffy were. "Didn't he come with you two?"

"No, he collapsed on our way here for some reason," Luffy replied.

"Really? Did something happen to him?" Zoro asked, bringing his eyes back to Luffy. "He really didn't seem all that well when we spoke to him. Did he get sick or something?"

"I don't know. He might have been," Luffy replied with a carefree shrug. "He was crying a lot. Maybe he was hurt. He did just fight his match in the coliseum."

"Or maybe he was just insane. He completely lost it when he first saw Luffy. I thought he was having a heart attack or something. He saw Law's ring but thinks Luffy and I are married," Neo then said. She held up her hand and flashed Law's ring at them before glanced down the hall to see if the green haired man was coming in sight before looking back to Zoro and Kin'emon. "I tried to correct him, but he wouldn't listen to me. Law's not going to be happy about that."

"He thinks you two are married?" Zoro asked. His eyebrow lifted up in confusion. "Why would he jump to that conclusion?"

"He also thinks I'm part of your crew as well. Probably thought that we were involved because Luffy's been holding my hand for a while now. He saw our connected hands when we first spoke to him. Then saw Law's ring when I tried to correct him and jumped to the wrong conclusion. I suppose us holding hands was what gave him that impression," Neo told them. "But I've held hands with several of my own crew before and no one jumped to that conclusion."

"You're my friend," Luffy said. He smiled at Neo when she brought her bright eyes to his. "And you're Shanks' daughter. Why wouldn't I hold your hand? I want to make sure you're safe."

"I know that, Luffy." Neo gave him a smile and squeezed his hand. Her heart flittered a bit at how protective Luffy was being over her. Her eyes flickered to the brim of the straw hat hanging on Luffy's neck. She wished he were wearing it. The helmet he was currently wearing didn't suit him at all. Or maybe she was just feeling sentimental. She did feel like tears were going to come again. And she felt a strong sudden desire to contact her godfather. She wanted to snuggle up to him in their magical world and talk to him until she fell asleep. Feeling her tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, she took a slow deep breath to push them away. Now wasn't the time for crying. "Godfather would be pleased to hear you care so much. Though it would be best not to mention to anyone there's a connection between Godfather and me. Despite that, Law's still not going to be please to know another man thinks me and you are married. And that man seems kind of dangerous. He might attack Law if he sees us together. But there's no time to discuss this. We have to get out of here."

"Don't worry about that guy. It'll be fine," Luffy said. He then turned back to Zoro and Kin'emon. "But Neo is right. We need to get-"

The sound of metal hitting the floor cut Luffy's words off. He and Neo looked down the hall to see a dagger discarded in the middle of the hallway. Neo blinked in confusion at the out of place item. She asked, "Someone was there? Did they even notice they dropped their knife?"

"Hey, Luffy. What's wrong? What is it?" Zoro asked.

"It's nothing. Someone just dropped a knife," Luffy said, turning his eyes back to Zoro. "Anyway we-"

"Ah!" Neo screamed when a sharp pain stabbed through her head. Her knees buckled under her. She released Luffy's hand so she could steady herself on the windowsill.

"Neo!" all three of the men shouted.

"Neo? What is it? What's happening?" Luffy asked. His eyes roamed over her body, desperately searching for what caused her this pain. "Did your magic come back? Are you feeling Law's pain or something?"

"I don't-Ah!" Neo started to speak, but was cut off again when another sharp pain shot through her head. Her vision blurred and split in two. She closed her eyes as a wave of dizziness washed over her. Her body started to tremble. It caused her to lose her hold on the windowsill and collapsed against the wall. Curling into a tight ball, she clenched ahold of her head. Warm tears from the pain streaked down her cheeks.

"Neo?" Luffy asked, kneeling down with her. His eyes still roamed over her body despite nothing being there. He felt helpless. He didn't know what was going on with her. And he didn't know how to help her. He wasn't their crew's doctor, Chopper was. And Chopper wasn't here right now. "Just hold on! It'll be okay! We'll get you some help!"

"N-no…" Neo choked out through the pain. "It's…okay. It's just a headache."

"A headache?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah." Neo started to nod, but the movement caused her head to hurt more. So she halted all movement and waited for the pain to pass. "I'll be fine. Let's just get out of here and get to Law."

"We're not going anywhere with your head hurting like that," Luffy said.

"Luffy, we have to." Neo cracked open an eyelid and looked at him. Through her blurry, double vision she managed to see his eyes were filled with concern. It was sweet of him to worry, but now wasn't the time for that. She forced out a smile and tried to stand up. The movement shot more pain through her head, forcing her to drop back down to the ground.

"You are not going anywhere until that headache goes away," Luffy said in a stern captain tone. It took Neo by surprise. She didn't think he had such a serious tone in his voice. "Both Tra and Shanks would not be pleased to know you're in such pain. Now you just sit still until it goes away. That's an order! Do you understand me?"

Neo looked at Luffy in confusion. For a second, he sounded like Law. She knew he was correct. She couldn't even move or stand up. She had no choice but to wait it out. Reluctantly she gave into him. "All right."

…

"Room! Shambles!" Law cried out as the bridge beneath his feet started to crumble. He warped himself away from the damage their fight was causing to the bridge and to keep himself from falling into the salty water. His chest heaved up and down with exhaustion from his fights as his current Room disappeared. The blood from earlier was starting to dry causing his skin to itch.

"What's wrong, Law? I thought you wanted to kill me!" Doflamingo said as he swung through the air. He swiped out his hand, shooting strings at Law's back.

Law ducked to the ground just before the strings could slice him up. Instead they flew passed him and sliced up the more of the bridge. He knew at this rate they were going to completely destroy the already damaged bridge. At least he didn't have to worry about any more Fighting Fish. Though he didn't know why exactly. Perhaps their battle was enough to scare off the enormous fish. Either way he was glad they were gone. He didn't need the added distraction trying to eat him. He shifted his thoughts back to the bridge. Thinking about how the shattered bridge gave him plenty of weapons to use against Doflamingo. He held up his hand to recreate his faded Room and lift pieces of the bridge debris. "Room! Takt!"

Law shot one column into the air knowing full well that Doflamingo would easily be able to slice it up with his strings. He used that by immediately shooting multiple columns up towards the older man while the first column blocked his vision from the rest that were headed his way. He then warped himself up to Doflamingo by replacing a piece of debris with his body. He swiped his sword, but Doflamingo blocked his blade with strings. Taking the opportunity, he thrust out his hand in an attempted to take Doflamingo's heart. "Scalpel!"

"Tell me something, Law," Doflamingo said while dodging Law's attack. Instead of continuing with what he was going to say, he slammed his foot into Law's face.

Law gritted his teeth in frustration, ignoring the iron taste that filled his mouth from his busted lip. He looked over his shoulder at the rapidly approaching bridge. He knew he needed to get himself to land safely back on the bridge for Neo's sake. He managed to warp himself to it before his back could collide with it. On his hands and knees, Law panting hard while he kept his eyes locked on Doflamingo. He quickly checked to see if Neo's magic had came back yet. It hadn't, but for a quick split second of it. She was still unable to feel the damage he was accumulating in this battle. Still worried thoughts paraded across his mind uninvited. Stress could cause problems to pregnant women. Assuming Elementals were the same, how much could Neo handle of this battle without causing harm to her and their child? She always got stressed easily and with the trauma of her past...Law mentally cursed at himself. Neo was going to be a high-risk pregnancy. And he was just adding to that stress by fighting and ordering her to stay away. He shot his eyes up when he felt Doflamingo's presence above him. He grabbed his sword and stood up. But it was too late.

Doflamingo grabbed the front of his coat and pinned Law to the ground. Law's sword clanked back to the ground. Chuckling, the older Warlord leaned down to Law's ear and said, "Tell me, Law. How is she in bed? Is she good? Does she give you  _everything_ you desire? Does she fill your needs as a man?"

Blinding rage built up in Law's body. His heart took sharp, angry beats. His eyes narrowed to sharp points and glinting with murderous intent as he looked at the man pinning him down.

"You two must have some  _very interesting_  romantic encounters with those abilities of hers," Doflamingo said, feeding off the rage he set loose in the man beneath him. "I can just imagine all the sexual things she could do to you with those crystals of hers. Perhaps I'll find out for myself. Perhaps my experiments on her will include sexual ones."

Law snapped. His vision completely blurred to the point all he could see was a white-hot wall in his eyes and all the ways he could murder, no,  _torture_  the man above him. Murder was too good, too quick. He wanted Doflamingo to suffer for suggesting such a thing, for thinking of doing something like that to  _his love_. He grabbed his sword and swung violently at Doflamingo's head. He growled angrily when all he managed to slice was air. Doflamingo had moved far too quickly for him to make contact. Still he lung forward, taking multiple, rapid swings and thrusts of the sword towards Doflamingo.

"What's the matter, Law? Did I hit a nerve? She is a pirate after all. Most have been with more than one lover," Doflamingo said with a dark, sinister chuckle. He easily dodged each of Law's attacks, knowing the younger Warlord was far too angry and tired to land a blow. Or so he thought. Looking down when his skin stung he noticed several places on his exposed skin did in fact get cut. His warm, sticky blood leaked out, wetting his skin. Iron filled his nose as his smile vanished from his lips. He looked back up at Law in time to see the young man coming at him again. He shot his strings around a cloud and pulled himself away from the sword swipe. Pausing in air, he said, "Pathetic. You're completely out of breath and completely unfocused now. If you had gotten this angry before, then this battle might have gone in your favor. But now it won't be much longer until your powers completely fade away. And your precious lover is still nowhere in sight. Is she waiting until the last moment to come and save you?"

"Room!" Ignoring the man's words and his tiring body, Law pushed himself to form another Room. It didn't come. He gritted his teeth in frustration and pushed through his exhaustion. Finally the blue film fanned out around them. He ran towards a broken piece column of bridge before switching it with a surprised Doflamingo. "Shambles!"

Law swung his sword towards Doflamingo, hoping to slice off the Warlord's head, but only hit the unbreakable strings. He gritted his teeth and pushed against the strings despite knowing he wouldn't be able to cut them.

"So this is the power of the Op Op Fruit, huh? It's so annoying yet clearly very useful in battle. If you were fighting anyone else here you would clearly dominate the fight with those powers of yours, but only if you end the battle quickly. This particular Devil Fruit has a limit, doesn't it? It wears the user down the more they fight with it. And before now, you had to deal with the meteorite that Fujitora pulled down, fought against me after that, and then had to rescue Blackleg when I fought with him. It makes me wonder…how much longer are you going to be able to draw this fight out, Law? I can see that you're wearing down. Do you think you will run out of energy before your lover comes to save you?" Doflamingo said before bringing up his leg and kicking Law again. "Or should I say  _my lover_?!"

"Ack!" Law stumbled back away from Doflamingo, somehow managing to stay on his feet. His Room disappeared from his exhaustion while he panted uncontrollably from the beating he was taking. He was so tired that he was barely able to keep his hold on his sword and his anger.  _No good. I'm not going to last much longer. And I can feel Neo's magic is starting to come back. It feels like she has a headache again. This one feels a lot stronger than the last ones. This is so frustrating. I can't even go to her. And it's really bothering me that she's having these headaches. I know that during the first trimester for a human pregnancy the woman's body experiences a surge of hormones and an increase in blood volume so they have frequent headaches. But does that mean Elemental women do too? I can't believe I was so stupid. I should have protected her better. I shouldn't have gotten so over confident in thinking I could prevent her from getting pregnant. And I shouldn't have let her come here. Doflamingo isn't joking about keeping her as his…_ Law gritted his teeth. There was no way he was going to let that happen.

"Bullet String!"

Law grunted at the pain when four bullets made of strings slammed into his upper body. He felt himself flipping over backwards. His sword flew from his hand and clanked hard to the floor of the bridge. He felt his body hit the ground then skid to a stop. Pausing momentarily to make sure he didn't have any broken bones, he pushed up on his hands and knees. His arms trembled under his weight. He barely had enough strength to hold himself up. His breathing came fast and hard he thought he might pass out. Holding his hand up, he tried to form his Room again, but he couldn't. It faded away once more and he dropped to his right forearm.  _Just great. I'm too exhausted now to do anymore._

"So what are you going to do now, Law? Dressrosa is just right behind you," Doflamingo said. He stalked up towards Law, wiggling his fingers in anticipation. "And I assume your lover's there. Surely she's not just ignoring all of the pain you're in. You know, I've been thinking about her while we've been fighting. And I've come to a conclusion about her whereabouts."

Law gritted his teeth and glared at the man.

"She's with the Straw Hats, isn't she?" Doflamingo asked. "Are they protecting her? Are they keeping her from coming here? Did you set up your plan to have them protect her while you came here to fight me?" He paused in both his words and walking when his transponder snail started to ring.

_Ring, ring, ring…Ring, ring, ring_

Reaching into his shirt, he pulled out his transponder snail, and answered it. A voice coming over the snail said, "Hey, Dofy."

"Diamante," Doflamingo replied.

Trying to take advantage of the distraction, Law grabbed his sword, leaped to his feet, and charged forward. He lost his balance and stumbled forward when Doflamingo shot strings at his leg. He released his sword and grabbed his now injured right leg.

"Oh, sorry. It sounds like I caught you in the middle of something," Diamante's voice said from the transponder snail.

"No, it's not really that important. Go ahead," Doflamingo said. "What did you call for?"

"I'm calling to let you know that Violet did in fact betrayed us," Diamante said.

"I see. I figured something like that happened when Blackleg showed up here a few minutes ago," Doflamingo said. His sunglass covered eyes remained locked onto Law. He carefully watched to see if the younger Warlord was going to try something, but figured he wouldn't since his powers no longer worked.

"We weren't about to find out what the Straw Hats were up to with her Glare Glare Fruit power," Diamante told him. "She's run off too. We're trying to track her down. But that's proving to be impossible since she can see us coming."

"Oh, don't worry about her for now. Just deploy Lao G. and the others to guard the entrance to the SMILE factory," Doflamingo ordered.

"What?! I can't do that! They're going to fight in the finals! That's coming up here in just a few minutes! The people are really looking forward to seeing them! They will be upset if they don't appear!" Diamante said.

"You can handle the finals by yourself," Doflamingo said. "They'll be very pleased with your presence alone. You're the champion of the coliseum after all."

"Please stop it! You're making me sound like I'm some kind of genius or something!"

"But you're the only one who can do this," Doflamingo said.

"Like I said, you're making me sound like I'm a genius!"

"Just admit it. You're a genius, especially in the coliseum fights," Doflamingo said.

"All right! I'll if you insist on it, I'll do it!" Diamante roared. "Oh, yeah. By the way, Straw Hat has been spotted running around the coliseum with a young woman."

"I see. That must be Neo," Doflamingo said. "The coliseum is closed to the public now. And you would have known if it were one of the Straw Hat females with him instead. She must have used her wind crystals to fly in. That would be the only way she could have gotten into the coliseum."

 _Crap!_  Law cursed.  _Now he knows for sure where she is! I thought she was laying low! Something must have gone wrong!_

"Yeah. She's definitely not one of the Straw Hats. The man who reported her to me said she was wearing a spotted hat that looked like Law's and she has electric blue eyes," Diamante said. "Would you like me to capture her for you?"

"No. That's not necessary," Doflamingo said with a smile. He glanced at Law, easily seeing the fear in the young man's eyes. "I'll handle her myself. You just do as I told you."

"Yes, sir! You can count on me!" Diamante said before hanging up.

Doflamingo chuckled deeply. He tucked the transponder snail back into his shirt before giving Law his full attention again. "So, there it is. Is that where she's been hiding all this time? But she helped you once before when we were on Green Bit. How was she able to do that? If she was already there then she wouldn't have left. Does it have something to do with her magic? What all does that entail, Law? There's no point in remaining silent. You know I have my ways of getting what I want. And I will get what I want from her."

"You'll get nothing from her!" Law growled.

"Law…let me see if I understand your plan correctly. While you were drawing my attention here the Straw Hats were suppose to be destroying the SMILE factory. So, even if you die here, as long as they get the factory destroyed, Kaido will kill me once I've lost all of the SMILEs," Doflamingo said as he walked towards the injured man again. "But you didn't buy as much time as you had hoped you could. You didn't even utilize the strength of your strongest fighter. Neo would have been a better asset to you if you had just sent her to destroy the factory. She would have been a better asset if you had just let her fight me instead of keeping her away from me. And because of that, because of your mistakes, the Straw Hats aren't doing so well. You told me that you were just using them to get the factory destroyed. But for that to happen it requires absolute faith in their abilities to pull off something like that. And I can see in your eyes how protective you are of that lover of yours. You wouldn't let her just run around with anyone. She must have some strong trust in the Straw Hats as well. But why? It doesn't suit what everyone says about her. Why do you two trust Straw Hat so much?"

"I trust Straw Hat because I know that the 'D' will cause another storm! As for Neo's trust in him," Law said with a confident smirk. He chuckled upon thinking how Doflamingo would react if he told him that Neo was the Emperor Red Haired Shanks goddaughter, his  _daughter_. Part of him wanted to reveal that fact. He wanted to see the color drain from Doflamingo's face upon realizing he targeted an Emperor's child. But he didn't. He just sat back and watched as the veins in the older man's forehead become more pronounced and his jaw tremble with anger from the words he had already spoken. He braced himself for Doflamingo's next attack. There was nothing he could do to block it so it took it head on all the while hoping the damage would be done before Neo's magic came back completely. It would hurt her a lot less if it were already over with.

…

"What happened to her?" Wicka asked upon hearing the distress in the men's voices. She poked her head out of Zoro's shirt. She looked up at the green haired man before looking to the coliseum. She couldn't she Neo at all, but knew she was there. She could sense her inhuman nature just beyond the thick walls of the coliseum. "Is she all right?"  
"I don't know," Zoro replied to the little person in his shirt. "She just cried out in pain and suddenly collapsed. Hey! Luffy! What happened?! What's wrong with Neo?!"

"Did Lady Neo get hurt or something?!" Kin'emon added.

"She's just having another headache. Just give us a minute, okay?" Luffy stood back up to glance out at his friends. Once the two men nodded, he knelt back down to his friend. Upon seeing her face was flushed red, he placed the back of his fingers on her cheek. "Neo, you're burning up."

"I'll be all right. My fever never left me from before. My headache seems to have just upset that and made it worse. But don't worry. Once my magic comes back, I can heal myself with my solar crystal. You go ahead and speak to Zoro. We need to get out of here and get to Law as soon as we can," Neo said. She glanced at Luffy with what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Right. You just relax for a moment. I'll see what all Zoro and Kin'emon wanted. Then we'll get moving." Luffy nodded to her before standing up.

"Okay." Panting, Neo leaned her head against the wall, the pain slowly subsiding from her head. She closed her eyes. Blocking out the light seemed to help her headache subside even faster. She also felt her fever coming down, but was starting to shiver. She shifted her body so she could lean her back against the wall. She wrapped her arms around herself, pulling more into her raincoat, and listened to Luffy and Zoro's disembodied voices.

"How's Neo?" Zoro's voice asked.

"She'll be fine. She just needs to rest for a minute. What did you want, Zoro?" Luffy's voice asked.

"You idiot! If you knew this competition was going to happen, why didn't you tell me about it?! I would have joined too!" Neo couldn't help but giggle lightly. She knew she shouldn't since a stranger could hear her bells, but Zoro and Luffy's carefree attitude and desire to participate in the fight while all heck was breaking loose around them, she couldn't stop herself. She knew she had to be getting sick if she was acting this crazy. Once this was all over, she was going to force Law to lay down with her and take a nap. And if she were luck, they would sleep together until they arrived at Zou. She would wake up to her family surrounding her and this whole thing would seem like nothing but a crazy dream.

Luffy's laugh filled her ears. He said, "I'm sorry about that! I guess I should have told you! But you did run off after that fairy that took your sword! I didn't know where you were!"

"This is so aggravating! You were here having fun while I was running all over the town!" Zoro growled.

"Are you kidding me?! That's not why we came here!" Wicka snapped. She clamped a hand over her mouth when she remembered she wasn't supposed to be seen or heard. She quickly ducked back down into Zoro's shirt, hoping no one else heard her.

"The little one is right! That is not the reason that we came here, Sir Zoro!" Kin'emon said.

Neo opened her eyes slightly when she heard Wicka's little voice.  _Poor Wicka. She must have been with Zoro this entire time. It probably hasn't been easy for her. Maybe there's something I can do for her since I left her with Zoro earlier today._  Feeling a little better, she pushed off the wall. She sat there for a moment to see if her headache was going to come back stronger. It seemed to continue to fade away.

"And how could you possibly let that old man beat you like that?! What were you doing?!" Zoro demanded.

"Old man?" Neo wondered. She couldn't recall Luffy being beaten by an old man.

"Hey! I didn't get beat by him! I won that match!" Luffy protested. "Didn't you see the move I used on him?! It was my Gum Gum Thor Elephant Gun attack!"

"Oh, right. That old man," Neo whispered to herself. "The one who was chasing Luffy after that match."

"Never mind that for now, Sir Zoro," Kin'emon said. "Am I doing this right?"

"What are you doing with that?" Zoro asked.

"Sir Sanji told me to call him once we met up with Sir Luffy," Kin'emon told him.

"That reminds me…Luffy, the coliseum had been surrounded by the Navy," Zoro said.

When Neo didn't hear Luffy's reply, she looked up to find him picking his nose in response. She quickly looked away when the action caused her stomach to spin. She clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle a gag. Suddenly she felt grateful for empting her stomach up on the roof of the coliseum instead of doing it here and now inside the coliseum. She heard Kin'emon shouting about something, but couldn't make it out over her gags. A few more inaudible voices spoke before her gagging finally stopped. She sucked in several gasps of air before hearing Chopper's worried voice flowing into her ears. "Neo! Neo, are you all right?! I've been so worried about you!"

"Chopper?" Neo asked. She shifted her feet underneath herself and tried to stand up.

"Hm? Are you feeling better?" Luffy asked. He watched her struggle to her feet then lean against the windowsill. "You still look flushed."

"I'll be fine," Neo told him before raising her voice so Chopper could hear her. "I'm okay! Don't worry about-Ah!" But was cut off when her headache and magic started to come back. She felt every single painful spot in Law's body. The pain and exhaustion coupled with her headache and her anger flaring up in her chest towards Doflamingo was almost unbearable. Her solar crystal tried to come out, but she forced it away. She couldn't risk it being seen since they weren't alone. She opened her mouth to speak, but the pain in her body was too much for her to even form a single word. She crumbled underneath all of the pain.

"Neo!" Luffy grabbed his female friend before her chin could collide with the stone structure.

"What was that?! Why did you scream?! Neo!" Chopper wailed, the transponder snail mimicking the facial expression of the reindeer that they couldn't see.

"It's all right, Chopper. Neo's just having a headache," Luffy replied while picking up Neo in his arms to support her better. He cradled her against his chest while as she clutched her head.

 _It's not just the headache, Luffy. It's Law. He's in a lot of pain. But I can't tell you that now without you shouting it out for the others to hear, townspeople included._ Neo peeked through her eyelids. Her vision was blurred and unfocused. There's no way she would be able to use her crystals with her head pounding like this. She mentally growled in frustration. Every time it looked like she was going to be able to go help Law something seemed to get in the way. She felt like the entire world was against her. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on getting better, on Law. She could fell his own frustrations about everything that's happened, but he was keeping a tight guard on his thoughts. She knew he would do that while fighting Doflamingo, but something else seemed to be bothering him. He seemed to be guarding his thoughts for another reason. And some how she knew it was about her. Giving in to her pain, she summoned her solar crystal underneath her raincoat and closed her eyes.

"A headache?! I've never heard someone scream out like that from a headache!" Chopper cried. The transponder snail leaped and thrashed in response to the doctor's movements. "Is she having any other symptoms?! Something like several cramping in her stomach? Vision changes?! Bleeding from her lower areas?!"

"Bleeding from her lower areas?" Luffy asked, tilting his head in confusion. "Why would a headache cause her to bleed?"

Kin'emon and Zoro exchanged expression, knowing exactly why Chopper was asking these questions. And both wondered if their current situation was extreme enough that they should tell Luffy about it.

…

"Just answer me, Luffy!" Chopper demanded. He grabbed the transponder snail and started choking it while envisioning it was Luffy's neck he was holding. "Answer me!"

"Chopper," Brook said, feeling sorry for his worried friend.

"Hey, hey!" Nami said. She grabbed the reindeer's wrists in an attempt to pull the transponder snail away from him before he could damage it. Momonosuke, who was sitting on her lap, quickly crawled out of the way so he didn't get hit from the two struggling pirates. "Take it easy!"

"No! I need to know!" Chopper said. Tears poured down his furry cheeks like rivers. "Tell me, Luffy! I need to know if Neo is experiencing any other symptoms! It's important for me to know because she's pre-"

"Chopper! Enough!" Sanji said before snatching the transponder snail out of Chopper's hooves. He covered his hand over the transponder snail and looked over at Caesar. He carefully studied the scientist's expression. Caesar was watching them from his spot on the Sunny's lawn, but didn't say or show any signs of connecting the dots. Sanji came to the conclusion that he wasn't able to figure out what Chopper was going to say. He sighed internally, completely grateful that nothing was revealed to their enemy. He looked down at Chopper. "Look, I know you're upset about everything, but you can't go shouting things out like that."

"I know." Chopper sniffled. He brushed away his tears. "I'm sorry. I'm just upset and worried."

Sanji nodded before turning his attention back to the transponder snail. "Listen, Luffy, is Neo having any other symptoms?"

"She's been running a fever. And she got sick earlier, but that's it," Luffy's voice said. "Why? Is she getting sick or something?"

"She might be," Chopper said. Sanji lowered the transponder snail back down so the reindeer could speak into it easier. "Zoro! Are you still there?!"

"Yes, I'm still here. So is Kin'emon," Zoro's voice said.

"Good! Then keep a close eye on Neo!" Chopper ordered. "I don't think anything's happened to  _you know what_ , but still keep a close eye out for other changes and symptoms. Do you understand what I'm saying?!"

"Yeah. We understand," Zoro said. "We'll make sure that  _they_  are fine."

"Good," Chopper said with a sigh of relief.

"Feeling better now?" Nami asked.

"Yes." Chopper nodded.

…

A soft whimper passed over Neo's lips before she managed to open her eyes again. She looked up to see Luffy's lips moving, but she couldn't hear what he was saying due to the pounding and ringing in her ears. Carefully, she watched Luffy's lips move while the noise in her head started to subside due to her solar crystal, but her magic faded again. Still she was able to use her solar crystal enough to get the noise down to a more bearable level. She lowered her hands from her head and leaned against Luffy's shoulder. While resting and watching his lips move, she managed to gather a few words and realized he was still talking to the rest of his crew. She turned her eyes back out the window just as she heard Franky's voice coming over the transponder snail. He said, "Hey, this is Franky speaking now! Usopp and Robin are here with me too! Listen up, everyone! All of us are inside Dressrosa and we're with the King Riku Army, an anti-Doflamingo coalition in this country! They're a bunch of Little People!"

"Little People?" Luffy asked.

"He must mean the Tontattas," Neo said. She lifted her leg and placed her foot on the floor, slipping out of Luffy's hold. She kept her hands on Luffy's shoulder to keep her balance. "They're little people that run around the country. The people here call them fairies. That's who the toy in the restaurant were actually talking about." She winced. "Ah!"

"Never mind that. You just hold still," Luffy said. "You're still in pain."

"I'll be fine. I was able to use my solar crystal a little bit before my magic disappeared again," Neo replied. She pulled her hands from his shoulders to prove her point. She wobbled a bit, but remained standing.

Luffy eyed her carefully. He kept his hands out, to catch her if she lost her balance again.

"Hey, Luffy? Do you remember that toy soldier that we met outside of the coliseum earlier today?" Franky asked. "He's actually the commander of this little army."

"He's the commander of the Little People?" Luffy asked, turning his attention back to the transponder snail once he knew Neo was stable on her feet.

"Yeah. They're going to take down Doflamingo down today!" Franky said.

"A soldier?" Luffy questioned.

"Would that be the toy soldier Rebecca was talking about earlier?" Neo asked.

"Oh, right! That was the toy soldier she was talking about! Yeah! Rebecca told us about him shorty after we met her!" Luffy said. "You have to stop him! Franky, stop that army!"

"No! I'm not going to do that, Luffy! I can't stop them! I'm going to help them!" Franky replied. "So you have talked to that Rebecca girl?!"

"Yeah! Both Neo and me have! She's a really nice person! She bought me three lunch boxes even though she didn't have much money! Despite being so nice, when she entered into the ring for her fight the entire audience started shouting at her! They were yelling and screaming for her death! It made me so angry! Neo got upset too!" Luffy said.

"I know! I was watching her match on the transponder screen!" Franky said then paused. "Luffy, I…I can't follow Tra's plan!"

"Franky! What are you saying?!" Usopp's panic voiced screeched.

"Look, I know we were suppose to destroy the SMILE factory and let Doflamingo live so he can clash with Kaido, but then, what would happen to all of these people here who want to take him down?! We can't stop them! I know this place seems like a very fun little country, but there's a very dark side to it! And these people are ready to fight a dangerous battle to get rid of all that darkness! They're pretty small in size, but they have very big hearts! And this brave, little army is ready to challenge their filthy, monstrous enemy who has been oppressing them! And I can't…I  _won't_  abandon them to defeat!" Franky said. "Do you really think it's better for us to let Doflamingo win this battle?! Luffy! No matter what you say! I'm going to fight with them!"

Neo's heart skipped a beat when Luffy shot his fist through the bars. She thought he was going to touch the sea prism stone. She breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled his hand back inside the coliseum, untouched by the energy draining stone. He said, "Franky! Go ahead and give them your worst!"

"Yeah! Thanks, pal!" Franky cheered.

Before anyone could say anything else sounds of a battle erupt through the air causing the townspeople and the pirates to turn their heads to the noise. Tops of buildings fell off the main body structures and fell to the ground. Dust was kicked up into the air, choking those close enough to have it fill their noses.

"What was that?! I hear a loud noise coming from your side!" Usopp said.

"Something's going on with the town. It's…" Kin'emon started.

"It's coming this way!" Zoro said.

"Ah!" Neo cried out when her magic flickered back and forth between working and not working. Through the indecisions of her magic, she could feel every single hit Doflamingo had and was currently inflicting on Law. And she felt him coming closer, directly towards them. She knew it wasn't just a coincident. Doflamingo had learned where they, or she at least, was.

"Neo?! What the heck?! I can't see anything! What's going on?!" Luffy asked.

A growl passed over Neo's lips as she struggled to keep herself up right. She pressed her forearms on the windowsill to steady herself. A strange calmness washed over her as she waited for her magic to finally stabilize. She felt like Law's sadistic nature over took her. She shivered at the dark thoughts washing over her mind of what she wanted to do to Doflamingo for all the pain he was inflicting upon them. He was going to pay.

"Hey, take it easy," Luffy said, putting his arm around her waist. "What's happening?! What's going on?!"

Neo swallowed down her desire to scream when Law's body collided with the ground in front of her. Pain shot through her back. The air from her lungs vanished. He was unconscious. The brim of his hat fell over her eyes. She clenched her hands together, releasing a low rumble of thunder overhead from the dark clouds materializing at her command. Despite her magic still jumping back and forth between working and not working, nature still obeyed her. The wind started to blow. The ocean started thrashing against the island. Plants shifted, threatening to grow past their normal size. Fire flickered and flared. The animals in the country looked up towards the sky, baring their teeth, growling, hissing, or releasing their respective noises before sensing her fury and rushed for cover. They were the only ones aware of what was coming next.

The dust finally cleared. Doflamingo appeared. His sunglasses clad eyes were locked onto Law until he looked towards Neo. He grinned and said, "Hello,  _Princess_. I've brought your lover to you. He wanted to see you before he died."

"Huh?! Doflamingo! Tra!" Luffy cried out. "Hey, Tra! You weren't suppose to fight with Doflamingo-"

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

Neo snapped. The world around her faded as her anger flared up in her chest with the force of a wildfire. The stinging from the gunshot wounds was fresh in her flesh, but it was drowned out by her rage. Grabbed the ribbon on her raincoat and jerked them off. Tossing it aside, it turned back into the leaf it once was. Her magic stabilized. Her crystals appeared around her, shimmering with her desire to attack. There was no more waiting.

A sharp clap of ear piercing thunder sent the pirates and townspeople's eyes looking up towards the dark clouds that had gathered above them without anyone noticing. Neo lifted a finger towards the sky. With a single swipe of her finger, she brought lightning bolts down at Doflamingo. The townspeople screamed and ran for cover while Doflamingo easily dodged the lightening by attaching his strings to various objects, pulling himself from harm but only by a mere second. Vines grew up out of the ground, snapping furiously at the man. His smile vanished as he continued to dodge lightening and slice up the vines trying to hit him. A yellow flower grew up from the ground and chomped down on him. Thorns busted up out of the ground, angled, and punctured the flower only to get sliced up by Doflamingo's strings.

"What the heck is going on?" Kin'emon asked. He dug his shoes into the stone path beneath him when the wind threatened to knock him off his feet.

"No!" Zoro said, his voice disappearing amongst the howling winds. He whipped his eyes back to Neo. Raising his voice as loud as he could, he shouted, "Neo! Don't! Luffy, stop her! She can't fight Doflamingo!"

"What?!" Luffy looked at Zoro, holding his cape back from whapping him in the face.

"You have to stop her! I'll explain later!" Zoro demanded. "Just don't let her fight!"

"Right!" Luffy turned to Neo. He grabbed for her, but was too late. Just as his hand was about to grab her arm, her body disappeared.

Neo had slipped into the wind stream and disappeared from their view.

Doflamingo chuckled when he saw Neo vanish from the corner of his eye. The lightning and vines stopped attacking him. "That's it,  _Princess!_  Come fi-"

Neo reappeared mere inches in front of Doflamingo. She wrapped her winds around her fist before slamming it into his jaw. Blood and two teeth shot out of his mouth causing iron to fill the air before the violent winds blew the smell away. She pushed on through with her attack, sending Doflamingo sailing away from her.

"Wow! Did you see that?!" Luffy shouted. "She totally creamed him! Way to go, Neo!"

Neo didn't hear him. She followed after Doflamingo. Moving her earth crystals forward, she wrapped vines around his ankles. Before he could react, she slammed him into the ground then into the nearest building then another building. She ignited her fire crystals and send flames spinning around the vines towards Doflamingo.

Doflamingo's eyes widened from behind his glasses at the fire spinning towards him. He cut the vines up with his strings just before the fire could hit him. Shooting his strings into the air, he wrapped them around the clouds above him and flew upwards. Feeling like he got away, he looked down to smirk at the angry young woman but found she was already in front of him.

For a moment, neither moved nor spoke. They just hung there, suspended in the air with only the thunder and howling of the winds the only noise passing between them. Then the noise vanished. Nature stilled as Neo finally lifted her eyes from underneath Law's hat to the Warlord. Her eyes filled with all the wildness of nature and much distain for the man in front of her.

Doflamingo studied her. Realizing for the first time how dangerous of an opponent this young woman really was when he saw murderous intent flickering in her eyes. He knew she would be a serious problem for the world if she did act on those murderous thoughts. But he knew she wouldn't. He could see she was forcing those thoughts away with desperation. A small smile curled on his lips. "Go ahead,  _Princess_. Do it.  _Kill_  me. I know you want to. I can see it in your eyes. And you clearly have the power to do so. I've hurt your precious lover after all. That's one thing that you really can't stand, am I correct? Just look at you. You're a pathetic mess. You hate it when someone you love is in danger yet you're not willing to kill anyone to protect them. Why? Why do you have such an issue with killing? Choosing the life of a pirate you must have known that you would have to kill at some point. If you don't have the will to kill, you're only giving your enemy a greater chance of killing you or someone you care about. Yet you go on refusing to kill. There's no reason for that. Unless…I see. You must have suffered from some seriously traumatic event in the past to keep such a strong hold on your natural desire to kill. Is that why you refuse to kill? Have you killed someone before?"

Neo's eyebrow twitched at his words.

"That's it, isn't it?" Doflamingo asked with a low chuckle.

Neo parted her lips to speak but curled them into a smile instead. When Doflamingo's smile vanished, she said, "You should have known better. I bend nature to my will. And you just grabbed a handful of it."

…

Doflamingo's eyebrows kneaded in confusion to her words before he realized what she was talking about. He shot his body backwards just before a lightning bolt came down on the spot he was just hovering at. He cursed under his breath and questioned whether or not she would act upon her desires to kill him if it meant saving Law's life. "Rotten brat! You're just as bad as Law!"

…

Neo disappeared into the wind stream again. She brought down several more lightening bolts to distract Doflamingo. Flying above him, she gathered up a hundred of her water crystals around the Warlord. She knew if she wanted to have a chance of actually beating him, she needed to weaken him. Once they were in place she shot out heavy streams of water at the man. She growled when he easily dodged her attempts of weakening him. He was just using her clouds against her. If she wanted to hit him, she had to get rid of them. Summoning the winds to her, she blew the clouds away.

Doflamingo cursed in anger when his only source of flying got taken away. He fell from the sky several feet before shooting his strings up towards Neo.

Unfortunately distracted by blowing the clouds away, Neo didn't notice the strings until it was too late. They wrapped around her body, pinning her arms to her sides.

Doflamingo chuckled.

"Don't get so smug!" Neo snapped. "I'm  _nature_! Remember?!"

Doflamingo's smile vanished when Neo disappeared again. He cursed upon forgetting she did that to get out of the coliseum. He knew he had seriously underestimated her when she reappeared in front of him.

Neo tucked her head in, wrapping hurricane force winds around herself, she flipped and slammed both the heels of her boots into Doflamingo's stomach undoubtedly cracking a few of his ribs.

…

Doflamingo felt the ribs in his body cracking underneath her attack then felt the rush of wind around him when he flew through the air before feeling all of the air in his lungs being forced out of his body when his back collided with the ground. His body stilled as he watched dirt and cracked stone fly up around him. He started up at her, thinking about how much more powerful she was than he thought, thinking about how much of an asset she could be to him once he got a hold of her. Law definitely wasn't using her to her fullest potential. But he would. He chuckled to himself as he watched her gathering the elements to her. "Well, it looks like I might have underestimated her just a little bit. The focus and strength she has when angry is impressive. It's a good thing that I have a plan to control that."

…

Neo called out hundreds of her crystals. Using her earth crystals, she pulled up vines from the ground and wrapped them around his limbs. She then shot out thorns from her earth crystals, pinning his clothes to the ground. She angled a hundred of each of her element crystals to Doflamingo's left, another hundred of each to his right, his head, his feet, and above him, she spun all the elements together. She didn't care if he could slice through all of her attacks. One way or another, she was going to hurt him for hurting Law. She shot out the twisting elements towards the already injured Warlord. She was too angry, too focused on him that she didn't sense the attack coming towards her. An invisible force slammed into her right side, knocking herself and her fury out. She flew through the air, back down towards the coliseum.


	108. A Dark Move

A Dark Move

Cethin hummed a dark tune while he ran his thumb over the murky green tubing that was still threaded through the crystals on Neo's medallion. The pulsing that came from the tubing reminded him of a purring cat. It was soft and soothing to him. He propped his feet up on this desk and pushed his chair back on its hind legs. His brown hair was loose around his shoulders. His black eyes were locked onto the medallion in his hand as he continued to stroke his thumb over it, his mind wondering to the outside world. He wondered when he was going to be sent for. He knew the time was coming soon. The mere thought of getting his hands on her caused him to dig his thumb into the tubing. A tiny but sharp shrill released from the tubing when he pressed too hard on it.

"Oops." Cethin chuckled when the murky green tubing's glow flared up and pulsed angrily at the abusive, yet unintentional pressure he inflicted on it. "Sorry about that. I wonder how it effected her. And I wonder when I'm going to get able to get out of this room. It's boring here. All the fun stuff is going on outside."

Cethin sighed. Dropping the chair back down to all fours, he stood up and walked over to the small and only window in the room. A window that Pica had drilled out for him a few months ago when he complained enough about not having any kind of natural light in the room. Though only a small rectangular window, it gave him enough space to peered out into the kingdom of Dressrosa, not that he could actually see anything from being this high up. Still, he ran his eyes over the dessert shaped buildings. He wondered where she was. He wondered how she was being effected. He's never got to  _play_  with a royal before. The prospect of it was started to really excite him. He couldn't wait to get his hands on her and see how she was reacting to everything.

He tucked his hands and the medallion into his pocket. Just as he started to turn and head back to his desk, the sky turned dark above the kingdom. He hummed with curiosity when lightning struck near the coliseum. "So that's where she is. I wonder if she's fighting the young master right now. Whatever. I just hope the time is coming closer for me to go check on her. My curiosity is starting to get the better of me."

Cethin walked away from the window. He pulled the medallion back out of his pocket and sat down at his desk. Staring at the tube like veins running through the crystals while he waited for his orders.

…

"Neo!" Luffy shouted. His heart skipped a beat then took a sharp jolt in his chest when he saw his female friend falling out of the sky. He wanted to catch her, but knew he couldn't. This building separated himself from his friend. He wanted to completely shatter every piece of stone that separated him and her. But he couldn't. There was no time for that anyway. He had no choice but to rely on those that could help her. "Zoro! Catch her! Don't let her hit the ground!"

…

"Right!" Zoro said, despite the fact he was already running to catch her before Luffy even said anything. He knew her crystals would protect her and the baby, but he didn't know strong of a hit she could take before permanent damage was done to her and the baby. He leaped into the air. He breathed a sigh of relief when her body landed safely in his arms. As he landed back on the ground, Kin'emon ran over to him while he ran his eyes over her, searching for injuries and signs of a possible miscarriage.

"What just happened?! Is she all right?! What about the  _you know what_?!" Kin'emon said, catching himself before he could say baby.

"I'm not sure what happened. She just went flying. But I think their both fine," Zoro whispered back to the samurai. He placed his hand on her stomach, wishing that Chopper were there to check her out. But he didn't see any blood anywhere so he figured she was fine, at least for the moment. "Whatever that as, I think it was just strong enough to knock her out and send her flying. They'll be okay. Remember her body is different from humans. That hit, whatever it was, shouldn't have caused any damage. If it had meant to do damage it would have hit her a lot harder than it did."

"And what a relief that is," Kin'emon said. "Still, I do not like the idea of the lady fighting while she is with child."

Zoro nodded. He didn't care much for the idea himself. But there was nothing they could do about that right now. They were far too deep into this thing.

…

"Hey! Did I just hear some explosions and gunshots?!" Usopp's voice shrieked from the transponder snail. "What happened to Tra?! Is he all right?!"

…

"Can you hear us, Luffy?! What's going on over there?!" Sanji asked next. "What's happening?! Talk to us, Luffy! Say something!"

"Neo! What happened to Neo?!" Chopper demanded. "Is she all right?!"

…

"She…she got hit by something. But she's fine," Zoro replied to his worried friends. "I don't see any signs of bleeding or anything. She's just knocked out."

…

"Thank goodness," Sanji said with a huge sigh of relief.

"Yeah." Chopper nodded. He brushed the back of his arm over his eyes and drew in a shaky breath. "I still wish there was some way we could get her to come with us to Zou."

"I agree, but it's not our choice," Sanji said. He scanned his eyes out to the horizon. Pulling his cigarette from his lips, he breathed out the smoke. "She needs to stay. Yet she needs to leave. This whole thing is nothing but a big fat mess."

Nami, Brook, Momonosuke, and Chopper cast their eyes downward with a slow nod following.

…

Doflamingo stared up at the sky. The black, lightning streaked cumulonimbus were fading back into cumulus clouds lazily floating in the pristine blue sky. He scoffed at the similarities between those clouds, the sky, and Neo. She was one very volatile woman despite her childlike appearance. Exhaling in annoyance at how deceptive she could be without even trying, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He inspected his injuries that Neo inflicted on him. Blood had filled his mouth again from his missing teeth. His jaw was swollen, hot, and throbbing from the punch. His torso ached with a bruise already forming where she had hit him. His sides ached a bit from the cracked ribs, but over all the injuries weren't as serious as they could be. He spit the blood out of his mouth before standing up with another chuckle. He walked back towards Neo and Law, ignoring the dagger filled glares from the pirates that were still conscious. "Well, I suppose I should have brought Cethin with me for this one. She was a bit more than I expected."

"You stay away from her!" Zoro hissed. He laid Neo down on the ground, stood up, and pulled out his swords.

"We will not allow you to touch her!" Kin'emon added, pulling out his own sword.

Doflamingo, ignoring them, turned his eyes back to the townspeople. They were gathering back outside since Neo's storm had vanished. He knew he need to keep his momentum going and make sure to turn the people against Law and Neo. With a smile, he said, "I'm sorry to have bothered you all with this fight. This man is a Warlord and a pirate. His name is Trafalgar Law. He was behind the false report of my abdication from the throne this morning. He was trying to drag me down out of petty vengeance or something. The woman who attacked me is his wife, Neo. But don't worry. I just got rid of him to protect our kingdom. They won't be bothering us anymore."

"So that's what this was about?!" the townspeople chattered.

"They almost threw Dressrosa in completely chaos!"

"That doesn't matter now! We're safe from them! Our king has saved us!"

"Hey, Mingo!" Luffy growled from his current cage. He wanted so badly to get out and punch that smile off of Doflamingo's face. "How dare you shoot Tra?! And how dare you hurt Neo like that?! You're going to pay for this!"

"Straw Hat," Doflamingo said, turning his eyes to the pirate trapped in the coliseum. His smile grew upon seeing the hatred in the young pirate's eyes. "This is none of your business. Law is originally one of my subordinates. I made it a habit to clean up my own messes. And since  _she_  is his lover, I will be taking her with me as well."

…

"No!" Luffy hissed, his eyes sharping, glinting with light and fury. He slammed his first down on the windowsill. "Don't you touch her! Don't you dare touch her!"

"Kin, we have to get Tra and Neo out of here! I'll take on Doflamingo! You get them and get moving!" Zoro said as he and the samurai rushed forward towards Doflamingo.

"Right! I will get them!" Kin'emon said. He placed the transponder snail on his belt before following Zoro's lead. He held up his sword, ready to attack if needed, but headed for Law instead of Doflamingo.

…

"Hey! Talk to us! What's going on?! What happened over there?! What happened to Neo?!" Chopper demanded from the transponder snail. "Someone tell us what's going on!"

…

"Doflamingo just shot Sir Law right in front of us! Lady Neo got angry and attacked! She has been knocked out!" Kin'emon said.

…

"What?!" Chopper shrieked.

…

"Do not worry! She will be fine as Sir Zoro had already told you!" Kin'emon told him. "We are getting them out of here!"

…

"What do we do?! What do we do?!" Chopper shouted as he jumped all over the deck of the Sunny. "We have to go back for her! I know I told Law that I'd let her stay, but I just can't do it anymore! Not with what all's happening! Go back! Go back!"

"We can't," Nami said, looking just as worried as Chopper was. She looked over to Sanji. Without Luffy and Zoro around, he was the strongest on board and that automatically made him the leader of their small group. With as much as he cared about Neo, she knew he would turn this ship around in a second to go back and help her. But they couldn't. They had to get Caesar away from here. And they had to get Momonosuke away from here. Two important cards that Doflamingo was desperate to get his hands on. They would just have to leave Neo in Luffy's capable hands. Neo had some of the strongest bodyguards in the world with her. Whatever happened, they all would be fine.

…

"What?! Did you hear that?!" Usopp asked.

"Sounds like Neo's in a bit of trouble," Franky said. He looked turned his eyes to Robin. The dark haired woman was worried, as they all were. He wanted to ask her if they should go help their friends, but he knew they wouldn't get there quick enough. Besides, they should be fine with Luffy, Zoro, and Kin'emon there to help them. "They'll be all right."

"Of course." Robin nodded.

"If you need to go help your friend, then I will understand," the toy soldier said.

"No." Robin shook her head. "If we did go, we'd only get in the way at this point. I know we're not enough to fight against Doflamingo. We're best suited to stay right here and help you all."

"Very well then." The toy soldier nodded.

…

"Pirate Hunter Zoro and Foxfire Kin'emon, huh? So that child I saw on the Straw Hats ship was in fact Momonosuke," Doflamingo said. He watched the two swordsmen run towards him, but didn't really care about them. "I'll have to go after them once I'm done here and retrieve the boy."

"Don't listen to anything that he says! We won't let him take Momo away from us!" Zoro said. "The boy is protected! Just get Law!"

"Right! Of course!" Kin'emon replied with a nod. He broke off from Zoro and headed for Law's unconscious body.

Zoro tightened his hold on his swords. He mentally prepared himself as well as he could and continued to rush forward. He swiped his swords at Doflamingo, expecting to clash with the Warlord. His eyes widened when his swords clanked against a sword. The sword belonged to the old gambler they saw back in the restaurant.  _What?! It's that old man from before!_  He pushed his swords against the old man's sword, amazed by his strength, just before heaviness washed over his body.  _What's going on? This pressure is…he used this before too. Was he the one who just took out Neo?_  He grunted just before the ground underneath him crumbled beneath his feet. Shadows cast over his eyes as he fell down into the hole and became pinned down by the old man's gravity.  _This is just great._   _He uses gravity and the only one who can really do anything about it is currently unconscious._

…

"Zoro!" Luffy shouted. Helplessly he watched as his friend disappeared into the ground before watching as Doflamingo swooped down and kicked Kin'emon away from Law. Fury swirled around inside of his body at the inability to do anything to help them. His eyes then landed on Neo's unconscious form. The promise he made to her came back to him at full force. It was a promise he had no intention of breaking no matter the cost. Forgetting the bars in front of him were sea prism stone, he grabbed onto them. "Hold on guys! I'm coming!" The energy drained immediately from his body, causing him to slump to the floor. "Wait…I fogest…Neo sai…thass sea prishm shtone."

…

Zoro growled in frustration towards the gravity pinning him down. He clenched a hold of his sword and sliced upward, hoping to hit the old man who put him in this position. He realized he at least got close enough when the pressure on him lightened up. He leaped to his feet and jumped towards the opening of the hole. "Old man, you're going to pay for this! You're going to doubly pay if it really was you who hit Neo!"

…

"He can launch a sword attack from a distance? That's quite dangerous," Fujitora said after blocking Zoro's attack. He turned to look to his soldiers when they rushed up to him. "We need the citizens to evacuate this area. Clear them all out at once."

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers replied with a salute.

Fujitora turned his blind eyes back to Zoro when he felt the man's presence back upon the ground with them. He heard Zoro say, "I can't believe that you, blind old gambler, are a Navy admiral!"

"That old man is an admiral?!" Luffy, back upon his feet from touching the sea prism stone, gasped.

"He's an admiral?" Kin'emon asked.

…

"We can hear you again, Kin'emon! I'm so glad! We thought you were dead!" Brook said. "Don't disappear on us like that!"

…

"I really do thank you people for your help earlier today. You all were nice to me so it feels like I'm repaying your kindness with the back of my hand. I guess life is just full of ironies," Fujitora said. He tuned into his Observation Haki and looked around at the pirates before him. His eyes landed on Neo. He carefully scanned his haki over her body. He watched as her spirit changed every color twice before letting his eyes rest on the small red dot around her stomach.  _I am relieved. It looks like I did not harm her child with my attack a minute ago._  He then shifted his focus when Doflamingo moved towards Law. He watched the two men's spirit through the use of his Observation Haki until the Warlord moved over to Neo with Law dangling from his hand. Moving quickly, he pulled his sword back out and cut off Doflamingo's path before he could grab onto Neo's shirt. He kept his position even when feeling the unhappy Warlord's eyes burning holes in him.

"What are you doing?" Doflamingo asked.

"I will be taking this young woman with me," Fujitora replied.

Doflamingo chuckled. "That's right. You said you wanted to talk to her. But why do you want to talk to her? What could a Navy admiral possibly have to say to a pirate other than telling them they're being arrested?"

"That's none of your business, Heavenly Demon," Fujitora said. He nodded his head towards Law's body in Doflamingo's hold. "You may take him, but she is coming with me."

"Very well then. I'm not in a hurry to officially meet her. I can wait a little bit longer. We have other business to attend to anyway," Doflamingo said. He moved his hand away from Neo's shirt to Law's hat that was still resting upon her head. He pulled it off of her, tucked it into his coat then stepped closer to Fujitora. He leaned in and whispered in the Navy admiral's ear.

Fujitora's eyebrows rose on his forehead at the Warlord's words penetrating his ears. In response, he re-angled his sword and sliced up the ground around him and Neo before lifting them both into the air. He sheathed his sword as the pirates and samurai below them shouted up at them.

…

"Hey! What are you doing?! Where are you going?! Give them back!" Luffy demanded. "Give back Neo and Tra!"

"Sir Law! Lady Neo!" Kin'emon called.

"Where are they taking them?!" Zoro asked.

"Hey! Are you two okay?! Say something!" Kin'emon said.

"I'm not going to let them get away with this!" Zoro shouted. He pulled up his sword to attack, but stopped when the Navy soldiers started shouting at them to surrender and moved in on them.

"Stop! Pirate Hunter Zoro! You're under arrest!" a Navy soldier shouted out. The soldiers pulled up their guns and fired at the pirates and samurai.

Zoro deflected their bullets with his sword. He said, "Just great! They know who we are now!"

"It would seem so!" Kin'emon replied, reflecting bullets with his own sword.

"We can't stay here any more! We have to run!" Zoro shouted before he and Kin'emon took off around the coliseum with the Navy soldiers following after them.

"Tra! Neo!" Luffy called out as Doflamingo and Fujitora took off with his friends. "Give them back to me!"

…

"This is Kin'emon! Sir Law and Lady Neo have been abducted!" Kin'emon said into the transponder snail while he and Zoro continued to run around the coliseum.

"What?!" everyone's voice shouted out from the tiny transponder snail.

…

"Who took them?! Who has Neo?!" Chopper cried.

…

"Doflamingo has taken Sir Law. And the Navy admiral has taken Lady Neo!" Kin'emon told them.

Zoro looked over at Kin'emon and the transponder snail, but didn't say anything. What could he say?

…

"What?!" Chopper screamed. "The Navy has Neo?!"

"What do we do?!" Nami asked.

Sanji gritted his teeth and clenched his hands. He stared down at the transponder snail like it would give him the answers to the questions they all had. A warm, gentle breeze, unfitting for the dire situation they were in, tickled his hair. It caused an image of Neo to pass through his mind. He said, "I don't understand. We're all pirates, yet the Navy admiral only takes her? Why?"

"Do you think he wants her because of who she is?" Brook asked. He glanced over at Caesar before turning back to his friends. He lowered his voice and added, "If that admiral has Observation Haki then he'll know that Neo's pregnant. Could that be the reason he took her? Pirate children after all, are hated by the Navy along with so many other people."

"That could be the reason he took her," Chopper said.

"But it doesn't make sense," Sanji said. He narrowed his eyebrows in a concentrated thought. "We're obviously in over our heads here. The Navy admiral, the soldiers, plus Doflamingo and his own soldiers…they could easily capture us all at this point. But they don't. Doflamingo only took Law. And the Navy admiral only took Neo. What's going on in that country?"

…

"We can talk about that at the palace, Fujitora," Doflamingo said, ignoring the crying demands of the pirates below him. He had what he really wanted in his hand. Well, one of two things he really wanted. He dropped his eyes to Neo. She was still unconscious, sleeping on the rumble she and Fujitora was riding on, and totally unaware of what was happening around her. Some of her blue hair was draped over her shoulder. Her body was twisted a bit at her hips, accenting her curves. Curves that would have looked out of place on her if he didn't know that she wasn't really a child like her looks suggested. He couldn't help but envision her expression when she realized he had her lover in his hands. It sent wild shivers of anticipation up his spine. He was ready to torture both her and Law. And having them separated would give him such pleasure upon seeing Law's painful expression of not knowing where his precious lover was. "If you cooperate with me, I'll let you take those brats out of my kingdom."

"I will listen to what you have to say, Heavenly Demon. It's only after that I will decide what to do," Fujitora said. He looked down to make sure Neo was still in place. Feeling she was too close to the edge of the rock for his comfort, he reached down and slid her body closer to him. His hand lingering on her shoulder a little too long.

"A little bit too soft on her, aren't you?" Doflamingo asked.

"Not at all. I was just making sure she didn't fall off," Fujitora said, retracting his hand. "It wouldn't do anyone any good if she fell. Let's get on with this."

With no other words passing between them, the two took off towards the palace. After a few minutes of flying, Fujitora looked down and located one of the bases the Navy had set up when they had arrived here. He lowered his rock towards them sensing Doflamingo following him with a deep frown.

"Admiral Fujitora!" a soldier said with a salute before his eyes landed on Law and Neo's unconscious forms. "What?! That's…those pirates are…T-T-Trafalgar Law and Neo! How?! How were you able to capture them?!"

"Soldier," Fujitora said, snapping the soldier's attention back to him. "Take this young woman into the medical tent."

"Huh?! Don't you mean to the brig on the ship?!" the soldier gasped.

"No, I want her to be taken to the medical tent. Cuff her with sea prism stone cuffs and keep a couple guards on the outside of the tent and only one on the inside of the tent if she starts to wake up before I get here," Fujitora ordered. "And  _do not_  touch her or talk to her if she wakes up. I'll be back in a while."

"Huh?!" The soldier blinked in confusion. "You want her to be in the medical tent, but you don't want us to touch her?! And you only want one soldier guarding her on the inside of the tent? Are you sure about that, sir?! She's a dangerous pirate after!"

"Are you questioning my orders?" Fujitora asked.

"No, sir!" the soldier replied, obviously panicked from technically from questioning his superior.

"Just follow my orders then, soldier," Fujitora said.

"Y-yes, sir!" The soldier saluted before taking a hesitant step towards Neo.

"Seems like you're giving special treatment to a pirate, Fujitora," Doflamingo noted. "You don't have a soft spot for her because she looks like a child, now do you?"

Fujitora turned to the Warlord and smiled. He said, "She does have a strange power over people, doesn't she? Now, do you wish to sit here and chat about her abilities to make strong men crumble to her will or do you wish to continue to your palace and talk? I'm sure you do not wish for the Straw Hat pirates to keep running around your kingdom causing destruction."

Doflamingo frowned. His eyes wondered off the admiral and onto Neo when the soldier started to remove her from the rock she was laying on. He waited until the soldier was far enough away to speak again. "Very well. But I'm going to send a private physician of mine here to check up on her condition. I know you know that sea prism stone doesn't work on her. So why the ruse? Are you trying to protect her secret?"

"Not all of these soldiers are aware that she's not a Devil Fruit user. At least not yet," Fujitora said. "This is just to make them feel secure in guarding her. I believe she won't cause them any trouble if she wakes up before I return."

"I get the feeling you're not exactly telling the truth here," Doflamingo said. His lips curled into a smile. "But very well. Like I said, I'll send my private physician here. I wouldn't want anything to happen to the soldiers under your command. He has special skills for doctoring and protection. He'll be an asset to your soldiers."

"Why, that's very kind of you," Fujitora said, but he didn't believe the Warlord's words at all. Still, he made no move to try and stop Doflamingo from doing what he wanted. He was confident that whomever this man was going to send wouldn't try to do anything to hurt her. Besides he didn't plan on taking forever listening to Doflamingo talk all day. He'd be back before anyone could try anything with her.

…

"Doflamingo! Old man!" Luffy hissed despite the Warlord and admiral already being several yards away in the sky. He paced in front of the window like a caged wild animal. His aggravation hitting an all time high that he couldn't do anything to help his friends because he was stuck inside of this place. "You come back here! You bring my friends back! You're going to pay for taking them!"

"Hey, Luffy! Stop standing there talking to yourself and find the exit! You have to get out of there!" Zoro huffed after he and Kin'emon made it back to the side of the coliseum Luffy was on. "We can easily out run the Navy for now, but we can't do this forever! We'll wait for you to get out by running around the building! That way we can easily meet up without getting lost! Then we'll go after them!"

"All right! But we really have to hurry though! I think Tra said something after he was shot! They're not dead yet!" Luffy said. He turned to run away from his current spot to run off but stopped when his friends' screams flowed out of the transponder snail. "Now what?! What's going on?!"

…

"W-w-we are…" Brook's voice stuttered from the transponder snail.

…

"There they are!" a Navy soldier shouts. "Get them!"

"Crap! They found us!" Zoro hissed.

…

"We have a serious problem over here!" Brook said. "Big Mom's…"

"…pirate ship is bearing down on us!" Chopper finished.

…

"After them!" another soldier said. "Don't let them get away!"

"Enough of this!" Zoro sliced his swords through the air, creating a whirlwind that flung the Navy soldiers away from them. He looked back at the transponder snail. "Hurry up now! What's going on over there?! We don't have time to just stand here and talk anymore!"

"What?! Are you sure about that?! It's really Big Mom's ship?!" Luffy asked.

…

"We're going to die!" Chopper screamed.

…

"What the heck is going on today?! Is Big Mom on board the ship?!" Luffy asked.

"Luffy! Run while you talk! We can't sit still like this anymore!" Zoro said as more Navy soldiers closed in on them. Gunshots ran out into the air, followed by more demands from the Navy soldiers for them to stop and surrender.

"Right!" Luffy nodded. He bolted off, with Zoro and Kin'emon following him on the outside of the coliseum as they continued their conversation with their friends. He had given permission for Sanji to attack Big Mom's ship before they were finally to head off to Zou. That's where they would meet up with them once their business here was finished. After some tearful cries of Chopper and Sanji demanding him to save Neo and Tra, mostly Neo, they hung up. He glanced over his shoulder after concluding his conversation with his friends who were on the Sunny. Staring off into the direction he saw his friends being taken in. "Hold on, you two! I promise that I will save you both!"

…

Fujitora remained quiet as he and Doflamingo landed at the main entrance to the palace. The gunshots from his men bounced through the air before falling silent. He knew the pirates had started running by that point. And he knew his soldiers stopped firing for the sake of the civilians. They didn't want any unnecessary casualties on their hands. A shift in the wind brought the smell of chlorine to his nose. He pushed it aside and followed Doflamingo to the palace doors. The doors creaked open and a woman greeted them.

"Welcome back, Young Master," Baby 5 greeted. Her eyes turned to Law's beaten, bloody body. A smile curled upon her lips from seeing him beaten and bloody.

"Baby 5," Doflamingo said. "Summon Cethin for me."

"Yes, Young Master. I'll get him immediately," Baby 5 said with a bow before rushing off into the palace to complete her task.

…

Fujitora lifted an eyebrow at the man's words. He couldn't recall a man with that name listed under those working for the Warlord. Still he maintained his silence as he followed Doflamingo through the quiet stone halls. He tried to envision what the palace would look like under Doflamingo's reign. Were there pictures on the walls? If so, what kind of pictures? He guessed something to do with the ocean or maybe treasure, something fitting for the life of a pirate. His mind wondered to Neo. He wondered what kind of pictures she would have up on the walls of her own palace. Finding out that she was royalty was a shocker for him, yet it wasn't. Somehow the idea seemed to fit her. He wasn't sure why thought. Perhaps he would get his answer once he officially met the young woman back at the Navy base he left her at. The opening of another door brought him out of his thoughts of the blue haired pirate.

A brush of wind from the door washed over his exposed skin and he stepped into the room that someone called the Suit Chamber. He waited patiently then. Listening to the sounds of those in the room moving around. A dull thud, and the use of his Observation Haki, let him know that the Warlord had dropped Law into a chair. Clattering of chains then informed him that the younger Warlord was now immobile. Suddenly an uncomfortable feeling passed through his bones upon realizing that this young Warlord was separated a fair distance from his lover. Law would have no idea where she was or how she was. He knew when the two Heart Pirates woke up it was going to be like dealing with wild animals who had been caged for the first time ever. And only one of those wild animals was really subdued with sea prism stone chains. The other one wasn't so easily subdued since she wasn't a Devil Fruit user. She had a power, or whatever it was, with no way to shut it off. But he got the unshakable feeling she wouldn't hurt them in any kind of way unless they made a move to hurt her or someone she loved first. He just hoped he could get back to her before she woke up. He knew of her not being a Devil Fruit user. A few of his men knew of her not being a Devil Fruit user.

None of them, however, would know how to handle her. He wasn't sure if he knew how he was going to handle her. Would she break free if she knew that they knew she wasn't a Devil Fruit user and the sea prism stone didn't work on her? He probably should have warned his men about it, but he didn't. His men, who were on Green Bit with him, were probably already leaking that information to the rest of the Navy soldiers in this country as it was. He should have ordered them to be quiet for the time being on that subject. He really wanted to talk to the pirate girl before all of that information blew up through the ranks. His thoughts were disrupted when a dark, uncomfortable presence entered the room. Something else passed through the room. It was the smell of death. Whoever this man was, that just entered the room, was covered with the smell of it.

"You called for me, Young Master?" the man's voice asked. "Are you all right, sir? Your cheek looks swollen."

Fujitora turned his closed eyes to the voice and the presence. Using his Observation Haki, he carefully scanned this new man. The man's spirit seemed just as normal as anyone else. But something about him was setting off warning bells in the Navy admiral's body. He wanted to shake off the feeling. Doflamingo had called this man a physician. But he didn't believe the Warlord from the beginning. And he certainly didn't believe him now. So who was this man? And how many people has this man killed?

"Yes, Cethin, the fight I was in got a little bit out of hand. It's nothing to worry about. For now, I would like you to go to the Navy base set up on Carny Street," Doflamingo said. He rubbed his cheek, just below the bruise he knew was forming there. "Trafalgar Neo is there. Fujitora here knows she not a Devil Fruit user. I'd like you to keep an eye on her for him while he's here discussing business with me. Most of the other Navy soldiers here are unaware that she's not a Devil Fruit user. I'd feel better if you go there and help them until Fujitora is able to return to his men. Do you understand your orders?"

"Yes, Young Master," Cethin said. He adjusted his goggled on his forehead before tucking his hand back into his pocket. He clenched a hold of the medallion inside. His heart pounded with anticipation in finally getting to go see her, upon finally getting to be able to get close to her. "Would you like me to give her a check up? I hear she's recently been in battle. If she's hurt I could help her."

"That's not necessary," Fujitora found himself saying before Doflamingo could speak. "She's not harmed. She's only unconscious. I only wanted her subdued. And she is."

"Young Master?" Cethin looked at the Navy admiral with a frown before turning his black eyes to Doflamingo.

"A complete check up is unnecessary," Doflamingo said smiling at the disappointment in Cethin's eyes. "Just look her over and report back to me as soon as you can, after the admiral returns to the base. That'll be all."

"Yes, Young Master," Cethin said. Still frowning, he turned and left the room while pulling a rubber band out of his pocket to pull back his still loose hair.

Fujitora watched the man go. The bad feeling over the man remained with him. He wanted to follow after him to make sure he didn't do anything to Neo that he wasn't supposed to. But he couldn't. He had to talk with Doflamingo. He had no choice but to put this situation out of his head for the time being. This wouldn't take very long anyway. He would make sure of that.

"Shall we have our little talk now, Fujitora?" Doflamingo asked.

…

Luffy growled furiously as he ran down the halls of the coliseum. His heart pounded in sync with each step he took. His furious steps echoing off of the stonewalls of the coliseum. The musty smell of sweat from the gladiators had faded from his nose long ago. All he could think about was getting out of this place and helping his friends. "Doflamingo! If you or the Navy lay a single finger on my friends I'll ram my foot so far up your-" He jerked to a stop when he caught a glimpse of Bartolomeo's green hair coming down another hallway towards him. He turned and ran towards the green haired man. "Hey! It's you! Rooster head!"

"Huh?" Bartolomeo asked, looking up from the blonde man draped over his shoulders.

"I'm so glad to see you!" Luffy shouted, coming up to the men.

"Ah! Mr. L-L-L-Luffy!" Bartolomeo crowed. He fell over backwards, dropping Bellamy in the process of his star struck panic. He caught himself on his hands, his eyes spinning with swirls.  _Get it together, Bartolomeo! You don't want to miss this opportunity to-Hold on a second!_  He dropped down to the floor and looked at Luffy. His eyes roamed around the area, looking for Neo, but he couldn't find her. "Where's your wife?"

"Huh? My wife?" Luffy asked. He tilted his head and crossed his arms over his chest in confusion before realizing who Bartolomeo was talking about. "Oh! You mean Neo! She's been taken by the Navy!"

"What?!" Bartolomeo shrieked, bolting up to his feet. "The rotten Navy took your beloved?!"

"Huh?! Oh! Hey, Bellamy!" Luffy, ignoring Bartolomeo's words, greeted his old enemy once he noticed the blonde man sitting on the stone floor beside Bartolomeo.

"But how did she manage to get out of the coliseum?" Bartolomeo asked. He stared at Luffy before quickly turning away when the Straw Hat captain looked at him. "I-I-I assumed you found Mr. Z-Z-Zoro then?!"

"Yeah! We found him! But never mind that! I really, really need to get out of here!" Luffy said. "Where's the exit?!"

"Neo?" Bellamy asked. He glanced up at Luffy from the corner of his eyes. "You mean Trafalgar Neo?"

"That's her! Do you know her?!" Luffy nodded. "She and Tra have been taken! I need to go after them! How do I get out of here?! I can't find the exit!"

"It's hard not to know about her with all the questions she raises in the newspapers. And there is no exit in this place," Bellamy said.

"What?! Are you serious?! Hold on a second! You look like you're more injured than you were before! What happened?!" Luffy asked. His eyes roamed over the blood dripping down Bellamy's face and the scars that weren't there before.

"Once a competitor enters into this coliseum he can never leave it," Bellamy said, ignoring Luffy's questions about his injuries. "There's no point in looking for an exit. You won't find one."

"What?! That can't be right! I don't have time for this!" Luffy said. He started jogging in place. "I really,  _really_  need to get out of here! You're Doflamingo's subordinate so you have to know how to get out of here! You're not a prisoner here after all! Please! My friends are in trouble! I have to help them! I promised Neo I would protect her and Tra!"

"Why would I care about your promises? They have nothing to do with me. Whatever. I'm leaving this place. If you follow me, you just  _might_  get out of here," Bellamy replied.

"Really?! Great! You're going to take me to the exit now?!" Luffy asked, still jogging in place.

"I'm only saying that  _if_  you follow me, you  _might_  get out," Bellamy said with a low growl in his tone. "Do you want me to betray my boss? Well, I will never betray Doflamingo! I respect him far too much!"

"Luffy's wife's safety is far more important than your stupid loyalty! And you've got to be kidding! Just a few minutes ago you were-" Bartolomeo started.

"Shut up! That's none of your business!" Bellamy snapped, cutting the green haired man off. "And what are you even saying?! Straw Hat isn't married! That woman is married to Trafalgar Law!"

"You shut up! Mrs. Neo and Mr. Luffy are married! I saw the ring on her finger!" Bartolomeo snapped. His mind filling with a false fantasy of what really happened between Neo and Luffy when he first saw them together. "I saw them together! They were holding hands and kissing!"

"You're crazy!" Bellamy said. "There's no way that happened!"

"Whatever! Let's just go!" Luffy said. He waved his hands in the air. "I don't have time for this!"

The two men looked at Luffy. Bartolomeo quickly looked away and said, "But Mr. Luffy! What about the Flame Flame Fruit?! Don't you still want that?!"

"Of course I still want it! There are certain people that I really don't want to get it, but Neo and Tra's lives are far more important to me than that fruit is!" Luffy replied. "My friends are going to die if I leave them!"

"All right! I will help you! You can count on me, Mr. Luffy!" Bartolomeo cheered with his back was still turned towards Luffy. "I'll help reunite you with your wife by making sure you get out of this place! Then I will win the Flame Flame Fruit for you!"

"What?! You'll do that?! You'll win the Flame Flame Fruit then just give it to me?!" Luffy asked.

"Of course I will! It belongs to you after all!" Bartolomeo shouted. "I promise that I will win the Flame Flame Fruit for you! So don't worry about it at all! Go save your previous lover!"

"Who exactly are you talking to? Straw Hat's behind you," Bellamy said as he stared at Bartolomeo shouting in the opposite direction of Luffy.

"All right! I'm counting on you then!" Luffy said. He turned his attention down the dark hall when he heard footsteps coming towards them. He watched until a silhouette appeared in the dark wall way. He blinked and watched the person walking towards them. "Hm?"

"I'm not going to let you have the Flame Flame Fruit, Straw Hat Luffy," the silhouette said. Stepping out of the shadows, he revealed himself to be a blonde haired man wearing a long black jacket with a buckle on the left sleeve, with a blue shirt and vest, a frilled cravat, and a simple belt holding a pair of loosen light-blue pants with black boots brown gloves and a top hat with goggles over the band. His lips were curled into a smile as he started at Luffy from underneath his hat.

"Who the heck are you?! Where did you even come from?! And how dare you talk to the great and powerful Mr. Luffy like that?! He's going to be King of the Pirates someday! Stupid!" Bartolomeo growled as he stomped up to the stranger.

"That's something that I have known that for years," the blonde haired man said before pushing Bartolomeo out of the way and walking towards Luffy.

"Hey! You can't just come here and say that! Who are you?!" Luffy said. He watched as the man pulled of his hat. He stared at the man until he noticed he looked familiar. "Wait…you…you're…"

"It's been a while. Hasn't it, Luffy?" he asked.

"Ah!" Luffy jumped up. Tears streamed down his face at the sight of his brother. Jumping again, he grabbed onto Sabo and cried. "Sabo! I thought you were dead!"

"Ha ha! It's all right, Luffy. I know," Sabo said. He looked up to his younger brother as Luffy, somehow managed to hold onto his shoulders with both his legs and arms. "Luffy, you really need to let me go now. Don't you have some friends that are in need of your help?"

"Oh! Right!" Luffy jumped off his brother. "Neo and Tra are in trouble! I have to help them! But there is so much that I want to talk to you about!"

"I know that." Sabo nodded. "There's a lot that I'd like to talk to you about as well. But there's no time right now."

"Yeah. I've got to go after Tra and Neo," Luffy said.

"So you've made friends with the Heart Pirates, huh?" Sabo asked.

"You know them?" Luffy asked.

"I do. I've been following their travels for a while now," Sabo replied. "Neo's has gained the attention of the Revolutionary Army."

"Well, be nice to them if you happen to see them. Neo's really nice. You'll like her," Luffy said.

"Don't worry, Luffy. I'll keep an eye out for her," Sabo said with a smile. "We have no intention of bringing harm to her. You go on ahead and get out of here. I'll win the Flame Flame Fruit for Ace and you."

"That's great!" Luffy smiled. He took one last look at his brother before finally following after Bellamy.

…

Cethin walked out of the Suit Chamber at a normal pace despite wanting to run from the room. He struggled to fight back the desire to dash out of the palace and right to the street that Doflamingo told him Neo was on. But he couldn't do that. He didn't want to and didn't need to give the Navy admiral here the impression he wasn't who he knew Doflamingo said he was. He wondered, with how the Navy admiral was studying him through his skillful use of Observation Haki, if the old man knew or suspected that something else was going on here than what was said.

A person didn't become a Navy admiral if they were lacking in skills. He figured the old man probably suspected something was going on. But their ruse should be good enough to hold suspicions at bay. At least until he got done what he needed to do. They, after all, had everything planned out long before this point in time. For months they planned for a number of different scenarios. They came up with a large number of roles he could play that would get him close to Neo without suspicions. A physician was one of those. And the one they would have most likely ended up using since they were dealing with both the Navy and pirates. Fights between the two were inevitable. Injuries, or knockouts, were also inevitable. And since Neo was with the Navy and the word Doflamingo had used on him, he knew exactly which roll he was suppose to play. After months of waiting and waiting the stage was finally set. All he had to do know was get to his prize.

One step through the door and he was out of the Suit Chamber. Cethin picked up his pace to a fast walk. Nodding to a couple of Doflamingo's soldiers as they passed by on their way to wherever it was their master ordered them to go. He watched them from over his shoulder as they continued on down the hall in the opposite direction he was going. They didn't know anything about him. All they knew was he was under employment by Doflamingo like the rest of them.

He recalled the first day he arrived here. He was introduced to Doflamingo's main forces and to some of the lower rank soldiers. But the only thing Doflamingo said about him was he would be living in the palace for a while as he worked on a special project for the young master. Then he was shown to his room where he spent the next seven months preparing for this day. A smile formed on his lips. Finally that day was here.

Cethin turned down the long stone hallway. The large doors that led to the outside were in front of him. He walked to the edge of the staircase and looked down. Taking the first step down those stairs was like have a fresh warm breeze hit him in the face after a long hard winter of being stuck inside. A few soldiers were gathered near the end of the stairs, but he paid them no mind as they paid him no mind. He was closer to the exit.

Placing his hands on one of the large doors that were now in front of him, he pushed it open. Blinking to the bright sun that greeted him. The sun was incredible warm. The wind was still, but the air was fresh and filled with the salt from the nearby ocean. A few seagulls called from a distance. Then he was outside in the palace yard. The fresh cut grass and the trees greeted his senses. Everything felt so new and refreshing after spending months inside of the palace. A small part of him wanted to stand there and enjoy the smells and sounds of nature around him, but he had more important things to do.

He started to run. He ran all the way over to the lift and bolting into the door when it finally opened for him. Slipping his personal key for the first time into the slot he started the slow, painfully slow, descend down from the palace and to the town. This was by far the worst part. He remembered the ride up the lift on that first day. The lift wasn't fast enough then on that day and it certainly was fast enough now. Today it really got on his nerves. He was so close to finally getting his hands on her, figuratively speaking of course, yet all he could do was stand there and listen to the machine hissing as it descended downward.

Cethin pulled the medallion out of his lab coat pocket. Sunlight glinted off the silver base of the medallion as he studied it again. He couldn't recall how many times he has looked at this thing since it came into his possession. It was always the same. The only difference now was the sun was making the already murky green tubing look even darker and the silver shinier. Something the lights inside of the palace wouldn't do. Outside, the medallion looked just as innocent as he heard she was.

A deep chuckle passed over his lips. He was ready to start this whole thing. He was ready to see what she could really do compared to what the others could do. She, after all, was a royal, the strongest of all the Elementals. Due to the rumors about her, from what they had learned from Vergo, and from the damage she did to Doflamingo in such a short amount of time, she might be more powerful than they realized, than he realized. And he was going to love this.

He lifted his dark eyes when the lift slowed to a stop. The machinery hissed, clicked and clacked as the door opened up for him. He stepped out. Not even bothering to pause for anything, he bolted into a run. Zooming passed all of the people and stores of the country until he reached his destination about seven minutes later. He paused for a moment just a few feet from the white tents that the Navy had set up to catch his breath. Once again he knew he needed to keep calm and not give anyone any reason to suspect it was up to something. While his panting slowed, he looked up at the blue seagull panted on the tops of the tents before easily guessing which one she was in. The tent in the middle had two guards standing in front of the flap. Shoving his hands into his pocket, and forcing back a smile, he walked over to the tent, to the soldiers. "Excuse me. I'm here to examine Trafalgar Neo."

"I'm sorry, sir. No one may enter into this tent while the admiral is gone," one of the soldiers said.

Cethin kept his smile in place. He figured he would be met with a little resistance, but also knew they would still let him in there. He was under the employment of a Warlord of the Sea. A Warlord that the lower ranking Navy soldiers did fear no matter how much they tired to hide it. "I am here at the request of King Doflamingo, the Warlord of the Sea, and of Admiral Fujitora."

"The admiral?" the soldier asked.

"Indeed. Your admiral is aware that I have come here to check on the prisoner. Now, don't waste our time here. I'm sure neither one of us want to walk all the way back to the palace to confirm this," Cethin said. "And I'm certain you wouldn't want to tick off my boss."

The two soldiers shivered at the thought of the Warlord. They exchanged concerned looks before allowing the man to enter into the tent. "Very well. Just don't touch her. It's the admiral's orders."

"Don't worry, soldier. I have no intentions on touch her now anyway. I'm only under orders to see if she's harmed," Cethin said. He stepped forward. Lifting up the tent flap, he stepped inside. He paused momentarily to let his eyes adjust to the lower light that forced itself passed the thin fabric of the tent. His light smile then turned dark upon finally seeing her laying on one of the ten cots that lined both sides of the tent, five on each side. He chuckled at the sea prism stone chains cuffed to her wrists. "Oh, how useless those are on her, you stupid soldiers. Now let's get down to business."

Cethin stepped over to Neo and sat down on the small stool that he assumed would be for Fujitora when he finally came back here. He ran his eyes from her head to her toes, slowly taking in every single detail about her. Taking in the sun kissed color of her skin, how flawless, and smooth it seemed to be but for the fading scars that remained on her flesh. His eyes paused at the scar on her left shoulder. It looked to him to be a sword wound that she was always going to have with her. But scars didn't matter. He pulled his eyes off the scar and traced the curves of her body, the yellow shirt, and black shorts she was wearing to the color and length of her hair. Her hair was lighter than it was in pictures. But that was to be expected. Ink could never capture the real beauty of anything. He preferred real life to photographs. Still, he didn't expect her hair to look so much like the sky above them. It looked insanely pure, but fitting for what she really was. It looked extremely soft as well. He wondered how soft it really was. He wanted so bad to reach out and run his finger through her hair just to see if it felt as soft as it looked. He found his hand lifting up and reaching out for her hair. Automatically, his movement stopped just a half of an inch from her blue locks from a foreboding feeling. He knew what would happen if he did touch her. He's heard of those rumors as well. She would freak out and so would her lover if he knew she had been touched without permission. But he wasn't scared. He could handle her easily enough. Still he wondered if she would react to his touch in her unconscious state. He had to know. He had to try. His fingers closed the small distance between them.

Just as his light colored skin was about to touch her blue locks, a soft vibration came from his pocket. It reminded him of the real reason he was there and he pulled back from her. Reaching in for the medallion, he pulled it out and let it lay flat in his palm. The strange tube started to glow and pulse erratically. The murky green glow flowed out over Neo's body before centering on her temples. His heart leaped with excitement when Neo's eyebrows narrowed and she whimpered from pain he knew was pulsing through her head right now. She turned her head away from him, away from the pain. He stroked the tubing on the medallion, causing the glow to increase its flow into Neo's body. His heart leaped again when she whimpered once more, gritted her teeth, and clenched her fists, obviously in more pain. He chuckled. "Instinctually trying to get away in your sleep. Just like they all do. It seems that everything is working just fine. And you have no clue what's happening to you."

Cethin chuckled again. He started to put the medallion away, but stopped when the glow strolled down her body and came to a focused point on her stomach. His eyes widened when the glow came to a sharp point. He watched as the glow tried to pierce into her stomach but was stopped by her crystals. Four crystals, one of each element, appeared in front of her stomach preventing the glow from piercing her. He didn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. Was it really possible? "It can't be. It's not possible."

Cethin closed his hand over the glow, cutting it off from her stomach. He then removed his hand and let the glow flow back over her body. Once again the glow went right for her stomach and her crystals reappeared to protect her, to protect the baby that was inside of her. A sinister smile curled on his lips. "Well, well, imagine that. The sweet little Elemental princess is pregnant. Young Master is really going to love this piece of information."

Cethin jumped up from the stool, knocking it over in the process. He started to bolt for the exit of the tent but paused when he remembered that he was supposed to stay here until the admiral returned. He thought about that for a moment. Surely Doflamingo would want to know of this little development as soon as possible. But he had his orders. He had no choice but to stay until the admiral returned. He turned back to the sleeping Elemental. Watching her for a few seconds before walking back over to the cot. He picked up the stool and sat down on it. With the medallion back in his pocket, he rested his arms on his knees and leaned forward. His dark eyes locked helplessly on her stomach, his mind wondering over the child inside of her. The child that was, or would be, half Elemental and half human. He's never been around such a child.

Would it be the same as full blooded Elementals? Would it react the same or different to his experiments? Would it be stronger or weaker? Would it have more human traits, more Elemental traits, or a good mixture of both? So many questions that could not be answered in the baby's current state of being unborn.

He's only had two pregnant Elementals before. And both their children were full blooded Elemental babies. This was going to be a rare treat for him. He not only had a royal Elemental, but a pregnant royal Elemental. This was indeed a very rare occasion. He wondered if Doflamingo would let him have them both.


	109. Fujitora

Fujitora

Fujitora tapped his sword sheath on the ground, feeling out for obstacles that might cause him to trip. He paused and looked back at the palace. His mind was wondering over his conversation he just had with Doflamingo. He had told the Warlord of his mission to abolish the Seven Warlords of the Sea System. And it was a goal that he planned to see through to the end. He wiped his sword free hand on his clothes as if he was wiping the conversation away from his mind. It was done and over with. He turned and switched his train of thought to the young blue haired pirate woman waiting for him back at the Navy post. He needed to get back to make sure she was still safe. And to make sure that man, Cethin, wasn't doing anything to her. Something about that man had really put him on edge and he was still on edge about letting that man go to see her.

Stepping back up on the piece of rubble he flew here on, the admiral lifted it and himself into the air. While flying back to the Navy post, he went over ways he could word his conversation with Neo. What he knew of her, he knew he had to be careful with his words and his actions. Despite her usually calm exterior and childlike looks, he knew she could be as volatile as a storm. Until today he didn't know that was actually literal. Half of him wanted to disregard what Doflamingo had said earlier on Green Bit about Neo not being human and what the newspapers have said about her. But it could no longer be denied. Everything seemed to have fallen into place now. It all made sense. Neo wasn't human. That would explain her multicolored spirit he saw when he used his Observation Haki on her. It explained why she gave off such an inhuman feel like the rumors had said. It explained her crystals, her ability to control nature, and it explained  _everything_.

It also opened up a whole lot more questions about her. She was an Elemental. A creature that could control nature through the crystals she summoned. And there were others. At least one of them was in the Navy. For now that one wasn't a threat to the Navy or to humans, he was a protector of the people, a man of the Navy. But Neo was a princess of these Elemental people. Would that man turn against the Navy if his princess were in danger? Have they even met before? And what about all the other Elementals in the world? How many where there? Where exactly did they live? Why hasn't anyone ever heard of them until now? Did anyone else know of these creatures and just not say anything about them? Where they good or evil?

Fujitora chuckled over all the questions his brain was rapidly going over. He cast his blind eyes down to the country that he was passing over. He was far too high up to hear all of the noise the people were making. He was far too high up to smell all of the food people were cooking. But he still imagined it all. In his mind he heard children laughing, dogs barking, adults talking, instruments being played, food sizzling in pans on fires, and all of the other noises that plagued the everyday lives of human beings. Then his mind drifted back to the Elementals. He pictured them doing the exact same thing. Sure their ways of doing things must be different from human ways. An example of that would be their crystals. They wielded fire so they probably used that to cook instead of stoves. Or maybe they had stoves. Maybe they didn't constantly use their crystals for everything. Maybe there wasn't much difference between them and humans. Maybe they had more in common with humans than he would ever know. Neo was one of them and blended in with the humans better than he figured she would with feeling as inhuman as she did. So maybe Elementals were just like humans beings but only with different gifts. Maybe some were good and helpful while others were bad and harmful, just like humans beings could be.

"Well, let's see what the little princess has to say," Fujitora said upon realizing he had reached his destination quicker than he thought he would. He lowered his rubble to the ground just as a small group of six soldiers ran over to him.

"Admiral Fujitora!" a soldier said with a salute to his superior as they all came to attention. "I'm glad you have come back safely!"

"Yes, of course," Fujitora said, stepping off the rubble. "Has she woken up yet?"

"No, sir," the soldier replied. "She's still unconscious."

"I see. And the man that came here earlier?" Fujitora asked. "Is he still here?"

"Yes, sir. He's-" the soldier started to say.

"He is just leaving. It's been a pleasure. But I really need to get going now," Cethin said while he walked over to them. He shoved his hands into his pockets and placed a practiced bored look on his expression. Without giving the soldiers a chance to ask him questions, he rushed passed them and headed back to the palace.

Fujitora hummed at that bit of information, his closed eyes following the man's retreat. He turned back to his men then said, "Well, he's surely in a hurry. Did he touch her?"

"No, sir. I believe he did not. He just sat with her for a while," the soldier reported. "I peaked in on them occasionally while he was in there."

"Very well. I think I will go in and sit with her until she wakes up," Fujitora said. He tapped the tip of his sword on the ground. Working his way around the soldiers, he headed for the tent with the sleeping Elemental in it.

"Uh, sir? Is that a good idea? She's a dangerous pirate after all," the soldier said. He followed after his superior to express his concern while the others soldiers remained standing in place and just watched him go. "And she's not really a Devil Fruit user. She's not even  _human_. Is it true she's something called an Elemental? Would you like us to back you up, sir?"

"I see you have heard of that little information," Fujitora said. He stopped walking at the front flap of the tent. Tuning into this haki, he looked at the multicolored spirit just lying still inside of the tent before him.

"It's spreading through the ranks as we speak, sir," the soldier told him. "The men really want to report this back to Head Quarters. They're all on edge a bit. A lot of them want to question the woman. They want to know more about her and her people. Some of them are even threatening to just kill her out right. They believe she's a danger by being here since the sea prism stone doesn't affect her."

"I see. Well, there's no point in trying to deny that she's not a Devil Fruit user and an Elemental. But, no, do not report this back to Head Quarters just yet. You all remain silent on that," Fujitora said.

"Sir?"

"I'll handle that myself. Spread these orders to the men, they are not to report back to Head Quarters about Trafalgar Neo not being a Devil Fruit user nor human. I'll take care of that when the time comes. And no one is permitted to harm the young woman. She will be brought to justice in a fair trial just like all of the other pirates the Navy has dealt with. No one is going to create a lynch mob just because they found out she's not human. I will not have such a thing happening on my watch. Have I made myself clear?" Fujitora said.

"Yes, sir! Understood! I will spread those orders immediately!" The soldier saluted.

"Also, no one is to enter this tent until I say so," Fujitora added and earned another 'Yes, sir' from the soldier before he entered into the tent. The soldier's voice, as he ran off to spread the orders, was muffled out a bit from the tent flap closing behind him. He glanced over at the pirate asleep on the cot. Feeling his way over to her, his sword tapped against the stool. He tapped his sheath on it a couple more times, coming to the conclusion it was tipped over. Cethin was clearly in a  _very big hurry_  to leave. Pushing the man from his thoughts, he grabbed it and sat it back in its upright position before sitting down on it. He rested both hands on the hilt of his sword, his blind eyes skillfully landing on her face. Activated his Observation Haki again, he ran his eyes over her body, pausing on her stomach.

He sighed when he found the small red dot was still present in her ever changing spirit. He was still worried that his attack earlier might have hurt the child despite having seen the little red dot shortly after attacking her. A weight had finally lifted off his shoulders when it was clear everything was just fine. If something had happened, it would have been apparent by now. His breathing became easier and he settled in to wait for her to wake up.

…

Law groaned internally at the pain shooting through his body and from the hard chair he was obviously chained too. The sea prism stone around his wrists were draining more of his already exhausted energy. He quickly pushed the pain and energy drain aside and searched out for Neo, hoping her magic had returned. He relaxed a bit when he found she wasn't too far away from him. He was also relieved to find her magic had returned, but worried because she was unconscious. He was grateful, however, that she didn't have to feel his pain for the moment. It didn't feel like she herself was hurt, other than from his pain of course, but he did notice a slight pain in his right side that he knew wasn't caused by Doflamingo. He did his best not to show any emotions, to keep his face relaxed so it appeared he was still unconscious himself, as his anger burned through his chest at the thought and feeling. Or was it caused by Doflamingo? What happened after he was knocked unconscious? He knew Doflamingo wouldn't have just immediately brought him to the palace. Doflamingo would have taunted his win in front of Neo and the others, at least until she attacked. But did he touch her? Did he hurt her?

If he did, Law was going to sadistically torture the older man half to the death then nurse him back to health so he can torture him again.

He was pondering on multiple ways to torture the man until the truth struck him. If it were Doflamingo that had her and hurt her then she would have been closer to him than she was right now. So where was she? Who would have taken her? Then he remembered. Fujitora had wanted to speak with her. And if Neo were knocked out, unable to defend herself or be defended by others, the Navy admiral would have had the perfect chance to take her. The only one who could possible stop the admiral was himself or Doflamingo. And Doflamingo clearly didn't have her. So it had to be the admiral.

While he didn't want either of them to have her in any kind of way, he knew if he had to choose, he rather Neo be with the Navy than in Doflamingo clutches. The Navy was just barely favorable over Doflamingo. Besides, he had a strange feeling that Fujitora wasn't going to hurt her or even keep her. But he wasn't sure why he thought that. It was the Navy's job to capture pirates. Maybe the Navy admiral was going to keep her after all. The admiral didn't personally know Neo and had no reason to let her go. It was his job as an admiral to capture pirates.

Law's heart started to pound in his chest. He had to force himself to stop thinking about that. Neo would be fine. She wasn't a Devil Fruit user so she could easily escape from the Navy if the situation required it. Besides, there was nothing he could do about her or for her until she woke up anyway. For now, he focused on himself and tried to analyze the situation he was in. He knew he was in the palace, chained to a chair, and surrounded by Doflamingo and some of his crew. He kept his eyes closed but figured that Baby 5 and Buffalo would be in this room with Doflamingo. He more or less hung out with them when they were younger. He figured they'd want to be here to see what would happen to him if nothing else. He didn't care. They both were still cowards just like they were when they were younger. Once he was free, he could easily take care of them.

"Law," Doflamingo's deep voice said.

Law took a shallow breath. There was no point in dragging this out any longer. He was going to have to reveal he was awake sooner or later. Might as well get it over with. He opened his eyes. The stone flooring of the palace and the orange rug laying on it was the first thing he saw before lifting his eyes to the pink feather coated man in front of him. Doflamingo was sitting several feet across from him. On the older Warlord's left side was a small stone table with a transponder snail, standing on his right side was Buffalo and Baby 5 just like he thought they would be and three average soldiers were behind him. He looked to his left when he felt another presence in the room. Down at the other end of the room sitting on the ground with his hands behind his back was a grey haired old man that had dried blood on his skin and gladiator outfit. Not caring who he was or what he was doing here, Law turned his attention back to Doflamingo.

"Nice to see that you're still alive, Law," Doflamingo said. He propped his elbow up on the armrest of his chair and leaned his cheek against his fist. Forcing back a flitch when he pressed against his damaged gums, he shifted his position a bit to get more comfortable. "Sorry I had to shoot you. But it was necessary. Despite that, there's some stuff we need to talk about. Like the Straw Hats."

Law frowned and didn't say anything but easily noticed the change of movement then the redness in Doflamingo's cheek. He couldn't help but let his eyes wander over the older man's body. He took in every inch of the man until he got down to the older man's stomach. A nice black and blue bruise had formed on the man's toned abdomen that hadn't been there before. And he knew why. He couldn't stop a proud smile from forming on his lips as he brought his eyes back up to Doflamingo's. "She was a lot harder for you to handle than you thought she would be. Wasn't she, Doflamingo?"

Doflamingo's eyebrows twitched.

Law watched as the man's smile faded away from the still fresh memories of Neo landing unexpected blows on him. He could clearly see that Doflamingo wanted to rip her away from the Navy and drag her here so he could punish her in front of him. He knew Doflamingo wanted to punish them both for defying him. But that was going to have to wait for now. The man had more pressing matters to deal with.

"She was dealt with easily enough, Law. But we'll get to her soon. Right now I want to know what's going on with you and the Straw Hats. I had the impression that all you guys wanted to do was destroy the SMILE factory and that was it. If that was really all you wanted to do here, then why is it the Straw Hats are working with the Little People of Green Bit? This clearly isn't just some random act they're preforming."

"Little People?" Law asked. He wanted to look over at the window. But he forced himself to keep his eyes on the man in front of him.  _What are those idiots doing?! They're supposed to be destroying the factory!_

"I have been recently informed that a couple of the Straw Hats are currently in the underground port. How did they manage to sneak into there? Are they trying to attack Sugar? That has to be the only reason they're down there. They have no reason to take out the port. I don't know what they're up to but they keep doing things that are causing me a lot of grief. If this whole thing is not just a coincidence, then it means that they know what's behind the darkness of this country," Doflamingo said before biting down on his thumbnail. His eyes remained locked onto Law from behind his sunglasses.

Law knew he was waiting for an answer. But it wasn't going to happen. Not only because he had no clue what the Straw Hats were doing, but also because he would defy Doflamingo anytime he could. From the corner of his eye he saw Baby 5 walking over to him. The tapping of her heels came closer before her hand collided with his head.

Baby 5 said, "Answer him! The young master asked you a question, Law!"

Law didn't. He only lifted up and glared at Baby 5 for causing Neo unnecessary pain. The glare caused the woman to dash away from him and grab onto Buffalo and cry. He mentally scoffed at the memories of her doing that exact same thing when they were younger. Coward.

"Don't hit him if it's just going to make you cry!" Buffalo said to the black haired woman clinging to his arm. "You two haven't changed a bit!"

"I already told you. We have nothing more to do with the Straw Hats at this point. I don't understand a single thing you're telling me," Law said, turning his attention back to Doflamingo. "Our alliance is over."

"You don't really expect me to believe that, do you? Neo was clearly still with the Straw Hats when I saw her at the coliseum. Or do you really not know anything about what's going on?" Doflamingo stared at Law, searching for any signs of a lie. "If Violet were with us, she could tell what's in your mind easily. But I suppose it's rather easy to guess what's on your mind at the moment. I'm sure you're wondering where your precious lover is over what the Straw Hats are doing. You must be very worried about her now that you both are my prisoners."

Law narrowed his eyebrows.

"You don't have to worry about her. She's safe within the walls of the palace," Doflamingo said with a grin.

"Liar," Law said with a grin of his own. He had to be careful with what he said. Doflamingo knew too much already. He didn't want to give his enemy any more information on their bond than the older Warlord already knew. But he didn't need his bond with Neo to know that she wasn't in the palace. He knew how Doflamingo worked. If Doflamingo had Neo in his grasp then she would have been in this room with them. Doflamingo would have been using her in one way or another against him. "Neo is not that easily captured. I know for a fact you don't have her. You might be strong, but you're not strong enough to stop a storm. If you had captured her, you wouldn't have those battle scars. And she would be in this room with us. She's stronger than she looks."

"I know she's a lot stronger than she lets on. I also can tell that she's suffered some great deal of pain. I see that similarity between us easily. It's plan as day that she has suffered some tragic event. And that leads to her inability to kill," Doflamingo said. He chuckled when Law flinched at his words. "So what is it, Law? What happened to her to cause her such issues with killing? Is her no killing policy set in stone? What would she do if I were on the verge of killing  _you_? Would she get over that and kill me to protect you?"

"Doflamingo," Law said in a dark warning tone. He knew, if push came to shove, that Neo would kill to protect him or someone else she cared about. Her fear of losing someone she loved would shove down her other fears, but it would come at a heavy price. He didn't know exactly how it would effect her, but it would. Even if the person she killed were to protect someone she loves, it would still cause a lot of mental damage to her. "Don't you dare even think about trying something like that with her. If you do, I will kill-Hn!" He flinched at a sharp pain stabbing through his head, through Neo's head.

Doflamingo's eyebrows rose on his head at the obvious pain in Law. He chuckled while reaching into his coat and said, "I've done more than just  _think_  about doing things with her, Law. I've already got a plan in place for her. That pain you're feeling now isn't yours, is it, Law? It's hers."

"What does that matter?" Law asked, the pain subsiding.

"It matters because I'm the one causing her those headaches, Law," Doflamingo said.

"You really expect me to believe that  _you_  are causing her pain? While you're sitting right in front of me?" Law asked. He didn't believe Doflamingo's words, but something started to tickle the back of his mind. He had assumed Neo's headaches were because of her pregnancy. But was it really? She's never had headaches before. While they were common with human pregnancies that didn't mean they were with Elemental ones.

"Think about it, Law. Her headaches didn't start until she arrived inside the boarders of my kingdom," Doflamingo said. His hand lingered inside of his coat.

"That doesn't mean anything," Law said. Doubt began to creep up on him more. Doflamingo was right. Her headaches didn't start until they came here.

"It means a lot," Doflamingo said, finally pulling his hand out of his coat to reveal Law's hat.

"That's…" Law gasped at the unexpected arrival of his hat. His eyes narrowed in on his hat, his hat that Neo had  _stolen_  from him when they were back on the Sunny, his hat that she should still be wearing. He struggled against the sea prism chains holding him down. He needed to get to her. Now wasn't the time for her to wake up and not be wearing his hat. She was under too much distress as it was. Waking up without his scent around her wasn't going to be good for anyone, especially her and their baby. He could still contact her through their bond, but would that be enough? Would he be able to keep her calm? Or would she freak out? She was going to wake up surrounded by strangers, chains with sea prism stone chains with out him or his hat and her magic could still cut out on them again. Taking anything from her that he had given her was a very bad thing for people to do. The Elementals, despite under the darkness crystal's influence, learned that the hard way. He had to start reaching out to her before she woke up, before her magic could cut out again. He had to let her know that she was going to be fine and didn't need to freak out, despite the fact she was going to do it anyway. He could help ease her back into a calm state if he spoke to her before she woke up. And he could feel she was starting to stir from her forced slumber.  _'Neo? I know you're just starting to wake up, but I still need you to listen to me. You're all right. You're going to be fine. Okay? You're going to wake up surrounded by the Navy and without my hat. Fujitora has taken you. Or I assume it's him since Doflamingo doesn't have you here at the palace with me. But you're okay. I'm still with you. Everything's going to be fine.'_

"That's right. This is your hat. She was wearing it before," Doflamingo said. He twirled Law's hat on his finger and chuckled. "I have her in my grasp whether or not you want to believe it, Law. And I will find out what you two are really up to in my kingdom. Or, I suppose it might not be something you two are doing. It could be you, King Riku. The Tontattas did once serve you. Are they acting on your orders?"

Law ignored Doflamingo as he turned to the old man in the room and continued to reach out for Neo.  _'You're waking up now. Just remember breath, okay? You're fine. You're temperately away from me, but you're not hurt. I'm not hurt…well, I'm not life threatening hurt. I'm still alive._ _We're_ _still alive. Remember you've handled yourself very well today. You walked through Dressrosa all on your own, under your own decision. You can handle this problem on your own.'_

He cursed under his breath when he felt her magic cutting out on them again. He had no choice but to let her finish waking up on her own and hope she could handle herself.  _She should be fine considering she managed to walk through Dressrosa on her own_.  _She's grown up a bit more by doing that. She'll be fine_ , he reminded himself. But he still worried. And not just because her headaches started when they entered into Dressrosa, but also because she really hated waking up with out him being beside her or somewhere nearby on a normal day. And today was anything but normal.

…

Neo groan at the dull throb in her body and head. Through her blurry thoughts, she tired to remember what she was doing and what had happened. She knew she was laying on an uncomfortable bed, but where was she before? She was at the coliseum with Luffy. They were looking for Zoro and Kin'emon and found them shortly before…Her heart tightened in her chest. She remembered. She remembered Law on the ground. Doflamingo had shot him.

_'Neo, it okay. I'm fine.'_

"Law?" Hearing Law's voice in her head, Neo turned her head to her right. She opened her eyes to a blurry image sitting beside her. She jumped when she noticed the figure didn't feel like Law. She blinked rapidly, clearing her vision. She stared at the old man, not registering who he was, before her before looking around the tent she was in. Her heart pounded inside of her chest, making her body ache more. "Law?! Where am I?! What…what's going on?!"

"Easy, young lady," the old man said. "I'm afraid Law isn't here at the moment."

Neo whipped her eyes back to the old man. She ran her eyes over him before shooting up in bed, noticing for the first time she was wearing sea prism stone chains. Her heart pounded harder and her breathing came in short raspy breaths as she flung herself off the side of the bed in an attempt to get away from the man. She landed on the ground with a painful thud. An unwanted whimper passed over her lips as she pushed up on her arms. Her eyes dropped onto the chains on her arms. She mentally groaned at them and forced herself to remember to act weak. She slumped back down on the ground. Rolling onto her back, she called out for Law.  _'Law! I've sea prism stone chains on! Law? Law?!'_

Neo groaned when she noticed her magic failed her once again. She covered her face with her hands before gliding her fingers up into her hair. More panic swelled up in her chest upon realizing she was missing his hat. "Your hat's gone! I don't have it anymore!"

"I'm sorry that you don't have your hat anymore," Fujitora said. "Doflamingo took it. Well, I guess technically its Law's hat."

Neo closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her head felt fuzzy. Her heart was pounding erratically in her chest. She then noticed she felt very disoriented and realized she wasn't completely awake yet. She forced herself into a completely relaxed state. She stopped herself from thinking about where she was, who she wasn't with, and the sea prism stone chains on her wrists. She wasn't sure how long she remained like that, but eventually her fuzzy thoughts cleared and she felt a lot better. She was able to assess her situation and how she had gotten there.

Pressing her forearms to the ground, she pushed herself up into a sitting position and looked back over at the man she was with. He was the Admiral Fujitora. And she was with the Navy. Probably surrounded by how many ever men he had with him plus the other Navy soldiers that had been in the town, minus the ones who were chasing after the others. She looked around the tent again. Surprise leaked into her mind upon seeing no other soldiers in the tent with them.

"I wouldn't try escaping if I were you," Fujitora said.

Neo slowly drew her eyes back to him. She wondered if she should say anything or just remain quiet. She looked around the tent once more. She finally registered that they were the only ones inside of it. It started to confuse her but the thought quickly left when she remembered the sea prism stone chains on her. There was no reason for any other soldiers to be in here. She lifted her cuffed wrists to look at them before lowering them back down to her lap. If she could just get the key to them she could easily escape.

"Navy soldiers have this tent surrounded. I'd rather not have anyone's blood shed right now," Fujitora said.

"What are you talking about?" Neo found herself asking. "I'm trapped with sea prism stone chains. I'm not going anywhere even if I wanted to."

"There's no need to pretend you are a Devil Fruit user. I know that you're not," Fujitora said.

"What are you talking about? I'm weakened right now," Neo said, lifting her cuffed wrists to him as if it would prove her point before letting them drop heavily to her lap.

Fujitora chuckled. "There really is no need to pretend anymore. I already know that you're not a Devil Fruit user. I know you are a creature called an Elemental."

"How did…" Neo started. She stopped speaking when her stomach lurched. She placed one hand over her mouth and the other over her spinning stomach, forcing back a gag.

"Are you all right, young lady?" Fujitora asked. "Would you like some water?"

Neo drew in several breaths, calming herself down again. She recalled Law telling her that Doflamingo knew she was an Elemental royal. And Fujitora was on Green Bit during that time.  _Law must have been more worried about Doflamingo knowing than the Navy and forgot to tell me about it._  She glanced back over at Fujitora. The man was just sitting there watching her through his Observation Haki she assumed. She couldn't escape without him knowing what she was going to do before hand even if she wanted to attempt it. She was going to have to buy some time until she found the right moment to escape. She pulled her eyes away from him. Curling into herself as much as she could, she wrapped her arms around her knees.

A long moment of silence stretched out between the two before the admiral asked, "Are you calm now? I really didn't mean to upset you. I guess it was unavoidable though. All I wish do to here is talk with you."

Neo turned more away from the Navy admiral. She leaned against the cot beside the one she was laying on, crossing her arms over it and trembled. Her eyes dropped down to the chains around her wrists. Despite not being effected by the sea prism stone, she still knew she needed the key to get out of them. But who had it? Did the admiral have the key? Or did one of the other soldiers have it? The only way she could find out was using her earth crystals. She could thread a vine into their pockets. Well, she could do that with the normal soldiers. The admiral, however, she wasn't going to be able to. He was too powerful for that. Plus his senses were sharper due to his blindness.

Neo drew in a slow, deep breath. She was trapped until she could figure out another way to get a hold of the key. She could feel the admiral's attention on her back, just waiting for her to make a move or say something. She didn't want to, but she forced herself to turn around and face him, unaware how comfortable she was turning her back to an  _enemy_. She studied him for any possible weakness and wondered what it was he wanted from her. She was a pirate. So why wasn't she locked up in the brig on a Navy ship somewhere? The only way to get that answer was to ask him. But she didn't feel like talking to him, at least not yet. She just wanted to get out of here and go be with Law again.

Another long stretch of silence passed between the two before he said, "My apologies, Trafalgar Neo. I really did not want to hit you earlier like I did."

Neo felt her eyebrows twitch at his words.  _Earlier? He must mean when I was fighting with Doflamingo. That attack that came out of nowhere and knocked me out, it must have been him. I must have been too focused on Doflamingo to notice his gravity coming towards me. I wonder if Zoro and Kin'emon are all right and if Luffy is still inside of the coliseum. If my magic was working I would be able to sense where Luffy is. And where Law is. I suppose Doflamingo has Law. And if he does, that mean's he's probably at the palace. Well at least I know which direction to head in if my magic doesn't come back soon._

"I hope that I didn't bring any harm to you two," Fujitora said, breaking Neo's concentration on Law and Luffy.

"The two of us?" Neo asked, turning her attention to him. She kneaded her eyebrows in confusion to the man's words.  _Who is he talking about? He surely knows that Law was fighting Doflamingo. And Law's clearly not here. There's no one else for him to express concern over._   _He has to be talking about Law._  "What did you do to Law?! Did you help Doflamingo hurt him?! If you did, I'll-"

"Relax, young lady. I haven't done anything to him. Unfortunately, he's in Doflamingo's hands right now. But he was not the one I was speaking of," Fujitora replied.

"Then who? The only other one fighting was Law," Neo said. "You should know that since you were there."

…

Fujitora eyebrows lifted up on his forehead upon the confusion that was clear in her words.  _Well, this is an interesting development. This young woman doesn't realize she's pregnant. I suppose that's not too odd. She might just not recognize the signs I'm sure she's having. But Trafalgar Law is a surgeon. Surely he knows that she's with child unless…he does know but she doesn't. That would explain her absence on Green Bit and why she was wandering about the town with the Straw Hats instead of begin with her husband or one of her crew like she normally is. Perhaps I should remain quiet about that. She's clearly scared enough as it is. I can feel her trembling from here despite the fact she's trying to put on a brave face. And stress can effect a pregnancy._

…

"And unfortunately?! What do you mean by that?! Because  _you_  didn't capture him?!" Neo snapped.

"Not at all. I could easily capture him if I wanted too," Fujitora said.

Neo scoffed. "No. You couldn't."

"Perhaps you are right. I did witness his battle on Green Bit. He's not one to easily give up. Despite that…you're the one I wanted to speak to right now, Princess," Fujitora said.

"Don't call me  _princess_!" Neo snapped. She wrapped her arms tight around her knees.

"My apologies. I didn't not mean to upset you," Fujitora said.

Neo glared at him. But her glare quickly faded at his gently expression he wore. She didn't want to believe him. She wanted to hate this man. He was there enemy after all. He was half responsible for separating her and Law. She just couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew he was a good man by the way he was talking to her and how he didn't make any move to come closer to her like others have done. Silently she cursed her instincts for telling her he wasn't going to hurt her in any kind of way, that he was really only wanting to talk to her. Plus  _he_  wasn't the one who actually upset her. That was all Doflamingo's doing. Sighing, she said, "No. Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. It's just…I'm really not comfortable with people calling me that. It just really bugs me."

"I see." Fujitora nodded. "I'll just stick with Trafalgar Neo then. Would that be all right?"

Neo didn't think he understood at all. How could he? How could he know about her past? He only knew what the newspapers had said and a lot of that was just guesses, minus the parts that Doflamingo somehow came to know about. "Neo. Just call me Neo."

"Very well then, Neo." Fujitora shifted on his stool. "I appreciate the simplicity. Let's get right down to it then. I'm sure we both have other things we would like to be doing right now."

 _Other things? Is he planning on letting me go?_  Neo wondered.

"I've brought you here to offer a proposition for you," Fujitora said.

"Proposition?" Neo blinked.

"I would like to offer you a position in the Navy," Fujitora said bluntly. "You would be serving under me so I could assure your safety."

Neo stared at him. Her mind went blank at his words. She couldn't comprehend it. Her brain just refused to accept what he said. Or maybe she just didn't understand him? Did he really just offer her, a pirate, to become a Navy soldier and serve under him? All emotion from her voice had vanished when she asked, "What?"

"I want you to give up the life of a pirate and become a Navy soldier," Fujitora said.

Neo bit her bottom lip in a desperate attempt to stop the laughter that was bubbling up from inside of her. She couldn't do it. She laughed. Her bell filled laughter rang out from her lips and filled the tent around them.

"Not exactly the reaction I was expecting. And I'm not sure what surprises me more. The fact that you're laughing or the fact your laughter literally has bells in it," Fujitora said. "Did I really say something so funny?"

"Yes! You just offered a  _pirate_  to become a Navy soldier!" Neo said, managing to get her laughter under control enough for her to speak clearly. "Why in the world would you even think that I would do that?"

"Young lady, I know that you're not a harsh, murderous pirate," Fujitora said. "From the first time I learned about you, I asked myself 'Why? Why would such a sweet young woman ever want to become a pirate?' It doesn't add up. People with your sweet disposition don't become pirates."

"You don't know me," Neo said. Her laughter was replaced with a harsh glare at the man before her.

"Possibly." Fujitora smiled. "But you didn't deny anything that I've said."

Neo flinched.

"Come now, child. Don't try to deny it now. Most people just don't look past the fact that you're a pirate. But I have. I heard all about you. You never aggressively attack anyone unless they try to harm one of your loved ones. And, for now, those loved ones of yours just happen to be pirates. When you do attack, you never release your full power. You're always holding back. Now, I have no way of knowing how it is you came to be with the Heart Pirates, but I believe if you got to opportunity to become a Navy soldier you would have done it," Fujitora said.

"You just said I have a sweet disposition, yet you want me to become a Navy soldier?" Neo said. "Aren't you contradicting yourself?"

"How so?" Fujitora asked.

"The Navy isn't exactly  _innocent_. They're not  _benevolent_ ," Neo said. "There have been plenty of  _Navy soldiers_  running amok, causing destruction and harm. There have been plenty  _Navy soldiers_  who have done some terrible things to people they are suppose to be protecting. There have been plenty of times  _Navy soldiers_  have turned a blind eye to terrible deeds being done by  _their own people_. You people have set up the Seven Warlords system that allows seven pirates to run around doing whatever they please no matter who they hurt or kill." Her voice rose and tears came to her eyes with each word she spoke. Forgetting about the sea prism stone on her wrists, she pushed herself to her feet. Glaring at the old man before her as she started to scream at him. "They're allowed to hurt, to plunder, to kill, to take whatever they please without any kind of reprimand! All for what?! Giving the Government and Navy added protection to do their own dirty deeds?!  _You people_ killed a man,  _Fire Fist Ace_  all because he was  _born_  as the son of the King of the Pirates! He didn't  _ask_  to be born the son of a  _pirate_! But that doesn't matter, does it?! Even if he didn't become a pirate  _you people_  would have still hunted him down and killed him for it! He did nothing wrong and  _you people murdered him_! Why would I want to join  _that_?! Why would I want to join a group of people who want to  _murder_  people because they are  _born different_?! Do you have  _any idea_  what it's like to be hated just because you were  _born different_?! Do you have any idea what it's like to have people just  _look_  at you and  _know_  you're not like them?! Do you have any idea what it's like to be completely alone in the world?! Do you?!"

…

Fujitora's eyebrows lifted upon his forehead once more at her words, at the tears she was crying from both her eyes and her soul. The finally piece had fallen into place for him. He knew at that point she wasn't talking about Fire Fist Ace at all. She was talking about herself. She had been hated by people until she had came to be with the Heart Pirates. That's why she was so protective of them. But before he could utter a single word to her, seven Navy soldiers ran into the tent, all armed with rifles. One said, "Admiral Fujitora! Are you all right?! We heard the yelling!"

"What's the matter with you, girl?! Are you causing trouble for Admiral Fujitora?!" another soldier asked.

Neo backed up when the soldiers pointed their guns at her. Her legs bumped into the cot she forgot was behind her. She sat down on the bed and dropped her eyes to the floor in a defiant manner she picked up while living among her pirate family.

"You better answer-"

"Enough!" Fujitora said before the soldier could finish. "Everything is just fine. Everything is under control. I just unintentionally upset her. You all may leave now."

The soldiers looked to their leader, exchanged confused glances, and then left without another word. Fujitora waited a couple minutes to be sure that the soldiers were far enough away before turning back to Neo. "That's what happened to you, isn't it?"

Neo flinched. She pulled her feet upon the cot and hugged her knees. She didn't intent to give him enough information for him to come so close to guessing her past. Her emotions just took over her and everything came spilling out.

"You were hated because you were different. I assume that means you didn't grow up around your people," Fujitora said.

Neo remained silent as she just stared down at the ground.

"And I assume that somehow led you to become a pirate," Fujitora continued. "That's what happened, right? Law and his pirate crew found you at some point. They took you in and raised you as a pirate?"

Neo shifted on the cot. "You see rather well for a blind man."

Fujitora chuckled. "In many ways blinding myself has been a blessing."

"You…" Neo lifted her eyes to him. "You blinded yourself? Why?"

"I got disgusted with seeing all of the corruption and evil in the world. So I took my own eyesight so I wouldn't have to deal with seeing it anymore," Fujitora said without hesitation.

"That's stupid," Neo said bluntly.

"How so?" Fujitora asked.

"Just because you can't  _see_  it doesn't mean it's not still there," Neo said.

"You are correct. But I do not regret my decision," Fujitora replied. "And if I was faced with the decision again, I would take the same course of action. So, you see, not all of us like what's going on in the world or the Navy. Some of us do want to change the evil and corruption going on inside of it. That's why I want to abolish the Seven Warlords system."

"You want to abolish the Seven Warlords?" Neo asked.

"I do." Fujitora nodded. "Some time ago one of the Seven Warlords, Crocodile, tired to take over the kingdom of Alabasta. He almost succeeded."

"Yeah. I've heard about that before," Neo said. "The Navy took the credit in stopping him, but it wasn't the Navy at all."

"Indeed it wasn't," Fujitora said. "It was the Straw Hat pirates."

Silence then fell upon the two. The tension from before was completely gone. A mutual feeling of trust and understanding passed over them. "You're different from the others."

"Oh?" Fujitora asked.

"There have not been very many people that I've come to trust, especially within the Navy. And, despite technically being enemies, there are only three other Navy soldiers that I have gained some respect for," Neo said.

"Three others?" Fujitora asked. "I will assume that one of those is one of your people."

Neo thought for a second. She wondered if she should reveal her connection to Jory. She decided it didn't matter. They were connected through their Elemental blood and inhuman feeling anyway. "Yes. I'm pretty sure that he's the only one of my people who's serving in the Navy. He doesn't mean you any harm. So don't punish him for being different."

"I have no intentions of doing that," Fujitora said. "And I will do my best to prevent anyone else from doing so. What of these other two?"

"One of them is a young man named Coby. I met him some time ago at the time I met Jory. And the second one is Vice Admiral Smoker," Neo said.

"Smoker?"

"Yes. We met him when we were on Punk Hazard. Coby sees like a very gentle young man who would serve the Navy well without becoming corrupted. I also think that Smoker is a good man too. I noticed while we were on the island that he really cared for his men despite his grumpy outward appearance and attitude," Neo said. "I was actually a bit taken by surprise by him."

"Yes, Smoker does indeed care about his men," Fujitora said with a nod.

"And you do as well," Neo said. When he looked up in her direction she added, "You're a good man. I can tell. You want to end the corruption in the world and in the Navy. And you're taking the necessary steps to get there."

"It would seem you have very good eyes as well, Neo," Fujitora said with a smile. "You really are a very kind young woman. If you don't mine me saying so, I believe that you would be a great ruler among not only your people, but humans as well. And you are going to make a wonderful mother."

"Huh?! Why would you say that?! I'm not…Law and I are  _not_  having kids! Did you seriously think that we would have kids with how the Navy treats kids of pirates?! Did you forget our conversation about Fire Fist Ace?!" Neo snapped. "And what are you smiling about?! This isn't funny!"

"Nothing, nothing," Fujitora said with a chuckle. "Forgive me. It seems I upset you once again. I suppose it does make sense for you to choose not to have a child. But life is just full of surprises. Who knows? Maybe some day you will become a mother. Possibly even sooner than you think."

"Geez! You're starting to sound just like Sanji and Robin-Ah!" Neo grabbed her head when her magic suddenly came back. It was coupled with the confusion of several animals in the country pounded her head. "Stop! It's too much!"

"Are you all right, Neo? What's wrong? What happened?" Fujitora asked. He stood up from his stool and held a hand out towards her.

"Calm down! Please! I can't understand you all when you're talking all at once!" Neo said.

"Talking at once? Who's talking all at once? What's going on?" Fujitora asked.

"Admiral! Admiral!" a soldier shouted before running into the tent. "Admiral Fujitora, we have a problem!"

Neo tensed at the other man in the tent with them but didn't move or say anything. She tried to focus in on all the animals' confused and angry cries.  _Calm down, everyone. It's going to be fine. I know you're upset and confused. But I can't do anything for you at the moment._

"What is it?" Fujitora asked.

"It's the toys! All of the toys in Dressrosa are turning into humans and animals!" the soldier reported.

"What?" Fujitora asked. "What do you mean?"

"We're not sure! I just started happening!" the soldier said. "Those turning back into humans are very upset about something! They keep shouting out for Doflamingo! They want to kill him for some reason! And the toys that are turning into animals are running wild! They're hurting people! The only way for us to stop them is if we shoot them!"

"I see. Then-"

"No! Don't hurt them!" Neo said, cutting Fujitora off. "You don't have to hurt them!"

"What are you saying?!" the solder demanded. "There are wild animals inside of the country now! Tigers! Lions! Elephants! Large snakes! Gorillas! What are we suppose to do?! Just let them-"

"Let me go," Neo said, looking right at Fujitora.

"What?!" the soldier shrieked. "Are you insane?! You're a pirate! We're not letting you go just because animals are running loose!"

"I can stop them," Neo said, her eyes remaining on Fujitora. "You don't have to hurt them. They're just scared and confused. I can keep them from hurting people. Just let me go."

"You're out of your mind! How could you possible do anything about them?! Besides, you are a pirate with a forty million berry bounty! We're not going to let you go no matter what you say you can do!" the soldier screamed. He pointed his gun right at her. "Now just shut up!"

"We don't have time to argue over this, Fujitora!" Neo said, still ignoring the other soldier's rants. "You know I can help! And I know you don't want anyone to get hurt here! Or at least you want to minimize casualties! I have no idea what's going on, but I do know that I can help! I'm the only one who can!"

…

Fujitora exhaled. He stared in her direction, contemplating on how true her words were. With his Observation Haki still activated, he found himself focusing his attention on her stomach. He was actually divided on whether or not he was going to release her. Originally, he wanted to let her  _escape_ , but he wasn't so sure about it now. He knew they, the pirates, were heading into another fight with Doflamingo. And this time there was no doubt that she would be pulled right into the middle of the fight. His ears twitched at the sound of her chains clanking from her moving. She had lifted her hands up. She was asking him to take off the sea prism stone chains. She was asking to be set free.


	110. Chaos in Dressrosa Part One

Chaos in Dressrosa

Part One

Luffy stared down at the stone floor beneath him as he exhaled and relaxed from all the running he had just been doing. He, and his two tagalongs Viola and the toy soldier, had finally reached the Suit Chamber where Law was being held and where Doflamingo also was, but he couldn't do anything. Viola had persuaded him to wait until the Tontattas took down Sugar and all of the toys were turned back into humans. So he did. But he hated it. He hated having to wait since his target and his friend was right there, mere feet from him, but he waited nonetheless. While he waited he thought about his other missing friend, Neo. He really didn't want to leave her in the hands of the Navy. But he really had no idea where she might be right now. With Law, he knew Doflamingo wouldn't go anywhere other than the palace. The Navy could have taken Neo anywhere within the boarders of the country. She could have been on the island or in one of the Navy ships at the coast.

Luffy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew he made the right choice, but he still felt guilty for not going after her. He felt like he chose Law over her. He really didn't know why though. They both were his friends and he couldn't rescue them at the same time. He knew he would go after her as soon as he could. He clenched his fists tightly together and wondered why he still felt so conflicted and guilty over this. If there was only a way he could know for sure how she was doing and where she was. He exhaled just as Viola asked, "Are you all right, Straw Hat? You look kind of depressed about something. Are you worried about your other friend?"

"Neo," Luffy said. He opened his eyes and looked at Viola. "Yeah. I'm worried about her. The Navy admiral took her."

"Would you like me to check on her?" Viola asked.

"You can do that?" Luffy asked. He turned his body more to the woman beside him.

"Yes." Viola nodded. "My Devil Fruit powers give me the ability to see anything from any point in this country."

"You mentioned that before! That's so cool! Then do it! Tra can sense where she is but only if her magic is working! She's been having trouble with that lately!" Luffy said. "I really need to now if she's okay!"

"Magic?" the toy soldier asked. He lowered himself down from the window he was using to peer inside of the Suit Chamber and looked at the Straw Hat pirate. "What do you mean by that? Isn't she a Devil Fruit user?"

"What?! Of course she is!" Luffy said. He waved his hands wildly. "I mean that-"

"Shh!" the soldier hissed. He clamped his hands down on Luffy's mouth, pushing the pirate down on the floor. "Please! Keep your voice down! They can hear us from here if we get too loud!"

Luffy muffled an "I'm sorry" from behind the soldier's hands. He waited for the toy soldier to release him. A few seconds later, after making sure no one heard them, the toy soldier finally released him. Once freed, Luffy sat back up and fixed his lopsided hat before looking at Viola. "Well? Have you found her?"

"Yes." Viola nodded, her eyes closed in concentration. "She's actually not very far from here. They took her to a Navy base down on Carny Street."

"Is she all right?" Luffy asked. "Is she hurt?"

"She doesn't appear to be hurt. She's unconscious right now and…huh?" Viola kneaded her eyebrows.

"What?! What is it?!" Luffy asked in a forced low tone.

"A man just walked into the tent and sat down beside her," Viola said. "And he's not one of your friends."

"Then who is it?" Luffy asked.

"I think its Cethin," Viola replied.

"Who?" Luffy asked.

"Cethin is a man who's been living at the palace for a while now," Viola replied as she kept her concentration on the man with Neo. "I have no idea what exactly he's been doing for the young master, but he's been working on something. It has something to do with Neo. And right now, he's holding something in his hand. Its kind of diamond shaped with something green and glowing on it."

"Green and glowing?" Luffy tilted his head.

"The glow is flowing over her body. It looks like she's in pain from the glow," Viola told them.

"What?! What's he doing to her?! What is it?!" Luffy grabbed Viola's shoulders and shook the woman, breaking her concentration.

"Straw Hat! I can't see them anymore!" Viola said. She grabbed Luffy's wrists while the toy soldier grabbed his arm.

"Stop shaking her like that!" the toy soldier said while he tried to pull Luffy off Viola. "I can understand your frustration considering she's pregnant, but you can't keep jumping around like that and screaming! You're going to give away our presence!"

"I know! I know!" Luffy released Viola. He rested his arms over his knees before looking at the toy beside him. "Sorry. I'm just…wait a second. Neo's not pregnant. She and Tra don't want kids because of their lives as pirates."

"Huh? You don't…" the toy soldier started. He paused when he remembered what Franky and Zoro had told them about Neo.  _I forgot. They said that Neo was scared of new things because of her past. If she doesn't know, then it's possible not all of her friends know about her pregnancy. I probably shouldn't say anything more about it._  The toy soldier looked at Luffy and Viola. He started to open his toy mouth to speak again, to brush the pregnancy thing off, but paused when a strange feeling flowed through his tin toy body.

"Dofy!" a voice shouted from inside of the Suit Chamber.

"Huh? What's going on in there?" Luffy asked when they heard the voice shouting out. He and Viola crept back up to the window and looked inside to see the transponder snail sitting near Doflamingo was crying.

…

"I'm sorry, Dofy!" the voice from the transponder snail said. "It's Sugar! She…she…"

"What is it? What happened to Sugar?" Doflamingo asked.

"P…p…passed out! Sugar has passed out!"

…

"What? What's going on?" Luffy asked.

"I don't believe it! Sugar has passed out?!" Viola asked.

"And that means?" Luffy turned to Viola.

"They actually did it! With Sugar out, all of the toys should be turning back into humans right now!" Viola said.

"Yes! I told you my crew would take care of it!" Luffy said with a smile.

"And-uh!" Viola gasped. All of her forgotten memories of her brother-in-law came flooding back to her. She and Luffy looked up when the window they were looking in suddenly opened up and a man bolted through it.

"Hm? Who's that?" Luffy asked.

"Kyros!" Viola exclaimed.

…

Law kneaded his eyebrows in confusion over Trebol's words coming over the transponder snail.  _What the heck is going on? Who's Sugar? And what are the Straw Hats doing?_

"Dofy! Look at the coliseum!" Buffalo said.

Law lifted his own eyes to the transponder screen on the wall. The transponder screen that once was showing the fight of the coliseum was now showing all of the toys in the seats turning into humans and animals. His eyes focused in on the animals when they all started to run wild in the seats. He knew without a doubt that they were scared and confused. But why were they toys in the first place? And how was their rampage going to effect Neo? The animals voices were going to hammer into her once her magic returned. And she would be put under more stress if she couldn't go help them calm down.

He growled under his breath and tugged on the chains that were holding him down and draining his energy. He was set to give them another useless jerk when Neo's magic finally returned to them. And just as he knew, the animal voices were a lot for her to take at once.  _'Neo?'_

…

"We don't have time to stand here all day and just stare at each other!" Neo shouted. She placed her feet back on the ground. She started to stand up, but caught herself and remained sitting. She still didn't know who all knew she wasn't a Devil Fruit user.

_'Neo? Neo, are you okay?'_

_'Am I okay?! Don't give me that, Law! You're the one who was fighting Doflamingo and getting the crap beat out of you! And don't you dare tell me to watch my language! What were you thinking?! Do you have any idea how worried I've been about you?! It's bad enough when I know you're fighting and feeling your pain! Do you know how much worse it has been being cut off from you?! I had no idea what was going on with you! You're off fighting Doflamingo and the next thing I know_ _we're_ _practically dead! Doflamingo shot you, Law! He shot you_ _three_ _times right in front of me!'_  Neo gritted her teeth and relaxed her facial expressions in a desperate attempt not to start crying and reveal to the two Navy soldiers in front of her that she was having a conversation with Law. She didn't think they would notice since they knew nothing about their bond but for the shared pain thing. She hoped they would just pass it up to the animals running wild in the country and for trying to get them to let her go. For the moment, Fujitora was still contemplating her suggestion and getting nagged at by the soldier beside him. She drew in a slow, deep breath. Her tears faded away but she still felt very angry with Law for fighting. She wanted to simultaneously slap him for being so stupid and snuggled up to him. She rubbed her hands over her face in frustration and confusion.  _'I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so snappy. I'm just…tired. I guess. Today has been too much. You know how I get when I get stressed. I really need a nap.'_

"You can't just let her go, Admiral! What would the higher ups think?!" the soldier asked. "She's a wanted pirate! She might not have a high bounty like the Surgeon of Death and Straw Hat Luffy, but she still wanted! And everyone has been wanting answers to all of our questions about her!"

_'I know, I know. And I'm so sorry about all of this. But we'll talk about all of this later. Right now, I need to know how you're doing. It doesn't feel like you're in much pain. But what's going on over there? I know there are animals going crazy in the country. How are you doing with that?'_

_'I know. I'll be okay. The animals are just confused and scared. Someone's been turning animals and humans into toys. I met one of the animals earlier today. It was an elephant trapped in a toy's body. He told me he felt someone touch him one day. Next thing he knew, he was a toy and there was a little girl standing there.'_

_'That must be this Sugar they keep talking about.'_

_'Sugar?'_

_'Yeah. Whatever happened here, the Straw Hats are responsible for it. They've been running around underground with some Little People or something.'_

_'Little People? You mean the Tontattas?'_

_'You know about them?'_

_'I met one of them earlier too when I was with Zoro.'_

_'Geez. We really are out of the loop when your magic isn't working.'_

_'Yeah. I really hate not being able to feel where you are and not being able to talk to you.'_

_'I know, love. I hate it too. But at least its character and strength building for future moments like this.'_

_'Don't you dare turn this into a lesson! I won't hear of it! I just want to be with you again! I've had enough of being separated for one day! But I need to calm down the animals first! They're only going to get hurt if they keep running wild like this! The Navy wants to shoot them!'_

_'All right, you do what you feel you need to do. But do it quickly. I want you back by my side. Doflamingo is not happy with everything that's going on. I don't want him attacking you alone while your magic keeps failing. Come to me, Neo.'_

_'Right. I'm working on getting away from the Navy right now. You're not going to believe what Admiral Fujitora wanted from me.'_

_'So he did take you.'_

_'Yeah. He wants me to join the Navy.'_

_'What?'_

_'Yeah. But we'll talk about that later. We both have stuff to do. Luffy's near you. I'm sure he's going to save you.'_

_'Stupid Straw Hat. No one told him to come here.'_

_'I did! And don't you dare turn him away! Get out of there! Do you hear me?! That's an_ _order_ _!'_

_'Yes, ma'am.'_  Law thought to her with a chuckle.

"Well, Admiral?" Neo then turned her attention back to the soldiers before her. "Are you going to make up your mind or not? Do you really want those animals running wild? They're going to hurt a lot of people if they do."

"Come on, Admiral! Tell me you're not really going to listen to this  _pirate_!" the soldier said with exasperation.

"Would you really prefer to let them run wild? You might have guns, soldier, but guns can easily be destroyed," Neo said. She narrowed her eyebrows and gave the man a pointed look. "Humans will always be weak against nature. If you don't let me go, you've lost this fight."

…

Fujitora stared blankly in Neo's direction. His thoughts were going over this situation of having this pirate in his custody. On one hand, he really had no intentions of keeping her. He wasn't quite sure of his reasons for that. He just didn't want to keep her as a prisoner. And after realizing how much pain she had already been through, he didn't want to add to that by keeping her as a prisoner of the Navy. But, on the other hand, if he just let her go it would cause far too much trouble for him. And it would put his job as a Navy admiral at risk. He was already pulling some risks as it was. If he did too many, he wouldn't be able to fulfill his mission of abolishing the Seven Warlords of the Sea system. And that was something he was going to see through to the end. Still he couldn't just let the Navy keep this young woman. Nor could he let on that he wanted to help her escape.

"I'm sorry, young lady," Fujitora said. He pushed on his knees and stood up from the stool.

"What?! You're not really going to keep me, are you?! You can't!" Neo said. "You have to let me go!"

Without a word, he turned and headed for the exit. On his way there, he bumped into the only other soldier in the tent. "Oh, sorry about that."

"No worries, Admiral," the soldier said. He rubbed his hand on his arm where Fujitora bumped into him.

"Wait! You can't do this! Please! If you don't let me go then those animals are just going to hurt people and get themselves hurt!" Neo begged. Her heart pounded in her chest. She suddenly felt stupid for thinking this admiral was different from the others. She thought he was a trustworthy man. "Please! You have to let me go! You have to let me help them! You're not like the others! You want to help people, right?! What about everything we talked about before?!"

"Young lady," Fujitora said. He turned around and walked back over to her.

Neo expected him to keep the cot she was laying on between them like before. He didn't. Her heart skipped a beat when he rounded the cot and came down the small isle between the uncomfortable beds. She scooted down the cot until the tent brushed against her arm. Her breathing started to come in short, raspy gasps. Her mind buzzed with the question of what he was planning on doing to her. Then he stopped. With only two feet between them, he stopped and stared at her behind his closed, blind eyes. She forced her breathing to slow down. Despite being a bit scared and uncomfortable, she couldn't shake the feeling that she could still trust this man. She flinched when he lifted his right hand up. She relaxed when all he did was scratch his side then lowered his hand back down.

"Young lady, if you wanted to help people then you should have taken me up on my offer to become a Navy soldier. But you chose the life of a pirate. It's my duty to capture pirates like you. You might be nice, kind, and very gently, but you are still a pirate. I cannot turn the other way now that I have captured you," Fujitora said.

Neo kneaded her eyebrows. The man's voice was raised. He was talking louder than he was before. It confused her. Was he just making a show of having captured her? She glanced over at the other soldier. She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at his smug smile. He looked like a man who had shot a twenty four point buck or something.

"I'm sorry that your secrets have been exposed. I'm afraid that after today everyone is going to know about that. It's not in my power to keep what has been learned here quiet. I'm sure you have your reasons for keeping who you really are quiet, but you need to start getting use to having the world know," Fujitora said as he turned and walked away from Neo. "Until later, Trafalgar Neo."

Neo watched him walk away in confusion.  _Am I hearing him right? He's talking like I'm going to have to deal with the world. How can I do that when he's not going to let me go? I know I can escape since these sea prism stone don't affect me. But is he faking it?_  Her eyes dropped down to the ground when something caught her eye. It took all she had to not react to what she saw. It was the key to her cuffs. Her mind flashed back to the movements the old man made. Fujitora bumped into that other soldier despite being skilled enough to not do that. And the way he moved his hand to scratch his side he could have easily dropped the key at that point and used his raised voice to cover the sound of the key hitting the ground.

Neo looked back over to Fujitora. She watched him lift up the tent flap and exit with the other soldier. Did he bump into the other soldier just to pick his pocket and get the key to her cuffs? But why? Couldn't he tell with his Observation Haki how she escaped from the coliseum? She could easily turn into the wind and get out of these cuffs. So why go through the trouble of getting the key for her? Was he still trying to protect her secrets?

Neo shook her head. She had no time to sit here and figure that man out. She shifted into the wind. Wrapping the winds around the chains, so they didn't make too much noise, she laid them on the ground next to the key. That should give the Navy the impression that she escaped using the key, despite it being pointless at this point in time. Shaking the thought from her head, she slipped back into the wind stream and slipped underneath the flap of the tent. Her winds blew the soldiers clothing around, but none of them noticed that it was her escaping. She figured it would be a few minutes at the least before they noticed. That was plenty of time.

…

"I can't believe she escaped," the soldier from before said. He had gone to check on their prisoner a few minutes after Neo had escaped to find she was missing. The only thing left was the tent, cots, key, and the chains she was suppose to be in. He ran outside to inform Fujitora of this, but with no leads on where she could be, the admiral shrugged it off with a warning for his soldier to be more careful next time. "I was being so careless. She must have picked my pocket for the key."

"Are you serious?" a second soldier asked. "How could you have been so careless? You heard the rumors that she wasn't a Devil Fruit user."

"I know. But how else could we have stopped her?" the first soldier asked.

"I don't know. Her kind must have a weakness," a third soldier said.

"But what is it?" the second soldier asked. "We're going to have to discover it soon if we're going to have to deal with her kind."

Fujitora sighed softly at the chatter of his men as he stood around under the warm sun. He turned his blind eyes up to the sky, listening to the cries that filled the air while he waited to make their next move in stopping the Straw Hat and Heart Pirate alliance.  _And I am sure the Navy will work nonstop at finding her weaknesses. For whatever it's worth, just be careful, Neo. You have entered into a danger war by going up against Doflamingo. I do sincerely hope that you and your child escape from this place unharmed._

…

Neo sighed to herself as she flew higher into the sky. The air whipped around her, brushing passed her skin, weaving through her blue hair. She felt like she had been set free from being trapped inside for months, but it was quickly cut off from her. Everything that had just happened, plus everything that had been happening all day, started buzzing around in her head. She felt like she had about a half a dozen beehives inside of her head. It made her wonder if she was going to be able to concentrate enough to call out to the animals over this entire country. Some of them felt like they were going to be too angry and confused for her to connect to.

Trying not to worry about it, she cast her eyes down to the country below her. The people and animals on the ground looked like nothing but small black dots scurrying about erratically. She then realized she was far too high in the air, especially with her magic fading in and out like it was. It wouldn't do her or Law any good if she was this high up in the air and her magic disappeared on her again. Plunging to her death wasn't very appealing. It made her shiver. Or she thought it made her shiver until the coldness that entered her body didn't go away. She rubbed her hands on her bare arms while she lowered herself to a roof. "Dang. Why did I all of a sudden get cold? Maybe I am getting sick. That would explain why my magic is so messed up. Anyway…time to get to work."

Neo glanced over to the palace. It would have taken her a several minutes to walk over there. But as long as she had her magic, she could easily fly there in seconds. Just a few more minutes and she would be able to be with Law again. She would be able to heal his wounds with her solar crystal since she knew he was going to fight again. They all were going to have to fight now. That was very clear at this point. She lifted her hand to her torso where her body was stinging from the three gunshot wounds Law had taken. It reminded her of the time she was shot by Ren. And that was only once. Law was shot three times.

Neo clenched her fists together, releasing a rumble of thunder. "Doflamingo. You're going to pay for that."

She shook her head. There would be time for that man later. Right now, she had another mission to take care of. Closing her eyes, she opened up all of her senses to the world around her. Her heart clenched tight in her chest when she realized doing this was going to use up a rather large chunk of her magic. She was already feeling exhausted from everything. But it had to be done. Hopefully she could get a few minutes of rest and heal herself with her solar crystal before having to fight anyone. That way she could replenish her magic. With a deep breath, she reached out to all the animals the best she could. "Listen to me, everyone. I know you're scared. I know you're confused and angry, but you all need to calm down. Yes, I understand that you all are animals and not toys. No, I'm not sure who turned you into animals. Yes, it has something to do with the king of this country, but not the old king. Doflamingo is the current king. He's responsible for this. I'm not sure how he did it though, something to do with a little girl, maybe. I'm going to try and figure that all out. I can understand how you feel, but please calm down. If you keep rampaging through the country, the Navy soldiers are going to shoot you. I know none of you want to die like that. Just trust me. My friends and I are going to fix this. It's going to be all right. Can you all just calm down for me? I really would appreciate it. Thanks a lot. I'll try to do something for you all later. Just remain calm. Hopefully this all will be over soon and we can all relax. Behave yourselves now. I have to go meet up with my love and friends. I'll talk to you all later."

Neo breathed a sigh of relief when she felt all of the animals on the island relaxing. She had done it. She managed to get them all to calm down, probably confusing some people in the process but she didn't care as long as everyone was calm now. Now all she had to do was get to Law and Luffy. She took off into the air only to pause a few seconds later in midair. She lowered herself closer to the ground with an annoyed huff at her temperamental magic. "Magic disruption. Stay close to the ground or end up on the ground in a very uncomfortable way."

…

Law sighed internally when he felt Neo's relief in getting away from the Navy. He had no idea what Fujitora was thinking. Asking Neo to join the Navy? Did that man hit his head or something? Why would a pirate do that? He really wanted to know exactly what the Navy admiral said to his love, but knew that was a conversation that was going to wait until later. Right now he had to focus on his own problem. Neo said that Luffy was coming to save him. He didn't really want that, but he would let him for Neo's sake. Still, he had to make their interactions convincing enough. He could do that.

A sudden whack and shout broke Law from his thoughts. He looked up to see a one legged man, dressed in a gladiator outfit, and wielding a sword rushing into the room and right towards Doflamingo.  _Who the heck is that guy?_

"Is that you, Kyros?" King Riku's voice shouted out amongst the confusion.

"Yes, sir! Sorry to have kept you waiting for ten long years!" the man shouted before he leaped at Doflamingo. Swinging his sword he managed to slice the Warlord's head off. "I've come back to reclaim the real Dressrosa!"

A round of surprised gasps filled the room at what the gladiator had done. Everyone's eyes locked onto Doflamingo's head as it flew through the air.

"It can't be," Law said. He stared at Doflamingo's decapitated head as it rolled along the floor to a stop. He didn't believe it. He couldn't believe. It wasn't possible that the man had been taken out so easily. People who get their heads cut off typically don't come back to life. But how could he deny it? It was right there for them all to see. Doflamingo was presumably dead before his eyes, before all of their eyes. He forced his eyes off the man's head and looked at the man who had done the severing. The gladiator man was now slicing through Doflamingo's forces so easily. The man cut down the three normal soldiers, then snapped Buffalo's neck and threw him out the window, before easily blocking Baby 5's bullets and sickles before knocking her against the wall. Law was so shock that his nose didn't even register the gunpowder now coating the air in the room.

"Tra!" Luffy's voice then shouted out through the chaos. Law turned his attention to the rubber man as he finally ran into the Suit Chamber from wherever he was hiding. Luffy's smile brightened when Law looked at him. "I'm here to save you! I'm glad you're still alive! But, listen! Neo's been taken by the Navy! I saw that admiral guy flying off with her! She's not hurt though! But I'm sure you already know that!"

"Straw Hat?" Baby 5 asked. She looked between the two pirates before letting her eyes settle on Law. "What did he mean by that? You couldn't possibly know how she is!"

"What are you talking about?! Neo's not here! You just said that yourself! What are you even doing here?!" Law said, trying to redirect the enemy's attention.

"Right, right!" Luffy said. "I know!"

"Get out of here! You have no business here, Straw Hat! What about the factory?! Has it been destroyed yet?!" Law snapped. He growled to himself when Luffy didn't answer. All Luffy did was look down and say something to the dark haired woman he was carrying under his arm who was holding up a key. Law assumed it was the key to his cuffs. But he brushed them off for the moment and turned his attention back to Neo. She was finally away from the Navy admiral. He felt her coming closer to the palace then stop. He hoped she was low enough to the ground so if her magic failed her again, she wouldn't get hurt. He knew she was smart enough to do just that, but it still worried him. With all this bizarre confusion going on at the moment, she might be too distracted to think about that. He shook it from his mind. She was smart. She knows how to take care of herself. He raised her well enough. He wasn't going to hover over her. Or he was going to try to not hover over her. With her pregnancy, being practically magicless most of the time, and being in Doflamingo's territory changed the situation a lot. They had gotten far deeper in over their heads that he had originally thought they would. It terrified him. He was worried over her and their child's safety. Of course he was forcing those thought down to the darkest depths of his mind so Neo would notice them. But he wondered how long he would be able to keep them from her. And despite not wanting Luffy's help, he still wanted to get out of here and get to Neo as soon as he possible could. He looked back up towards Luffy when Gladius' voice shouted out in anger over the death of his master before dropped his attention back to Luffy and the dark haired woman running towards him.

"I'm here now! And I'm going to rescue you!" Luffy said. Once he had reached the chair that Law was chained too, he sat down the dark haired woman on her feet then smiled. "Glad to see you're okay. Neo has been really worried about you."

"Thanks for the concern, Straw Hat, but the alliance between us is over!" Law said. "Get out of here!"

"What?! What are you talking about?! I came all the way here for Neo's sake! You're being so selfish! You have no right to make those decisions! I'll be the one to decide when our alliance is over! You shut up!" Luffy replied.

"Who's being selfish now?!" Law snapped.

"Here's the key. We need to get him unlocked," Viola said as she held up the key to Luffy. "You two can argue over this later. We need to get out of here and go help Neo now."

"Oh, right. That guy might still be with her," Luffy said. He took the key from her then turned back to Law. Slowly, he started to move the key towards the cuff on Law's right wrist.

"What guy?" Law asked, a feeling of dread washing over his body. "What are you talking about?"

"A man that's been working for Doflamingo for a while now," Viola replied. She gave Law a sympathetic look. "Sorry I don't know who exactly he is or what he's doing here, but he's with Neo. His name is Cethin. He was doing something to her."

"Doing something to her? What are you talking about? Neo didn't mention-" Law cut his own voice off and turned his eyes away from the dark haired woman.  _What's going on? If this woman is speaking the truth then this guy must have been with Neo when she was still unconscious. She wouldn't have known he was there. But what was he doing to her? Was he just checking up on her? Trying to take her blood like Caesar did?_  He gritted his teeth in anger. He really wanted out of this place. He wanted to ask this woman what exactly it was he saw this man doing to  _his lover_.

_'Law? What's wrong? You just really angry all of a sudden.'_

_'It's nothing. Straw Hat's here right now. He's trying to get me free of these sea prism stone chains.'_

_'Oh, okay. Just hurry up and get out of there. I managed to calm the animals down for the moment. But I'm not sure how long that will last since the people in this country are rioting. I'm heading towards you now.'_

_'Yeah. I can sense you coming. Just don't come into the place.'_

_'What?! Why?! If you're still-'_

_'Neo, please, just don't come inside of here. Doflamingo's out of the picture for the moment, but his men are still around. I don't want you fighting if your magic is going to quit on you. Let me get free first. That way I can protect you easier.'_  Law exhaled. He wasn't exactly ordering her to stay away from him. He wanted to, but she had nowhere else to go right now. Luffy was with him, he had no clue where Zoro was, half of the Straw Hats were on their way to Zou right now, and he had no idea where exactly the rest of the Straw Hats even were. All he knew was they were somewhere underground and trying to get the factory destroyed. His protective forces for Neo were dwindling and scattered around the country. He had to get out of here and get back by her side, especially with some strange man running around doing who knows what to her.

_'All right, Law. I'll stay out of the palace.'_

_'Thank you. We'll get out of here soon enough. Just wait for me.'_

_'I will. Be careful.'_

_'You too.'_

"How could you have talked to her if she's several minutes away from you?" Viola asked as she stared at the Warlord in front of her. "I know there's speculation that she's not a Devil Fruit user, but still. Even if she weren't you still wouldn't be able to know anything about how she's doing…or would you?"

Law took a quick glance at the dark haired woman before looking back down at the floor. Even with the majority of their secrets already blown, he still wanted to protect them and Neo. But how much longer was he going to be able to do that? Turning the attention back to the Straw Hat captain, who was still trying to get the key into the stone cuffs, he hissed, "Stop it, Straw Hat! I told you that there's no more alliance between us! We're not on the same side anymore! If you set me free, I'll kill you!"

"Stop moving! These things are hard to unlock because they're sea prism stone! I can't touch them!" Luffy snapped before he continued to try and poke the key into the small hole before him. He growled when the key hit the cuff instead of the hole. "Aw! Come on!"

"You're not even listening to me!" Law growled. "I said get lost! I don't want your help!"

"Shut up! I'm not leaving here without you! I promised Neo that I would protect you both! Besides, I know that you're lying! You want to get out of here and get back to Neo! She misses you! And I know you miss her! You're worried about her! I can see it in your eyes! So stop being so stupid! You're not fooling anyone here!" Luffy snapped at Law. He then held out the key to Viola again. "Here! You do it!"

"I can't! I'm a Devil Fruit user too!" Viola said.

Law blinked, slightly confused at how Luffy was being so insightful. Even back on Sabaody two years ago, he never got that kind of impression from this pirate. The Straw Hat captain always seemed too stupid or childish to really show insight to anything. Or he thought the young man did. Perhaps he didn't know him all that well. Or was it something else? Was Neo the reason Luffy was acting like this? The Straw Hat pirate really did have a thing for wanting to keep his friends safe and save them when they were in danger. And Neo was now the Straw Hat's friend, whether Law wanted it or not. Of course a lot of that had to do with her being Shanks' goddaughter. But he wondered if it was also because of Neo directly. Neo did have a way of softening people up. She did that to Smoker on Punk Hazard. And apparently to the Navy admiral Fujitora here on Dressrosa.

Neo did say she was going to send Luffy over to help him on Green Bit. And Luffy would have promised her that he would take care of them no matter what.

Law sighed. With that promise, he knew Luffy wasn't going to go anywhere. And he really couldn't force him to leave. He didn't want to. He just had to put on an act to give Doflamingo the impression that their alliance was over, despite the older man not really believing it. He sighed again and let Luffy do as he pleased. This was really the only way he could get out of the sea prism stone chains anyway.

Just then a deep, dark laugh filled the room. It halted everyone's actions. They all looked over to Doflamingo's body, all of their eyes widened in shock that the laugh was coming from a dead man. Then a loud rumble floated through the air a split second before the ground underneath them started moving. A part of the floor rose up. The movement threw Law, Luffy, and Viola into the air. The risen floor shifted into the face of a person. Law gritted his teeth and growled at the familiar looking stone face. It was Pica.  _Just great. He just had to show up here._

"Never have I thought I'd be taken out like this," Doflamingo's severed head said.

"What?! Mingo's alive!" Luffy shouted.

"Young Master!" Baby 5 said.

"Young Master!" Gladius echoed.

"The whole country has been thrown into utter chaos now that the toys have turned back into people," Doflamingo's head continued to speak. "And for whatever reason, the Revolutionary Army is here secretly as well. And the royal palace is a complete mess now. This whole situation has become a very difficult one. There's only one solution to fix it. I'm just going to have to use the Birdcage."

"The Birdcage?!" Law asked. His heart took a sharp jolt at the memories of what kind of damage the Birdcage can do to people. A cold shiver ran up his spine. Neo could easily escape from it by turning into the wind, but the rest of them were trapped with no way to escape it. And Neo wouldn't leave Law or their friends for anything. If they all were going to die here, then it would be together.

"That's right, Law," Doflamingo's severed head said with a smile. "You remember that, don't you? Judging from your expression, I say that you do remember it. That's good. How do you think Neo would react to it? During our confrontation earlier, she managed to escape the coliseum by turning into the wind and flying through the bars. Think she'll escape from the Birdcage? No, I don't believe she will. She'll stay here with you. She's loyal to you after all. She wouldn't abandon you like that."

Law barely heard Doflamingo's words as he felt his mind fading into the darkness of the memories of the first and last time he saw the Birdcage. It was the same day that he had lost Corazon. Doflamingo had killed so many people on that day. And now he was possibly going to lose his love, their child, and his own life to that abomination. He couldn't fathom it. There was no escaping from the Birdcage at all unless they knocked Doflamingo out. And that wasn't something that happened often, if it had happened at all. Law couldn't recall a single time that Doflamingo had ever been knocked out cold. He didn't get any more time to think about it as the ground beneath them started rocking. It shook him out of his thoughts and threw everyone off their feet. He watched helplessly as Pic closed his stone hand around them, cutting off the light.

"Ah! What's happening?!" Luffy's voice asked from the darkness.

"It's Pica!" Viola said. "He's throwing us out of the palace!"

"He's what?!" Luffy asked just before the light returned to them in a heart stopping way. Pica had moved them to the outside of the palace. He opened his stone hands and dropped them from several feet above the ground.

Viola screamed.

The men clenched their teeth as the ground below them started to rapidly approach them.

Law growled. If he was free of the sea prism stone chains he could easily warp them safely to the ground. But he was still trapped and helpless. In the midst of all the panic, Law spotted his hat falling with them. It fell close enough that he was able to reach out and grab it. He tightened his hold on it, not wanting it to get away from him mostly because Neo was recently wearing it. His thoughts were broken again when he heard Luffy shouting.

"Gum Gum Balloon!" Luffy cried out. He sucked in the air around him so his body would expanded for his friends to land on him safely instead of the hard ground that was waiting for them below. Once they were all had landed on him, he released the air inside of him. They all climb off of his body when he deflated enough, but for Law who landed a bit roughly on the ground since he was helplessly chained to the chair. "That was way too close. Is everyone all right?"

"I think so," Viola said. She looked at Luffy then over at her father and Kyros. "Are you two all right?"

"I've had better days, but I'll be just fine," King Riku said.

"I'm all right as well, Lady Viola," Kyros said with a nod.

"Wow! He threw us all the way out into the garden of the Rampart Tower," Luffy noted. He looked around the garden they were in before looking back at his friends. "What now?"

"Well, we're not going to be able to get anywhere near Doflamingo with Pica near by," Viola said. She stood up and brushed the dirt off her dress. "He'll just throw us out again like he just did."

"What's going up there?" King Riku asked. They all turned their eyes up to the sky to see what he was talking about. Strings were flying up from the palace and into the air. "What is that?"

Law gasped at the strings flying up into the air. He said, "It's started! The Birdcage!"

"The Birdcage? What do you mean by that, Tra?!" Luffy asked. He turned his eyes down to Law. "What is Doflamingo doing with those strings?"

"Before the truth behind this country can be exposed to the outside world, he's going to simply massacre the entire population!" Law replied. He gripped a hold of his hat so hard he thought his fingers were going to puncture right through the fabric. He had to force himself to loosen up his hold before he actually did that.

"He's going to do what?!" Viola said as everyone else gasped. Before anyone else could utter another word, the ground started shaking and rumbling once more.

"H-h-hey! What's going on?!" Luffy asked. He looked around and noticed the ground was moving downwards. "The ground is descending! What's happening?!"

"It's Pica!" Law replied. "Since he can merge with stones, he can even shift the geography of the world around him!"

"Hey! The Royal Palace is taking off!" Luffy said. He gaped at the stone building, demanding the inanimate object to come back like it would listen to him before turning to Law. "Stop, Royal Palace! Come back here! Hey! Tra! Call Neo here! Quick! Tell her to bring the palace back!"

"What are you saying?! She's already on her way here! And I'm not going to have her move an entire palace closer! It would put far too much stress on her! If you want the palace back so badly you go to it instead!" Law snapped.

"How could Neo possible move all of that? I know she can control nature through her crystals, but…" Viola said. She watched Pica drag the palace off before turning to look down at Law. "What exactly is going on here? Why does Doflamingo want her so badly? I know he has some issue with you from years ago…"

Law looked at the dark haired woman and thought about her words. He knew there really was no point in keeping the secret any longer. Now that Doflamingo and the Navy knew, it was only a matter of time before they released that information to the public. And since these people have proven to be allies, he figured it might be best if they did know. Still, he didn't have time to explain everything. "It's a long story. But Neo's not a Devil Fruit user. She can do a lot more with her crystals than we have let on."

"Are you serious?! Then what is her power?!" Viola asked.

"She doesn't have a  _power_. She has  _magic_. She's an Elemental," Law said.

"Tra?" Luffy asked. "Are you sure about telling them this?"

"It's fine, Straw Hat," Law said with a sigh. "Doflamingo and the Navy already know. It's only a matter of time before everyone else does too."

"What?! Doflamingo knows?!" Luffy shrieked.

"She didn't tell you?" Law asked.

"No! She only told me you were in trouble!" Luffy shrieked again. "The Navy knows too?! And she's with them?! They're not going to let her go now! We have to go after her right this second!"

"Calm down. I already told you she's on her way here. She managed to get away from them. And I guess she was too upset to mention everything that I told her before. My safety would take top priority over everything else," Law said. "I don't know how, but Doflamingo somehow figure out that Neo is an Elemental and a princess."

"Neo's a princess? I never would have guessed. I wonder if it has something to do with that guy that's been staying in the palace for the past several months," Viola said, rubbing her finger over her chin in thought.

"I remember now that Blackleg mentioned him before. I guess you're the one who told him that. And you called him Cethin," Law said and Viola nodded. "How long has this guy been at the palace?"

"For about seven months," Viola replied.

"Seven months, huh?" Law said. "That's about how long we were on Punk Hazard."

"At least Neo's okay," Luffy said. "Viola checked on her for me a few minutes ago. That Cethin guy was with her."

"You are able to check on her?" Law asked.

"It's my Devil Fruit. I can send my gaze far and wide. I saw Cethin inside of the Navy tent with her. He was holding some sort of medallion in his hand. A strange dull green glow was coming from it. It flowed over her body and looked to be causing her some pain before it pinpointed at her stomach."

Law's heart skipped a beat.  _A medallion with a strange glow? It…it couldn't possibly be Neo's birth medallion. Doflamingo did say that he had a wedding present for us. But it couldn't possibly be that. Could it?_  With a ragged breath, he asked, "Did this medallion have four crystals embedded in it on each corner and Neo's name on it?"

"I don't think so." Viola shook her head. "All I saw was that strange green glow. It was spread out over the medallion so I really couldn't see if there was something else on it or not. It looks like the glow was some kind of veins weaving through the medallion."

"What was the shape and color?" Law asked.

"It was diamond shape and silver," Viola replied.

Law cursed under his breath before saying, "It can't be. He couldn't possibly have it."

"Couldn't have what?" Viola asked.

"Neo's birth medallion," Law replied.

"Birth Medallion?" Luffy asked.

"All Elemental royals are given a medallion when they're born. It has all four of the element crystals embedded in it and a small portion of their magic inside each crystal," Law said. He clenched his fists together. His fingernails dug into the skin, breaking the flesh apart. Closing his eyes, he slammed his head back against the chair he was still trapped on and cursed again. "It was taken away from her when she was just a kid. She never found it again."

"Don't get ahead of yourself now, Trafalgar. It's possible that it's not even hers. It could be something else that just has the same shape as her medallion. But despite that,  _could_  it be used as a weapon against her?" Viola asked.

"No, I don't think so. At least not by itself," Law replied. He opened his eyes and stared up at the sky. His eyes by passing the Birdcage they were trapped in. "But I don't know about that other thing that was on it. Whatever it is it's not a part of her medallion, if it is hers."

"So what now?" King Riku asked. "If it is her medallion then it's clear that Doflamingo has done something to it. She would be in danger then."

"We're all in danger, Father," Viola said.

King Riku looked at her then down at the ground with a heavy sigh. She was right. They all were in life threatening danger.

"First things first. Let's get you out of that chair," Luffy said. He pulled back his fist.

"Wait! What are you-" Law started. He was cut off by Luffy's cry before the rubber man punched the back of the chair with his fists multiple times.

"Gum Gum Gatlin!"

"How reckless!" Viola gasped as pieces of the chair broke apart from Luffy's punches.

"You idiot! You could have at least warned me you were going to do that!" Law growled. "What if you hit me?!"

"Sorry!" Luffy laughed while pulling Law off the chair and putting him in a sitting position.

Law grumbled and glared at the younger man but didn't say anything as he picked up his hat. Placing it back on his head, he looked to his right. Neo was in that direction and should be with them soon. But suddenly she stopped. ' _Neo, why did you stop?'_

"Hey! Luffy!" Zoro then called out. The small group looked over at the swordsman running over to him.

"Zoro! There you are!" Luffy waved to him. His eyes then landed on the fourth sword Zoro was carrying. "Oh! I see you have Tra's sword!"

"Yeah." Zoro nodded. "I managed to get a hold of it."

"Great," Luffy said. "He'll need that for later."

…

"Law, something's wrong," Neo said. Her eyes were up on the Birdcage above her then they dropped down to screams of the people below her. She watched as Navy soldiers and civilians started attacking each other. The smell of iron from their blood floated up to her with their confused and pain filled cries. "This is Doflamingo's Birdcage, isn't it?"

_'It is.'_

Neo's eyes widened when a man lifted up his sword to a young boy. He cried, "No! Someone help me! I can't stop myself!"

"No!" Neo shouted out before diving down to the man. She summoned an earth crystal. Wrapping the man up while pulling the child into her arms.

"Thank you! Thank you so much! I almost killed my child!" the man said with tears running like rivers down his cheeks.

"Daddy!" the boy in Neo's arms said. He wriggled out of Neo's hold and ran over to his dad. Wrapping his arms around his dad's vine wrapped body. "Daddy!"

"It's okay, son! Is okay! We're fine now!" the man said. "This young lady saved us! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"No problem," Neo said. She turned her eyes away from the man and his son. Summoning more earth crystals, she wrapped up as many people as she could that were trying to hurt others. Rage burned inside of her at how Doflamingo was treating these people. A small storm gathered over her. Thunder boomed and lightening flashed. Her eyes shot to the palace off in the distance. Wrapping the wind around her, she took off towards the palace.

_'Neo! I order you to stop!'_

Neo flinched to a stop at Law's order. "But…Law…"

_'I know, Neo. I know you're upset. I know you just saved a kid from being killed by his own father. I know this is all Doflamingo's fault. But you can't go off and face him on your own.'_

Neo gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. She knew he was right.

_'Just come to me. We won't let Doflamingo get away with this.'_

"Right." Neo nodded. She turned and headed back in the direction Law was in. "But I have to help them."

_'I know. You can do that while you're on your way to me. Okay?'_

"Yeah." Neo nodded. Flying low to the ground, she used her crystals to disarm and trap anyone she passed that was being controlled by Doflamingo.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my story. I've also posted this story on my account on Fanfiction but am in the process of revising a lot of chapters to give a better story for my readers. I'm posting it here to help me work on those revisions while also working on my other fanfics, otherwise I keep putting off these revisions. I'm open to constructive criticism. So feel free to let me know what you like and don't like.


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